Chances are most of you reading this post will have played a video game of some sort at least once in your life, but how many of you have actually considered playing a part in creating one?
Perhaps, like me, you still think of the gaming world as being inherently tech based – if you don’t know your JavaScript from your Lava Java coffee, then there’s little hope, right? Well that’s changed rapidly in the past twenty years. We’ve moved from the basic graphics of ‘Sonic’ to the sophisticated visuals and story arc of ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops’ at a rapid pace. And with that change has come vast opportunity.
The hegemony of traditional of big players such Activision Blizzard (Call of Duty), Electronic Arts Inc (‘The Sims’), Take-Two Interactive Software (‘Grand Theft Auto’) and Ubisoft (‘Assassin’s Creed’) has been challenged in recent years by companies such as Rovio, who were behind the worldwide hit ‘Angry Birds’, which has had more than one billion downloads and spawned a whole stream of games on the go. Indeed, the concepts of downloading games as apps and interacting with friends through games on sites such as Facebook have revolutionised the industry.
One company making waves with such products is Bright client, NaturalMotion- a top-notch games and technology company based in Oxford, London, Brighton, and San Francisco which was founded in 2001. They create and publish ultra-high quality free-to-play games that combine polished gameplay with high-end 3D graphics using their own proprietary technologies. With world-renowned technological tools at their disposal, NaturalMotion produce some of the most hyper-realistic, intelligent animation in the industry. Take a look for yourself.
Sound like the sort of challenging and creative environment you’re keen to work in? The video game industry is not just looking to recruit designers and programmers; firms need a whole host of talented employees to help keep the $65 billion dollar industry bustling:
-Marketing – helping to seal sponsorship for games–i.e.Tiger Woods for ‘PGA Tour 14’.
- Licensing – to get permissions and music rights so that each new game can have the most up to date and soundtrack possible.
-Sales – to work on tie ins with cinematic releases – think ‘Lara Croft’, ‘Halo’, ‘Need for Speed’, ‘James Bond’…the list goes on.
-Business management – to help games companies break into new markets and move into the next generation of gaming.
So if you want to be part of a fast-paced, innovative industry that’s rapidly growing, the video game industry is definitely one to consider.