NWDA Skills and Training Survey Report Game Developers in the North West NWDA_Report_Draft 1.3.doc Wednesday, 11 July 2007
Executive Summary This report contains the results of a study into skills and training provision for Game Development Studios in the North West of the UK, and the main focus is those companies that are developing next generation (nextgen) console “tripleA” game titles. Following an initial focus meeting in February 2007 a questionnaire was issued and the responses were followed up with telephone interviews for six of the ten companies surveyed. The current commercial environment requires game developers to adapt to a more complicated and everchanging landscape in order to succeed. Key factors that need to be addressed include: more complex production cycles, larger teams, more online aspects of development and a critical skills shortage in all areas. Formal training provision in these studios is rare and few of the companies have set up any leadership/management initiatives of any real note. They have found it extremely difficult to move competent technical people into management positions, as these people prefer to remain technical. These studios are also experiencing a critical skills shortage that is not being addressed by the Computer Games Degree Courses, as they are not producing enough quality graduates ready for work in a commercial environment. All the games companies in this study need to significantly increase their headcount but have major problems in recruiting the right calibre of experienced staff. Some have indicated their recruitment problems are because they cannot afford market rates for staff, which is in line with the commonly held view that salaries in games companies are lower than other competitive industries such as IT, animation, and film side CGi. A further challenge picked up in the research appears to be a fundamental shift towards doing business online, where building and maintaining communities is seen as a pre requisite for success. Reviewing the commercial environment and onlinereadiness of games companies was not part of the original remit of this study, but understanding this is crucial because it provides a wider context in which to understand skills and training needs. Thus succeeding as a developer in providing “tripleA” nextgen games will necessitate a shift towards providing a service as well as product. This is something that the majority of game development studios are not currently equipped to do, mainly because this activity is expected to be handled by publishers who normally own the IP. However, the online platforms offers new opportunities for game developers to build and manage their own IP portfolio and it would be prudent for them to start planning for this sooner rather than later. On top of issues highlighted in this research such as leadership, production management and a critical skills shortage, the crux of the business challenge faced by these companies is twofold: How can game studios deliver games more effectively, and how can they make the most of the opportunities presented by online platforms?
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Assistance needs to be offered to help these game studios think strategically about these issues and how to plan for this transition. Intervention that provides leadership and management initiatives could help these studios grow by transforming technical staff into competent managers. Furthermore the introduction of a training programme that addresses softskills could help them become better rounded holistically. Sharing best practice will help the studios to collectively learn from each other; however there are significant cultural barriers that could prevent this and consequently the precise format of this must be explored further. Finally a finishing school for graduates that can provide an industry focused training ground for new entrants could help to alleviate some of the critical skills shortages, and this needs to happen sooner rather than later.
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Table of Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................................2 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................5 1.1. Background............................................................................................................................ 5 1.2. Scope ..................................................................................................................................... 6 1.3. Approach................................................................................................................................ 7 1.4. Participants ............................................................................................................................ 7
2. Key Findings ............................................................................................................9 2.1. Few of the studios are ready to take advantage of online opportunities ........................... 9 2.2. Formal training provision is unusual with some rare exceptions .....................................10 2.3. Few of the companies have set up any leadership/management development initiatives of any real note...................................................................................................10 2.4. Skills shortages are becoming critical in all roles..............................................................11 2.5. Induction courses for new recruits are rare .......................................................................12 2.6. Graduates from games courses are rarely fit for purpose................................................12 2.7. There is some desire to share best practice though little consensus on how to do it ....12
3. Conclusions and Recommendations ...................................................................13 3.1. 3.2. 3.3. 3.4.
