Level up your future – Games Careers Event ignites big ideas and bold ambitions

UWL held a Games Careers Event at its Digital Futures Lab on Monday 2 February for students interested in careers in games, animation, and interactive media. 

The event was organised by Sally Sheppard, Lecturer for Game Design & Animation at the University’s London School of Film, Media and Design. It featured four industry professionals delivering 20-minute short talks on their careers and working in the games industry, followed by time for questions.

Conway Sutton, a freelance games writer and narrative designer bringing queer and disabled stories to life, talked about securing their first role after university and the power of joining communities and being visible in those spaces.

Aliaksandr Zhorau, a senior software engineer specialising in AAA (Triple-A) MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online) development, currently at Meta, talked through how engineers can communicate effectively with other departments and balance expertise with supporting the wider team to create amazing games.

HaZ Dulull, a Director and Producer specialising in cinematic storytelling, real-time technology, and games-led transmedia projects. shared his journey from an early passion for games, through work in cinematics and features, and on to his latest project at Beyond The Pixels®.

Darren Butler, a freelance games industry talent agent and founder of The Gaming Recruiter, gave practical advice on staying open to opportunities beyond the games industry by developing strong, transferable skills.

The event included time for networking, with the guests staying to play the students’ games and offer portfolio and CV advice. 

Event organiser Sally Sheppard said:

“I am excited to put on more events like this in the future and all our guests said they would like to be involved. Academia and industry should feed into one another.”

Guest HaZ Dulull said:

“One of the things I love about my career is the opportunity to give back and share, such as speaking to students about career paths in transmedia as film, tv and gaming are all blurring the lines between each other.”

Level 6 Game Design and Animation student Rory Lamb said:

“I had a great time, made industry contacts and felt inspired to take my game development journey to the next level.”