when I'm doing all right I had a lot of sleep last night a lot which is where so it's nice
oh that's good all it's good to get sleep um Well Oh can play off but have been kind of showed me a bit
OH MAN Yeah 1000 People not even in game like in video games.
Yeah still really really did to like what we like white. It's crazy anyways I am just dropping the lights out to people but Togo's if you want to either show screen or drop your resume in in the chat icon through the stream either way it works. Okay are you having audio visual problems? Or not at all at the moment
right yes
yes a little bit my
mannerism Yes.
Okay. I will pull this up. We can go to and then I will go drop some for see if anyone else wants to join in but we can go through this now
ordered my new computer speak it here after Christmas but it looks like I'm gonna have to get a nice webcam to go along with it's not potato quality here.
Also, co.
if you have a portfolio to anything else they want us to look at this link that is
Okay, so from Columbia,
I know a few folks. I know a few folks, either in Columbia or from Columbia. Nice people. I'm pretty sure
yes. Oh so both experience in video games and take a call
Okay, and let me know when school students
Yeah, I'm looking to go ahead and scroll down the software you're going to get two pages this is good. That's actually your resume looks pretty good. It's set up for ATS here. Skills, a lot of relevant experience. I mean, yeah, wow. There's not much I can say here. Sometimes you know, not sometimes, you might want to try to manipulate it to where it's on one page as much as possible. All the information you have is great. You can try to maybe reduce text size a little bit and find some extra space but some of the information that we like to give to job seekers is that you know, recruiter or hiring manager usually can only spend about 30 seconds looking at your resume. So you want to have all the information possible at the very all the most relevant information possible at the very top of your resume. So you have a kind of you have a summary there and then your job experience and then your skills. What was really saying last time pretty much it's like if you're coming out of school, you want to education first. If you're looking for like I guess, mid level, you want to have your work experience first. And if you're looking for senior level, you want to have like your skills and contributions first. So looking at your resume here, and I mean, you're probably mid to senior level here. So I think you're set up nicely. You know, having your work experience or the industry visuals. You might want to take out that summary. That'll get you some more room first and then second, then information could be put in cover letters. When whenever you're applying. So it'll give you more space on your resume and then the cover letter serves as a purpose of kind of overview of what you've done. Okay, and relating it to the job that you're looking for. Yeah, the only really the only thing main thing I'd say is like make those bullet points, maybe smaller, maybe cut out two or leave it to like three or four to try to fill up space. But you know, for the most part I think what you what you could benefit from is just messing with font sizes and spacing to to reduce the amount of space you're using.
One One thing that I have also heard that's a suggestion is like having five bullet points on your most recent and then other meeting are two jobs two or three bullet points. So that way, you're taking up space.
Yeah, that sounds good. And then your skills there you have a lot of skills. You want to try to like this is good and I've seen a lot of people do it where they make a robust resume, and then they cut that resume down when they're applying for specific jobs. So for example, you know, you could you have all these skills here that are really good. Whenever you're applying for a specific job. Try to find those bits which which ones were most common or most relevant in the job experience and then just test the skill section down to just those 10 or 15 skills
all right, and looking at your portfolio This is fantastic. Done a lot of good concept work here. And the fact that you're focusing on concept work is very good. You know you have one and you're not kind of all over the place your portfolio really sells that your your focus is concept art, so that's good. Yep,
I agree. Do you have any questions for us?
And not for a moment. So the points do tell me for the resume is a really, really interesting I'm thinking not. So thank you. Thank you very much for for the advices
You're welcome. Wow, that looks really cool. It's one that looks like an orc with the second row second from the left. I like that. Do you have any examples of the concepts that you made? That are in do get like have been modeled and rendered
for for for video games, I have some the last ones the two last one for was for for video games. I mean, the the most recent ones. Oh, sorry. That was for a video game. But we're saying mostly he yard or diesel development. And the rest of my work is from the NBA so I can show anything. Hadley
I was just reading an article on this unfortunately how tough it's for artists because a lot of your stuff is under NDA. So yeah, they were literally the articles suggesting that unfortunately as an artist you have to spend a lot of time on your on your downtime working on portfolio work because you're not going to be able to show all the portfolio work that you've done. But so you said these first two here were from a video game. So these are the concept sketches. Is there any in game footage of this sort of thing?
