Game News EA (FIFA 23, The Sims) wants to recruit you but you don’t know it yet! Interview with Kim Tyler.
The video game industry is desperately looking to bring in new talent with different profiles to continue to renew itself. Awareness, training, working conditions… Electronic Arts has been actively encouraging creative talents (drawing, storytelling, etc.) for several years now to discover the video game sector. Kim Tyler Vice, President People Practices at EA, tells us regarding it.
There are so many avenues for creativity and story-telling. We want people to know that whether they’re fresh out of college or looking to make a career change, the video game industry is the perfect place for creatives. … No matter what kind of creative you are or where in your career you are, there are opportunities for you.
Summary
- Importance of creative professions in the video game industry
- Diversity and inclusion: the key to more originality
Importance of creative professions in the video game industry
When we think of people who work in the field of video games, we immediately imagine a horde of developers glued to their computers. If their work is certainly essential, it would be in vain without the participation of the creative teams, which make it possible to shape both the content and the form of the game in development. And we’re not even talking regarding the production teams, marketing and other essential branches. In the world of video games, there are many professions that are too little known and informing the general public regarding them has become a real challenge today. On the occasion of the round table on the place of women in the industry organized by Xbox, the lack of information and orientation towards video game professions had been discussed at length. It is in this perspective that the Academy of Video Game Arts and Techniques has recently launched a podcast offering to discover 50 video game professions by 50 women, for example. In a more targeted register, Marine Macq’s book, Video game imaginationshas shed light on the profession of concept artist.
From the graphics to the soundtracks of our games, video games are full of opportunities to be creative.
But the work must also come from the studios. Awareness and orientation are two very important points, of course, but the players in the field must also find ways to attract and welcome new creative profiles. Fortunately, many studios have already tackled the problem. This is notably the case of Electronic Arts. Kim Tyler, Vice President People Practices in the American company, is particularly keen for EA to be open to many profiles, wherever they come from. And this goes through its apprenticeship program in particular.
The creative arts play a crucial role in game development and we want our audience to know that. To grow the next generation of creatives in the industry we have developed our apprenticeship program on an international level. The latter includes more than 65 apprentices in Europe alone, and ranges from more traditional fields such as programming or engineering to more creative ones such as art or design.
Diversity and inclusion: the key to more originality
First point: welcome new profiles. Second point: welcome new and different profiles. Because if finding new creative minds is already difficult in itself, the goal is also to offer diversified teams whose members have different backgrounds and references. By recruiting the same profiles too much, we inevitably end up with people who think the same and develop more or less the same thing. This is why EA has sought to welcome many creatives from ethnic or sexual minorities into its midst. For several years, EA was, for example, one of the companies where it was good to live when you belonged to the LGBTQ+ community. And there is no secret, to become one you must above all rethink the way it recruits new employees.
Inclusive recruiting is an important part of EA’s Hiring For Results program and more than 300 managers and 1,500 other employees receive this training each year.
But if recruiting is good, keeping these talents is even better. Take, for example, a group that is still underrepresented in the video game industry: women. During the round table we mentioned above, the speakers mentioned the fact that not only were there few women in the industry, but that they did not stay long in the studios on average. An observation due in particular to the work climate or the fact of being confined to the same position with no prospect of evolution. EA has fully understood these issues and is working to make its business a pleasant and attractive place for all types of employees. This means promoting the principles of diversity, equity and inclusion (what EA calls DEI) within the company or the importance of not forgetting these people and offering them regular career opportunities. interesting.
We strive to attract, engage, develop and retain diverse teams and have increased the proportion of minority talent in several sectors. This includes the overall increase in the number of female talent from 24.5% to 25.5% from November 2021 to October 2022 … We have increased the number of minority talent in executive positions from 46% to over the past two years.
However, there is still work to be done.*.. But the fact that these issues are now at the heart of the vision of a giant like EA but also of other studios bodes well for the future. A progression that will certainly benefit creative people who were previously reluctant to embark on a field that is nevertheless rich in opportunities, but also the industry. Because who says more varied profiles, says different visions and new creativity breathed into the next games. If you are the type to point the finger at the fact that games all look alike, know that one of the simplest ways to stem this phenomenon is naturally to welcome new and varied. And maybe you are one of those creative profiles that the industry needs to renew itself, who knows.
There are so many avenues to explore when talking regarding the future of video games and it makes this a particularly exciting time to join the industry.
