iTWire - Are you game?

Are you game?

by Mike Bantick

Sunday, 12 November 2006

The PlayStation 3 is here, and Australia is at the forefront of a booming Games industry. But there is a crisis looming: a lack of human resources. Australian Games developers are crying out for technical talent, especially experienced talent, to take up the challenge of this now legitimate industry. Do you have what it takes?

In a recent interview on Melbourne's 3RRR 102.7FM, Evelyn Richardson, CEO of the Games Developer Association of Australia, talked about the expansion of the industry locally.

"In the last twelve months, the top five studios in Australia have grown by 50%, companies like Krome being placed in the top five of the world."

There are now more than forty studios producing an export industry of AUD $100M per year.

With the advent of the next generation of gaming consoles now hitting the market, game development projects have grown in expectation, complexity and obviously cost. As such the level of investment and the size of project teams has increased dramatically.

There is a two-pronged requirement of youth and experience to fill these project teams. Richardson states, "We expect, that for at least the next three years, we will employ as many Graduates as we can get out of our educational institutions."

Richardson expanded on the need to continue to build a local cabal of experienced games industry people as well. But he lamented that: "We will continue to bring in experienced people from offshore".

Ben Palmer, Executive Producer at local games developer IRGurus Interactive, echoes the sentiment for the need to find experience in the programming field.

"Programmers are the one we are desperately short of, there is a global drought of Programmers. We are hiring from all over the globe, but so is everybody else."

He goes on to talk about his belief that people with C++ and similar skills just don't believe that game development is a series alternative to traditional business paths of employment.

With the popularity of "Modding" for existing game titles, and the public release of software like Microsoft's XNA development harness. There could well be a view that game creation still falls simply into the hobby scene, not a viable career choice for any serious technologist.

In an attempt to counter this, the GDAA has gone on the offensive. First will be the inaugural Game Connect: Asia Pacific Conference, from 30th November to 2 December, 2006 at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Here the association will attempt to tackle the industries grass roots issues, and will also provide a careers market expo on the Saturday to enlighten students, parents and the like on how to become part of the Interactive Entertainment industry.

This will be followed with a web-based campaign, to show the specific steps people can take, in getting a foot in the Game Development Industry door. The aim is to encourage not only dewy eyed graduates, but also you grizzled IT veterans out there, to take the jump into the film-star world of game development in Australia. {moscomment}

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