Visiting Big Fish Games!
In March our DSFA teens were invited downtown to visit Big Fish games at their waterfront headquarters- thanks Big Fish for supporting our youth tech trainees! Founded in 2002, Big Fish Games is an innovative developer and world-class publisher of a diverse portfolio of casual games people can play from any device.
Our ten students were met by Jonathan Maltos, Vice President of Human Resources; who introduced Big Fish as a company that believes in having fun, which isn’t surprising given that they build games!
Waiting for us in the conference room was Brannon Boren, Game Design Manager, who shared this little gem of knowledge: “A house cannot be built by the contractor alone – you need support, and the same is true for game design. You need engineers, producers, and QA Testers. Game design is about flow charts, specs and diagrams.”
Brannen shared from his deep well of experience and knowledge what it takes to be a game designer and the kinds of skills students should study and develop. He talked about understanding the psychology of the game, the market the game is designed to target, and how this all ties into different kinds of game categories.
Next we met TK Doan, manager of the Quality Assurance department. TK explained what QA testing involves, including the difference between Black Box Testing, a type of testing which is done without knowing about the internal structure of the code, and White Box Testing, where the internal structure of the code is known to tester who will test the software. He also talked about the kind of skills you can learn and start practicing right now, like Photoshop.
TK shared how much he loves testing games and then advising the game developers on ways to make their games better! Student’s eyes lit up when they realized they could actually test games for a living! They payed close attention when he outlined the path to a career in QA.
Finally, they were able to talk to Kate who works with TK in QA. Her story was inspiring for students as she started at Sony with no coding experience at all, and was able to learn on the job and work her way up to a position at Big Fish on a three month contract. Eight years later she’s still there with a great job, and all without going to college.
It was important for her that the students know that if you act like a team player, listen, and pay close attention, people will notice. How you act in the workforce is almost as important as the value you provide in the workforce.
All in all, our student had a wonderful time at Big Fish Games and would love to go back.
The Big Fish team had a list of tips for them that apply to anybody seeking employment:
1. Work on those resumes!
2. Attend career fairs
3. Get into game fairs and events
4. Make your own games!
5. Sign up for day-long job shadows
Everyone at Computing For All and the Digital Skills for All Initiative thanks Big Fish Games for providing a wonderful opportunity to get to what it’s like to have a rewarding career at Big Fish Games.