How to Intern at a Game Development Studio
Being an intern in the gaming industry isn’t what many people think. There aren’t any coffee runs or dry cleaning (except on Thursdays). It feels much more like being a student at a workshop, or perhaps an apprentice.
I’ve had the good fortune to be an intern here at Spacetime for 8 months now. The internship has given me a lot of knowledge prior to entering art school that I can use to my advantage, while affirming the decision to make it my career path.
Our game is enormous, with a somewhat ‘anime’ visual style. Despite the number of people developing it, this unique visual style is kept consistent. “Process” is a big part of that; David Levy is very big on establishing style guides for us to follow when designing assets for the different races. Before designing any new race or class, we gather a tremendous amount of reference materials. We strive to understand the flesh and bone of each race: colors, textures, architecture, technology, character references… you name it. Everything we produce is inspired by very deep, immersive world fiction written by Design. Keeping in mind how a race is motivated and their history, consistent assets are fairly easy to design.
Design will often prepare a Concept Request Package for specific pieces, that give us the specific information we need to satisfy the design needs while keeping the asset as badass as possible. It contains links to all relevant stories, descriptions of look and feel, background, purpose, dimensions, etc.
The piece above is a set of motion studies is for the female Engineer class. This was my very first assignment, giving the animators a base to go from. Idle stances, some emotes, some “charging up” stances, etc. As described, Engineers of the United Colonies are highly intelligent, if not sometimes a little over-confident. They are described as, “one part grease monkey and one part research scientist”. Raised in working-class colonies while being a certified genius, they are often a bit rough around the edges.
These are a couple of weapons for the United Colonies Enforcer. One is a close range scatter-shot gun and another is longer-range multi-projectile gun. The “grayworld” concept (a very loose 3d ‘mockup’ of the asset by a 3d artist) was used as a foundation that not only increases the accuracy of the design, but it makes it easier overall for me to design it.
This final image is a speedpainting I did of the UC portal in the Lone Star system - an expansive asteroid field rich in natural materials, but poor in civility or civilization.
What have I learned about being an intern? An internship is a sweet gig to grab. However, the gaming industry is definitely a niche industry where knowing the right people is just as important as being able to do the job. Many studios don’t have an internship position listed - but if you’ve got a connection in the industry, their word is better than any application and can easily “make” a position for you. Any company loves cheap labor (especially small ones, wink-wink). Ask them what you need to do to get an internship. If you don’t know anyone in the industry, then get on it! No matter what you want to do, there is a forum or chatroom or blog on the web for it, where some professionals are certain to reside. Talk to them online, ask them for help or critique on your work so they get to know what you are capable of and how you react to feedback. They also have to know you are a nice, reliable, sociable person capable of working in a team environment.
For example, I managed to snag this opportunity through a random, off-hand remark. I met our Visual Director, David Levy at a workshop in 2006 when he worked for a different company. I got his MSN address and we talked back and forth for a year. In mid-April I asked about an internship, he asked for a link to my work and offered suggestions on what needed improvements. After a summer of working 2 labor intensive jobs, I finally buckled down and did it. I caught him on MSN, gave him the link again. A week later, I got a call from HR telling me I got the internship.
The rest is history!
- Justin Oaksford
June 18th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
Justin, awesome work! Love the motion studies for the female Engineer class. Definitely gives the character some life and a real presence.
Also enjoyed your comments relating to networking and building relationships. You’re absolutely dead on. If you don’t step out of your virtual “home” online, no one will know you exist. Therefore get out into the communities that interest you, as it’s the best way to make relationships with other like-minded or similarly passionate people.