Scott Jennings: MMO Interview Survival Guide
MMORPG.com's newest columnist Scott Jennings kicks off his new series by giving potential video game designers tips on passing through the interview process.
Column By Scott Jennings on November 04, 2009
Welcome to the first in a series of columns where I invite you, the reader and MMORPG enthusiast, behind the veil into the sausage factory - some of the cautionary tales from behind the scenes of MMORPG production. Why is it called the sausage factory? Well, much like any food preparation, if you could see it being made, you would probably lose your appetite. Game production has much in common with any other software development that takes hundreds of people and millions of dollars; lots of office drama, lots of paperwork involving 401K plans, and lots of procedural work that has very little to do with games. However, the dress code is looser (usually devolving to a plaintive cry from Human Resources to "please wear pants") and most of your coworkers will have Transformers figurines (and for the love of all that's holy, never call them dolls).
So, of course, the first thing you ask yourself upon hearing about an industry with low pay, long hours, high expectations and rigorous competition is "how do I get me some of that!" Congratulations - you're partially insane, and that's a job requirement for any gaming industry position. If you're truly insane, you'll want to work in design.
advertisement Game design in theory, especially in MMORPGs, involves a lot of very creative people hashing out together the 'game' part of the game - the experience that the player has from start to finish, whether or not the systems work and are balanced, and whether or not the end product is actually fun. In practice, game design involves four things:
- Writing hundreds if not thousands of pages of documentation that very few people will ever read,
- Attending hours and hours of meetings where people demonstrate conclusively that they never read your documentation,
- Convincing programmers and artists to implement the things written in your thousands of pages of documentation, usually by using the threat of more meetings as a cudgel, or possibly alcohol and/or blackmail,
- Going home and posting on message boards like MMORPG.com using an anonymous account about how clueless the designers are of the MMORPG you play in your spare time that has nothing to do with your day job.
Naturally, the first step in being given a wiki account and the instructions to "write what the game is, please" is to actually get your foot in the door. "Breaking into the industry" has been the subject of countless columns, presentations at trade shows, and desperate backpedaling away from people thrusting resumes at you in hallways. As it happens, I have somewhat of a unique perspective on this:
- As the lead designer of two MMOs, neither of which you ever heard of because they were canceled, I interviewed many prospective designers looking for work,
- As the lead designer of an MMO that was canceled last month, I'm being interviewed as a prospective designer looking for work. (Hire me! I write lots of documentation!)
;)
If you're dressed like this,
you're not getting the job.
Of course, given the latest figures in the news that 10% of you fall into the second category, the first is a bit more interesting. Thus, some brief notes on what I looked for in interviews. Note: all of these events below really happened.
Look presentable. But since this is the game industry, not too presentable. If you show up in a suit and tie, you'll frighten us all to death. If you show up in shorts and flip-flops, you may not be taking this seriously enough, no matter how hot it is and no matter how comfy your flip-flops are. It's a fairly fine line to draw, and a good rule is to dress about one "level" higher than the standard attire of the office you're going to. If I don't know in advance the dress code at a company, I'll wear nice slacks and a conservative polo shirt. Remember: ties scare people.
Once you're in the interview, don't answer your cell phone and tell people you're busy being interviewed. Really, it's OK to put it on vibrate and not answer it. People will understand. Your interviewers will be somewhat less understanding.
If someone asks you what you did at your last job, "I played World of Warcraft all day because I hated the project I was working on" is not an acceptable answer, no matter how true it may be.
Show that you are literate. Much of your job will involve writing documentation (whether or not anyone reads it is entirely beside the point). Thus, treat what you submit with your application - your cover letter and resume - as the first step in this. Spell check. Grammar check. Actually read what you write afterward to catch all the stupid mistakes that word processors miss. And if you are sending a writing submission, that goes quadruple - if you submit a piece that obviously was not proofread, you've just demonstrated that you don't have the attention to detail to correctly finish the first piece of work that we've given you. There won't be a second.
