career research task

 career 1)

environment artist

Ubisoft Newcastle: environment artist  

workplace reviews:

there are various mixed reviews on the company they all cite there being an inclusive and healthy work environment this is great for anyone looking to work in the company as this healthy work environment paired with the images of the office makes this an enticing place to work, however the majority of reviews state that the CEO of the company Yves guillemot is widely disliked within the company this can be a bad sign for those looking for employment as having someone running the company that is universally disliked can have an effect on employee benefits and how they are treated by those at the top, this will have a massive effect and may put those looking to apply off of the job. 

hard skills/soft skills:  

. at least 2 years working on high quality environment assets   
. strong working knowledge of industry leading 2D/3D modelling packages 
. giving and receiving constructive feedback 

. collaboration skills 

. communication skills 

in relation to the requirements of this role I'm still at a low level in comparison. I have minimal experience in all of the hard skills. when it comes to soft skills and their development I'm also green in this area I haven't had much experience collaborating as a team however when I have collaborated with others it has been successful, I'm not a very good communicator within these teams this is something I definitely need to work on to be able to aspire to a role like this in the industry. even though I don't have much experience with software this is an area where my development is going well.         

career 2)

narrative director- firesprite studios 

firesprite studios is located in Liverpool   

reviews:

as with the last place of work this studio also has mixed reviews from current employees and those that have left the company. the negative reviews all outweigh the positive, these reviews cite a work place that feels rudderless with poor leadership ever since sony acquired the studio. however the positives include good employee benefits such as healthcare and a good work/life balance. this seems like a good place to work for prospective employees as they are more likely looking out for a fun and healthy work environment and could possibly get over the poor leadership decisions within the studio. 

hard/soft skills: 

     

from these hard and soft skills i can infer that this is a high profile senior role within the studio. it requires high levels of leadership skills that i do not currently have simply because i have no experience in the games industry. as mentioned previously i am working on my communication skills but i still have a long way to go in this avenue. all of the other skills required come with having high levels of experience in narrative writing and in the game industry itself, this is an aspirational role for those in the games industry or those who want to get into the industry.  

career 3)

studio runner - team ITG 

team ITG is a marketing studio located in Birmingham they have worked with many large brands. they produce filmed advertisements and photographic adverts. 

 reviews:

reviews cite there being an extremely poor work/life balance within the company, this is mainly due to the company having poor management who do not manage projects well causing employees to be working a large amount of hours creating this poor work/life balance. the positives in these reviews include it being a very good office to work in and the company has a very small team, this can be a positive as you get to know the team members very well.   

hard/soft skills:

. listening and communications skills 

. interpersonal and time management skills

. ability to work in a team and solo 

. competent use of office 365 

. a willingness to work and develop skills 

this is an entry level position, this is achievable for someone like myself as role to take up after university or during university. I meet most of the requirements for this role. I am competent in the software mentioned. I do have a willingness to learn and develop skills, I can definitely improve my team work skills and time management skills as they are some of the major soft skills required for this job. 

   

research industry professionals:

                                                      Michael Salvatori - composer 

                                                   (most recently worked for bungie: 1997-2023) 

Michael and his partner Marty O'Donnell had a company call total audio they were contracted to do the music for many projects. until eventually they had a major breakthrough, he and O'Donnell were contracted to do the soundtracks for bungies myth 2 and Oni. they worked together on halo combat evolved and many other bungie titles, O'Donnell was hired internally by bungie in 1999 and Salvatori was hired in 2009, Salvatori had worked on every bungie project with O'Donnell up until his official hiring with the company.

Michael has worked on every bungie project from 1997-2023 including all halo titles and destiny 1 and 2. this has made him a legend in the industry and many fans of these franchises. this is why the news of him being laid off from bungie is terrible news for many.

Michael Salvatori doesn't have a social media account but this doesn't stop him from being talked about often in the destiny community especially now with the news of him being laid off. the only presence of him on social media that exists is his website which showcases his projects and images from behind the scenes of these projects.

         

                                          Bryan Intihar- lead environment artist/creative director 

                                                                            Insomniac   

Bryan Intihar has been working at insomniac for nearly 16 years. he started as a community manager in 2008 then in 2009 he became a project manager, after this he became director of project management in 2012 then finally in 2014 he became creative director a role he has held till today.

as a creative director he has worked mainly on the Spiderman franchise being creative director on all three projects, in the role of creative director he leads all of the art this includes environments. this is a well known franchise, this makes his role high profile to a general audience. 

He has a presence on social media, he is very active on linked in. he presents himself well, most of his posts are celebrating his team and those who he works with and celebrating other developers, this shows that he is down to earth and really cares about his team which is very important for your image as such a key figure in a development studio.       

CONCLUSION:

in conclusion on my journey of researching the games industry I have confirmed my interest of getting into a creative role in the industry researching multiple different roles. the best course of action for me to achieve one of these aspirational roles is to start at the bottom as an intern or an apprenticeship, another and my preferred option is to continue my education further in university and then enter one of these entry level positions with far more experience than other candidates also going for the role may have.

my desire to get into a creative role is displayed in the job roles that I decided to research. my main interest is in environment art the best way to get into a role like this is through furthering my education in university and advancing my skills in 3D/2D software to meet the requirements of the role, it will be massively important to take up an entry level position in the company before trying to reach this role such as an internship or junior role this will help me to get my foot in the door and make it more likely for me to get this role. this is similar for the narrative lead position, however this is an even higher level role in which I would have to be in the company in a senior position before moving onto something like this, I would also need vast amounts of industry knowledge including software, in a lead role you need to be a good leader which is a skill that comes with time or does not come at all for some. 

the studio runner role is different to all of these as it is an entry level position and its in a different industry of film production for marketing. this position has achievable requirements even for me now, however I would still only consider this position after I have completed further education in university or as a position I take up while I'm at university, this is how many people get into film making as you get your foot through the door to show off your work to higher ups in the industry or even get a chance to work with people collaboratively and work on projects.     

SWOT analysis 

strengths:                                                           

I am passionate about art, which is key for the roles I am interested in 

I have a good grasp on key software for this area of employment 

I am good at taking onboard advice from peers 

I learn fast so I am adaptable  

weaknesses: 

weak at some aspects like 3D modelling 

I am not a very good communicator

I sometimes struggle to focus which makes big projects difficult 

opportunity's:

there is growth in some areas of the game industry that could be taken advantage of 

I plan to expand my skill by possibly going to university or through other means to help me land a job 

                                                    

threats: 

the industry and jobs are quite volatile at the moment possibly making it difficult to get/hold a job 

there is a large number of people in the industry searching for jobs with few positions available 

Skills development    

for my practical skill development I chose to make a 3D model and an environment, I utilized 3ds max and surface painter two pieces of software I wanted to gain more experience in this software to move towards my desired career, the model and environment can become part of my portfolio for work/university.

I feel like I have made massive progress in this area in a short time and I hope with more practice I feel like I can get to a high enough level to get in to a university so I can advance these skills even more.