Let me find the patient the game
so that's what I would recommend is like you show your concept art and if you have something that's actually been built in game, put that next to it so people can see you know, where your concept art goes from, from concept initial concept to actual physically being put out there. Yeah,
let's just say something like this. This is the concept Otis Meyer, the this just like give credit to whoever did that. That's also something that I usually send people through. Yeah,
I see you name the game champions ascension game in in here. I mean, make it easy. If you could throw a link in there. I haven't used Artstation myself, but if you can, I mean, make it easy. So people can link right to the campaign. I can Google it too. Okay, okay
the game is still in I think in is not full full. Initial. Sorry, understand. This. pre alpha
looks pretty cool. Well, that's good, good game to have worked on. Did you volunteer for this or was this a commission?
That was our commission or for all the the visual development of the environment? Better what was really interesting, really fun to them.
So it was as you said, you did the environment for this, all of them.
Yes. The concept or not, not the 3d modeling. Yeah. Engineer stuff, just the concept work.
That's pretty cool. Things things. Yeah. Again, you look like you're in a good position based on your portfolio and your resume. So just keep doing what you're doing. Make few little tweaks but make sure to when you're sending out resumes. Yeah, just make sure to tweak your resume to, to the to the position you're applying for. I like to use chat GPT to generate the initial cover letter. Well go here. Here's the cover letter, or here's the job description. Here's my resume, generate a cover letter based on that. And then, you know, I don't just send that to them. I'll just, I'll make sure and tailor a little bit more tweak it up and go from there. But that's a real good way to get quick letters that contain the things you need and are really specified for the job you're applying for. Have you been applying for a lot of jobs recently? Yeah, yeah, it's just want to make sure and stress again, a lot of people get get a little disconcerted when they are applying for a lot of jobs and just not hearing anything back but unfortunately, that is most people's experience these days. So just make sure not take it personally and keep keep working for it because a lot of people are really applying a lot of people are laid off what it wasn't 6000 and in the jobs industry, or 9000 and yet what it wasn't Michael, do you remember what was what was the number total now
with the latest? I think it's closer to 11,000 Nuts
including the parents, both Hasbro ones. Yeah. So 11,000 people out there in the games industry or gaming related industry looking for jobs right now. I keep saying it's a great time to if you're looking for work and everybody's looking for work, it's gonna be real tough. It's always a great time to do your own thing. Start your own studio, work on your own projects,
and love to have a publisher and your convention while you're doing too rough too rough too to where we were kind of out taking games that are out a prototype stage or or prior um, and Aaron is working on kind of an incubator and accelerator fooding if you want to go into that a little bit. Yeah,
so I'm helping developers get to the point where they need publishers, you know, so rafter is helping now to after that point, I'm helping helping developers get to that point. So any developers that are interested I got a form online. I am link it in the chat coming up here. But yeah. We're definitely kind of working together on both ends of that thing to try to help out developers that are maybe newer to the industry get their thing seen get their things played get their games dreams created.
That sounds really really interesting. I even in Colombia, so is the industry here is because Mall. There's a few studios doing doing things doing really interesting things, but that still are really small and they are not hiring anyone. So it's difficult now but yeah,
well, that's why I continue to stress and now it's the time to put in, you know, putting in that sweat equity you know, put in your time onto a project to hopefully bear some fruit later. So if you're not getting paid anyway, you might as well put yourself in a position to get paid later. And so sometimes that it takes doing the job for free in order to get the job. So if you can find something to work on in the meantime, that's really important that you AC your skills, stay sharp and be so you can keep putting stuff on your resume. Keep that in mind too, that you don't have to just put AAA stuff on your resume if you're working on indie stuff you put your tabletop stuff, which is fantastic. That's that's very important, too. But yes, put everything on. You're working on their resume. Yes.
