Levelling

Going Triple A

After six years working in the Australian games industry, I decided to cast my net overseas. There are some good reasons to go OS in the games industry - it’s where the industry really lives, after all. That’s not to say the local industry isn’t good, improving, and producing some really good product now. It’s just that if you want to step up and get some experience on a serious AAA title, the reality is it’s difficult to get that opportunity in Australia.

For several years I had been following a vague game plan to get OS. I wasn’t always sure that I wanted to make the move, but I figured I should keep the option open, and so made some important decisions that eventually allowed me to get here.

Step 1 - Experience
The first and most important step was to get a bunch of shipped titles under my belt. It turns out working in Australia is a very efficient way to do that. In the games industry, experience is almost everything, and that is generally measured in shipped titles. Because of Australia’s often insane production schedules, I managed to ship 6 games in my first 4 years, 2 as a lead. That set me in very good stead when it came time to look around. I started in the industry at Krome Studios. I began in QA, worked my way up to lead QA, and then moved onto what the company calls “Level Editing”, which is really glorified prop placement but involves all sorts of game and gameplay facets. Most importantly, this familiarized me with production tools, and production procedures at a very grassroots level.

Step 2 - A Company With Overseas Links
After 4 years with Krome, I knew if I wanted to progress I had to move on, and was offered a job at THQ Australia’s Brisbane studio. Actually, the THQ offer came at a time when I had decided to leave the industry altogether but was so good that I accepted it. This was my important second step. THQ is a multinational company, and a publisher. The publishing aspect was attractive to me because I wanted to see how things worked on the other side of the problematic developer/publisher relationship. But the really important point was that THQ was a US company. That meant the opportunity potentially existed for me to eventually transfer overseas.

Transferring internally is far easier then coming into the US cold. Bringing someone to the US from overseas is expensive for a company. Visas are difficult to get, are of limited number, and must be justified. There are also all sorts of legal fees. It can cost anywhere from USD $5000 up to $20,000 or more. In order to justify that sort of expense I knew I had to have a proven history with a company. There is a point of law that states that someone who has worked for a US company for 18 months or more is considered senior enough (I believe the term is “critical staff”) to qualify for a particular type of US working visa - in my case an L1. So that was my long term game plan, and a major reason for accepting the position at THQ. I knew I would also make relationships and contacts there that could lead overseas.

It turned out my time at THQ Oz was very productive. It was a young and growing company, and I moved quickly from Senior Designer to Lead Designer on my second project there. That was tough (and due to some internal circumstances not much fun at all), but it gave me an important Lead role for my resume. When the tone of the company changed and I felt I no longer belonged there, I knew I had enough on the table to attempt a move overseas, and decided to go for it. I made inquiries internally, crossed the t’s and dotted the i’s, made sure everything was out in the open, and began applying to other THQ studios in the US.

Step 3 - Transfer Internally
Of course, being open and up front does not guarantee a lack of drama. Companies, especially well managed and aggressive companies like THQ, value senior staff and the investment made in them, particularly in Australia where the talent pool is small. Not everyone was happy about my decision. But, well, that’s life - my life in this case - and I had worked extremely hard for the opportunities I had been offered (and for which I was very grateful). I didn’t owe anyone anything beyond what I had already given (and that giving had included an effective 12 month crunch period for me as lead, during which I worked most weekends and every single public holiday). Overall THQ were very gracious about it, but they had their moments.

And this is the important subtext to Step 3 - you have to value your own worth, because often no-one else will. It is in a company’s interests to keep you working for them. IT companies, and games companies in particular, make a great deal of money from the continued support, effort, and talent of their staff. Believe me, they make a lot of money. Generally, but not always, they look after their people in return. It is a symbiotic relationship, and a trade off. But it is not ownership - it is crucial to remember that when the pressure is applied, as it usually will be. Good companies understand this, and facilitate ways to keep staff even when they move. Luckily, THQ was one of those companies.

I applied to several studios within THQ. I traveled to New York to interview with one, and did several phone interviews from Australia with others. Applying from Australia, I was trading up. I knew that. There was really no practical reason for a studio to choose me over a US native. I had everything to gain, and they didn’t necessarily gain much in return. So I wasn’t phased when the polite declines started coming in. It was to be expected.

I initially wanted to only work on either an FPS or an RPG, as these are the games I most enjoy playing. I figured I had done a long enough apprenticeship on kid’s games, and had made an internal vow during the previous project that it would be the last kid’s game I ever did. Perhaps unwisely, I told that to the design director and executive producer during production one day. They laughed, “yeah right”. But I was completely serious.

However as my options became narrower, I considered a possible position at a studio in the US’s south west. The major attraction of the position was that the manager who had set up THQ’s Brisbane studio was now heading up this and some other sister studios. Not only did that mean I had an established working relationship there, but he was (is) also the best manager I have ever had by a very large margin. I knew I wouldn’t be stepping into a viper’s nest of issues. It was not my first choice, but it was an attractive option.

So, as these things tend to happen, the telephone interview with the studio I wouldn’t normally pick went amazingly well. They liked me, and flew me over for a week to interview and check out the area. I liked what I heard and saw, and after several months of visa issues arrived into a mild desert winter to take up the position of Senior Designer on my first real AAA, “gamers” title. It took 6 or 7 years to do it, but I am finally working on games I would actually play.

So far, the experience has been altogether positive. The US is a different world where the games industry is concerned. It’s like going from school to university. Everyone is good at their job. Some are phenomenal. The standard is higher, and there is so much more money here. On my desk I have twin landscape monitors, a widescreen, high definition, flatscreen TV linked up to an XBox 360 dev kit with a retail 360 next to it. I have easy access to PS3’s, Wii’s, and every handheld imaginable. The system I was given on day one is a dual core processor with 2 GB of Ram and a latest generation video card. I am earning more than I was in Australia. And that is all on top of the world of opportunities that exists here.

I don’t know how long I will be in the games industry. A recent trip to Indonesia has changed the way I look at the world, and has likely changed the direction of my life. But for now I don’t regret anything about the move, and can only recommend a similar path for other Oz developers who are interested in making the jump into triple A. Whatever happens, at the very least, I will eventually return to Australia with experience and skills I could not have gained at home.

  posted by monty · at 5:44 am · filed under General