Gone are the halcyon days when anyone could stumble into a computer games job. Nowadays, companies appear to only want game degree graduates to come work for them. Fair enough; I'd not know a cell processor from an emotion engine from a teraflop, so why should they let me in? Still, many good games have been helmed by folks who came to the industry with English Literature backgrounds or Psychology degrees. What are people looking for from Designers?
Well, you can find out at the end of the month, when big names like EA and Disney will be joining other developers at the GamesGrads 2007 recruitment fairs. And if anyone does have a game-irrelevant degree but is interested in joining the ranks of the underpaid and overworked in this extremely rewarding and highly creative industry, please do go along and report back on whether you were welcomed with open arms or were cast back in favour of someone who'd got a 1st in Game Design. Not that there's anything wrong with people who've got game design degrees. Many of my best friends are game designers. Er....
In the meantime, I'd like to rally support for a movement that a developer out there takes a real chance and hires someone with no experience of gaming (playing, creating etc) whatsoever, just to see what kind of interactive plaything she or he would create.