Game development studios operate in a reactive state ...................................................13 There is a critical skills shortage that shows no signs of abating ....................................13 There is a potential lack of suitably qualified leaders and managers..............................14 Training and personal development are neglected...........................................................14
4. Next Steps and Actions.........................................................................................15 4.1. Provide game developers with assistance to allow them to spot the latest challenges and developments and to think more strategically and competitively to enable them to become world class organisations ready to take advantage opportunities such as online gaming .................................................................................15 4.2. Help game developers to share their knowledge and collectively articulate best practice to learn from each other .......................................................................................15 4.3. Develop a detailed plan for the Games Centre of Excellence .........................................16 4.4. Develop a programme to transform technical staff into competent leaders and managers.............................................................................................................................17 4.5. Develop a training and development plan linked to the vision and the culture of the games business ..................................................................................................................18
Appendix A: Questionnaire .......................................................................................19
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1. Introduction The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of training needs of game development companies in the North West, with a view to helping them retain their competitiveness in a rapidly globalising market. Historically the North West has been of immense value to the game development industry worldwide since it began over twenty years ago. Companies such as Imagine and Ocean led the industry back in the 1980’s and this tradition continued with Psygnosis in the 1990’s right through its acquisition by Sony. Today it still contains some of the most renowned game development companies in the world – this can be seen from the reliance on them by Sony and Microsoft to launch their new consoles with key launch titles. This section sets the scene by describing the commercial climate within which UK games companies operate, and is illustrated by statistics where available. Subsequently, the scope of this study is outlined, together with the approach taken and a summary of the games companies that participated in this study.
1.1. Background The retail market for computer games has grown substantially since 2000 as can be seen by the following table: 2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
Software
$1.43bn $1.78bn $2.1bn
$2.24bn
$2.43bn
$2.38bn $2.43bn 1
Hardware
$406m
$1.05bn $1.1bn
$907m
$594m
$1.1bn
NA
Software units sold
33.9m
42.8m
53.73m
57.55m
57.52m
59.6m 2
46.14m
However the UK’s position as the third largest game development territory is being challenged as more countries become aware to the value of a thriving game development community, and the importance of games to the economy and as a future medium of communication. The UK’s independent sector has seen a mass consolidation of independent developers since 2000 3 , with over 45% going out of business and 9% being acquired, (largely by overseas companies) as shown by the table below: Year 2000 2003 2005 2007
Number of independent studios 295 4 160 5 150 6 160 7
% change
46% 6% +6%
1
Estimate based on normalising ELSPA press releases with ELSPA’s The UK Interactive Entertainment Industry 2005 report 2 See note 1 3 Games Investor Consulting (GIC) 4 GIC figures 5 The UK Interactive Entertainment Industry 2005 report 6 ELSPA, The UK Interactive Entertainment Industry 2005 report
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However, the scale of the remaining developers has grown rapidly over the past few years so that there are now eleven independent developers in the UK with over 100 staff. Additionally, Sony, EA, Sega, CodeMasters and Eidos all have their own internal studios and there are over 90 UKbased independent outsourcing companies providing services specifically to the games industry. To add to this some countries, Canada in particular, offer huge tax breaks to publishers and there is the added incentive of an academy with courses in Video Game Design and Development that can supply qualified graduates ready to work from day one. Cheaper game development in countries such as Russia and India is becoming commonplace and this offers both threats and opportunities to UK developers. It is clear that game development (in the North West and in the UK) is at a critical juncture where these challenges must be faced headon in order to maintain a leadership position. Eidos, the largest UK publisher, has recently announced a new studio in Canada for 350 people and estimated that tax breaks in Canada will reduce its costs of console development by 3050%. Furthermore with each console round, tripleA console games become more complex development inflation is exponential and teams sizes have more than doubled– the small team approach that worked on previous generations is no longer scaleable. With an absence of UK incentives to match those provided overseas, it is crucial for the UK to retain and enhance its underlying development skills. Therefore it must continue to innovate in production techniques, technology, IP creation skills and specialities in these areas are arguably most critical. Most companies, irrespective of their market sector, appreciate the value of core leadership and management skills training that provide generic value to any business. However the games industry is relatively young, and the focus of most games companies is to “make great games” rather than to focus on business issues. Consequently initial analysis of skills in this area has highlighted a lack of leadership and production management skills as a common shortcoming. This could impact UK games developers as they seek to address the opportunities presented by PS3 and Xbox 360. Moving to these platforms also means that games developers need to plan for online capabilities as game development moves to a service provision model as opposed to just delivering a product.
