John Ozuysal’s Post

With all of the layoffs in the game development industry, this is quite literally the best time to start your career in game dev. Does this sound counterintuitive? When you consider that only a quarter of senior game developers (with 8+ years of experience) began their careers directly in game dev, this should give you a hint as to what I'm referring to. The vast majority of developers begin their careers in other industries; whether you're an engineer working on software of a different nature, or an animator cutting your teeth in film, getting some experience in adjacent industries how the majority of the folks you see working in game development today got their start. Well, depending on what you're looking to achieve in game development, there are several successful paths to accomplish your goal. Here is what we know has been successful in the past: 🎨 Artists have the highest number of direct hires into game dev. Being hired as an environment (hard surface) modeller was the most common occurrence of this. 🗺 Designers are also successful at direct applications; often systems design is an entry point. While there are certainly designers from other industries, level, for example, game designers are very specific to the nature of game development 📣 Producers, Development Directors, Production Coordinators...there is a clear path to success here that I can see. The empirical data supports that more than 60% of them began in QA. I've made this suggestion time and again: being hired directly into a production path is a rare occurrence... 👨🏾💻 Engineers are, for the most part (60%) begin in other industries. They hone their skills before moving to game development. This is another one that is clear to me. 📽 Animators begin their careers in predominantly 2 different paths: different industries (film, animated shorts) and as freelancers. 70% of them! So what does this mean for you? It means that you need to consider all of the advice about "breaking into the industry," and whether it is useful and effective. Where is it coming from? Are those providing advice coming from a place of experience? Or is it hyperbole? Right now is the best time for you to consider what your career path is, and how you can achieve your goal. I'm happy to help you out here; I have, after all, been doing this for a while and I've hired hundreds of game developers 😀 Let me know your thoughts below. #careeradvice #gamedev #gamedevjobs #diversityequityandinclusion #recruiting #jobsearch #gamingjobs #gamingindustry #breakingintogames #jobsearchstrategies

This is how we do it a Write Finder

YES! I'm still looking for what's next, but I'm not focusing on the end goal anymore. and while it sounds like a new-age yoga video intro, I'm actually focusing more on the journey right now. When I entered the industry I had a career background of leadership and a hobby/part time of writing, primarily for tabletop games. I actually expected to be employed in games in a purely writing capacity, but it was my leadership background that attracted Blizzard then and the rest is history; that part of my journey was no more expected than Thorin's dwarves' excursion to Goblin town. Yes, I got back to the creative side of leadership as well as running Studios/Operations and I did the writing too, but it has been a rollercoaster ride I didn't expect. I can't complain, I've been very fortunate, though my journey controlled me as much as I chose it. There's both good and bad in that. Now I have the chance, I am plotting the route more carefully. Could it be a return to a job in AA or AAA at executive level? For the right role, absolutely. That's the most obvious way. Or could it be a remote role that allows me to live somewhere I want to: Spain, for example, where I could afford to not need to go back to executive leadership? Sure. Amazing. It would be a bargain for the studio with my experience and fulfill a different path which meets my family goals. Could it return us to our beloved US? I'd love that. I'm absolutely in love with the idea of returning to America. Maybe I'll write my book? I'm doing that anyway. At such a challenging time, stubbornly insisting on one narrow path isn't just limiting your opportunities, it's closing you off to what may make you most happy. Get the map out, because not all roads lead to Mordor. Some do, so be extra careful. Oh, and bonus points if you recognise which map this is. #career #gamesindustry #journey #gamesjobs #games #layoffs

Lord Brian Dean-Madanamootoo I just remembered that I posted this a year ago. (I added the link to last year's post about making hiring easier in the comments.) Ironically, since then, I've gotten less plates and we launched Gamers Home. Now, we're makes it easier for people to get hired in the gaming industry. Marie Benigno Ablaza, SHRM-TA was spot on about the power of manifesting goals! I can't wait to add more gaming industry employers to our ecosystem. Let's continue manifesting jobs for the 11K+ game devs that were laid off this year! Happy New Year to everyone, and I hope you can manifest your goals too. #GamingIndustry #Hiring #Freelancer