Don't insult the interviewer. It's fine to have opinions, and to express them, but at the same time, do so with respect. If you are applying to a position on a live team for an MMORPG (and you're even more insane than anyone else for doing so, by the way!), don't start with a detailed dissertation of how every core assumption that the designers made was clearly wrong and how you would immediately improve things given just the fraction of a chance. Because, um, the people interviewing you are those designers who made clearly wrong core assumptions. Whether or not they are wrong is almost beside the point - to fix that, assuming that is in fact your objective, will entail working with others (including them) and building a consensus among a team of dozens that your views are in fact correct. There are ways to do this, and insulting the people interviewing you for a chance at it is not the best way to start. By all means be honest - but not confrontationally so.
Have opinions, and be prepared to defend them. This actually is fairly important, and is what disqualified many candidates that I interviewed (and was a pitfall that I stumbled over myself in a few). Being agreeable in an interview can be helpful, especially if people are trying to determine how well you'll get along with other team members. But as a designer you are being paid, in large part, to have opinions. Your job will be to analyze parts of the game and determine whether it will work, how it can be broken, and whether or not it will be fun. And a good game designer will rarely be able to turn that off - they'll do this not only for what they work on, but for every other game they play as well.
;)
Opinions, good. Sucking up... bad.
One common question I asked in interviews is quite simple: what is your least favorite zone in World of Warcraft and why? I use this question because literally everyone has played World of Warcraft, and because everyone who has, probably has run into some of the (few) pratfalls that Blizzard made in creating the game. Too many candidates, though, are tripped up by this question - they're so frightened to express an opinion that I would disagree with, or maybe of picking a zone that I disagree with, that they simply say they don't really have a least favorite zone - they all are equally good! The better candidates will pick one of the usual suspects (Stranglethorne Vale being a popular choice) and then explain why. One candidate surprised me and picked Nagrand - one of the more popular zones in the first expansion. This surprised me, and I pressed for more details. He explained that the feel of the zone was very different - gentle hills and pastoral valleys, as opposed to the otherworldly feel of the rest of the expansion. He went into further detail about how many of the major quest lines within the zone he felt were poorly laid out, and how the general flow of how you travel through the zone was at odds with how people normally play.
I hired him. And I like Nagrand.
Have experience. This is probably the hardest hurdle for people outside the industry to cross, and with good reason. The gaming industry is extremely competitive, and game design positions even more so. There are usually dozens of applications (if not hundreds) for every opening. Interviewers can choose to be picky, and the person with experience and working on a development team will almost always have an edge. Thus, if you don't have experience - get some. Whether in another discipline (I started as a programmer, many start in QA or customer support) or as part of a mod team, show that you can produce content and have something to point to. That will get your foot in the door so that you can proceed to make all the other mistakes listed above!
Hopefully this brief summary from the hiring trenches has been of some help to you, and may we not apply for the same positions.
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Aside from this column, Scott is also currently contracting with NCsoft.
Every Wednesday he provides us an insider's look at the MMO industry.
Interesting read, and I'm looking forward to hearing about everything behind the curtain of the MMO industry.
Scott, You have just now become my favorite columnist here. MMORPG.com picked well this time, and I was afraid that I wouldn't have any good reading after Sanya left. your voice will be one that I'll be looking forward to every week. Good luck!
#K
Entertaining, honest, informative, and easy to read. Can't wait to read more of your columns here.
This was really interesting, hope to see more content from you. Thanks
I still reserve the word "favorite" for Sanya and her columns for now.
Thank you Scott, I was about to start looking somewhere else for my information on MMOs.
"Every Wednesday, Scott will go "inside the sausage factory"
I will be looking for your column everyweek.
PS MMORPG, good work, and thank you for adding a columnist that I will read.
Mmmm... tasty sausages...
I am a network engineer. I used to play wow all day because the project I work on, well just doesn't change much.
My least favorite wow zone is Desolace. Strange flight point locations. Mobs standing around for no particular purpose but to be there to die. It is off the beaten path for Alliance players. It is just ugly, though that is likely on purpose, see desolate.
I want to be a designer. I write games in my head, on paper, in excel and word, and in my sleep. I want to build a true 3rd gen mmo. I want to win the lottery so I can do it.
Hire me away and save the life of a "meant to be a game designer". Oh yeah, I can't take the pay cut for a noob designer. Guess I will go buy some lottery tickets.
What I would do to have a personal friend like you to bounce stuff off of all the time. Live near Dallas? :)
Very good read, looking forward to reading more of your work..
Thanks for the positive feedback, everyone.
