We all love video games, and at some point we have dreamed of what it would be like to work in this industry. What requirements are needed? How do you learn to create a video game?
If these doubts have always crossed your mind, you should not miss this very interesting HobbyDirect in which Daniel Quesada and Jose Luis Sanz (product manager of the Animation Area at U-tad) chatted with Francisco Javier Soler (Video Game Projects Director) and Mercedes Rey (Marketing & Commercial Director)to know the U-tad formative offer and how they manage that their students come out fully trained to work in the video game industry.
VIDEO
Learn to develop videogames – Hobbydirecto special U-Tad
The experience of our guests in the video game industry is indisputable. Francisco Javier Soler worked for years at Pyro Studios, where he participated in the development of the different installments of the mythical Commandos and currently works as Studio Art Manager at CI Games.
For her part, Mercedes Rey has worked with companies such as Take 2, 2K, Capcom, Square Enix, Activision, THQ or Codemasters from positions of responsibility at the Proein/Eidos distributor. She was also part of the team at Pyro Studios and Ilion Animation Studios, prior to taking her current position at U-tad.
U-tad: a tailor-made training
In U-tad You will be able to find training offers focused on the different areas of video game creation. Both in the field of programming, as in design, production and art. All this in charge of professors with proven experience in each field and who continue to work in the video game industry. He University Center for Technology and Digital Art He teaches four master’s degrees within his postgraduate program specialized in video games:
In all of them a study and work dynamic is applied, the U-tad methodin which the students they replicate the way of working of a real video game studioforming their own teams, made up of students from the different areas of programming, game design, art and visual design, and production.
100% practical training by industry professionals
One of the differential elements of U-tad, compared to other training centers, is that from the beginning the students learn to work as a team with colleagues from other areas, under the baton of professionals with many years of experience and in continuous training, as Francisco Javier emphasized: “those of us who deliver the content are people who are active in the industry, or who have been living it from the inside for a long time, so we have a perception and a way of explaining things that is very real. Since day one, we have always tried to ensure that what we tell the girls and boys in U-tad about the sector comes first hand, that is essential for us”.
“Right now in U-tad we have more than 1,900 students and a faculty of more than 300 teachers, of which 80% are active professionals in the sector,” said Mercedes. “In other words, if you come here to teach design of something specific, it is because you are working on it within the industry. If you come to teach rigging it’s because you’re working on rigging, if you teach level design it’s because you’re working on level design, or graphic or physics programming”.
A real experience, with real results
The aforementioned U-tad Method makes it possible for students of different degrees and postgraduates to go out into the working market with practical knowledge in their respective areas, as Francisco Javier explains: “Basically what we do is replicate, almost entirely, the structures of a real studio. Not only in deliveries or in the phases they go through, but in day-to-day operations. Our boys and girls usually have production meetings every 15 days with a real producer. We prepare them to go directly to produce in a studio just as we do today”.
It seeks, above all, to train them when working as a team, prepare them for the way of working and the requirements demanded by professional video game studios. “It is not so much the quality (of the student) but their ability to work as a team. You can be worse individually, but have a very high ability to work as a team and that is what we look for in companies”.
The result of so much effort, in addition to the knowledge obtained throughout the year, is tangible, in the form of a project that students can present at Job interviews to demonstrate their talent and experience. “They can’t develop a complete game, because it would be unfeasible, but they can develop what we call ‘a proof of concept’ that forces them to go through all the phases”, explains Francisco Javier. “Thus, when you arrive at a studio you are used to a closure, a delivery, you know what the pressure is, you know what it is to work with other departments and you end up understanding that in the end, a good game is made by a good team.”
U-tad’s top priority is train true professionals able to adapt to an increasingly demanding industry. “It is important that they understand how a project is developed, that they understand how to work as a team and that they know that we have a year to train a person and turn them into a professional”, adds Mercedes. “Our obligation is to get them to leave as well trained as possible and above all to be competitive in the labor market.”
Looking for guidance? Don’t miss U-tad’s “Video Thursdays”
One of the big questions that you will ask yourself a lot is what area of the industry to dedicate yourself to and if you think you have enough knowledge to face a master’s or postgraduate degree. The U-tad teachers will also be able to help you there, as Francisco Javier explained: “If you have doubts (I recommend that you) do the interview for admission to the postgraduate courses. I personally manage the interviews in the art department and one of the things that I try to help in this regard is to discover whether or not you have those elements that are needed”.
And now, thanks to U-tad’s “Video Thursdays”, you have it even easier. This Master Class cycle takes place every Thursday, so online and 100% free. They can help you orient yourself, since they are focused on discovering what your vocation is. At this link you can find the schedule of the Master Classes, which are taking place during the month of February and will continue throughout March, given by veterans of leading companies such as Disney, Dreamworks, Ubisoft or Electronic arts.
Do not miss the direct, because it is not wasted. In addition to solving many doubts about training and the way of working of professional video game studiosFrancisco Javier and Mercedes gave us a lot of amazing anecdotes about their decades of experience in the sector.
And if you still have any questions, on the U-tad website you will find all the information about its different training offers, both in the field of video games and in other facets of the audiovisual industry.