Oh, I also put another link in chat. We had a interview yesterday. With another group that was actually key in helping rafter to get started. But game moves home is if you're looking for freelance work, you can create a profile there as well.
Okay, interesting. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much for all your words and your your tips. I am thinking notes and I for sure will apply Oh
yeah, I'm I'm popping believe in to a few groups to see if anybody else wants to join. There were a few people that had asked to join on the LinkedIn page but I'm just one problem also blocked on people. But yeah, we may be a little short but it's almost holiday time so I get no not everybody may be on the line of smokes right now.
Realize that that other person was your auto pilot, auto pilot
ah yes
okay
gonna stop screen two for one moment
so you've been in the industry for six years turbos I guess how how. How do you like the game industry? comes in I mean, it's like is there a specific type of game that you're like working on and things like that?
Well, my my actually gain game experience and almost the last two years what I was working on almost lien, marketing image plus all the stuff and I was doing some concept art as well, but the projects were. I was working in outsourcing studio, so we we have the task. Almost never know. What are the game where where we are working at. We don't know a lot of things about the game actually. So was really difficult to to get familiar for for specific type of games. But I really liked to work on big games. They were building on all the stuff is really interesting for me, all the level design works. So I would like to work on that projects.
Okay. So you certainly a lot of times you don't even like get the rest of the project. To see how what you're working on bits in.
Yes. The sourcing world is like that you will get the task and you don't you. You get the tasks done. And that's how you, you pass to other tasks for totally different game. A totally different style. So it is it is weird, but you get used to that
that's an interesting, interesting challenge to have to work with. I can't imagine it Yes.
Yeah, because I like to dive into the, the lore of the game or how the game works. How is the concept of the game when when you you receive a task, just do this scenario. Tomorrow work on this total different thing is almost impossible. So you have to to build that skill to change really quick have a style means mindset.
Well, yes. Especially with concept art, because I can't it's like having to make up a concept for a game when you don't really fully know the premise. I mean, that's that's got to take some serious skill.
Yes, yes. Oh, sorry. Let's, let's say continue with the with my Mitchell. Guys. Thanks. Yeah.
So you go go ahead and finish what you were saying. But I just wanted to say welcome him. Or Hello mispronouncing
not all good. Oh, good. Hello. Yes. Did
you have anything else to say close? And no, thanks. Thanks. Hello. You're okay. Yes, sorry. Can you say your name? I just want to point out, right.
Oh, me. Yes. Striking. Yeah, you can try but you can call me study if it's easier for you. Okay. Yeah.
Well, could you please elsewhere? Yeah. I put these up on the screen share it
right sorry I didn't catch her. How do you say your first name striking? Yeah. Yeah,
yeah, that's that's important. Yeah.
I'm getting better. It start working with a lot more people all around the world and it gets easier to pronounce some names. Alright, so take take a look at your resume here. The first thing you know that I have is yeah, you want to take it out of this format. And put it in the hole. Is this is just a standard like Word format or office or Word document format. Because what you have here is going to have ATS the applicant tracking system that most many hiring people use these days will have trouble going through and pulling out the keywords out of the out resumes that are laid out like this. And then a lot of times what that means is you are not even gonna get past the first step of resume reviews. Because when it's pulled through that AI system, it's not going to pick anything up. So one thing that we always want to tell everyone and as we just told Carlos is that, you know, when you have a recruiting manager or hiring manager looking at your resume, you got about 30 seconds to capture their attention. So even if you did get through that first step of ATS, you got a lot going on and on this on this resume here. You got your eyes are kind of going all over the place and I kind of feel like when I first look at this I'm a little bit overwhelmed.
Understood Understood. Thank you.
