2024-01-18 23:00:00
Eilidh MacLeod, senior game designer at Media Molecule, shares advice on how to overcome self-doubt and learn to recognize your accomplishments.
*This article is part of a project to provide students with insight into life in the game industry and advice on entering the game industry.Get into Games” is part of this.
Despite being a straight-A student and graduating at the top of her class from Abertay University, Eilidh MacLeod (Senior Game Designer at Media Molecule) never felt like she was good enough.
Like many people, she suffered from impostor syndrome, a set of emotions that led her to ignore her own successes and excellence.
“The most common characteristics of impostor syndrome include a lack of self-confidence, underestimating one’s own contributions, attributing one’s success to external factors, having unrealistic expectations for oneself, and having expectations fall short. There is a fear of not being able to respond,” MacLeod explained on the ACADEMY stage at EGX 2023.
“Impostor syndrome intensifies feelings of powerlessness and makes us feel like we are not capable of doing such things, that we are not capable of answering such questions, that we are not capable of speaking at such meetings, that we are not capable of having such opinions. They try to make you think that you don’t have it, that you don’t have the ability to pursue that role.”
MacLeod has been trying to overcome his feelings of impostor syndrome for years, and was kind enough to share how he overcame it in his role as a game designer.
Learn how to talk about game design, not games
Understanding each element of a game and breaking it down has proven to be much more important in improving MacLeod’s voice and communication skills than just having an opinion on the game.
“Learning how to break games down into parts and talk about them objectively was the key to truly improving my communication skills in design,” she said.
“I”Deconstructor of Fun” to learn how to deconstruct games and understand the intentions behind their systems and design decisions. By having confidence in your own understanding of the game, you can approach impromptu conversations, meetings, and interviews with your own perspective. Because I understand the intent behind the design.”
“I can’t express how useful this is for communicating my designs. Design is so subjective and it takes the bias out of it. Understand the design intent behind decisions. Now I can design with more confidence and stand by my decisions.”
Become good at presentations
Connected with communication is the ability to present one’s ideas to colleagues and peers. In the past, MacLead used to be so scared of presentations that he couldn’t sleep at night. Because of impostor syndrome, I was worried that I would be exposed as a fraud. However, in order to overcome that fear, she decided to face it.
“I say, ‘Get used to it, rather than learn it,'” she says.
“When I worked at Fortitude Games, I set myself the challenge of creating a presentation summarizing important information about all the features we designed for Exploding Kittens. I started to really understand the value of communicating my designs or just information this way. I create complete design documents with all the details you could want.”
Eilidh MacLeod (Media Molecule) MacLeod believes it’s important to provide a logical overview of the problem to be solved, how your design will solve it, and the work required to do so. Noticed. She then shared these presentations with her colleagues, and before long she was able to act like herself.
“I started using humor, being able to be myself in a team, and feeling relaxed and happy talking about my designs,” she says. “If you’re having fun, you’ll naturally feel more relaxed and confident. Create a presentation about something complex. It doesn’t matter if it’s a potato or a tree. Show it to people and see what works and what jokes don’t catch on. It’s just practice.”
Get to know your fellow developers
Another way to gain confidence in communicating with colleagues is to build closer relationships. Doing so will make it easier to collaborate with other people working on the project, leading to improved work.
“For a design to be as robust as possible, all aspects of accuracy need to be considered,” MacLeod says. “I realized that in order to feel like my designs were as good as they could be, I needed to be good at communicating one-on-one with individuals. I spent time working with different teams. I talked to members one-on-one to understand their thoughts. I learned that there is always a difference between conveying a design to a server programmer and conveying it to an artist.”
“Spending time on these relationships will ultimately lead to trust in your decisions and confidence in your communication.I always find really good, collaborative work at every stage of the design process. I try to have open discussions and communicate in as wide a range of ways as possible. I don’t just talk to my peers and friends, I always push myself to improve my communication with new people, regardless of team composition or hierarchy. Please.”
as human as possible
A person with impostor syndrome may doubt their own abilities or worry that they will not be able to produce enough work. To combat this, you should become more comfortable with showing work that is not yet finished or perfect.
“The only way I felt confident in my ability to sell myself in the right way was to try it out. I learned about
“Show your imperfections. One of the most crippling aspects of impostor syndrome is the fear of not living up to expectations, of not having your contributions appreciated, of being made to look stupid.” says MacLeod. “So you’re afraid to show someone something that’s not perfect. But that doesn’t work in game development. Nothing is accomplished in a day, so it’s important to show imperfections and be yourself.” is the key to fostering good relationships.”
Being yourself also means being honest with others about what you can and cannot do. As MacLeod says, you need to be able to share unfinished and incomplete early work, get feedback, and iterate quickly.
Have a strong support system
Dealing with impostor syndrome can be quite lonely, so it’s good to have people around you who can boost your confidence and support you during negative times.
“It’s important to have a strong support system of people you trust, both inside and outside of the workplace,” MacLeod says. “Imposter syndrome is so hard that if I didn’t have that support system, I can 100% say I would have left the gaming industry.”
