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Artists, writers, and other creatives are building careers in Edmonton’s video game development scene.
Large video game productions require the input of a range of skills and not just the programming know-how of programmers.
With several larger studios now established in Edmonton, these job demands bring creative talent to the city from abroad while nurturing it back home.
“It’s a misconception that games are made exclusively by programmers,” said Sean Gouglas, a humanities major at the University of Alberta who specializes in video games.
“In fact, for larger companies, the percentage of actual programmers is probably around 20 to 25 percent.”
The video game industry is a major global force that has only grown as a result of the pandemic. A report from the Entertainment Software Association of Canada notes that the industry contributed $5.5 billion to the country’s GDP in 2021 — a growth of 35 percent over two years.
Gouglas is also the coordinator for the university’s computer game development certificate, which offers courses in which students from science and art work together to develop their own games.
The program began as a one-to-one course in the mid-2000s but has grown to meet demand.
According to Gouglas, video game-focused programs at North American post-secondary institutions have increased tenfold over the past decade.
Many find their way into the industry through their own detours, he said, as games production employs artists, musicians, writers and people from other fields.
“A lot of people in the gaming industry just don’t have an education…in this particular industry, and yet they find a successful path into the industry.”
It’s not just programmers — artists, writers, and other creatives are making careers in video game development in Edmonton.
‘dream job
“This is definitely where I want to be and I don’t think I would have moved all the way from Sydney [Australia] coming here if it wasn’t my dream,” said Aimee Correia, who has worked at Beamdog in Edmonton for the past two years.
As a concept artist, Correia creates artworks that convey designs, ideas, and worlds that can be used as the foundational imagery for the game itself.
She loves the creativity that the job requires and the opportunity to work with a large team to transform her characters and environments into virtual reality.
Correia took classes to develop her art and worked freelance for years, including on smaller indie game projects. She said those looking to enter the industry should build a portfolio – and prepare for rejection.
“Just keep going,” she said. “If you want it, if you want it badly, eventually you’ll get it.”
For Crystal McCord, video games were never her intended career path. Instead, they were somewhere she found herself after a career in art.
The story producer at Bioware got his start on a NAIT show for television and radio. She has done cinematography for films, TV shows and documentaries, and has dabbled in other roles as well.
“I think trying all these different disciplines and figuring out what I love doing is what really drove me to become a producer at Bioware.”
Bioware, a well-known developer, was a mainstay on the Edmonton scene with important attributes like that mass effect and dragon time Series. These fantasy and sci-fi worlds were brought to life by artists, animators, and programmers.
McCord said the best part of her role is bringing those people together.
“I get to work with these really creative minds and help them realize their vision for our video games.”