You're welcome. So I in the basic thing must most simple suggestion I'd have is to start off with like a basic word document. You got about seven says yep, seven plus years. experience working as a game designer. That's fantastic. So you're looking for a mid to senior level role. So start off with your work experience and skills your education may already on here. It doesn't take up a huge section. So that's good because you know, you're not just at a school you're not trying to get a job right now. I like all the information you have you have the awards that you've won. That's fantastic. That's something if I'm looking to hire people I'd love I'd love to see you take up a lot of space here with the platforms and the genres and stuff like that. So I mean that's good information to include it shows people that you are a gamer that you live in this world but but this does take up a lot of space right here scroll down Michael affliction. You see what I'm saying? But yeah, what you have platforms PC mobile console, like that takes up a lot of space. And that could literally just be one small line on your resume. So Wow.
Or even, or even first icons. Yeah,
even though Well, we want to stay away from icons and pictures because again, ATS can't pick those up. But that is true. I want I want to stress that this resume looks fantastic. You built a very good looking resume, but unfortunately in the job world. Now it's not people that are can be looking at it right away.
Understood understood because
because most like most gaming jobs that I've seen, and this is actually something that led directly to me studying rafter like before studying rafter I have been working for work for about a year and I got one interim shot. You know, even with multiple optimizations of my resume, it was still very challenging. I was seeing like, and this is before the really mass layoffs stood indicating. Even before that, like six months ago, I was seeing like 800 people applying to one job within 24 hours and some like big companies were getting like 2400 applicants within like two or three days.
And some kind of troubling news. We had a recruiter or HR person on here at some point I forgot who it was exactly, but they they mentioned that for the most part these companies they take taken and look at resumes as they come in. So first come first serve. So, you know if you got 2300 people applying for a job and you're 2301 it's gonna you're gonna be hard pressed for heads even get your resume looked at so you gotta be quick, unfortunately and see those jobs come up. There's a lot of things that don't even necessarily have to do with your resume, per se. That factor in to you even you're getting the job getting looked at such so yeah, just one thing.
I'm dropping a few things I'm grabbing a link to I will be dropped doubling in but I shared
but these are a few resources that we can offer in this whole mess also. Close connect us. But basically, Rafter games is my company. We're focusing on helping you publish games that are out a prototype or both is working on the accelerator which will protect study not quite to that state yet. And then gamers home if you're interested in posting up freelance profile they they are accepting profiles. It's also a good community.
Thank you for the links means a lot. Thank you and thank you both for your insights into my resume. Yeah, I have nothing else to say except that I'm grateful. Yeah,
so I do have a few questions. I mean, I see you have quite the design background. Is there a specific type of game that you're interested to work on?
While I'm trying to transition more into hopefully AAA at some point because I've always wanted to work on those but as far as like, I just like working in video games so I don't have a specific like type as long as I can contribute to making video games. That's all that's all I want to do.
I can't say what title yet. But rafter is in the middle of signing a few protects with with mostly trails. strategy on sim games on our docket, but we're also looking at a few others. So keep an eye out on the left two kids and the LinkedIn. We may be posting opportunities hopefully in the near future.
Great to know no thank you. Thank you
Oh, is there aside from bunch of layoffs. Did you see any other exciting industry news I've all I've seen lately is a lot of people dumping on Starfield. It's like still seven years $300 million something like that. I mean,
some people seem to like it, um some people I haven't seen some of that as well
sorry, one second.
tell you this. I talk way too much about season discovery. Way too much as in I'm actually considering starting to play World of Warcraft again. Oh my god. Just just the very idea. Makes me feel like I'm going crazy.
I agree with you that no, I don't want to start I was thinking of starting it again. But I honestly cannot. I shouldn't fighting valiantly against myself starting it again. But yeah, yeah.
It's it's yeah, it's that internal struggle that I have as well but I got a little devil on my shoulder. Also another buddy of mine has been playing lately and he's been whispering in my ear. Well, Max when I was 30 characters, same
Sam, my one of my best friends started playing again and he said like, why don't you join us? I was like, no, no, no.