1.2. Scope The scope of this study was to review skills and training provision for Game Development Studios in the North West of the UK that are developing next generation (nextgen) console “tripleA” game titles. It was agreed with the NWDA that leadership and management skills would be the primary focus and that the study would review business objectives at a high level, general training provision and recruitment to provide a wider context within which to understand the results. This study was carried out over a period of one month.
7
GIC figures
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Following discussions with the NWDA during the final stages of preparing this report, it was agreed to reevaluate the findings of this report against the current business context. This reevaluation focussed on the shift to developing console games with online components (because PS3 and Xbox 360 games will require these) and the changes these might necessitate. Consequently, Evolution Studios, Rebellion and Blade Interactive were interviewed again to try and understand how they plan to address this transition, to provide a representative view of the companies overall.
1.3. Approach An initial focus group attended by Evolution Studios, Rebellion, Juice Games and Sony on 15 th February 2007 in Liverpool highlighted areas of skills shortages in the following areas: · Senior managers able to command leadership positions · Managers in creative and noncreative positions · Production management to deal with more complex game production cycles · Outsourcing management this is highly relevant as companies seek to rapidly staff up to make more complex games · Programmers – including specialists in highly technical areas (e.g. physics, AI) · Technical artists capable of scripting · Game design – this was highlighted as a specific area that is hard to recruit with certainty because it is a difficult activity to measure in a test In order to gain a more formalised and representative view a questionnaire was formulated that covered the following areas: · General introduction · Staff and careers · Existing training provision · Recruitment · University and further education · Nextgen development · Leadership and management This questionnaire contained twentyseven questions and was sent out to all the companies in the North West who agreed to participate in this study, from an initial list identified by NWDA and TIGA. For companies who did not attend the initial focus group, telephone contact was made to introduce the study and its objectives. The responses to the questionnaires were collated into an Excel spreadsheet so that they could be easily compared. This was followed up with telephone interviews to help fill in the gaps and this also helped in preparing the case studies later in this document.
1.4. Participants The following companies participated in this study: Sony Computer Entertainment Studios (Liverpool)
This studio is hugely important for Sony as it is responsible for F1, a key launch title for PS3, and is the driver for first party downloadable content for this platform as well. All external first party relationships are handled through this studio e.g. it collaborated with Evolution during the development of
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Motorstorm (see below) Juice Games
This company was recently acquired by THQ, Inc., publisher of their first console game Juiced. THQ have announced that Juiced sold over 1.5m units. In 2005 Juice Games won the "Best New UK/European Studio" from the Develop Magazine awards.
Swordfish (North West)
Developers of a variety of licensed games and “Cold Winter”, an original FPS on PS2, published by Vivendi. Swordfish was acquired by Vivendi in 2005 and this particular studio is formulated by staff acquired from the former EA Warrington Studio
Evolution Studios
Independent developers of Motorstorm, a key launch title for the PS3
Bizarre Creations
Independent developers of Project Gotham Racing, a key launch title for Xbox 360. Also pioneered Xbox downloadable content through Geometry Wars and Boom Boom Rocket
Blade Interactive
Developers of World Snooker Championship 2007 on PS3, Xbox 360 and PSP, and owners of the associated license. Blade is now developing Hydrophobia, which represents a departure from traditional snooker titles.
Magenta Software
Magenta have existed for over a decade and have recently focussed on licensed games including Jungle Party for Sony, and Stuart Little 3
PlayBox
This is a small developer focussing on casual games and the Nintendo DS and Wii platforms
Telco Games
Telco Games publishes and distributes mobile games to carriers and through offportal channels. It recently acquired two studios: Magic Productions and Fathammer, both specialising in developing highend mobile games.
