The gaming industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in the interactive media.
The first games were launched in the 1960s. By the 1970s there was a recognised Games Industry with video arcades and home entertainment consoles.
Home computing exploded in the 1980s and brought a period of huge expansion and creative innovation. Games became an industry, an important part and sector of the creative media and moved away from 2 or 3 talented, devoted creative “mavericks” being responsible for every aspect of a project. One of the most famous and fast growing gaming companies are Activision, EA, Treyarch and Rockstar games. Activion is owned by Vivendi, it is an independent company, EA (Electronic Arts) was found by
It fits in the creative media well because it uses many media factors like advertising, filming, broadcasting, selling, music and researching.
The examples given above are used only for little parts in the game for example the music industry would be contacted to find out the best choice of music for the game, the advertising sector would be contacted to find the best way to advertise. Recently Call of duty's new game Black Ops 2 was released, the making of this game is a perfect example of what I just explained. The storlyline of the game was designed by the award wining David S. Goyer! The writer of both Dark knight and Dark knight rises! The music in the game including the theme song was composed by Trent Reznor. By getting the help of famous well known people, Black ops 2 was a hit. Black ops 2 used the music industry, the film industry, advertisment and lots of researching before they released the game.
Getting a job in the gaming industry doesn't require big degrees however there are many other requirements needed to get a job eg. http://www.creativeskillset.org/games/industry/skills/ Some of the main jobs in the sector are game designer, level editor, musicians, animators, script writer, map maker, graphics programmer and gameplay programmer. They are just some of the main jobs, there are many more little jobs like testers, researchers,sales and administration, concept designers, etc.
They are all very important! every single one of those jobs helps complete the game, for example there would be no music if there were no musicians and music composers, the story would be bad if the writer doesn't know what he is doing.
Jobs in Creative Media
Job Title
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Game Designer: technical, creative
A games designer/developer is responsible for creation and production of games that range from PC, handheld consoles e.g... PSPs or the new Wii U, completely game based Consoles like the Ps3 and Xbox, arcade games, internet compatible games and other wireless game applications. The two important skills a games designer needs skills like creativity and technical skills for gaming softwares or else they would not be able to qualify for the job. They need creativity to come up with new things, to make a puzzle or to come up with nice designs. They would need Technical IT skills to use the different kinds of game making softwares to be able to use them correctly and professionally.
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Contracts, conditions and pay
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Starting salaries for artists and animators vary from 18k to 25k. Although these two jobs are a part of being a game designer, there are senior levels in the games designer sector. Typical salaries at senior levels, with several years of experience £35,000 - £70,000+, the higher end of the scale relating to technical directors, developers, producers and team managers. working hours are generally long and developers often work 40-hour week or more depending. Working hours are usually very flexible eg. Someone could do 2 hours of work in one day and 16 the next! As long as they get the minimum ammount of hours done there are no problems. As of 2011, just 3% of employees in the games industry are from ethnic minority and up only 6% of employees in the games. Extensive hours spent using a mouse and monitor may have health implications, with some potential risk of back problems, eye strain and repetitive strain injury in the wrist and hand.
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Skills and qualifications
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Although any graduate from any subject can get this job, however degrees in some subjects can increase your chances. Some of those subjects are computer games development, computer games design, multimedia design, interactive media software engineering, mathematics, physics, animation, graphic design and computer science. Entry without those degrees is sometimes possible depending on how much experience the applicant has.
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Transferable Skills
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To get a job as a games designer, one has to be determined. They would also need a lot of knowledge on desigining softwares and animating software. They would need to be committed to what they do because this job is not very suitable for people who are not very fond of games design or someone who is just getting the job for money. The person is going to have to know exactly what they have to do, how and when they have to get it done by. They have to be efficient and reliable. The reason why they have to be reliable is because the working hours for this job are quite flexible.
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Methods of recruitment
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The UK is the fourth largest games-producing country in the world after the USA, Japan and Canada. The industry is also strong in Europe. There are ways of getting recruited within this job sector eg. Most people get offered by companies when they are in university because the company knows what the person is studying and they would know if he/she is worth something. Some company might offer someone a job from another company for their own benefit for example someone from activision might know someone in EA who is un-happy with their job and they could offer him a job in activision. Another way of recruitment is of course, simply applying to the job and with the right qualifications this method can go very well.
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Conclusion: The job of a games designer is not easy however anyone with a reasonable amount of experience and the right attitude has a chance of getting recruited. The best method to recruitment witihin this job would be to go to university. That is because at the need of your uni course you would have a good enough degree needed to get the job. Most of the time people in university get offered jobs by the employers because the employers know the person has all the skills needed. This job is suitable for people who are determibned , commited and willing to do a lot not people who want a job just to make money.
Jobs in Creative Media
Job Title :animator
technical, creative, editorial
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Animator
An animator brings drawing and concepts to life. Animators design and put together multiple frames to make a video like animation. Animators tend to use 2d and 3d softwares but nowadays there is an option of using softwares capable of making passive 3d, glasses free 3d and more. The job of an animator usually includes coming up with ideas and generating structutres and working with the lighting etc. Most of the technical visual imagery in games and movies is don’t by an animator.
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Contracts, conditions and pay
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Entry salaries can start from 12k to 14k. A more experienced animator can earn from 23k to 25k. An animator with experience of more than 10 years earns from 26k to upward. Work hours vary from 30-40 hours a week.
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Skills and qualifications
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Like a games developer this is open to all graduates. But degrees in certain subjects can increase chances of getting recruited. A few of those subjects are animation, graphic design, illustration,3D design, model making or sculpture and design for moving image.
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Transferable Skills
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Skills like good communication and working well with teams can really help within this team. You would need to be precise and persistent. An animator designs most of the structures in a game so he/she would need to get all the mathematic calculations correct. So a maths degree would increase an animators pay.
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Methods of recruitment
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There are 250 businesses working in some kind of animation and the UK workforce is around 4,700. Generally, companies work in several areas of animation (television, advertising, feature film, etc.) but computer games studios tend to specialise in the one area. There are different ways of getting recruited however the best way would be to go to uni. Most people get recruited by companies offering them jobs and they don’t have to apply.
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Jobs in Creative Media
Job Title :animator
technical, creative, editorial
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graphic designer is responsible for creating design. Their designs are required for a huge variety of products and activities, such as websites, advertising, books, magazines, posters, computer games, product packaging, exhibitions and displays, corporate communications and corporate identity, e.g. giving organisations a visual 'brand'
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Contracts, conditions and pay
| Range of typical starting salaries for a new graphic designers is from £14,000 - £25,000. A senior designer with more experience can earn £25,000 - £45,000. A creative director (most senior) can make up to £65,000! An experienced and valued freelancer can earn up to £40 an hour. The rate increases for designers with impressive track records and recommendations. |
Skills and qualifications
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Transferable Skills
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a graphic designer job is very difficult and in most situations can be very pressurising. it involves a lot of multitasking and requires very good communication skills.
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Methods of recruitment
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