So, the grand Post Mortem begins! I start this first post (excluding the introduction) with my opinions of what sort of education did I get myself into. Onward!
The 4 courses and their synergy. I am happy to have been one of the first people to try the new branched out program in Game Design at Campus Gotland. I have heard only positive things about education in games on Gotland. The change of format was even more appealing to me because it was the first year the GAME section decided to lecture in English. But one must admit that this wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. While the Programming and Art directions felt as already well-formed courses, the Design branch, as well as Project Management, felt like they still need more work on them. Which is understandable, this is something new for the GAME section. I’m sure that this year has given them a lot of feedback and, hopefully, in the future things will only get better. I can see a clear intention for the synergy of the courses to reflect the synergy inside the industry. The only thing missing at this point is the music branch (perhaps a future prospect? Or a collaboration with the Gotlands Tonsättarskola that is just next door from GAME?). While the intention for the synergy was there, the disharmony dominated loudly. People were taught contradictory thing in different branches. There was a lack of clarity about our rolls. And the biggest confusion was mainly caused by the names of the courses themselves. I will go into this in more details later. But as I said before, the teachers showed their interest in our feedback and hopefully, we were effective experimental rats for them.
Are these courses for people who play games? Yes, mostly. Can a mere mortal take these courses? Yes. In the same way as someone who originally wasn’t interested in reading can take a course in, say, poetry. It doesn’t mean that you can’t but you will find yourself at a giant disadvantage. The problem of this lies in the fact that here we don’t play the games before we make them. We go directly to the step of the creation. So, even though having 10k hours isn’t a must, it is sort of a hidden requirement. And the genres, lingo and references clump together into a gargantuan ball of information that a person with no experience of playing games will not be able to swallow. Now, if you are determined to fight through this obstacle, kudos to you, start wrecking up your hours. But people who think that they can make games without having played games are going to have a hard time.
Another side of this coin is the young people who come here precisely because they love to play games. And here is the kicker – “loving to PLAY games” doesn’t equal “loving to MAKE games”. If you happen to have 10k hours in Dota or Lol or whatever, you might still be clueless about the creative process of game development. So maybe turning to e-sports is something you should consider first before going into development?
Public opinion about digital games. Can you imagine a situation where a doctor or a civil engineer would find themselves embarrassed to tell in public of their trade (and I know, you people can probably concoct such a scenario…). But let’s face it, this isn’t a prestigious line of work we chose here…not prestigious for now! You might not have experienced this directly, but I know I have. My family supports me and my life choices at its core, however, this core is well hidden under a thick layer of ridicule and disinterest. Don’t be ashamed to face the fact that you are making games. This industry has millions or even billions of “rupees” circulating in it. There are hundreds of amazing people working on creating wonderful experiences. The person who sneers at the computer games is usually the same person who enjoys watching a bunch of dudes trying to kick a ball through 2 metal polls for 90 minutes. Their inability to see the simplicity of the rule of play is their own loss. No point to be ashamed of games, they are a part of our lives. Hopefully, we can be the people who will help the world to finally embrace this truth.
The ability to write a text as a sign of being in the right place. From my experience in another academic field, I can now state with confidence that the way to judge your happiness with the studies is by the amount of effort and time it takes you to write the texts needed for the production and/or examination. Now, don’t panic! This is more of an indicator of a definitive positive thing rather than of a negative thing. I know I liked a lot what I studied before (language and linguistics) but every written assignment was a small nightmare. And some assignments are more exciting than others. But if every deadline sends you into a cold sweat, think on this.
Then there is the case of the last-minute sprints, which is ok. I have seen a lot of people deliver great pieces of work in the last couple of hours before the deadline. High adrenaline “junkies” can also be functional members of a team, if you are aware of their habits. I am partly guilty of that too. Actually, a lot of talented individuals are the types who do everything last minute. The important thing is to manage things BEFORE the deadline.