Spiral House
Spiral House is a small developer that works on all major consoles including handheld and PC. More recently they helped in the creation of MotorStorm for the PS3 for Evolution Studios. They do a mixture of their own IP and workforhire
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2. Key Findings After reviewing the returned questionnaires and following up with telephone interviews the key findings revolve around the following common themes: · Need to Innovate These companies typically need to be seen at the cutting edge of technology as this is frequently a unique selling point for them · Operational Focus Delivering games is the core focus for most of these companies and personnel development is secondary · Skills and Training There is an acknowledged skills shortage for capable new graduates, development staff and senior managers · Insular Nature These companies are very secretive about their plans which makes them reluctant to share information and research best practice The key findings are as follows:
Theme Need to Innovate Operational Focus
Skills and Training
Insular Nature
Key Findings 1. Few of the studios are ready to take advantage of online opportunities 2. The majority of training is done “onthejob” and focuses on technical skills, and consequently formal training provision is moreorless nonexistent with some rare exceptions 3. Few of the companies have set up any leadership/management development initiatives of any real note 4. There is a skills shortage in all roles which is becoming critical 5. Induction courses for new recruits are very rare. 6. University Graduates from games courses are rarely fit for purpose 7. There is some desire to share best practice though little consensus on how to do it
These findings are discussed in more detail below.
2.1. Few of the studios are ready to take advantage of online opportunities (Note: this area was outside the scope of the original study, please see Section 1.2 for a full explanation as to why this is included)
Games companies are used to innovating in the areas of technology, game ideas and gameplay, but this remit for innovation has not yet extended to embracing online. The move to online platforms (PlayStation Network / Xbox Live) will necessitate a shift towards providing a service in addition to a product. This means there is a need to innovate in areas outside technology – such as in business and in service provision), game ideas and gameplay in order to fully exploit online opportunities. For example, developers need to start thinking about building and maintaining communities, digital distribution and marketing these are all skills outside the core competence of the majority of game studios. However, these are skills that are common to running the many online businesses and it is imperative that games companies learn and apply these skills.
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The move to online could offer studios the ability to build and manage their own IP portfolio, but currently the majority of them are not yet planning for this because their current business models are based on producing AAA titles for existing publishers who are more focussed on boxed (physical) products.
2.2. Formal training provision is unusual with some rare exceptions Most of the companies provide “onthejob” training, which is in line with the technical activities of preparing game assets such as code and graphics. However the majority of them offer little or no formal training in areas such as: · Interpersonal skills · Improving general working practices · Improving communication · Time management · Project management · General leadership and management This is attributable to: a) lack of understanding as to the possible benefits of such training b) general reluctance to allow staff to take time out from making games and c) a lack of budget for such activities. Furthermore, there is a general lack of awareness of suitable training courses and companies that could provide them. Consequently the vast majority of companies have no specific training budget set aside for their personnel, in stark contrast to other industry sectors.
2.3. Few of the companies have set up any leadership/management development initiatives of any real note Leadership and management skills are becoming far more relevant to games companies as they move to more complex production cycles and larger team sizes. However there is a general reluctance on the part of technical people to move into management positions, and those who have tried it often want to revert back to technical roles with less responsibility. The companies surveyed are using several approaches to deal with the transition to nextgeneration development. Typically they are doing one or more of the following: · Growing organically and learning the hard way through experience · Reorganising to accommodate larger teams that can handle more complex production methods · Recruiting external senior managers that can help drive best practice and mentoring methods · Identifying and promoting internal talent to more senior roles (though there appears to be no specific training to support this activity). On a positive note, many of the participants have recognised that this kind of training could help in senior production, art and coding roles, which indicates that initiatives and support in this area will be welcomed.