I have been playing WarCraft one ball though. The new mobile game which is actually pretty good. They did a pretty good job actually making it feel like OTS on mobile like it is kind of clash royale style. But you have like all the classic Warcraft characters and unit types and it is actually pretty fun. I probably have over 20 hours in it so far and like a lot more
leeway I think. So what kind of game is it? I'm looking at it in an RTS
II. Yeah, it's kind of like they took Clash Royale and expanded.
What is the Clash Royale?
Ah, it's a popular mobile game but is I would say some people call it like a tower. Multiplayer tower defense game but Warcraft one ball has bigger than wraps like because they are always just like one screen where ours you do actually have like a big map like to the floor at us that you can like move to move them out. So it's it's pretty cool. I'll probably open at this point.
Looking at the screenshots Yeah, I kind of liked the sound of multiplayer tower defense. That's a cool sounding gun. Yeah.
Yeah, though, the one criticism I have so far is that there was no like, you can't play against friends. You can only Matt's mate sofa. But yeah, has like a full single player campaign and maps, make maps made PvP and you can add things in a guild so that you are able to kind of collect because it's a collecting game as well. Like you collect different units over time.
it's actually probably the game that I've been playing most like
winning one mentioned that if you weren't already planning yeah
well, so hopefully I will be going. I'm actually considering Tatyana just mentioned in that as thinking about going to GDC this year, which is in March.
I'm definitely looking out for our conference. Ended up like furball costs were too high. Because a plane or a bus or a train is actually expensive done at every point. Now what
is crazy because we don't have crap for trains in this country and it's too bad. When I read that Europe that was so awesome. Being able to go all over with trains so easy.
Yeah, I mean, I was able to go to Dallas dream hack in 2019 before the pandemic. I like Cobos. Definitely keep in touch. I will I will make sure that I'm connected with you on like Yeah,
yeah, guys. Yeah, me too. I'm gonna strap my LinkedIn definitely connect with me on LinkedIn. Yes
that's right, man. I'm not getting any links. You're doing right apparently I'm gonna Yeah,
have to put the HTTP on Zoom
Yeah, definitely connect with us, or let us run in this industry quite often. I know. I'm personally as as an accelerator. I'm quite often looking to work with freelancers and help hook up developers with artists and things like that. So artists game designers, all sorts of things. So hook us up with us on LinkedIn and yeah, definitely something. I'm always going to be shouting out and posting on LinkedIn to see
1122 other fake resources since you guys both have quite a bit of experience. Um, another resource that you can look at is those indie game Academy and there's Amelie Shopbop Celeste. Let's I'm sure a lot of us are familiar with but just in case but beyond like just walking into the job last. I also recommend like, if, since you have industry experience like sign up as a mentor in either of those programs just to be able to network with other people because like with indie game Academy, they're doing kind of a game jam type of format, where they help people actually build a game and then pits them to topple Sue's. So it's, it's another networking opportunity.
Right. Well, as far as industry news, I don't really think there's too much else going on that I've seen. No,
not not at the moment. I mean, we've had a bunch of Team announcements. Oh,
that one game that grant
that one. I'm wondering if we're thinking of the same thing that that game the bike, gathered, steam paid for the arms, but failed.
Oh, no. I mean, I'm not sure if it's the same thing. But he's, yeah, I said that game that MMO or something that launched and then like three days later, they're like, Oh, we're done. We don't we can't we can't do this anymore. I forgot the name. of it all of a sudden, but yeah, it was it was crazy news. And it sucks because it's what I see when I see that as it feels like it's like, oh, we're just gonna ruin it for everybody else who wants to crowdfunding crowdfunding again? Yeah.
Yeah, um, I mean from my understanding Yeah. First off also be that they got hit by extinctions cuz I believe the developer jus in Russia.
Oh, wow. Really? Yeah. That's that would say, Well, they didn't seem to say anything about it.
Yeah. I mean, they might not have been able to.
