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游戏行业发展迅速 职位需求层出不穷

发布时间:2011-05-24 16:49:54 Tags:,,

游戏邦注:本文作者为Aroon Tan,他是新加坡游戏公司Magma Studios总经理和联合创始人,同时是新加坡Games Exchange Alliance主席。

你有没有想过在电子游戏领域拓展自己的事业?当然,你也许有听说这个市场2014年有望扩大至868亿美元,增幅高达10.6%(游戏邦注:该数据出自普华永道2010至2014年全球娱乐及传媒行业报告)。

但你有什么技能能够同EA、育碧、Tecmo Koei、任天堂、南梦宫万代、索尼在线娱乐、腾讯或者盛大的精英人士匹敌呢?

育碧 from replays.net

育碧 from replays.net

实在不胜枚举。

游戏公司技能

也许你富有创造激情,喜欢建立3D物体模型,或者对于设计人工智能算法颇具天赋。当然,C++游戏编程、数据库工程技术、3D建模、2D构造和图形用户界面设计都是游戏公司需要的角色。

但如果你对上述方面一窍不通,也并非一定穷途末路。还有其他诸如创意构思、文字、研究、人机界面、心理、项目管理和经验之类的职位可供选择。

最后就是最好的职位:游戏测试。但这个职位要求具备漏洞测试、汇报和游戏平衡、游戏功能测试(游戏邦注:也就是说需要编程技能)能力。

非开发职位

你也可以是个玩家。你还有其他机会参与到这个有趣的领域当中,这些职位对于游戏公司而言亦是必不可少,其中包括销售和营销、社区管理、行政、公共关系和业务拓展。

事实上,对于这个行业没有直接经验的小型公司经理们通常都是担任这些职位。随着新加坡电子游戏行业日益成熟(游戏邦注:新加坡工作室开始筹集新资金,扩展新领域),公司管理中的非开发职位变得不可或缺,这是公司提升竞争能力的筹码之一。

付费渠道

玩家并非免费体验游戏,付费公司(如新加坡的Cherry Credits、MOL Global和PayPal)为这些充值帐户提供服务,负责每月收集订阅费用。不论玩家身处何方,总是不断有新公司涌现为他们提供增值服务。

玩家寻找值得信任的银行委托其游戏帐户信息,享受一站式交易的便利服务,遨游游戏当中。

社交游戏

如今的游戏并不仅限于磁盘游戏、掌机游戏或者PC游戏。社交平台也迅速发展成为主流游戏平台。社交网络服务(游戏邦注:如Facebook、Friendster和人人网)开始发展成为可供玩家选择的在线游戏平台。

社交网络 from sootoo.com

社交网络 from sootoo.com

据Borrell Associates报告显示,社交网络2015年的广告和推广总支出将高达380亿美元,相比去年的70亿美元增长440%。

游戏社交图表、病毒式营销和社区管理精英人士都是社交网络休闲游戏现象的组成部分。

云端服务器

除了社交网络游戏之外,这个领域还包含其他在线游戏平台。这些平台附着在大量消耗带宽的服务器上,而且支持这些平台的基础设施正与日俱增。以前游戏是通过包装形式在商店出售,现在它们开始采用订阅或者免费形式,并通过虚拟商品创收。新的游戏相关职业开始现身该领域当中。

诸如Zynga之类的游戏公司每天使用100万GB的带宽,并凭借1000台左右的服务器扩充公司基础设施。云端服务器如Tata Communications的InstaCompute、Rackspace Cloud和Amazon Web Services均为Zynga(游戏邦注:该公司的游戏用户多达2.15亿)等公司提供必不可少的弹性计算服务。

手机游戏体验

随着手机设备开始成为我们日常生活的一部分,它们也逐步演变成为游戏设备。工业设计师、工程师和产品经理都参与手机设备的开发当中,如苹果iPod Touch、iPhone和iPad。

严肃游戏体验

在过去几十年里,游戏就开始扮演着越来越严肃的角色。目前我们拥有针对医疗诊断、国家安全、客户服务、教育和物流的游戏,这些都要求专业的技术知识。

许多专业人士开始携手游戏设计师创造“严肃游戏”。促进游戏趣味性和用户粘性的方法论和技巧也开始应用于注重功能的游戏当中。这些游戏主要服务信息保存、复杂任务排练或角色扮演之类的目的,进而帮助玩家深入了解游戏情景。

遨游游戏领域当中

游戏开始成为我们生活中的组成部分,不论是通过办公室电脑体验,或者在家通过掌机,抑或者是乘坐火车通过手机设备体验。我们难以想象丧失游戏的世界。

所以你在学校或者工作当中学习的技能将为你加入这个产值数十亿美元的领域铺平道路。游戏是技术创造和工程科学的结合体(游戏邦注:同时还包含一些能够让你在游戏领域施展才华的技能需求)。

你得问自己:你对游戏热爱程度有多少?(本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Give yourself a shot in the gaming industry

by Aroon Tan

Have you ever thought about a career in the video games industry? Sure, you have probably heard the industry is booming with a projected global market size of US$86.8 billion (S$107.6 billion) in 2014, growing at 10.6 per cent over the next four years – according to PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2010-2014 report.