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Many books and training courses are widely available that can help with leadership and management development at a generic level, and these could be sensitively applied to games development. Effective leadership and management can help staff: · Manage subordinates more effectively · Develop better relationships with work colleagues · Work more effectively · Make better use of their time · Take on greater responsibility and ownership These skills will help games companies and their staff at all levels and bring them into line with more established industries. There does appear to be a trend in that studios that have a publishing arm, or who are owned by publishers appear to have a more strategic outlook for skills in this area.
2.4. Skills shortages are becoming critical in all roles The majority of participants are having problems recruiting staff of the right calibre in all roles. This will inevitably affect their ability to deliver and their profitability. A common way of addressing a skills shortage is to “raid” another developer that has gone bust, which does little to address longterm problems. Outsourcing or using more shortterm contract staff could address this shortage of resources, however each of these options has potential problems when examined in more detail. Only a few of the companies have experience of Outsourcing, and they have found it difficult to manage, as it requires processes to be put into place to ensure constant review and feedback. This currently appears to be outside the corecompetence of most games developers. In many ways this problem can be seen as related to the internal organisation of the teams. One of the participants had a poor experience whereby an outsourcing company used highly capable staff to create the first deliverable, only to substitute them for less capable staff for subsequent deliverables. The quality suffered and this particular game company was turned off the idea of outsourcing altogether. Only a few of the game companies use contractors in contrast to the general IT market where many contractors and agencies operate in a variety of specialist fields. Speculatively, this could be attributable to the following factors: · Contract staff of the right calibre may not be easy to find, and even they may need training e.g. crossover · Contractors may be seen to upset the balance if they are being paid contractor rates (which are 50% to 100% higher than permanent salaries in the traditional IT market) · The previous point may preclude a thriving market for contract staff i.e. without higher remuneration levels there may be few contractors It is worth noting that experienced contractors could also help to share best practices if they have worked in a range of different companies.
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2.5. Induction courses for new recruits are rare Two of the participants have a formal induction programme for new recruits and one of these has a boot camp abroad specifically for this purpose. The remainder provide either a basic introduction or no introduction and expect experienced employees to contribute from day one. There is some evidence of coaching and mentoring for new recruits, though this tends to be informal and takes place by assigning them to their mentors.
2.6. Graduates from games courses are rarely fit for purpose The skills shortage problem is compounded by the fact that computer games degree courses are not producing enough quality graduates that are readytowork from day one. Typically they require much supervision before they are allowed to work autonomously and unsupervised. Graduates who have done a good BSc course in a subject like Software Engineering, Maths, or Physics are better equipped to succeed, but there is a common complaint that these are too short in supply. Some of the companies have links with Universities in the North West such as John Moores, UMIST and Salford to offer placements to undergraduates. The games industry as a whole needs to do much to attract quality graduates in light of the fact that the levels of remuneration are below that of comparable industries in IT, Film and TV. Furthermore with the games industry there is no outwardly visible career path and in general there is a lack of stability, which is exacerbated by the transition periods between new and old console generations.