“Find someone who lifts you up when you’re feeling down or who reminds you of everything you’ve accomplished. Receiving feedback about your designs and the kind of designer you are can also help push you forward. Find your own cheerleader to cheer you up during negative times.”
Counter self-blame with evidence
In addition to having a support network of people who can help you fight the thoughts that impostor syndrome brings, you can also gather evidence to show that the negative voices are wrong.
One way to do this is with what MacLeod calls a “brag bag” – a list of the positive things people have said about your work over the years.
“It can be embarrassing at first,” she explains. “But when you’re feeling down or feeling like you can’t do something, this book is an easy read that promises to lighten your mood and help you combat the feelings of impostor syndrome.” Challenging negative beliefs with evidence can actually be very effective.”
Special way to write a resume
MacLeod says people who suffer from impostor syndrome can benefit from reframing the way they think about their accomplishments. Rather than just listing his accomplishments, he thinks about the problems he solved and how he solved them.
“When I list my experience on my resume, I often write it down as bullet points and then move on to the next bullet point,” she explains.
“But what really helped me in presenting that experience was to describe it as an action and explain the impact and intent it had on the game and the team. This gives me confidence when applying for jobs and interviewing. It was very helpful.”
“By repeating my resume and writing about my experience this way, I was able to better structure and sell myself when I struggled with self-confidence. It also showed that I understood the value, which was always an advantage in interviews.”
Let’s try it anyway
MacLeod’s next piece of advice for dealing with impostor syndrome is “Just do it” from popular Hollywood actor Shia LaBeouf.
“Apply for jobs, take tests, constantly polish your resume, and interview, interview, interview,” she says. “Doing well in interviews and tests is an absolute skill in itself. It’s not something that everyone will naturally be good at, and it takes practice to get good at it. Even if you don’t get the job, that’s okay. Let’s aim for the next one.”
“The only way I felt confident in my ability to sell myself in the right way was to try it out. By treating interviews as a skill that I need to improve, my confidence has grown.”
Fight procrastination with the Pomodoro Technique
For many people who suffer from impostor syndrome, facing unacceptable situations and trying to complete the task at hand can often be taxing. As a result, we tend to put off work, so finding ways to force ourselves to do what we need to do is essential. Create a spiritual bragging rights bag (image found on Etsy).Reminds you of your strengths and accomplishments“For many of us, impostor syndrome often involves procrastination,” MacLeod says. “Overwhelmed by the feeling of not being able to do a task well, we become obsessed with doing it perfectly and procrastinate. Then we rush to complete it. Even when we receive positive feedback, we They feel like they can’t do anything good because they rushed it, that they’re a fraud, and the cycle repeats.”
To avoid procrastination, use the Pomodoro technique. This is how you work for 25 minutes before taking a 5-minute break. Mr. MacLeod puts this theory into practice bypomofocus.ioI recommend this website.
“Whenever I have a task to do, I go to this website, start the timer, and then get to work,” she says. “Strangely enough, within a 25-minute time span, self-doubt is reduced.”
don’t be afraid to ask questions
In closing, MacLeod said that asking questions is not a sign of weakness and can actually boost self-esteem and help overcome impostor syndrome.
“I used to think that if I asked a question in a meeting, it was game over and the deception would be exposed,” she says. “I would be known as a fraud. But actually, asking questions in a room full of other people improves your confidence in a meeting. It will also help people.”
“Media Molecule has given me more confidence. In the past, I couldn’t ask questions because I felt like people would realize that I made a mistake in hiring them. But when I told my leader about it, she said, She said I was very quiet. I told her my problem and she told me to just ask her a question because she told me she was thinking the same thing and had forgotten to ask. The more questions I asked, the more confident I became. Now I can’t stop putting my hands down, so maybe my boss gave me bad instructions.”
Additional tips from Media Molecule staff
In preparation for his talk, MacLeod asked his colleagues at Media Molecule for additional tips on how to overcome impostor syndrome.
- Be as vulnerable and honest as you can handle, even if it’s scary. It’s necessary to form important bonds with fellow developers.
- Compare what you know now with what you knew when you were a new graduate. Doing so often helps you see things in perspective.
- If you record what people say about your work, you can read it back when you are feeling down.
- Have friends like Hype. Someone who uplifts you and reminds you of your accomplishments and successes.
- Remember that most people have fears and anxieties. Even people who appear to be full of themselves often feel stupefied. It’s helpful to remember that we’re all just living our lives somehow.
- Stay humble, appreciate the perspectives of others, and use them to support and enliven your own. By doing so, you will always feel like you are making progress. Accepting feedback and criticism openly can be seen as a tool to dispel impostor syndrome rather than reinforcing it.
*This article is part of the special feature “Get into Games.”Other lectures and panel discussionshereA selection of the best ACADEMY guides for job seekershere(Both are in English).
*This article has been translated under a license agreement with GamesIndustry.biz (Original article here）
1705623342
#ACADEMY10 #Tips #Overcome #Imposter #Syndrome #GamesIndustry.biz #Japan #Edition