Want to Break into the Games Biz? Then Get Scary!

SCARE volunteer and actor Jeff Johannigman wrote the following great article for the Mary Margaret Network newsletter. Check it out!

You out there looking for your way to get into the game industry. Yeah, you! I know what you’ve been going through. Working in the game industry has been your lifelong dream. You’ve played countless games. Built innovative mods. Gone through dozens of classes to sharpen your skills in programming, animation, design, or writing, or even all of the above. Put together a truly impressive portfolio. Written and polished a perfect resume. Called up recruiters. Written to dozens of game companies. Perhaps even attended some conferences or industry events hoping to meet some professionals. You know you’re talented. You know you’re dedicated. But you still haven’t gotten that job offer. Frustrated yet?

Let me share one secret that has helped countless professionals break into competitive businesses like the game industry. Understand that most job seekers think that it’s just talent, skills, experience, and education that employers want. While those are valuable, they are not the most important thing employers are looking for. What employers really want to discover is your character, who you really are as a person. Are you more argumentative or more supportive in dealing with others? Do you take initiative or wait to be told what to do? Do you communicate clearly, effectively, and diplomatically? Do you put in the extra effort to get it right, or do you take the expedient route to just get it done? How well do you really get along with others, especially when under pressure? Those are the character traits that employers really value.

But how do you demonstrate to game company employees how well you work before they actually hire you?Simple - work with them without getting hired. Work on a volunteer project. In Austin, one great example is SCAREfor a CURE. SCARE is an annual event staged by over 100 volunteers every October to raise money for the Breast Cancer Resource Center. (see www.scareforacure.org/)

SCARE’s roots go back over 20 years to Britannia Manor, when Richard Garriott used to turn his own mansion into a haunted house. But being a master game designer, Richard was not content to have guests spend 10 minutes walking though a house with monsters jumping out and yelling “BOO!” Britannia Manor was an hour-long live, interactive adventure game, complete with a storyline, actors, special effects, clues to find, and puzzles to solve. In the finale, players could either save the world from a powerful supernatural entity, or doom the entire world by their failure. (See more on Britannia Manor at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fo99KVXUIkA).

Today, many of the same terror masters that created Britannia Manor are still at it, with the help of hundreds of newer volunteers, staging a unique SCARE for a CURE every year. In 2008’s “World of Horrorcraft”, guests were beta-testers for Dunstan Interactive Entertainment (D.I.E. for short), and were digitized into a virtual game world where things went horribly wrong. In 2009, it was “Blood Ritual”, a blood-soaked vampire adventure staged again on Richard Garriott’s property. (See the videos at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkTM9sohBqE)

In 2010, SCARE for a CURE “H1Z1: Zombie Wasteland”, and anybody in Austin can volunteer to help out. SCARE needs actors, builders, makeup artists, costumers, publicists, audio engineers, special effects technicians, and dozens of other volunteers to stage this epic, interactive adventure.

Volunteering for an event like SCARE is amazing fun for creative people such as game industry professionals, and it raises money for a great cause. However, for those trying to break into the game industry, it could also be a career opportunity. There are numerous game company employees and even recruiters who work for SCARE. If you volunteer, they will get to know you – not just your creative skills but your character as well. Friendships, networking, and personal credibility built through such volunteer work can translate into the right inside connections to land that job.

If you don’t live in Austin, ask around your town to find similar volunteer causes that attract creative professionals. For example, the Game Developers Conference recruits dozens of volunteer Conference Associates to help every year. (Details on the Conference Associate program can be found at www.gdconf.com/attend/volunteer.html). Volunteering for causes like SCARE for a CURE is not only one of the most effective ways to find a new job, it is also personally fulfilling and just a good thing to do for the community. So don’t be afraid to get scary!

Jeff Johannigman is a game industry veteran who has worked for such companies as Electronic Arts, MicroProse, Sierra/Dynamix, and Origin Systems. He now runs People Type Consulting, an Austin-based company that provides career consulting and corporate training.