Australia Games Jobs is the professional group for all working in the video games industry in Australia or all interested in moving to work in games in Australia. This is the forum to exchange ideas, help and advice on current topics and trends in jobs and careers within games in Australia. If you are a member of LinkedIn, you can now get together with over 1500 others who share the same interests.
In this series fom ABC, they take an in-depth look at some of the key careers within the Games Industry talking to game developers across Australia. This video shows what it takes to get a job working as a programmer on games.
Hannah Crosby, Australian Character Artist with Microsoft Rare, met with Antonia Cullum of Women in Games Jobs at the Develop Conference in Brighton, UK. Her advice on the qualities needed seeking a job in the games industry. “I think persistence; there are sometimes a limited number of roles, especially in character art out there so you might need to be prepared to go into a slightly different role. I started out in environment art even though character art is what I wanted to get into. There are a lot more roles in environment art, so sometimes you need to get into a parallel role or into a similar industry. Basically doing your own work. If you go as an artist and having a portfolio of art you can present that shows you know how to do this stuff and that you’re passionate about it and do it on your own time.”
Austalian Gamer took a short tour of the Sega Creative Assembly studio in Brisbane, Australia. Developers of Medieval II: Total War and the Kingdoms expansion, General Manager George Fidler also talks about their next project on the next gen consoles.
Meet Brendan McNamara, Writer/ Director and studio founder and Oliver Bao, Head of R&D at Sydney game developer, Team Bondi. Watch the developer diary that explains the latest cutting edge technolgy behind the game, L.A. Noire. Team Bondi is a client of Interactive Selection.
The Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) event is Australia’s premier game development conference, focusing specifically on skills development, addressing industry trends and international business matching.
The Game Developers’ Association of Australia (GDAA), a not-for-profit industry representative organisation, runs and owns the conference.
GCAP 2010 will deliver thought provoking, creative and innovative topics covering programming, art, design and more from leaders in game development.
Game developers, publishers, investors, educational institutions, media, distributors and key interactive industry players from across Australia and around the world will be in attendance.
The expressed aims of GCAP 2010 include:
•Improving the core skills of Australian game developers via a series of keynote speeches and lectures from leading local and international industry experts.
•Creating greater awareness of global industry trends to ensure informed commercial decisions by Australian game development companies.
•Encouraging greater interaction and coordination between industry and educational institutions offering or developing a game development curriculum.
•Providing business matching opportunities by securing a substantial international publisher presence.
•Providing government information forums to discuss industry needs and direction.
•Attracting private equity investors to meet with industry participants.
Game Developers – Why Attend GCAP 2010?
Affordable Price: The conference is affordable and aimed at attracting studio staff from all over Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
Quality Content: The program is designed for developers and delivered by developers with expertise across a range of key areas.
Additional Benefits: In addition, the conference will provide an opportunity for:
•Networking with peers, publishers, investors, media, etc.
•Developing outsourcing/strategic alliances and partnerships.
•Recruitment and attraction of new talent.
Look out for Anne Marie Anetts from Interactive Selection who is introducing a number of the non techical GCAP sessions. You can reach her on annemarie (at)interactiveselection.com
Can you think of 2 more prestigious institutions than the BBC and Edge Magazine? David Smith, MD of Interactive Selection, found himself live in front of BBC News anchors Simon McCoy and Carrie Gracie at 10.43 on September 21st for an interview about the games industry and the topic of start ups and jobs. For a full 3 minutes he fielded questions on the state of the games industry today, how it may fare providing new jobs moving forward and how the unemployed may want to find a job within computer games. For a more detailed report see the Games Job Blog.
On September 21st Edge Magazine’s feature Get into Games 2010 was published and David Smith again found himself the firts external recruiter to be interviewed in the history of Edge Magazine. You can click through to the full report: Get Into Games 2010: David Smith, Interactive Selection
2 questions about the role of the modern recruiter from the Edge interview are repeated here:
Edge: Thanks to things like forums, modding and trade shows, the game industry gets closer to its audience by the year. How does that affect the job of the recruiter?
