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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>I was at the GDC for the sole purpose of
talking with employers about entry-level and paid internship positions and what
I found was that few were actively recruiting for entry-level positions. Some
of the smaller companies said specifically that because they have small staffs
they must hire candidates with some industry experience. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>There was some interest in recent
graduates for mobile game development and to create flash games for web sites.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>The exceptions, as always, were for entry
level programming candidates with several languages under their belt, and for
the ‘Super Star’ artist students.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><i><font size=5 face="Monotype Corsiva"><span
style='font-size:18.0pt;font-family:"Monotype Corsiva";font-style:italic'><ns0:place
w:insAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:insDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"
w:endInsAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:endInsDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"><ns0:PlaceName
w:insAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:insDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"
w:endInsAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:endInsDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>DeAnne</span></font></ns0:PlaceName><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'> </span></font><ns0:PlaceName
w:insAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:insDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"
w:endInsAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:endInsDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"><font
color=navy><span style='color:navy'>Preston</span></font></ns0:PlaceName><font
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy;font-weight:
normal;font-style:normal'><br>
</span></font><ns0:PlaceName w:insAuthor="PREDEA0731"
w:insDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z" w:endInsAuthor="PREDEA0731"
w:endInsDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName
w:st="on"><font size=2 color="#333399" face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#333399;font-style:normal'>Collins</span></font></st1:PlaceName><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
font-style:normal'></ns0:PlaceName></span></font></st1:place><font size=2
color="#333399" face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:#333399;font-style:normal'> </span></font><ns0:PlaceType
w:insAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:insDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"
w:endInsAuthor="PREDEA0731" w:endInsDate="2009-04-01T10:52:00Z"><st1:PlaceType
w:st="on"><font size=2 color="#333399" face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:#333399;font-style:normal'>College</span></font></st1:PlaceType><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;font-style:
normal'></ns0:PlaceType></span></font></ns0:place></span></font></i></b></strong><font
size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>Career Services Advisor,
Game Design</span></font></b></strong><b><font size=2 color=green
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:green;
font-weight:bold'><br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><strong><b><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>New Direct Line:
480-446-1136</span></font></b></strong><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:navy'><a href="mailto:dpreston@collinscollege.edu"
title="mailto:dpreston@collinscollege.edu"><font size=2 face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'><span
title="mailto:dpreston@collinscollege.edu">dpreston@collinscollege.edu</span></span></font></a></span></font><font
color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-family:Arial;color:navy'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><font
size=3 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;
color:navy'> </span></font><font size=1 face=Arial><span style='font-size:
9.0pt;font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>
<hr size=2 width="100%" align=center tabindex=-1>
</span></font></div>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
game_edu-bounces@igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces@igda.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Tom Dowd<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, April 01, 2009
10:51 AM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> 'IGDA Game Education Listserv'<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [game_edu] Game
studies and the economy</span></font><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Our students
returning from GDC also reported a smaller job fair, both in terms of scope
(number of companies present) and the size of the team the companies that
attend the show brought with them. I cannot say whether this was perception or
reality as I was not there either. My not being there was a result of the
economic troubles and the slashing of travel budgets across the college.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'>As for the state of
the industry, three things are happening – publishers are getting
conservative on projects with higher levels of uncertainty (developmentally or
in terms of marketability) and cancelling these “on the bubble”
projects, developers are losing projects, throwing their financial situation
into chaos (too many mid-sized and small developers run in a very risky financial
state, and with the current credit crunch the bridge loans that they used to
finance themselves during project transitions are not available), and lastly
some developers are trimming the fat and running a leaner ship (to abound in
metaphors) in case things continue to worsen.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'>The big things
students need to understand is that the competition for entry-level positions
is intensifying. In addition to competing against their student peers, they are
now competing against laid-off members of industry who are applying for those
jobs. More than ever it is imperative they have a solid, appropriate, portfolio
and strong interview skills when they step out into the field.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'>Tom Dowd<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#1F497D'>-----<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#1F497D'>Tom Dowd<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#1F497D'>Columbia College
Chicago<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#1F497D'>Faculty/Interactive
Arts and Media (Game Design Major)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=1 color="#1f497d" face="Courier New"><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Courier New";color:#1F497D'>tdowd@colum.edu<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color="#1f497d" face=Calibri><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Calibri;color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Tahoma;font-weight:bold'>From:</span></font></b><font size=2
face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Tahoma'>
game_edu-bounces@igda.org [mailto:game_edu-bounces@igda.org] <b><span
style='font-weight:bold'>On Behalf Of </span></b>Scott Maddock<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Sent:</span></b> Wednesday, April 01, 2009
12:05 PM<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>To:</span></b> IGDA Game Education Listserv<br>
<b><span style='font-weight:bold'>Subject:</span></b> Re: [game_edu] Game
studies and the economy<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Anecdotally...<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>I understand that the career fair at the GDC was considerably smaller
than it was last year (I wasn't in attendance last year, but it's something I
heard from multiple sources who were present then and now). I know of at
least one school with a dedicated game development program that was supposed to
see at least four new hires directly into the program faculty, but was then
denied such because of the economic hardship.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>A number of companies have had non-trivial layoffs in the last few
months, or are threatening to go under. Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment,
developer of the Stargate Worlds MMO, all but <em><i><font
face="Times New Roman">did</font></i></em> go under, but has since managed to
find some investors and appears to be on track again.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>Midway, I think we all know about. Big Huge Games also seems to
be in trouble. EA and Activision have both laid off large numbers.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In short, I think the
whole industry is feeling the pinch to some degree, in the professional and
academic sectors.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'>2009/4/1 Brena Smith <<a href="mailto:brena.smith@gmail.com">brena.smith@gmail.com</a>><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><font size=3
face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Hi all,<br>
I have two questions: First, I know that all educational institutions are not
untouched by the economy these days - but have any of you seen any specific
impact on game studies departments? Second, any thoughts on how the
economy has impacted the electronic game industry in general? Are game
companies seeing a lot of layoffs? Are students still able to find jobs?<br>
<br>
Many thanks!<br>
<font color="#888888"><span style='color:#888888'>Brena<br>
<br>
<br>
</span></font><br>
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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
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