Game Career Seminar was a hit at
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COMING UP:
Game Career Seminar
October 3-5, 2008
Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles,
CA
Sessions:
Keynote Announced!
Session: Design By Committee
Date: October 3, 2008
Time: 10 - 11AM
Description:
Dan Paladin of The Behemoth and Andy Schatz of Pocketwatch Games have different design sensibilities. Andy builds cerebral strategy games about animals. Dan builds gonzo-retro-arcade-style games. Using input from the audience, they’ll somehow find a way to agree on a game design -- and in the process illustrate their styles and processes in an open-ended art and brainstorming session.
The DIY Game Career
Speaker: Scott Steinberg, founder of Embassy Multimedia Consultants and author of
Get Rich Playing Games and
Videogame Marketing and PR
Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.
Time: 11:30 - 12:30PM
Description:There’s nothing stopping you from taking the interactive entertainment business by storm today! From essential online resources to practical tips and simple strategies for making an immediate professional impact,
Get Rich Playing Games author Scott Steinberg shows you how to break into the industry quickly, no experience necessary. Whether game art, audio, design, journalism, or programming is your passion, learn what it takes to go from enthusiast to expert in no time flat! Steinberg started his own career in the business by running a fansite from his college dorm room, and says the DIY tools of getting in the game industry are there for the taking.You can do it, too.
Takeaway: Attendees will take away a list of things they can start doing immediately-- even if they have no prior experience or knowledge -- to better improve their chances of having a career in the video game industry.
Time: 12:30 - 2:00PM
Break
Game Resumes that Get Jobs
Speaker: Marc Mencher, CEO of GameRecruiter
Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.
Time: 2:00 - 3:00PM
Description:A winning resume is one of your most important career tools. Join this hands-on resume writing session with game career consultant and hiring expert Marc Mencher. Mencher will share important resume writing tips, formats, and features for success in the unique game development industry. Mencher has literally helped thousands of game industry professionals at all experience levels get their next jobs, and he will show you how to draft and revise a solid game industry resume. Bring a printed resume or a Word doc file on a thumb drive if you’d like to volunteer your resume to be used as a sample.
Takeaway: Attendees will be given precise information on what makes a game industry resume different from resumes in other fields. They will receive concrete tips on how to improve their existing resumes and learn what kinds of things will make them stand out as entry-level job candidates.
Love Your Inner Geek: Match Your Personality to the Right Game Career
Speaker: Fiona Cherbak, Chair, IGDA's Women in Games Special Interest Group
Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.
Time: 3:30 - 4:30PM
Description: Among the ranks of game developers, where would you actually fit in the best? Here's your chance to learn more about your future career in game development. Game industry HR and recruiting executive Fiona Cherbak walks you through a career-assessment that will help you identify your most likely areas of success in the game industry. Through this self-evaluation process, you will learn which roles you are best suited for and what career path may make the most sense for you.
Takeaway: Attendees will receive an overview of all the major jobs in the game industry. After filling out a brief personality quiz, they will have a set of profile results that will assist in defining their career paths. Audience members will also be invited to share their results.
Behind Closed Doors
Speakers: Dr. Gerri Sinclair, Executive Director of the MDM Program at Vancouver's Centre for Digital Media, GNWC (Moderator); Jim Rivers, Hiring Manager at Obsidian Entertainment; Tim Lang, Lead Game Designer at Spin Master Studio; Carey Chico, Executive Art Director at Pandemic Studios
Intended Audience and Prerequisites: Students, newcomers to the game industry, and anyone still learning the ropes.
Time: 5:00 - 6:00PM
Description: What really goes on inside a game studio? What do game designers really do on a day-to-day basis? Does overtime at a game company really mean working until midnight and on Saturdays? A diverse cross-section of game developers have agreed to come to the table with nothing to hide and answer all your questions about what it’s really like to work in the game industry. The audience is promised at least 30 minutes of Q&A time with the panel, so come prepared with your most burning questions.
