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)