LordDMaster: Sanya is one of my favorite columnists as well (and a close and dear friend from our time working together), and I can certainly handle coming in second in your list. :)
Ravenshroud: Desolace got an improvement pass a while back, but it's still pretty, well, desolate (and the centaur faction quest is still as grindalicious as ever). And sorry, Austin, not Dallas. There's some game companies in Dallas but mostly first person shooters (iD software and its various descendants).
Welcome! I used to read Lum the Mad back in the day. Best rant site ever. Shame how it imploded after your departure. A big tip of the hat to Lum, Myschyf, Arcadian Del Sol and others whose names I've forgotten.
Long live the Fetupult!
Not quite everyone.
I personally don't know enough about WoW to answer this question. Now if you asked about EQ, EQII, or CoH I would gladly answer your question.
I did enjoy the article though. Keep them coming.
There were a few who didn't, and I would ask about their game of choice (which was usually either City of Heroes or Guild Wars). There were some who didn't play any at all of course, but they weren't applying for design positions - a familiarity with the MMO marketplace is pretty much a nonnegotiable requirement there.
One more I'll add: if you're applying to work as a designer on a released MMO, you should play the game you're applying to work on. This seemed obvious to me, but apparently it's not.
If the game has a free trial, and you demonstrate to me you haven't played it at all, the rest of the interview is likely to be a polite formality; I'm ready to show you the door right then.
(edit: not actually lead designer on pirates anymore, but 'Lead Designer on Unannounced New FLS Title' doesn't sound as good)
Ok, wait, so the overwhelming majority of people applying that you interviewed were asked to reference WoW, City of Heroes or Guild Wars. Man, I may be right, lol. There aren't many people actually building/programming games who have played EQ, UO and AC anymore. All those guys are doing the hiring these days and not making worlds. That's why I'm not too happy about the overwhelming majority of the latest offerings. These guys more than likely think that because they were asked about those games mentioned above, that's what they should reflect on when making design decisions.
In which case I'm okay with the V aliens farming us for food or 2012 actually happening as prophesied.
Nice writeup by the way.
LOL Mr. Jennings. I enjoyed your article. Thanks for the great tips 2.
Take care and keep designing.
Not at Mythic perhaps. Witness the cluelessness about player behaviour regarding keep-flipping and scenario grinding.
Anyone with experience playing MMORPGs could have forseen such behaviour.
Thank god, i thought i wouldnt have a chance to ever make it simply because i havnt played WOW.
Guild Wars will get me there!
Great read by the way, cant wait for next week.
Ok, wait, so the overwhelming majority of people applying that you interviewed were asked to reference WoW, City of Heroes or Guild Wars. Man, I may be right, lol. There aren't many people actually building/programming games who have played EQ, UO and AC anymore. All those guys are doing the hiring these days and not making worlds. That's why I'm not too happy about the overwhelming majority of the latest offerings. These guys more than likely think that because they were asked about those games mentioned above, that's what they should reflect on when making design decisions.
In which case I'm okay with the V aliens farming us for food or 2012 actually happening as prophesied.
Nice writeup by the way.
Nice "V" reference!
But if I recall correctly (havign just watched two solid days of the classic show on Syphillus... er, SyFy....
In the miniseries (of 2 hour 'epsodes'), they were here to steal our water, and then when they made it a weekly one-hour show, they were here for people-as-food, instead of water. Because the water, and much of the high-altitude regions of the world, were still contaminated with the "red dust" V-killing biological agent.
And, Diana the psychopath wanted revenge on the main characters for messing up here career plans in the miniseries.
I'm SUCH a geek....
Oh yeah! nice article, and really, the interview advice would apply, with different questions and dress codes, to just about ANY job seeker.
Dress just a little better than the people you're interviewing with (so you can "dress down", after making your good impression); know what it is this company makes and/or does; be able to DISCUSS what the company does and how you think you can contribute; and be willing to state your opinions without being confrontational to the interviewer.
You'd think this would go without saying, but when I was responsible for interviewing and hiring at a few p[laces I worked, it was stunning the number of people who did not even make the least effort to dress well, NOT STINK(!!!!!), and know what job they were applying for.
Yeah, you left that one out. Body odor (none, please) and grooming are important. I have interviewed stellar candidates who smelled like sour boiled gym socks... I ended the interview as fast as possible and "lost" their phone number.