Takeaway: Attendees will takeaway solid answers to whatever remaining questions they have about working in the game industry. They will develop a more clear understanding of what happens inside a game studio and the people who work there. Panelists will share details about what occurs in their day-to-day work lives.
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Game Career Seminar 
September 17th, 2008
Austin Convention Center
Austin, TX
Session Schedule:
Tuesday, September 16th
It’s Who You Get to Know *Special Session*
Speaker: Darius Kazemi (President, Orbus Gameworks)
Time: 5:30 - 6:30PM
Session Description:
It’s not who you know – it’s who you get to know.” In this session, you’ll learn where to meet people in the game industry, how to impress them, and what to say when you don’t know what to say, starting with your fellow Career Seminar attendees.
Read more...
Wednesday, September 17th
**KEYNOTE**
Luckiest People Alive
Speaker:
Harvey Smith (Game Director, Arkane Studios)
Time: 9:30 - 10:30AM
Session Description:
In this session, Smith will discuss what he sees as an imminent
explosion of change, creativity, and possibility within the interactive medium of the video game industry. Read more...
100 Questions, 97 Answers, 56 Minutes
Speaker: Brenda Brathwaite (Game Designer, Savannah College of Art & Design)
Time: 11:00 - 12:00PM
Session Description:
Students hoping to enter the industry have a lot of questions. What should be in their portfolios? How do they make contacts?
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Pitch Your Game Idea *Lunch Session*
Speaker(s): Brandon Sheffield (Senior Editor, Game Developer Magazine/Gamasutra.com),
Brandon Van Slyke (Game Designer, Vicarious Visions),
Jennifer Bullard (Senior Producer, AspyrMedia)
Time: 12:00 - 1:30PM
Session Description:
Got a great idea for a game? Come pitch it to a panel of pros and see if it floats or sinks.
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You’re Hired! How to Get HR to Notice You
Speaker(s): Jennifer Bullard (Senior Producer, AspyrMedia),
Paula Fellbaum (Vice President of Human Resources, Nexon Publishing NA),
Ed Roman (CEO, Ghostfire Games),
Jill Duffy (Editor, GameCareerGuide.com)
Time: 1:30 - 2:20PM
Session Description:
Human resources representatives – the gatekeepers of job interviews – from local game companies divulge what makes them say, “You’re hired!”
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The Game Job Interview RPG
Speaker(s): Eduardo Baraf (Director, Product Management, Tabula Digita),
Brandon Van Slyke (Game Designer, Vicarious Visions),
Jill Duffy (Editor, GameCareerGuide.com),
Gordon Dutrisac (Student Services Director, DigiPen Institute of Technology)
Time: 2:30 - 3:20PM
Session Description:
An interview can be a snarling, intimidating monster. Hone your skills and prepare for your next encounter with the beast in this interactive session.
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We the Willing
Speaker: James Portnow (Game Designer/Design Correspondent, Divide by Zero/Next-Gen)
Time: 3:30 - 4:20PM
Session Description:
The answer to the question, “Why do I want to be a game developer?” may well determine most of the rest of your life. It’s time to take a few minutes and reflect on it.
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Ask Anything! Open Q&A with Speakers
Speaker(s): James Portnow (Game Designer/Design Correspondent, Divide by Zero/Next-Gen),
Eduardo Baraf (Director, Product Management, Tabula Digita),
Brandon Van Slyke (Game Designer, Vicarious Visions),
Brandon Sheffield (Senior Editor, Game Developer Magazine/Gamasutra.com),
Jennifer Bullard (Senior Producer, AspyrMedia),
Paula Fellbaum (Vice President of Human Resources, Nexon Publishing NA),
Ed Roman (CEO, Ghostfire Games),
Gordon Dutrisac (Student Services Director, DigiPen Institute of Technology)
Time: 4:30 - 5:30PM
Session Description:
All our speakers will return for this final hour, when you can ask them anything. After a full day of learning more about the game industry, what questions do you still have?
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