Comments on: Is finding great game designers another Quarterback Problem?

By: Morgan Jaffit

Morgan Jaffit — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 07:52:44 +0000

I disagree, obviously. I would agree Australia doesn’t have a strong design culture – either in the expectation/understanding of what it is a designer actually does, or the execution thereof. Companies like 2K provide the obvious lie to this statement, though.

By: Noel

Noel — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:50:56 +0000

There are no good designers in Australia. Period.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:49:52 +0000

I pretty much agree on the weeding out bad designers scale, but isolating and finding great designers is harder, I think. That said, it sounds like you’ve been witness to better process than I’ve seen at most of the studios I’ve seen, so it’s nice to know it’s out there somewhere!

By: Chris Proctor

Chris Proctor — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 08:57:36 +0000

I don’t think hiring designers in general is a Quarterback problem per se, it’s just for people with no industry experience. Certainly it’s possible to figure out how good a designer with a few years experience is by interviewing them, testing them and checking their linkedin recommendations and references.

That said, of course there’s a chance you won’t get what you think you will, but I think the same is true in literally any job.

The best approach I’ve seen is a design test tuned to the position the designer’s applying for, combined with multiple, in-depth interviews by a good HR manager, a lead and someone on the team they’d be on. I’ve yet to see a bad designer survive that process when conducted properly.

By: Kyle

Kyle — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 01:26:40 +0000

What worries me is that not only is there no path for aspiring designers to follow, the industry has only the vaguest idea of what a designer is. Right now you need to learn an entire separate discipline (i.e. art, code, level design) in order to make your wending way toward core design positions. We shoehorn into unspecified tasks anyone who seems to have the experience to deal with it, and as such we end up with half-assed product.

The best solution I can think of (short of throwing open the gates, yes please) is to treat design as any other department: narrow the definition, break the field into a greater number of more specific positions and go from there. Not all level designers can play with mechanics, not all systems designers can do story or characters, not all writers can get their head around level flow. Not many of them can deal with a team, work collaboratively, delegate or generally deal with people outside their field. Much like other departments, seniors with a wider range of experience could bring it all together. Specific positions may even be overkill, we could probably do well with a team of junior designers under an experienced senior.

Of course, convincing management or publishers to pay for a whole department where once there was one guy (let alone taking the time to interview the teeming masses of aspirants) is pretty much ulcer-breeding insanity. So buggered if I know what to do.

For the record I was an artist and (exceedingly) junior designer before my career crashed and burned. Now I’m putting my skills toward a writing career – better chance of stability, satisfaction, recognition, and the kind of money that lets me eat every night of the week.