2.7. There is some desire to share best practice though little consensus on how to do it The really successful game companies typically do not want to share best practice for fear of giving away trade secrets. The tools, technology or processes that a game company uses should arguably be less important than its brands, people and relationships. This understanding ought to facilitate sharing of the former, but tools and technology are seen as a crucial differentiator, which is highlighted by the fact that four of the companies are working on cuttingedge racing games. Nevertheless there are some ideas on how to share best practice: · More focussed/structured meetings as opposed to just “gettogethers” · Working cooperatively to ensure local Universities are developing relevant courses, with all studios guestlecturing, and providing “milk round” stands · Developing a joint “onboarding” course of 36 months into which new graduate recruits are put; they could have a contract before entering the program, with a nopoach clause between cooperating companies · Senior Management training should be easily shared, again with a no poach clause
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3. Conclusions and Recommendations The conclusions of this study have been formulated after reviewing the key findings in Section 4 against the commercial environment where there is a fundamental shift towards doing business online. The recommendations outlined below must be viewed within the constraints of what is pragmatic and achievable working together with the companies in the North West. Game developers continually need to innovate, and much of this innovation is to do with improving the exploitation of new console technology to provide a unique selling point for the company, and this involves a large R&D phase. When the technology has matured there is scope for greater profits, but the mindset and necessity of having to respond to new technology advances with each new console round every 57 years means that studios operate in a reactive state, and it is difficult to break out of this cycle and plan strategically. There is a critical skills shortage in all areas and due to the typically intense focus on daytoday operational delivery few studios are equipped to do anything about this. This is most apparent at senior levels where there is a lack of technically skilled managers that can embrace leadership positions. This focus on operational delivery also means that personal training and development are neglected. The conclusions are detailed below together with recommendations so there is a full “audit trail”. The common theme of each recommendation is highlighted in italics so that it is evident as to how these themes can be addressed.
3.1. Game development studios operate in a reactive state Currently, the primary concern for most studios is whether they are developing profitable games that are funded by publishers, who are their customers. Publishers typically control the IP and developers will most likely do whatever they require as part of the contract to keep a good relationship. Successful transition to online will require moving from a reactive mindset to a proactive one. Consequently the recommendations here are as follows: R1
R2
Provide game developers with assistance to allow them to spot the latest challenges and developments and to think more strategically and competitively to enable them to become world class organisations ready to take advantage of opportunities such as online gaming Help game developers to share their knowledge and collectively articulate best practice to learn from each other
Need to Innovate
Insular Nature
3.2. There is a critical skills shortage that shows no signs of abating The games companies in this study all need to significantly increase their headcount but have major problems in recruiting the right calibre of experienced staff, and in finding enough quality graduates ready for work in a commercial environment. The recommendation here is to:
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R3
Develop a detailed plan for the Games Centre of Excellence
Skills and Training
3.3. There is a potential lack of suitably qualified leaders and managers Technical people working in programming, art or design are typically reluctant to move into management positions and this implies a shortage of technically able managers, which can compromise senior level decisions. This situation will become critical as these companies seek to increase their headcount and this will make management even harder. It will benefit the industry immeasurably if more technical people can migrate to leadership and management positions so that when highlevel decisions are taken the impacts below them can be more readily appreciated. The recommendation here is to: R4
Develop a programme to transform technical staff into competent leaders and managers
Skills and Training
3.4. Training and personal development are neglected Formal training provision in games companies is rare, as they tend to focus on technical skills required in a daytoday operational capacity rather than soft skills 8 . However, some of them are starting to realise that these soft skills could help develop the culture of a company, which may ultimately help them produce better games. Consequently there will be significant benefit in providing training that improves: · · · ·
Interpersonal skills General working practices and communication Time management Creativity
These types of courses would be applicable across all roles within an organisation. Consequently the recommendation here is to: R5
Develop a training and development plan specifically for games developers
Operational Focus & Skills and Training
Specifically, the training needs to fit within the operational focus of the company i.e. it should not be seen to affect the critical path of projects in development.