But what skills could you bring to the table of game giants like Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft, Tecmo Koei, Nintendo, NAMCO Bandai, Sony Online Entertainment, Tencent or Shanda?

More than you think.

Game on

Maybe you have a creative passion and enjoy modelling 3D objects or have a flair for programming artificial intelligence algorithms. Sure, game programming in C++, data base engineering, 3D modelling, 2D texturing and graphical user interface design are all possible roles in a game company.

But it is not the end of the line if the above sounds like Greek to you. There are also roles like creative conceptualisation, literacy, research, human computer interfaces, psychology, story writing, story boarding, presentation, project management, economics – and the list goes on.

And we have saved the best for last: Game testing. However, it is a role that requires skills in bug testing and reporting, game balance and game feature testing, which means programming.

Fiscal fun

So you are not cut out to be a gamer. There are other roles that could put you in the fun culture but are essential to the business: These include sales and marketing, community management, administration, public relations, finance, human resources and business development.

In fact, managers who do not necessarily have direct experience in these fields often take on these roles in small game companies. As the industry in Singapore evolves and becomes more sophisticated – where studios look to raise new capital and to expand into new markets – non-development roles in business administration become essential as companies strive to be more competitive.

Show me the money

Gamers are not playing for free. Payment companies like Singapore’s Cherry Credits, MOL Global and PayPal are providing services to top up accounts and collect monthly subscriptions. Where gamers go, new businesses spring up to provide them with value-added services.

Players look for trusted brands where they can enter their game account details and expect the convenience of one-stop transactions to enjoy their games.

The social game

Games these days are not limited to portables, consoles or PCs. Social networks, too, are quickly becoming a dominant games platform. Social Network Services (SNS) such as Facebook, Friendster and Renren have established themselves as online alternatives in the game culture.

According to a report from Borrell Associates the combined advertising and promotional spending in Social Networks will hit US$38 billion by 2015, about 440 per cent more than the US$7 billion projected last year.

Experts in the gaming social graph, viral marketing and community moderation are all a part of the casual gaming phenomenon within social networks.

Get your head in the cloud

Besides games on social networking sites, there are also online gaming platforms. These platforms are hosted on servers consuming enormous amounts of bandwidth and the infrastructure required to support them is increasing. Where games were sold in boxes over the counter in stores, they are now available via subscription or played for free and supported by sales of virtual items. A whole new spectrum of game-related careers has sprung out of thin air.

Game companies like Zynga are using more than 1 million gigabytes of bandwidth per day and can scale their infrastructure by about 1,000 servers. Cloud-based infrastructure like Tata Communications’ InstaCompute, Rackspace Cloud and Amazon Web Services are the providers of elastic computing services essential for a company like Zynga, which supports an estimated community of 215 million users.

Frolic on the go

As mobile devices become more a part of our daily lives, they have also been gaining ground as gaming devices. Industrial designers, engineers and product managers are all involved in developing mobile devices like the Apple iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad.

Serious play

In the last decade, games have also taken on a more serious role. Today, we have games for medical diagnostics, homeland security, customer service, education and logistics, which require specialised expertise.

We see various professionals working with game designers to create “Serious Games”. Methodologies and techniques used to make games fun and engaging are also used on games that focus on function. These games are used to produce outcomes such as retention of information, rehearsal of complex tasks or role-play to understand context.

Life is short; play

Games have become part of our lives whether we are at the office computer, in the family room playing on a console or commuting on the train with our mobile device. It is hard to imagine a world where games are not a part of our lives.

So the skills you have picked up in school or your current employment could create a pathway into the multi-billion-dollar gaming industry. Gaming is a blend of the creative arts with the science of engineering, with a variety of skills that can take your passion for games into a new direction.

The question you have to ask yourself is this: How much do you want to play?

Aroon Tan is the managing director and co-founder of local gaming company, Magma Studios. He is also president of the Games Exchange Alliance Singapore.(Source:todayonline


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