I'm curious if we are talking about the same one the day before is the Yeah, okay. Yeah, yeah,
I know a stream. Ooh, that was gonna be putting out a bunch of content about so it's like like just the ripple effect on things like that. It's pretty
crazy It's just frustrating because you know, to see something that made a big splash crowdfunding it was a good and for Indians like this was their first game to you know, it's like, Oh, hey, gives us all hope. And then they just shit the bed and it's like, oh, well, I guess that's why people don't want to fund in these are first timers, which makes sense. But, you know, if they had gone and made a super huge hit, it would have been, I think a huge shot in the arm for the indie scene but you know, this is actually I think the opposite.
Mike Yes. Yeah. It's pretty, pretty tough.
Well, where are you based?
I said in the top left corner.
I'm based in Serbia at the moment. Okay.
So yeah, that makes awesome. I saw it says education. You know, you never know if you're in the same place as far as you went to school.
So what is what is your rates for freelance game design? When you do that? Um,
honestly, I does the hardest question anybody can ask me. I don't know at the moment. I mean, I've only been out of work for a couple of weeks. So I haven't actually like done rates when I worked freelance for the, for the four apps factory, which worked on my little world, the mobile game, I think it was my payment was around 3000 euros per month. That's, I worked there for a while. As a freelancer. I did work a month there, um, just to look and help them set up everything and then all of the others was around at that rate as well. So that's kind of I think, what I'm okay with what I can live comfortably with. So, so yeah,
that's good. So euros are we exchanging about the same right now? I think the last time I looked we were
that's pretty close. Point.
Nine one. So yeah, so about, I guess, maybe about $3,500 a month that's that's pretty good. Shoot, I can live off that. So yeah. We live in Texas in Austin, Texas has been like the one of the fastest growing cities for the past, like 12 years. Did you see that? We're like the 12th year in a row. We're the fastest growing city for this year. So it's been getting pretty expensive. But, you know, it's good to see that day. You guys and in places like Serbia and Eastern Europe can demand and actually get comparable rates what we're getting that's that's good to hear. Because, yeah, not even five years ago, you're seeing like maybe even half is what is what people were able to charge. It's
still the same. I might have been lucky but some of my peers don't have those rates as well. So they have they had a full time job where they are and like maybe 1000 per month, which is I think extortion at its finest. Due to the amount of work that they do, but yeah, it is what it is. It's it's a bit of a wonder that economically strong as a country, so it is what it is. But yeah, I must have been lucky.
Yeah, well, I mean, that's the thing you can well, maybe not, you know it since you unfortunately don't have a job now, I can see it happen a lot. It's like Oh, well. You might have to take some hopefully you got a good savings. But even if even even if you do have good savings, I might I would still recommend taking some smaller things that maybe don't pay as well. Just just to keep that income flowing and stop hindered or not hemorrhage as much family. You know, that's not a resume thing. That's me from my my experience comes from production business side of things, so I can't help offering those kinds of suggestions. Yeah,
I'm open to anything to be honest, as long as I can contribute with as I said to video games. I basically one time I wrote to Ron Gilbert, when they announced the Monkey Island return to manga I wrote them Can I work for free? Because my favorite game of all time if every series so yeah, I don't have a like as I said, as long as I can contribute to video games. I need to live off or something but I will gladly do it for for like much less no issues.
Well, if you if you like Monkey Island, I'd actually be interested in your opinion on one of the games that I produced was point and click Story game. Let me get you a key for that if you're interested in playing through some.
Of course, of course I reached out I sent you a connection on LinkedIn. So I'll play it and then I'll switch you up. I'll ping you when I'm done if that's okay. Yeah.
Yeah, I'll send it to you on here that probably easier. Well, I mean, I guess we're kind of coming to a close here, Mike. Yeah, you have anything else?
I'm not at the moment. I will drop the recording in the event. We've been doing this that way. If people come across the event, they can see what happened. And you guys can download it.
All right, cool. I'll be messaging you here shortly. But let's talk to you hopefully, guys, and come hang out and chat and we'll see what comes of it. Of course. All right. Have a good one to talk to you guys.