8
Soft skills are defined as nontechnical or people skills that help general working practices
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4. Next Steps and Actions This section provides an action plan to implement the recommendations outlined in the previous section, without prescribing who should carry out these actions. This way the NWDA and other parties involved can best decide the suitability of who should do the implementation. Each recommendation is followed by one or more actions that detail how they can be achieved. 4.1. Provide game developers with assistance to allow them to spot the latest challenges and developments and to think more strategically and competitively to enable them to become world class organisations ready to take advantage of opportunities such as online gaming As an example, the following actions will help these companies innovate in the area of online games: Action 1: Develop an OnlineReadiness Benchmarking Tool by reviewing market leading online game companies to understand bestpractice in this area Action 2: Assess Games Studios against this benchmarking tool to identify any gaps they may have Action 3: Assist Games Studios to formulate an action plan to address these gaps It is highly unlikely that any diagnostic tools that cover these areas would exist, because the technology is relatively new and extremely specialised. However, detailed investigations may need to be carried out sensibly and credibly to confirm this before committing resources to this action. 4.2. Help game developers to share their knowledge and collectively articulate best practice to learn from each other The insular nature of developers is evident because about half the companies surveyed are interested in collaborating together, while the rest either do not want to or they don’t think it is possible. Even if the companies do wish to collaborate they do not know how to do it, so the following actions could help address this. Consequently a series of workshops are proposed to explore in which areas collaboration would be possible and what the benefits could be. The following action is proposed: Action 4: Invest in an effective cluster organisation to explore methods of collaboration working through the SSPA. This includes identifying areas of best practice and leveraging existing work in this area. This could include the following topics: ·
Production management
this is getting ever more complex with PS3 and Xbox 360
·
Outsourcing
some companies will have to outsource if they cannot meet their recruitment targets, which is looking increasingly likely – production management is even more important in this scenario
·
Development lifecycle
the objective here would be to highlight potential inefficiencies in the endtoend development process and
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find ways of addressing them using risk management and other techniques possibly adapted from the IT/Programming industry ·
Technology and tools
although this is a laudable aim it may be extremely difficult to gain traction here. However there is some parallel work being done here by the Tiga Technology Group through a KTN (‘Knowledge Transfer Network’).
The longterm aim would be to capture best practice in each of the above areas, and for this to happen effectively companies must work together in a sharing environment, which will take time. In the shortterm it might be possible to collaborate on how to deal with the skills shortages. Consequently, the following action is proposed: Action 5: Assist Games Studios to conduct a series of workshops to explore ways of addressing the skills shortages. This will lead to an action plan, which will need to be implemented subsequently. This could cover cooperation on the following: ·
University courses
to clarify how these could be more relevant and how to establish better links. This may involve working closely with partners such as Skillset who already have an interest in this area.
·
Graduate recruitment
to provide milkround stands to attract more and better graduates
·
Common technical courses
to combine common needs to purchase more costeffective training
·
Retaining experienced staff
to understand how to retain key existing staff to ensure they stay within the games industry.
4.3. Develop a detailed plan for the Games Centre of Excellence A Games Centre of Excellence that could allow the most promising candidates to shine through and better prepare them for work in the industry would be invaluable. Much can be learned from “Dare to be Digital” which is the computer games design competition organised by the University of Abertay Dundee. This has gained an enviable reputation over the last few years of showcasing the best talent in the UK and now this has been extended to participants across the world. A more commercial environment such as this with timescales and the general pressure of competition could be an invaluable part of a finishing school. Similarly much can be learned from games academies set up in other countries to understand best practice for these types of courses. Active support, guidance and participation from games companies is essential to make this idea successful because it will add credibility and make the participants more ready for work at the end of it. Game companies could also help the school to replicate the working conditions, tools and development pipelines used in studios each day.
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This kind of environment will provide a better context for developing computer games graduates because they will learn more and they will learn faster. It will also give them a better appreciation of all developing aspects of computer games. Consequently, the following action is proposed: Action 6: Develop a detailed plan for the Games Centre of Excellence. In the first stage this would require the following tasks to be carried out: · · · · · · · ·
·
Articulate the general format of the course, its objectives and timescales Research and set up plans for implementing the production management techniques to be taught through training Enumerate the content of the course in areas such as game design, art, animation, programming, online aspects Identify credible lecturers that have realworld experience of developing and shipping consolequality games, Identify industry respected mentors from within and outside the region that can be called upon to offer support Create a balance between individual and team activities, and between theoretical and practical components Estimate the resources, budget and people required to make this happen Identify the degree of integration and commitment required from participating games companies Identify the tools, technologies and processes required to provide a sound infrastructure
Subsequent stages would have to be agreed by necessary parties. Induction courses have been found to be rare in the companies surveyed, though again several of them have indicated that it is something they would like set up and they would use. Consequently part of the plan to develop a Games Centre of Excellence could be to develop a template for an induction course for new recruits. This could include covering the following: · · · ·
· ·
Health and safety Company history Industry background, value chain and evolutionary patterns. Working guidelines and practices Target setting and appraisal processes Mentoring mechanisms
4.4. Develop a programme to transform technical staff into competent leaders and managers This could be achieved through the following proposed action: Action 7: Use the SSPA/Cluster to undertake a thorough needs analysis, which includes linking employers’ agenda, and to set up mechanisms to other relevant regional local initiatives. The SSPA/Cluster would be expected to represent these issues at a regional and national level.
