Last month Community Champion volunteers from the National Videogame Museum attended a ‘Getting Into Games’ talk with team members from Boneloaf, a local Sheffield studio known for the hugely popular party game Gang Beasts.
The museum organised this event in response to a number of volunteers expressing an interest in learning more about the games industry and how to pursue a career in games.
Three members of the Boneloaf team – Junior Developer Tester Samantha Lewis, QA Lead Dan Denton and Conor Clarke from Marketing and Communications – joined us at the museum for a panel discussion with Community Outreach Officer Lauren O’Donoghue, followed by an open Q&A. Samantha, Dan and Conor shared their own stories of getting into the games industry, gave advice to would-be developers, and recommended resources that volunteers could access from home.
This opened up a conversation about ways into careers in gaming, and dispelled some of the myths around the ‘right’ way to pursue an industry role. The Boneloaf team members all had different levels of education and professional experience, demonstrating that there are people from all backgrounds working in the games industry.
“I found the event interesting and insightful,” said Community Champion volunteer Seraphina. “Hearing from Conor had the biggest impact on me, as I knew very little about how the social media side of a company works.”
“It was great to see Boneloaf talk about their experience,” said Community Champion volunteer Sam. “You could see they loved their work, champion diversity, and discussed how the industry seeks new and hidden talent! It was great hearing how they operate behind the scenes, and their passion for games. I didn’t consider how a games company monitors and responds to players, fans, and public opinion; so it was interesting to know more about it! I left feeling positive, inspired to develop my knowledge, and gain more experience.”
At the museum we believe that videogames are for everyone. That means every aspect, including how they get made and who makes them. The more people who can access the skills and support required to make their own games, whether independently or as part of a team, the greater diversity there will be in the games being made and the stories they are able to tell.
The NVM wants to encourage people in our community to get involved in making games as well as playing them. We’re doing this in a variety of different ways. This includes exhibiting interactive design tools like Twine and Scratch in our ‘Lab’ area at the museum, providing exciting educational workshops for schools and colleges, running a game design course for young women of colour as part of our Next Level project, and hosting events like the Boneloaf panel for our volunteers – to name just a few!
“It was fantastic to have Boneloaf at the museum to meet our brilliant volunteers,” Lauren (Community Outreach Officer) said. “There’s so much knowledge and enthusiasm in the community. It’s a shame that the games industry still feels inaccessible to so many people. We hope that by sharing resources and stories from ‘behind the scenes’ we can empower people to get involved in making games of their own.”
There are a huge number of careers available in videogames. As well as programmers, engineers, animators and testers, the industry also employs artists, writers, actors and musicians. There’s also operations and community-facing roles such as player support, administration and marketing. And that’s just in studios! There are plenty of solo designers and small teams making incredible indie titles too. There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ career in games!
