When I Started in the Games Industry, I Was Most Surprised By…

Like any other career, working in the games industry can bring challenges and rewards that aren’t a part of the job description. Many of the developers at Human Head Studios are veteran staff with years of industry experience. For this week’s blog, we asked what surprised them most when they started working in the games industry.

“I was most surprised by…”

“..what I was actually tasked with when I began working - I took a programming test for my position, but I had the opportunity to work on cinematics once I was hired!”

“…how chaotic and fun making games on a team was, and how it was even more amazing to see how incredible the final result can be!”

“…the fact that I was getting paychecks every two weeks to make games.”

“…how much things change! From engine versions, to completely different engines altogether, to projects switching directions, to learning new programs, to video game and culture trends… you have to be agile and unafraid to let go. Stay active and relevant!”

“…the number of opportunities in the studio. Working at smaller studios has allowed me to get involved in projects and opportunities outside of my traditional ‘position description.’ Truly innovative companies are moving away from rigid position descriptions, so it’s important to be willing to get involved wherever you’re needed!”

“…how I suddenly didn’t play video games as much in my freetime anymore!”

“…how much the skills that I honed at non-games jobs ended up transferring to a job in the industry. Just because you can’t get a games job immediately after graduation doesn’t mean the time you’re spending is not applicable to a career in the games industry.”

“…how even the strangest knowledge can become really handy at the most unexpected times. Your rock collecting hobby or expansive knowledge about baseball might make you a very helpful consultant on a studio project. Some of the best inspiration for innovation in games comes from subject matter that’s outside of games entirely - be well-rounded, and have a natural curiosity about the world! You never know when it will come in handy.”

We’ll also share this story from Human Head Art Director Jim Sumwalt:

“I was really surprised the first time I realized I was now getting paid for what I really loved to do full-time, both artistically and collaboratively. It was during my first week in the industry (1993). Up until that point, my experience as an artist - with freelance, commercial art and as an art student - had a similar rhythm.

1) get direction & deadline from client/teacher
2) go away and make art
3) deliver art.

Of course, there were check-ins and feedback/critiques, but it was still a similar process with a common stage: me returning to my studio, alone with my process of making art (reference gathering, thumbnail designs, roughs/concepts, etc…) and then returning to deliver the product. And so it went in that first week as a game developer.

We were finishing up creating some tiling textures, when we were told that for our next assignment we would be designing/concepting enemy characters. I was super stoked - my first creature! That night, I went home and started writing down ideas, gathering ref, making thumbnail designs, etc. The following day, I showed up with my initial work and showed it to the art director. The AD liked what I’d done, he gave me some initial feedback, and we proceeded to have a mini brainstorming session of how I might take the design ideas further.

Toward the end, he could tell I was getting excited about refining my first creature design, when he stopped and said, ‘you know that you can do this work here at the office, we don’t expect you to develop your ideas at home and then bring them to work…from ideation to production, you can do it all here at the studio.’ That’s when it hit me.

I remember afterward, sitting down to begin some concepts and turning to another artist (who had started on the same day as I) and saying, ‘Can you believe we’re getting paid for this!’ He turned and replied, ‘I know, it’s crazy!’”

You can never predict all of the cool opportunities you’ll have when you’re working in the games industry!

Are you interested in jumpstarting your dream career in games at Human Head Studios? Visit our careers page to see all of our available opportunities.