One of the important, and difficult to sell things for a Tech Artist(in my opinion) is cross functional collaboration. Being great at your craft is important! However I think the magic of games, and where we can unlock our true potential is when we collaborate with other team members. In games 1+1 >2. Tech artists are enablers, force multipliers, tinkerers, and sometimes as my friend Monte Krol often called me... Mad Scientists(I wear the moniker fondly :P ) Think about the customer, the product, and the value you can bring, and how working with your team you can bring joy to the gamer. I like to frame my work in this way, it helps reduce task friction. When you are partnering with a teammate to achieve a goal, and focus less on a portfolio piece, or your singular perfect vision for what you are working on, and always think about the player, and help others remember our service to the gamer, I believe it is hard to end up in situations of "us vs them", as I so often see. Its not Art vs Engineering vs Design, its Art + Engineering + Design. If you are willing to work collaboratively, do your fair share of horse trading, and go the extra mile for your teammates, they will do the same for you. My motto for my teams I have had the privilege of leading was "Trust starts Here" If you want to get a sense of what it may be like working with me, please check out my recommendations, they come from all disciplines, from leads and IC's: https://lnkd.in/g9uWgFj9 I strive hard to be an excellent team member, to brighten peoples day, but also to solve hard friggin problems and make cool shit! I need to prep for a fun filled day of interviews, I hope yall have a fantastic day out there LI, and as always, good luck my fellow Jerb Hunters! #technicalartist #layoffs #blizzard #microsoft #teambuilding

🌟🖤THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!🖤🌟 All of the advice, vibes, and well wishes paid off, and my second Activision interview for Call of Duty Editorial Manager went so well! I believe I may have made it to the final round of interviews with them, but time will tell there. 🤞 H O W E V E R—out of nowhere, somehow I've also potentially gotten my shot with Bungie as their Destiny Sr. Editorial Manager! As many of you may know, I've been applying with Bungie for some time due to my heavy immersion in and love for the Destiny game/universe, but this is the first time the Vanguard has opted to call me down from orbit for a chat.. I am so ecstatic. 🤓 Things are definitely looking up, I never imagined I'd have multiple options. Of course nothing is certain at this time but however it unfolds, my compass is set on the horizon of opportunity, where the perfect fit awaits. 🧭🎮 I'd like to take a moment here at the end to say thank you to my network again, and that I am so grateful for our industry community and all the support to be found here (even just emotional at times). The echoes of mass layoffs and industry upheaval resonate deeply within me, and I stand in solidarity with my fellow professionals navigating the same tumultuous waters. To those embarking on their maiden voyage into this dynamic realm of video games, I extend my empathy—the currents you brave are unprecedented. Here's to the journey, to embracing the challenges, and to hopefully emerging stronger on the other side. 😊 #jobsearch #jobseeker #layoffs #opentowork #opportunityseeker #employmentsupport #networking #videogames #careeropportunity #resilience #luck #vibes #levelup

The video game industry isn't really challenging in its hiring, companies just want someone who's old enough to have a decade of experience shipping multiple AAA titles, but young enough to be trained and not set in old ways; who knows how to use Unreal and Unity, but is ready to use an in-house engine and tools from scratch; who is ready to work long hours for low pay with the constant threat of layoffs, but highly motivated and loyal; fresh and seasoned, enthusiastic and serious, hard-partying and professional, stable and ready to relocate, world-class in their specialty and a generalist, and a great individual contributor who values teamwork and excels in self-motivated designs at directed implementation handed down from above. Seriously, though: While company spreadsheets may look at candidates as fungible numbers, a seat to fill to meet a hiring rec, every candidate is unique. If you are looking for unicorns, you will find a thousand reasons not to hire someone, and in the process miss that their unique features bring amazing variety, depth, and idiosyncratic specialties to your team. Hiring shouldn't just be about looking for all of the reasons not to bring someone aboard; it also needs to be about looking at all the reasons that you should include someone on your team. Anything that someone could learn is not a deal breaker: You can teach design, structure, layout, even collaboration. "Better is the enemy of done," to paraphrase a saying, so don't let perfect be the enemy of hiring a great candidate. In the long run, it may hurt your project more to leave a spot empty than to bring in the "imperfect" candidate who can actually deliver something that you need.

I couldn't have said it better myself. 😊 This goes for a lot of other fields to a degree, as well, unfortunately. 🤔 Being a junior, or entry level is a double edged sword, if you didn't get the 5-7 years of experience they expected you to get in your 1-5 years at school. 😱🫠😭 They'd gain - and learn so much if they would take a chance and put that bit of effort and time in to actually make space for people who are mid entry to entry level.🥹 They still have a lot to contribute and they're hungry. But it has to something real and tangible. Being used and tossed doesn't count.😐 I don't know what it's like for them, I'm not in their shoes. For me though, there's typically always a solution to a problem to make things work, but only if you're willing to work together and embrace change and compromise.. Isn't that teamwork? Isn't that the core and message of some of the products you represent? It's basically the foundation of any company. Just a thought: Special assignments for someone who doesn't typically work in that area, but make it a temp thing or even work it to be long-term, new postion. Make space and have them organize a junior program, and a junior recruitment program. Have them come in and do temp work in a more learning-based environment for short projects. Having multiple companies do this ensures multiple spots being open for those who need more work. There could even be a system between companies to keep track of that if they were willing to work together. They get experience and the companies get to see who they want to keep; the details and everything can be tweaked, but I'd say that's a win-win. It's SOMETHING. I'd like to throw a question out into the æther: What's it costing right now, doing what's being done now? Please take a look around.😥 Thank you for reading, if you did. v.v;

