Portfolio research

I have been looking around the internet for portfolio ideas for game design. I have come across gamecareerguide.com and found out a few things.
- Grammar and language is a key thing as they like to look for people that can use their words smartly and word into the dialogue of the games, passing it down to the players.
- It is even possible to get into the gaming industry straight after school if they excel in their grades, plus experience.
- Any experience with making games is a huge help with your portfolio like Flash Games, Board Games, Card games, anything thats a game which shows you have spent alot of time and effort with success at the same time, plus how well the rules are played, the artwork is and how much fun the game is.
- Grades are moved aside when you show them what you are capable of with stuff like level designing.
- A key that you will need is the enthusiasm, the thrill and the enjoyment of creating games.
- The interviewer cannot judge until he/she has seen you in action, showing off your skills and passion for the gaming industry.
- A simple way to do well in the game industry for a portfolio is to make board games that will work well and fun to play, bring them in and show the interviewer how it works, play it with them if it appeals to them.
- You can also write a 250 page design document which will help but will not be the thing that can get you in, it all comes down to experience, dedication and examples.
- Start up a blog and begin to write about games intelligently, making reviews, discussions, anything that will look professional.
- Quoted by Brenda Brathwaite on the gamecareerguide.com
'The Portfolio

In order of importance, here are a bunch of things that would impress me in a student's design portfolio. Naturally, other designers might have other ideas to contribute to the list or disagree with me outright. Take it all with a grain of salt. 

• Internships in the game industry
• A few, playable digital games (remember those free game development tools)
• A digital game or level produced by a team with clear evidence of your contribution
• A few, playable non-digital games of high quality
• An intelligent, insightful and obviously updated blog.'
  

- And this is some bonus points from the same website and the same person
'Bonus points. Aside from the points I've mentioned above, there are other things that would impress me and help to solidify my belief that you are, in fact, serious about this design gig: 

• Evidence of having read the same books most every designer in the industry has like Koster's A Theory of Fun and McCloud's Understanding Comics for starters.
• Evidence of having attended a game conference like the Game Developers Conference, Austin Game Developers Conference, or a local IGDA chapter meeting. While you're there, network yourself crazy. Darius Kazemi has an excellent series on networking that is a must-read.
• Evidence of programming or artistic ability, but programming particularly. For game designers, your life will be a whole lot easier if you actually understand how to code at least functionally.'

Task 1

"Gather relevant career and progression research which must include at least three occupational profiles"


I am hoping to mainly be a Games Designer but I am also considering Game Testing or Character Animation.


The whole games industry is a very popular, high in demand and can be very strict on restrictions.


Game Designer: This has been taken off Gamasutra with an advertisement for Irrational Games.



Job requirements:

- Understanding of contemporary 3D first-person engine technologies and editing tools
- Experience creating first-person levels using Unreal, Quake, Half-Life or similar technologies for commercial titles (this must be demonstrated through actual levels created for these engines)
- Understanding of and desire to create first-person shooter gameplay
Interest in and understanding of architecture, lighting, texturing and other elements that are required to create aesthetically pleasing 3D levels
- Ability to meet deadlines
- Ability to work and contribute effectively in a team environment
- Collaborate with the Art Director to lead the creation of consistent, high-quality work
- Model, texture and light 3D environments for a state of the art next-gen game engine
- Meet project deadlines and milestones

Required skills:

- Outstanding communication skills
- Ability to work within technical constraints and generate top-quality art
- Ability to create a highly modular, reusable building system
- Clear understanding and implementation of technical guidelines and constraints
- Ability to effectively collaborate with other departments

Bonus Points:

- Experience with UE3
- Traditional art skills, ability to do occasional environment concept drawings/paintings
- Capable of creating any aspect of a 3D game environment including modeling, texturing, and lighting of terrain, architecture, world objects and collisions
- A fluent knowledge of 3ds Max and Photoshop
- Experience with animated environment effects (such as particles)
- 4+ years of industry experience.
- Ability to use basic programming or scripting tools

When Applying for this Position:

Please remember to include art samples as appropriate including 3D rendered material, concept sketches, 2D work and/or animation. When submitting extensive samples of 2D work, please send high-resolution samples, preferably on a CD submitted through mail, or provide the address for your online portfolio. No one will be considered without a portfolio. To be considered for this position you must submit salary requirements.






Game Tester: This was taken off the same website but advertised by MetaVR
 The Tester will:
- develop test-case scenarios with our new Scenario Editor
- build scenarios that have context for our customers based upon jointly developed story board 
- regression test new builds 
- work with the development team to add new test cases
- add test cases to the test automation system 
- keep up with a rapidly changing and developing GUI
- document issues in bug tracking software 
- work independently in a home office 
- travel occasionally

Required skills: 
- 2+ years experience testing software
- testing mindset - must be able to find the bugs
- strong communication skills - to accurately describe a recipe to reproduce the bug, interact with team members and occasionally with customers
- familiarity with modern game-level designers (Sandbox, Visitor, Hammer)
- knowledge of testing methodology (unit tests, acceptance tests, integration tests, deployment tests)
- experience with bug tracking software (such as Confluence JIRA)
- knowledge of test automation tools - scripting
- Windows experience
- personal responsibility and dedication to manage one’s work in a home office with limited supervision 

Nice-to-have skills:
- military service record with experience in simulation and training or mission planning
- knowledge or interest in military equipment - aircraft, vehicles, weapons, uniforms 
- knowledge of flight simulation or avionics
- knowledge of GIS 
- scripting 

The payment is between $30,000-$45,000 a year.

Character Animation: Same website again but advertised by Irrational Games.

Universal Responsibility:

* We expect people to seek out all relevant information on their subject and be able to respond to spontaneous inquiries on that subject.

Responsibilities:

* Animating characters in 3D Studio Max with Character Studio, CAT, and Max bone systems
* Working with mocap
* Keyframe animation
* Facial animation, lipsyncing
* Animate humans, animals, and “others”
* FaceFX animation
* Animating complex machinery, weapons, or vehicles

Qualifications:

* Minimum 2 years experience in the games industry, shipped titles preferred
* Proficient in 3D Studio Max and Character Studio (Maya-only experience will be considered)
* Strong animation skills apparent in portfolio
* Strong traditional art skills a plus (drawing, painting, or sculpture, etc…)
* Experience cleaning up/working with mocap a plus
* 3D modeling and texturing skills a strong plus
* Excellent organizational skills
* Ability to work under Lead Artist, staying within aesthetics of game
* Works well under pressure

When Applying for this Position, Remember to Include:

* Samples of character, animal, and object animations–CD or URL preferred
* Walk and run cycles
* Combat animations
* Facial animations
* Samples of traditional art, drawing, painting, or sculpture, etc.
* Samples of 3D models and textures (optional)