Liam McDonald, Hunted Cow
Liam talked to TalentScotland about his experiences in his first games job in Scotland.
What interested you in gaming as a career?
I’m from England originally but was living in Spain when I decided to develop a career in games. I’d been interested in sculpture but thought I could have a more rewarding career if I used my artistic skills in the 3D environment of video games. I chose Abertay as it has a great reputation for games development and had a course specifically on Computer Arts that focused on environment art, which is all about designing the different levels and assets in a game.
How did you hear about the Graduate Placement Programme?
Once I qualified, I started to look for a job. One day I received a letter from Abertay asking me to fill out a form about how I had been doing in terms of seeking employment. In this letter was a leaflet advertising the Talent Scotland Graduate Placement Programme, which had the open position for a 3D environment artist at Hunted Cow Studios. One of my lecturers knew the people at Hunted Cow and suggested that would be good experience for me so I applied, and was successful.
What are you working on at Hunted Cow?
My role is to develop 3D artwork for the games environments, anything from landscapes and trees to objects that players have to find and use. I’ve been working on two games: Battle Dungeon for the iPhone; and I have been given a specific development project at part of the placement to refresh the levels on Hunted Cow’s big web-based multi-player game project Eldevin, which is due to release this year. It’s very exciting to be able to work on these projects.
How has the Graduate Placement Programme helped your career?
It’s been a fantastic opportunity. I’ve learned so much since I started in March 2010. I like the fact that we work across different teams and I can see how everyone is synchronised in different roles to bring the game together. I’ve learned a lot about the business, particularly on the commercial side. I’m currently a junior artist, but after this experience I definitely want to continue to develop in this industry now to become a senior art director.
I’d say to anyone interested in the Graduate Placement Programme to definitely do it. It’s a great way to get real “hands on” experience and the training week organised by TalentScotland is also very useful and a great way to network.