Carrie Warwick – TT Fusion Junior Character Artist

Lecture 4 was held by Carrie Warwick, a previous University of Bolton graduate working for TT Fusion in Wilmslow, with credits on some of the popular Lego video games. Her talk was an insight to her journey from recent graduation to getting a job at a renowned studio.

The most useful information from her talk were the pros and cons of working for either an indie studio or a triple-A developer. This report will focus a lot on job security as well as the benefits and pitfalls of picking a side.

Job Security

In a creative industry, it is hard to stand out and grab that job position that so many others are vying for. However, once getting the position, keeping it has its own challenges. Carrie experienced this in her first job after leaving University - she joined a small independent company that fell through, around Christmas time no less.

In an online article (Gamasutra, 2013), developers were offered the chance to leave comments about the state of the industry from their perspective. The one that stood out to me in terms of job security, and the difference between triple-A and indie, was this:

“I’m not sure I’ll make it as an indie dev but after a half-a-dozen work-induced mental breakdowns at a triple-A developer before being make redundant and left unfit for full-time/proper work I don’t have much choice anymore. I’ll probably be dead in 18 months. Thanks industry. Thanks a bunch.”

This commenter has a different perspective than Carrie, showing that even triple-A developer’s jobs aren’t as secure as it seems. Indie is hard work, especially self-employed, but it can offer more security or at least more preparation for unemployment. I find myself believing the commenter more as I’ve seen many stories of triple-A layoffs throughout my time at University more so than independent companies going under, and the added benefit that indie developers seem to be the happier ones of the bunch.

In conclusion, the pros seem to outweigh the cons for indie development but I think that with hard work, triple-A could be just as rewarding. This report hasn’t really changed my mind as such, but it has shown me that both sides are fair game and that the focus should be on whether I want full creative control, or to specialise in a role of my choosing.

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References:

Gamasutra. (2013) What you really think about working in the game industry [Online]. Available from: <http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/188792/What_you_really_think_about_working_in_the_game_industry.php> [Accessed 28 February 2015].