Good read,
Okay here I am complete amateur, and just hoping that your further articles will cover this. When submitting sample writing in hopes of becoming a designer, what should be included in that sample?
Also, what about the art side?
Any insights would be appreciated.
Great read Scott, as always. :)
Very glad to see you writing here, very nice addition to the columnist team. :)
Being able to explain why a poor design decision is a poor design decision in your opinion is a skill that should apply regardless of title. WoW is the most played, most well-known MMO so it serves as a good starting point for the discussion (as Lum indicates, it's common ground). Your opinion might be disagreed with, but it's how you explain yourself that counts.
I actually think that no matter who you went to, saying, "I haven't played any other MMOs apart from EQ, UO and AC" is probably going to raise alarm bells about your knowledge of MMO development, particularly recent progress. Going into a 5 minute rant on UO's design flaws from over 10 years ago is probably going to see your interviewers give a lot of polite smiles as they help you towards the exit door.
Also, according to the forums, everyone played UO and everyone quit due to Trammel.
As one of the old guys from early MMO's and a old time reader I say bring back Lum the Mad!
Well it's good to know that designers are meant to have opinions about things, since I started veering off the programmer job and heading towards design, I've been thinking a lot more about design choices made in games, and picking them apart... it's a bit like, if any of your old high school English teachers did this, when you watch a movie and pick apart all of the little scripting parts, and how the scenes link together and relate to the "Hero's Journey", and then you go home and try to watch a movie you like and you can't help but piece together the "Revelation", "Tragedy", "Metamorphosis", "Resolution" parts, etc.
Sort of annoying, really, that I can no longer enjoy things ignorantly, blissfully unaware of their now obvious flaws.
A very good article and right on the head im sure.
Im not a game coder I come from the other line of coding. 24 years of Cobol on MVS IBM systems. You would not beilive what it takes to code entire systems.
I can only imigine with all the graphics prosssing and modling and what not all the extra stuff that has to be done.
So kudo's on the article.
Oh hey, it's LumTheMad. You may or may not remember my UO character. I wrote much in defense of player-killing.
Why did they use a picture of George Lucas? :D
You forgot the most important part: Be ready to deal with venture capitalist "jocks" who are ignorant trust fund babies only looking to make a quick buck and won't think twice about laying off an entire team to save their own asses.
I thought the guy in the picture would be perfect for a job at Leisure Suit Larry Online.
Nice article even though I am not looking for an interview :)
Being able to explain why a poor design decision is a poor design decision in your opinion is a skill that should apply regardless of title. WoW is the most played, most well-known MMO so it serves as a good starting point for the discussion (as Lum indicates, it's common ground). Your opinion might be disagreed with, but it's how you explain yourself that counts.
I actually think that no matter who you went to, saying, "I haven't played any other MMOs apart from EQ, UO and AC" is probably going to raise alarm bells about your knowledge of MMO development, particularly recent progress. Going into a 5 minute rant on UO's design flaws from over 10 years ago is probably going to see your interviewers give a lot of polite smiles as they help you towards the exit door.
Also, according to the forums, everyone played UO and everyone quit due to Trammel.
I think that saying " I haven't played any MMOs apart from WoW, Guild Wars and City of Heroes" should raise alarm bells. Just because they are more recent that the others I mentioned doesn't mean they are better references. Recent "progress" isn't universally considered so. Coming up with "someting new" doesn't seem to be working well. Maybe it's time to revisit the old some for inspiration.
Nice to see you join the crew, Scott.
Good Read/Article...look forward to more Lum
Great stuff! Good to see more great columns on the lineup.
Nice article, good to know if I'm ever suicidal enough to want to go into the industry =P.
MMORPG has landed a talented writer & I very much enjoyed this first column of yours here.
There are many great designers around & I would say most of them could write up a column in a similar vein, whilst only a few actually do because of time constraints or an unwillingness to divulge their own "tricks of the trade" I guess.
Informative & amusing & of practical use to any thinking of a career in the industry, one thing you hint at but don't expressly state is the depth of passion for what you do in the industry that you NEED, without a seriously, verging on obsessive degree of pasion for games you'll lose heart & give up when the going gets tough or the deadlines get tight, the passion drives you onwards through serious challenges, so if you aren't 100% convicted in your comittment just don't try, the industry will chew you up & spit you out if you haven't got the fight in you.