Does seeing people lose their jobs in the gaming industry irk your heart? Well, honestly, I am above the point of frustration! This is the exact reason why I push out networking posts. To know who is facing the worst of this recession and needs to get back in life! LinkedIn, I am requesting my community of 49K members to help these 8 professionals find their next gamedev job. If you know someone looking for community specialists, game programmers, designers, artists, producers or QA specialists, please mention them below. Or you could even simply reshare the post so that it reaches recruiters and hiring managers in your 1st-degree and 2nd-degree connections. Let’s do this! Presenting 8 talented game dev professionals who are ready to work in your game dev studio at the earliest. Jonathan Peltola — Has 12 years of experience as a social media and community specialist in the gaming industry up his sleeve. Jonathan has worked for Jam City’s Ludia and went on to work for Square Enix and Netease Games. Timothy Partee — A hardcore full-stack software engineer with a whopping 31 years of experience in both the gaming and tech industries. Timothy has worked for studios like Square Enix and Wizards of the Coast. Mika Dilig — The director of community for Gay Gaming Professionals and the founder of AAPI in Gaming. Mika was impacted by the layoffs at Kongregate in November, where they worked on Bit Heroes Quest and many other titles. Mika also has experience in playtesting for Insomniac on Spider-Man (2018) Lauren Bhagwandat — A talented pipeline engineer who was the cinematics TD engineer for Blizzard Entertainment. Unfortunately, like many others, she was also impacted by Blizzard’s layoffs in March. Apart from being skilled in developing animation tools, Lauren makes some of the most surreal digital paintings. Brian D'Almeida — Brian is a creative director and cinematic editor/producer with extensive experience in both the gaming and film industries. Through Trailer Park Group, he has worked for studios like Warner Bros., EA, Riot Games, Blizzard Entertainment, and Epic Games. Brian has produced over 100 cinematic cutscenes for Call of Duty. Check out Brian’s work here: https://lnkd.in/gaqNTXQE Kenneth Motsinger — A QA specialist and certified SCRUM master who dedicated over 4 years to Sciplay. Kenneth was successful in reducing live issues by 30% for Sciplay. Randolph Smith — Another very talented QA lead experienced in working for studios like NCSOFT, EA, Microsoft through Experis, and Keywords Studios. Randolph has contributed to the shipment of titles like Star Wars Battlefront, Zane Flores — A concept artist and illustrator who has worked for indie studio Little Grim Entertainment. Other than concept art and illustration, Zane is also skilled in character design, digital painting, and 3D modeling. Check out what he can do for you right here: https://lnkd.in/gV3H3yjZ *** #layoffsupport

What have you been doing to stay relevant in the industry during your layoff? I’m doing what I’ve always been doing—doing my part to making everybody else in the industry relevant while building my network. Whether it’s covering a panel at Anime Expo, interviewing developers and providing real-time feedback going hands-on with games at Summer Game Fest, continuing to build my network and acquire knowledge at the Game Developers Conference, or simply writing a review of a game from the comfort of my room, I live and breathe this industry. While I’m pitching the big publications in the hopes of a paid article here and there, I do all of this for SmashPad at a loss and have been for almost 20 years. As a simple portfolio piece, I don’t monetize and I don’t advertise because I want my content to be as real as it gets. I’m intelligent, I learn quickly, I care about what I do, I do good work, and I’m proud of it. Take a chance on the guy that loves it so much, he suffers, and I think I’ve suffered enough. I’m ready to be the best decision a company has ever made. — Like my content? Imagine what I can do professionally. #HireMe I’m a recently displaced Community Management, Social Media, and Communications professional who spent the last 7+ years with EA and Glu Mobile. I also currently run SmashPad.com as its Head of Content as a passion project. I’m seeking a new role in the hashtag #gamingindustry or #tech that’ll utilize my skills in writing and/or communications, and I’m also entertaining requests and ideas to consult on gaming-related projects, guest host podcasts, or participate on a panelist or speak at industry events.