Sensing a new calling. The making of a game involves several different fields of expertise, which is the point of this education. And some of us might sense that there is something they want to do that isn’t the thing they are doing right now. This can be a different aspect of the game development (a programmer who decides to become an artist instead), or the same discipline outside of game development (an artist that likes drawing, but not drawing for games; a programmer that doesn’t like coding for games but still likes coding; etc.). And some people simply understand that they are in the wrong place completely. As mentioned above, loving games doesn’t necessarily translate into loving to make games. Help your fellow students understand what they want to do in their life, talk to them about how they experience education and the game production cycles. Don’t let people get trapped in something that doesn’t bring them joy. They waste the precious time of their lives. These people will not be able to make games that bring other rich emotions if they aren’t finding meaning in the process of creation. Or … are they able to? Perhaps misery can create a masterpiece? But I think that I want to be happy doing what I’m doing, not unhappy.
International students. I know that I was excited to found out that education was given in English not only because I love that language, but also because that opened doors to the prospect of meeting people from faraway places. These people bring with them a unique perspective and can be a great boon for your teams. But, to tap into that potential, you need to establish the boundaries, of course. Someone from a foreign place who decided to come to an island somewhere in the north of Europe can already be assumed as a daring and an open personality. Talk to them about as many subjects as possible if they are willing to discuss those. Their cultural baggage and their unique perspectives can serve you on your way to a great game. Also, they might have characteristics that you are lacking due to your cultural heritage. For example, Swedes aren’t generally people of confrontation, they tend to avoid open conflicts even though sometimes a head-on approach is inevitable. Use each other’s strengths.
The confusing titles of this education. I must say that this has been one of the most annoying things EVER. While calling these educations Game Design might have worked when there was only Art and Programming, with branching out into Design and Project Management this is now chaos and confusion reigning supreme, to say the least. And I hope this will be addressed as soon as possible.
Before I am condemned about this I will paraphrase Socrates “I know nothing”… but here are my two cents on this, ha! I’m sure there has been an ongoing discussion among the staff of GAME about this but I just can’t let this pass. Have you noticed how BROOOAD and WIIIIIDE the term “design” is? It applies to almost anything. And when you decide to bring in the actual designers into this, this term can’t continue to function as an accurate description of educations. I know that this might be (and most likely is) a bureaucratic terminology problem within academia, so I will just give a translation/clarification for myself here. Here are the four branches in the language that is understandable to me, a simple plebe:
- Game development and Graphics/Art
- Game development and Programming
- Game development and Production (Why the hell are we calling people “managers” when this isn’t the term used in the industry?! ARGH…)
- Game development and Design
But wait! Aren’t we all designers? Yes, we are. But if you haven’t noticed, there is a particular job title in the companies called “Designer”. There is a reason for that and not just any artist or a programmer can get that job. I will explain this in more details another part of my blog, so just bear with me. Suffice to say, such confusion should not arise in the first place.
Teachers, keep your confusing names for the paperwork, but please explain this to us in details the first time we walk through the doors. Okthxbye, moving on…
Iteration, feedback, salt. In this line of work based on the iteration, the feedback is everything. And if you ask someone for their opinion, then you better prepare your anus. Not necessary because they have something bad to say, but because we all give feedback in our own way. Some might be polite and not point out the flaws directly, while others will tear your creations apart. A criticism that is objective and bases itself on some evidence or solid arguments is a fair play. And what you need to learn is to distil the messages to their essence regardless of the form. We aren’t 5 years old here, so don’t get fucking salty about someone pointing out flaws in your creations. Something that isn’t obvious to you might be apparent to another individual, that’s the whole point. Grow the fuck up! And by the way, you aren’t forced to follow the feedback. It’s your creation, you do what you think is best.
Carry a notebook. It’s that simple. No hidden message here. Just make a habit of writing down or sketching your ideas to return to them at a later point in time. This will create for you a backlog of interesting thoughts that will otherwise disappear.
lostingame.design 