The Guide, or Kanban, Taxes and Everything (Else Business Related)
- Emma Findlay
- Aug 23, 2019
- 4 min read
I made the decision to pursue a degree in video game design during an unstable part of my life. High school, as it was for many people, was a tumultuous, confusing and often painful time of my life. To cope, I turned to video games and quickly fell in love with the power of interactive narratives.
When I started my degree, I expected my love of game narrative to evolve into a passion for creating my own stories and experiences to share with other people. To help them the way the games I played helped me.
Now I’m nearing the end of my degree, I have discovered my true passion is for spreadsheets.
I do still love the unique ability of video games to enhance narrative through interactivity, it just turns out that I don’t enjoy creating these narratives. I’ve discovered I like systems and numbers, certainty and order. These are not traits that marry well with narrative design.
So, I pivoted. I’m now pursuing production, with a side of systems design. I want to focus on developing skills involved with project management and running a business - work that I find enjoyable and satisfying. I also still get to help people by supporting developers so that games get made and get into the hands of players. It’s a win-win.
Thus, in this spirit of supporting my fellow developers, I have decided that my IGB400 project will be creating a compilation of resources for business and production targeted at indie development studios in Queensland – hereafter known as The Guide.
The Australian games industry generated $118.5M in 2016-17, but did so with a remarkably small number of full-time workers.
The total number of full-time game developers in Australia is somewhere between 928 and 1,307 people. The total number of full-time game developers in Queensland is somewhere between 130 and 223.
There are 78 students enrolled currently enrolled in IGB400. To employ just the people in this unit, the Queensland industry would have to grow by at least 30%.
But this isn’t the only disadvantage graduates have entering Queensland’s game industry. With around 31 game development companies in Queensland, the average game studio has between 4 and 7 full-time employees. Anecdotally, this feels true – the majority Queensland-based developers I know work for small indie studios. The people running these small studios who I’ve been able to talk to have told me that their companies cannot afford to take on junior developers, even though they would like to. The very few larger studios, while they are able to take on some junior developers, can only offer a handful of positions at that level (Interactive Games & Entertainment Association, 2018; Walker, 2018).
So, if Queensland is a pretty dire place to get an entry level job in the games industry, what are us graduates-to-be to do? I see three options.
1. Move to Greener Pastures
There are large game studios in the world that are capable of supporting graduate developers, they just aren’t in Australia. For example, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Riot Games all offer graduate programs - but the graduate programs are all located in the US, Canada, China or Europe (EA Careers, n.d.; Ubisoft, n.d.; Riot Games, n.d.).
2. Transition (Temporarily) Out of the Industry
Moving to the global games industry increase the number of game development jobs available, but it also increases the competition for those jobs. To get a foot in the door, the best option may be getting a graduate position outside of the games industry and developing the transferable skills – with the potential to come back to the industry once you’ve developed your skills.
3. Make Your Own Job
Whether it’s setting up an indie studio with friends or becoming a freelancer, the best way to start a career given the current job market may be to create your own job. For my project, I want to focus on this third group – and make the prospect of being your own employer a little less frightening.
The first edition of The Guide is planned to comprise of four sections:
Establishing A Business
Comparing Business Structures
How to Establish a Business
Financial Management
Budgeting
Getting Financed
Tax and Other Legal Obligations
Publishing
Self-Publishing
Dealing with Publishers
Project Management
Project Management Techniques
Project Management Tools
These sections may change as I discover new things. I plan to source information for The Guide through online research and through discussion with contacts in the indie scene. Once completed, I plan to publish The Guide on my portfolio and promote it on social media channels.
Many of the production roles I’m interested in require skills that producers can only acquire while working with teams on years-long projects (Dixon, n.d.a; Dixon, n.d.b; Gameloft, n.d.). This is far beyond the scope of the IGB400 project, so I’m instead taking this opportunity to fill what I feel is my biggest knowledge gap – how a business actually works. It’s also the biggest gap in my portfolio, with my production and design work well covered by other projects.
By publishing The Guide, I will be able to both develop my knowledge and demonstrate my understanding of business. Furthermore, in an industry as competitive as the Queensland game development industry, reputation goes a long way and a useful resource with my name on it will hopefully increase the clout I wield.
Finally, despite my previously dire analysis, I believe there are opportunities in Queensland for people willing to strike out on their own. I also believe that people leaving the Queensland industry – or the games industry entirely – greatly costs our culture and economy.
Through publishing The Guide, I hope that I can help other developers to stay in Queensland, stay in games and thrive in this difficult industry so that they can make the kind of games that help people like me get through the confusing, tumultuous parts of our lives.
References
EA Careers. (n.d.). University Graduate Careers at EA. Retrieved from https://www.ea.com/careers/students/university-graduates
Ubisoft. (n.d.). Graduate Program. Retrieved from https://www.ubisoft.com/en-US/careers/graduate_program.aspx#
Riot Games. (n.d.). University Programs. Retrieved from https://www.riotgames.com/en/university-programs
Dixon, A. (n.d.a). Production Director. Retrieved from https://www.amiqus.com/job/production-director-jobid-7041a
Dixon, A. (n.d.b). Head of Production. Retrieved from https://www.amiqus.com/job/head-of-production-jobid-7311
Gameloft. (n.d.). Senior Producer. Retrieved from https://jobs.smartrecruiters.com/Gameloft/743999685815897-senior-producer
Interactive Games & Entertainment Association. (2018, January 17). Australian Game Developers March On, Generating $118.5m In Spite Of Limited Recognition and Support. IGEA News. Retrieved from https://igea.net/2018/01/australian-game-developers-march-generating-118-5m-spite-limited-recognition-support/
Walker, A. (2018, September 27). The Australian Gaming Industry Is Much Bigger Than We Thought. Kotaku. Retrieved from https://www.kotaku.com.au/
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