Recent Missouri State University graduate Dayton Chambers attended the the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco, California, March 18-22.
Chambers, who graduated May 2024 with a degree in computer animation, described the experience as “invaluable” because of the information it offered about industry trends, career opportunities and the future of game development.
Conference provides insider perspective
Chambers first learned about the GDC in 2018 from game development friends and knew this was something they wanted to attend one day.
“I always thought of GDC as being one of the best chances of meeting other game developers, learn new skills and technologies and potentially land myself a job,” Chambers explained.
Thanks to a scholarship from Activision, Blizzard and King’s Inclusion in Gaming program, Chambers was awarded an all-access pass to the 2024 conference.
Held in the Moscone Convention Center, the GDC offered a wide variety of learning and networking experiences for attendees, from merchandise and books to round tables and stage events.
An enormous expo hall contained booths “showcasing video games, development tools, and other game related content,” Chambers said.
“I planned out all the talks and events I wanted to attend in advance, along with some breathing room to explore San Francisco,” Chambers said. “I attended most of the animation talks, some LGBTQ+ in gaming talks, some independent game developer talks and so much more.”
Particularly useful to Chambers were the animation roundtables, which provided an insider’s perspective on the industry.
“The animation roundtables…were invaluable for me as an animator trying to break into the game industry,” Chambers explained. “There were animators ranging from students with little to no professional experience to animators with 20+ years of experience in the same room asking and answering questions.”
“Incremental” creative process a favorite part of game development
Chambers started seriously exploring a game development career while in high school, but they have been playing video games all their life.
“Ever since I was four years old, I have been playing games nonstop,” Chambers said. “They have been a staple in my life for as long as I can remember.”
A career in computer animation was an easy choice, even though Chambers recognized that the specific processes behind game development are quite difficult.
Undeterred, Chambers entered MSU’s animation program, located in the Department of Art and Design.
The program has provided Chambers with a “solid foundation in art” and the skills “to create the art that I want to create,” they said.
“It taught me the sheer amount of dedication that is needed to create something from scratch and polish it to perfection, along with the discipline and time management needed to succeed in an ever-changing art landscape,” Chambers added.
Chambers has since seen multiple projects through from start to finish. The “incremental” aspect of bringing a game to life is the most enjoyable part of that process, they said.
“Starting out it usually looks rough and nothing like it’s supposed to be, but over time it gets better, more refined, until it’s polished into something that I would be proud of,” Chambers explained. “It’s like molding a piece of clay or carving stone—bit by bit you add or take away more of the animation until it turns into the polished end product.”
Chambers also enjoys seeing others play their game creations.
“Seeing people react to my game because they are having fun always makes me smile and fills me with motivation to keep creating,” Chambers said. “That would be the part in game development that gives me the most joy.”
Flexible options in a volatile industry
Chambers hopes to find an animation job within the video game industry and work up to the positions of rigging artist or technical animator.
But they also have a backup plan, as the game/animation industry is “going through a rough patch right now.”
“I am not too confident in my ability to get a job in the industry as it stands,” Chambers explained. “I feel that is a combination of industry trends that are being exacerbated by big companies, the general oversaturation of game development/animation job seekers with little to no jobs, and I feel my portfolio is not strong enough as it stands to get a junior position in the industry.”
“If I’m unable to find a job right out of college, I plan to work in the IT field and develop my animation portfolio on the side until I break into the industry,” they added.
Although Chambers has learned that the video game industry can be volatile, it remains a serious career choice that requires knowledge, skill, innovation and hard work.
“I wish people in general understood the immense amount of work, dedication, blood and sweat it takes to create video games,” they explained. “It takes an insane amount of effort and communication from multiple disciplines—sometimes spanning across countries/continents—for upwards to 10 years to develop a single AAA video game.”
AI cannot replace human component
Chambers has been able to develop a more informed perspective on the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the industry as well.
“I don’t think AI is a huge threat in my career yet,” they said. “My biggest worry with AI is how fast it can create mediocre content that may just be good enough for the general public.”
“I can see big companies and corporations taking advantage of the speed of AI to make just good enough content for the masses while charging the same or more for it without the need to pay a person’s salary,” Chambers continued.
“In the end it all comes down to the bottom line, and for profit-driven companies in the creative landscape, AI will save them money and allow them to create more of the same stuff, but it will lack the subtleties and life that only human hands can provide.”
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