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4.5. Develop a training and development plan linked to the vision and the culture of the games business This could be achieved through the following proposed action: Action 8: Explore the specific training requirements of Game Studios to identify what is appropriate for this sector and to define the expected benefits. This will lead to an action plan, which will need to be implemented subsequently.
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Appendix A: Questionnaire This section lists the sections of the questionnaire and the questions contained within them. Introduction This section is to provide a context to understand the commercial climate within which your company operates, together with its objectives: 1. What game hardware platforms do you work on? 2. What are the company goals and objectives over the next 35 years in terms of growth and profit? 3. What was your headcount and financial turnover in the last 2 years? 4. What percentage of staff is permanent versus contract?
Staff and Careers This is to understand what mechanisms are in place, if any exist to aid staff continual professional development (CPD) 5. 6. 7. 8.
Is there a structured career path for employees? Are key competencies and measures defined for roles within the company? How often do company staff have assessment reviews? Do you know of any, coaching and mentoring programmes that would meet your needs? If there are none, what kind of assistance might you require in providing this?
Existing Training This is to provide an understanding as to any and all types of training for existing staff. 9. Do you undertake training (internal or external, informal and/or formal, structured and/or unstructured)? 10. Do you have a training budget in the company? 11. Do you use external training services? Or is training done ‘in house’? 12. If you use external training courses, can you provide details of these and budgets and allowances per person if possible 13. Who do you trust to recommend training courses? 14. If you do not use external training courses, have you identified any specific training needs that these could address? Also what kinds of benefits would you expect these to deliver?
Recruitment This is to provide an understanding for how easy or difficult it is to grow. 15. How easy/difficult is it to recruit staff? How does this vary across different roles (e.g. artist, programmers, designers, managers 16. Have you faced any skills shortages over the last year? If so, in which specific areas/roles? 17. What impact will any skills shortages have on your goals/objectives as stated above? 18. What induction do you give new recruits?
University and Further Education Links Some companies have found it beneficial to build links with Universities as a way of gaining new recruits. Please can you share your experiences. 19. How (if at all) do you currently engage with higher (University) and further education (College) providers, e.g., as a training provider, by providing work experience for students and/or as a way of attracting new recruits? 20. Have you appointed graduates from specialist ‘games’ courses? If so, in what roles? Do you find that they have the necessary skills to perform their role without further training?
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NextGen Development This is to understand specific issues related to increased team size and more complex production lifecycles as the transition to PS3/Xbox 360 continues, leading to more challenging Production Management. Furthermore, initial analysis has highlighted a severe shortage of suitable Leadership Skills. 21. Do you outsource/offshore parts of the development? If so how easy/difficult has it been to manage? 22. How have you dealt with leadership and production management skills as team sizes and projects get larger? 23. How do you think these needs can be best addressed in a way that integrates well with the way your company operates, given that it requires an investment of time?
Leadership and Management 24. What leadership and management development initiatives has your organisation provided over the last 3 years? 25. How could leadership and management practices be improved within your company? 26. For which roles might leadership and management training be beneficial and what impact do you think this could have? 27. How do you think best practice in this area can be shared across games companies in this region?
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