作者：Jameson Durall

我日前重回富赛大学，就其游戏开发课程提出自己的相关意见。

我10年前来到这所大学时，只有紧围绕编程的游戏开发课程。我总是称此技术背景帮助我成为优秀游戏设计师，目的是希望能有更多人对此课程感兴趣。

这次我主要侧重游戏设计专业的在线大纲，其有门课程只谈论游戏设计，不涉及编程内容。研究此课程令我的心态发生很大变化，因为过去10年来，我已习惯于编程的课程设置。

这个经历令我开始思考：刚进入游戏行业的设计师要如何展示自己的技能，令自己在面试者面前脱颖而出？

apply-jobs(from geraldineinabottle.blogspot.com)

若我要聘请新手设计师，我希望他是游戏专业的，这样我才能确保他有扎实的基础。他们的简历通常主要谈论课堂项目，但我想要考验他们，所以我总是问他们在某最终作品中扮演什么角色？

但这些大多会体现在简历上。那么他们要展示什么才能令人眼前一亮？在我看来，依然是那些能够轻松转换成为游戏工作室所用的有形技能。

虽然游戏设计专业的人有些没学过编程，但在编辑器（游戏邦注：如UDK或Unity）中将玩法转化成脚本则是必不可少的技能。我希望看到他们参与其中，通过富有意义的工作创造出游戏内容，而非仅是规划玩法，期望由他人完成。

向我展示你设计和开发过的玩法情境，叙述其有趣的原因所在。此技能能够在开发早期帮助他们基于构思建模，创造粗糙玩法空间，轻松呈现其玩法构思。

若我通过简历发现某人擅长使用热门游戏开发编辑器，那么我知道不论我们使用什么工具，他们都能够很快掌握。这意味着我们无需进行大量工具运用培训，而是可以利用这些时间帮助他们融入团队，提高他们的技能。

若你希望自己崭露头角，那么就使用编辑器进行某些令人意想不到的操作。我记得我们曾因此聘请某位设计师：他曾利用Unreal Engine创造一款功能健全的翻版《Q*bert》。

这令我印象深刻，他竟然使用基于主要服务第一人称射击游戏的工具和引擎改编出这样的游戏机制（游戏邦注：这不仅说明他技术实力雄厚，还说明他擅于发散思维）。

新手设计师面对的残酷现实是业内空缺职位并不多，因此努力让自己崭露头角变得越发重要。有什么比通过有形方式展示自己的技能更重要？

我最后要谈的是优质求职信的重要性：不要发送千篇一律的求职信。

求职信应说明自己过去如何为此刻做准备，为何自己是这个职位的最佳人选。应谈论他们的作品，阐述自己为什么想要加入他们，坦诚表达自己的向往之情。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Opinion: How Can Entry Level Game Designers Stand Out?

by Jameson Durall

[In this reprinted #altdevblogaday-opinion piece, Volition Inc. design director Jameson Durall shares some advice on how entry level game designers can stand out when applying for a job.]

I recently spent some time back at Full Sail on the Advisory Board to look at the current curriculum and give feedback on how they can improve the game development programs.

When I attended over a decade ago, there was only the Game Development program which is geared heavily toward programming. I’ve always preached that having that technical background helped me become a better game designer and tried to encourage others interested in the program.

This time I focused my attention on the Game Design Bachelor’s Online program, which has a curriculum that is focused Game Design with no programming focus at all. Evaluating this curriculum took a major change in mentality for me since I’ve been so used to a programming curriculum for over 10 years.

This experience really got me thinking: What do people entering the industry as a game designer need to do to showcase their skills and make themselves stand out to employers?

When I’m looking to hire a game designer for an entry level position, I prefer to see a gaming education so I know they have a solid foundation that we can build on. Their resumes are usually filled with class projects, but I also want to try them out so I can ask them questions about what their part was in the final product.

But, this is on almost every resume… So, what do I want to see to make them stand out? I think, for me, it still boils down to tangible skills that can translate easily to tools used by any game studio.

While someone focusing on Game Design may not have a background in programming, scripting gameplay in an editor like UDK or Unity is a must in my opinion. I want to see that they have the ability to get in and do meaningful work to create content instead of just planning gameplay and expecting others to develop it.

Show me examples of gameplay situations that you designed and created, and be ready to talk about why they are fun. This skill set also helps them prototype ideas early in development and create crude gameplay spaces to help get their gameplay ideas across easily.

If I look at a resume and see that someone is an EXPERT at using a popular game development editor, then I know that no matter what tools we are using, they should have the skill set to pick it up easily. This means not having to do extensive tools training and being able spend our time focusing on getting them working with the team and developing their skills instead.

If you really want to make yourself shine, take that editor and do something with it that is way outside of what people think it’s capable of. I remember we hired a designer once who took the Unreal Engine and built a fully functioning Q*bert clone.

It really stuck with me that he was able to script and create this kind of gameplay an toolset and engine that is generally focused on first-person shooters. It not only proved his technical prowess but also his ability to think outside the box.

The scary truth for these beginning game designers is that there aren’t a ton of jobs out there, and doing whatever they can to make themselves stand out is becoming more and more important. Is there anything more important for this than being able to showcase your skills in a tangible way?

One last bonus tip I will throw out there is the importance of a well written cover letter: Never make a generic cover letter that you send out to a number of companies.

The cover letter should explain to the reader how your entire life has lead up to this moment and why you are the right person for this exact job. Talk about their games and why you want to help make them, and be honest about your desire to join their company.（Source：gamasutra）