David: You have not mentioned social networking, which is probably a bigger influence than the other three. Sites like LinkedIn are a godsend for internal recruiters in particular, as well as for people with their own LinkedIn profile who want to talk directly to employers. But in terms of the role of the recruiter – and yes, it is changing all the time – I would say that recruiters these days are much less a necessary middleman than a necessary guide or confidante, or even a trusted professional advisor. That can be for employers as well, not just jobseekers. We offer that extra bit of expertise in what is a very fast and changing market.
Edge: But are not developers trying to step into that mentor role themselves to an extent?
David: The difference between that and a jobseeker talking to a recruiter is that developers only have the one job to offer, which is with their particular company. Recruiters are paid to have a knowledge of the overall market and don’t just offer a portfolio of potential jobs – they can also talk to jobseekers on a job-by-job basis. If you have got a job with Quantic Dream, they’re not going to offer you a job at Ubisoft down the road – they are interested in their immediate needs, so they are never going to be able to offer the advice that we give, which is really to look after people over their whole career.
Trust Interactive Selection for your recruiting needs in Australia and New Zealand.
Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) is Australia’s premier game development conference, focusing specifically on skills development, addressing industry trends and international business matching,and is owned and organised by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia. Game Connect Asia Pacific 2010 will be held on Thursday 14 October and Friday 15 October 2010 at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre, on Australia’s Gold Coast. “The theme of Game Connect Asia Pacific 2010 is The Player Experience”, said Tony Lawrence, President of the GDAA and General Manager 2K Marin-Canberra, “and we’re fortunate to secure such highly respected and knowledgeable speakers who will share their views on the changing needs of today’s gamers and industry.” Interactive Selection, Australia’s leading games recruiter, encourages all job seekers in Australian games to attend and network with the leading lights in the industry.
Krome Studios, Australia’s largest independent developer, have just announced the closure of their studio in Adelaide and cuts in their studios in Melbourne and Brisbane. Interactive Selection are looking to fill over 200 roles in game development around the globe. Most (but not all) jobs are listed directly at http://www.jobsdbase.net
If you know anyone affected by the layoffs announced at Krome, please ask them to make contact with the only global games recruiter with an office in Australia, Interactive Selection. You can contact Anne Marie Anetts, MD Asia Pacific, in Canberra on annemarie at interactiveselection dot com or you can contact David Smith in London on jobs at interactiveselection dot com
Halfbrick is a growing Australian game development company, established in 2001. They are dedicated to providing a rewarding working experience, building games with innovative gameplay while using quality development practices to make sure that everything is done on time with high production values. Here is a short tour of the Halfbrick studio in Brisbane from 2008. They are developers of quality hand-held titles on the iPhone, DS and PSP. Listen to the staff and managers talk about what it’s like to work there.
Can you think of 2 more prestigious institutions than the BBC and Edge Magazine? David Smith, MD of Interactive Selection, found himself live in front of BBC News anchors Simon McCoy and Carrie Gracie at 10.43 on September 21st for an interview about the games industry and the topic of start ups and jobs. For a full 3 minutes he fielded questions on the state of the games industry today, how it may fare providing new jobs moving forward and how the unemployed may want to find a job within computer games. For a more detailed report see the 
On September 21st Edge Magazine’s feature Get into Games 2010 was published and David Smith again found himself the firts external recruiter to be interviewed in the history of Edge Magazine. You can click through to the full report: 
Game Connect Asia Pacific (GCAP) is Australia’s premier game development conference, focusing specifically on skills development, addressing industry trends and international business matching,and is owned and organised by the Game Developers’ Association of Australia. 
Krome Studios, Australia’s largest independent developer, have just announced the closure of their studio in Adelaide and cuts in their studios in Melbourne and Brisbane. Interactive Selection are looking to fill over 200 roles in game development around the globe. Most (but not all) jobs are listed directly at