• 31Mar

  InsideEA…welcome to San Francisco

  Developer Insight, EA Across the Globe 10 Comments

  

  Just as I promised the other day, let’s travel today to EA’s Head Office in San Francisco.

  EA corporate headquarters is based in Redwood Shores, California. Also known as EARS, EA Redwood Shores is home to a diverse range of development studios with franchises ranging from the bestselling The Sims, to the sci-fi horror title Dead Space and Dante’s Inferno.

  Located approximately 30 minutes from San Francisco, EARS is an amazing place to work. It has a real campus feel with great office space, two onsite restaurants, a large gym with the latest exercise equipment, a beautiful lawn for soccer and other sports, outdoor volleyball and basketball courts, and much more. The campus also features a number of cool meeting areas, gaming areas, and its very own Starbucks. Not far from EARS, in Emeryville, another EA team works on Spore.

  

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  Tags: EAHQ, EARS, Head Office, Redwood Shores

• 29Mar

  ‘Mum, Dad, I want to be a Game Designer’!

  Career paths, Developer Insight 25 Comments

  

  Everyone wants to be a game designer.  It is by far the most popular topic that the recruitment team is inundated about…..how do I become a game designer?  What qualifications do I need?  

  Everyone wants to create the holy grail.  That ‘AAA’ hit that sells millions across the globe to huge critical acclaim.  But not everyone will be the next Will Wright or Miyamoto. 

  In the past we have highlighted a presentation made at the Swansea International Animation Festival called ‘Mum, Dad, I want to be a Game Designer’.  This is published on our YouTube Channel and has had 23,440 viewings and been rated at 5 Star by the Community.  It is a 50 minute presentation, so grab a coffee and settle in……click here and enjoy

  Also, extremely noteworthy is an interview published on our sister site www.ea.com by Lucian Tucker.   Lucian met with Rom Rodriquez, a Level Designer on Dead Space 2 to get more insight into breaking into Game Design…..over to you Lucian…

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  Tags: Breaking into Gaming, Game Design, Game Design career paths, I want to be a Game Designer, Meet Romulo

• 29Mar

  Breaking into the Games Industry…QA…Meet Raasahn

  Career paths, Developer Insight 14 Comments

  

  Lucian Tucker from www.ea.com meets with Raasahn a Senior QA Test Lead, who provides a great insight into working as a tester in videogames.

  Raasahn leads “the QA team from the start of the project to the finish.” And unlike what you would expect, he came to EA 5 years ago with an interest in testing, not in making games.

  What’s your name and job title?
  My name is Raasahn Browder and my title is Senior QA Test Lead.

  And what do you do as a Senior Test Lead?
  Currently I’m training for the Project Lead position but as a Senior QA Test Lead, I’m responsible for multiple projects at a time, leading the QA team from the start of the project to the finish.

  How exactly does that work? Can you describe that process from beginning to end?
  Sure. At the start of the project, the main goal is information collection and finding out what the responsibilities of the QA team are for the project. Getting a GDD (Game Design Document) and formulating a test plan to see how to tackle the project is the focus at the start.

  Also setting up meetings with the developers and producers you are working with is a large part of it. Working within the time frame allotted with the testing plan that is created is the major goal.

  Once that is complete, the focus is making sure that all aspects of the title that is being worked on are covered with the staffing that is available.

  When that is all hashed out, working towards the milestones and updating the developers and producers with the progress of the title is very important so they can make any changes that need to happen so the title doesn’t miss any of the milestone dates that were set.

  Near the end of the project, the focus is more on making sure that all the loose ends of the project are tied up and there are no major issues that still are not addressed as well as making sure the title is in compliance with all the current standards.

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  Tags: Breaking into Gaming, Meet Raasahn

• 29Mar

  Breaking into the Games Industry…Marketing…Meet Kate

  Career paths, Developer Insight 7 Comments

   

  This is a great insight into breaking into gaming, focusing on marketing that was recently carried on our sister site, www.ea.com.

  Over to Lucian Tucker for this interview:

  Recently, I’ve been seeing advertisements for EA games all over the internet. It’s almost as if the web sites know I’m a gamer. Well, they probably do. They know, for example, that I just searched for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. So if my interviewee Kate Cochran did her job correctly, Google and Bing are going to then show me banners for the game linking to the EA Store. And maybe I don’t click on the EA Store banner but instead go to some other web site–there is still a chance I’ll see another EA advertisement for Bad Company 2.

  As a Marketing Specialist however, Kate does more than make sure banners show up on Google. I’m not exactly sure why they call it “Specialist” though. Shouldn’t everyone who focuses on marketing at EA be a specialist?

  

  What’s your name and job title?
  Kate Cochran, Marketing Specialist.

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  Tags: Breaking into Gaming, Marketing careers, Meet Kate

• 29Mar

  Inside EA….let’s go meet some of the team in India

  Career paths, Developer Insight, EA Across the Globe 15 Comments

   

  We always love to bring you up close and personal with our teams.  Those of your considering a career in gaming have been emailing us like mad asking us how people have got into EA and what skills and experience they have. 

  So, what better, let’s profile some of our staff. 

  Let’s start with an insight into some of the characters working at our offices & studio in Hyderabad India……..Let’s start with our sky diving friend Madhur! 

     

  EArl:   Hey Madhur, where were you educated and what degree did you get? 

  Madhur:  Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation & Control), Chennai, India 

  EArl:  Cool.  What job do you do at EA? 

  Madhur: Develop automation scripts and tools for different game titles 

  EArl: What do you love about your job? 

  Madhur: Playing at work is my job and I love it! 

  EArl: Why did you choose to work in gaming? 

  Madhur: Loved playing NFS II when I was a kid. Always wanted to know how games were developed and yup, am here! 

  EArl: Why did you choose to work at EA? 

  Madhur: Working is fun at EA 

  EArl: Describe Life at EA 

  Madhur: Freedom to innovate , Fun filled, dynamic work atmosphere 

  EArl: What are your favourite games?  Dont just restrict to EA! 

  Madhur:  Need For Speed Most Wanted, Burnout Paradise 

  Now time to say hi to our friend striking a Rock band Pose……Sanjana 

    

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  Tags: EA India, Employee Profiles

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