4 Super Helpful Game Developer Videos

Over the past year or so I’ve found and watched a bunch of highly interesting and usually helpful videos from pros in the industry talking about the biz from their perspective.

I thought it might be a good idea to share some of my favorites with you guys. I’m guessing many of you have seen some of these before, but nevertheless, some have not. So, here are four of my favorite helpful game design videos.   

1. Day in the Life Video

Ever wonder what it’s like to be a level designer? 

Not a lead level designer, not the best level designer in the world, just a level designer that’s good at her job and loves what she does. That’s what this quick interview/day in the life video is all about! 

Level designer Kim talks about bonding with her boss, designing levels, and her education. 

2. Job Interview

For a sneak peak into a game design interview, check out this video! It’s a quick 20 minute mock-interview between a hiring executive and a sound designer. The hiring executive is actually the vice president of product development at Turbine, Craig Alexander. 

It offers an enlightening glance into what an interview could potentially entail. In such a competitive market, preparing wisely for job interviews could help give you the real leg-up that you need. 

3. Game Design Mistakes

Want to avoid making some common early-career game design mistakes? Check out this video with Todd Kerpelmen. 

It’s a short five minute video that highlights three prevalent mistakes. If you fell into the trap of making these mistakes, you can correct your course! And if you haven’t been making these mistakes, you can rest a bit easier as you continue developing your game. 

4. Blizzard Lecture

We’re going to end this list with a lecture from Blizzard. Blizzard is a developer famed for its patience in developing great games. 

They won’t release something until it is ready. This presentation was by the then-CCO, Rob Pardo (he resigned in July, 2014). He discusses Blizzard’s design commitments. 

They have some really well-thought-out tenets, to which every department involved in a game needs to adhere. 

There’s also a post-presentation conversation between Rob Pardo and Joi Ito, the director at MIT Media Lab. You can watch that conversation here.  

Wrapping up: 

Hopefully you found the videos as interesting/helpful as I did. If you’d like to see more, just type “game developer interview” into youtube and go for it. Or if you prefer a more curated list, check out these gaming videos here.