#PathToIndustry

[iqbalharisfutureworks-blog]

DD2000 - Route into the industry - Research pt.1 - The Role

Due to my previous experience directing short movies as well as studying courses related to creative writing, I have always had a flair for story-telling and coming up with multiple ideas. However, the strongest thing about them wasn’t about what was going to be the world’s back story or what kind of world the people would live in, however it was about people and their relationships, the issues they got caught in and how I could show those scenes. These were fleshed out ideas where I had planned each shot down to detail.

Still even with that, I loved taking even existing ideas, and putting a twist on them or making them look good. Still, as I have said before it was never about what the idea was but how I was gonna show it.

According to Sokanu, creator of one of the best guiding Career tests, “A video game creative director is someone who makes sure a video game project looks fantastic in all aspects, and is often the creator of the game concept. He or she is responsible for the overall vision of the product, which includes game play, visual style, story, audio assets, cinematics, and marketing materials.”

True to this definition, I have always wanted to have a sort of creative director role in videogames, where I will get to work with various different departments and liaison with them and build that bridge between their work in order to tell an idea or make something look as good as it possibly can, and ultimately get the best from the people.

Another two paragraphs that were rather spot on from Sokany as well were: “The creative director has to find knowledgable and competent team members for a project, coordinate duties between departments, manage the budget, approve different stages of the project, and present ideas and materials to clients.”

“Like a film director, the creative director makes decisions on voice-over talent casting, audio recording, editing, and gets involved with the marketing of the game. Creative directors must have a vision of the finished game, must nurture and coach the studio towards that end, and have the foresight to anticipate the changing expectations of an audience.”

The definition above matches with what I have mentioned initially, in regards to having an experience with directing short movies and people, as I am no stranger to dealing with different departments and working with them in order to create a product that people like.

It isn’t about just me putting my own ideas across and making them into games, but it is equally as important for me to get idea from a collective group of passionate people and do it every bit of justice it deserves and show it how it was intended. In the next post, I will be talking about some of the key creative directors that have inspired me, and why they managed to make an impression on me. This will be followed by me talking about the studios I want to work for and why.