How to Interview in the Game Business

If you are an environment artist, perhaps you were intrigued by the many different ways
water was featured in the film’s environments. What elements in the world of Shape of
Water stood out to you? Why? Did you find water to be more of an asset in the film or more
of a character? What are your thoughts on the bathroom and how it flooded?
QUESTION: Tell me about a time when something was difficult.
OR: Have you ever been in a situation in your working experience where
the concept or entire pipeline was late and you were late but you had to
push through to the deadline? What happened?
When answering these questions, you want to be able to show your thinking. This is when
a recruiter’s ears will perk up.
What they hope to hear from you is that you were able to break down the problem and
prioritize it. Then, they want to see that, from there, you methodically executed the solutions
to the issues and, when needed, you asked for resources from other teams. They also want
to know that you communicated with your lead and let your lead know what the new
expectations were.
You need to demonstrate your ability to think and problem solve.
QUESTION: Talk me through how you got to this end result from this
concept.
(AKA THE PROCESS QUESTION)
The process question usually comes up during the first meeting. The recruiting team may
seat you with a bunch of artists with a television and ask you to walk them through your
process.
As you respond, you won’t know if what you are saying is right or wrong because the
interviewers will maintain deadpan expressions.
Even incredible artists have difficulty with this question.
The answer is simple: Tell the truth.
Tell them what you did and let them base their decisions on your honest response.
Don’t tell them that something took you two hours when it actually took you eight.
(Understand that, at the end of the day, it’s not about being super quick. It is about the
quality of the work.)
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