I was looking for a little lighter fare to close out a Sunday night, and this was one was sitting unread in my newsfeeds. It made me smile. I hope more like this 19 year old have as much passion as they try to navigate the difficult unemployment situation out there.
From Forbes’ article, The Stunning Video Game Resume That Took 2,000 Hours To Make:
Alexander J. Velicky is part of the current generation of millennials trying desperately to find a job in the current economic climate. He’s 19, and could be part of the legions sending out resumes, CVs and cover letters to every company under the sun.
He decided to do things a bit differently.
Velicky spent 2,000 hours crafting something that’s part resume, part love letter to the company he wants to work for more than any other, Bethesda. He created a mod called “Falskaar” that adds 25 hours of gameplay to their hit title Skyrim, and created a land mass a third as big as the original massive map. He employed 29 voice actors to record new dialog for his NPCs, and recruited over a 100 total people to help him with Falskaar. Now, he waits.
“The best way to show Bethesda Game Studios that I want a job there and should be hired is to create content that meets the standards of their incredible development team,” he says, very clear about his intentions.
Check out his “resume.” I hope someone hires him.
(Granted, I recognize some might object to certain content in video games, but this is the market he’s aiming for, and the point is that he’s put his work, passion and talent into it).
Read the whole Forbes article and this one from PC Gamer for the rest of the background on Velicky’s story.
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Comments
Remember when you didn’t have to spend 2, 000 hours on creating a video game to be considered for a job in this country? I don’t, but maybe someone can give me some hope.
Not really true. Your basic development time for an AAA game is just shy of 4k hours per person. Using your own engine can bump it up by another 500-800 hours. Modding, which this is? Quality gaming content can easily can exceed 5k hours, see Nehrim for example for Oblivion. Or Midas Magic, easily 1500 hours also for Oblivion.
But for other people wondering, when will *insert company hire*? Well Bethesda has a long history of hiring talented modders, so does CD Projekt RED(famous for the Witcher Series of games). One of the fellows who redesigned the magic system from the ground up for Oblivion was hired. For CD Projekt they hired a fellow who completely redesigned the UI. Which was then later incorporated into an updated patch for all users to much acclaim. There are plenty of other stories from back when I was in the industry, ID Software and EPIC used to do this too.
Seeing a “mod” in the 800hr-1300hr development range was pretty common for people to get hired on. As it showed skill and understanding the innerworkings of the game. Today it’s a different world, and much more cut-throat.
The companies I worked for were closed boxes when it came to modding so we never had things like that happening. Kind of makes me wish I’d been involved today, but even I got burned out with the 90hr weekly “crunch” periods lasting 6mo.
Where’s the happy ending on this article, that Bethesda has hired him, and he’s being contacted by other companies as well?
I hope he gets the job he wants, or at least is given an internship with a future. 2,000 hours? When did he begin this project?
Anyone who showed up with a mod like that should be hired.
Same as if you show up for an Law firm position and you have just finished a hell of a case with impressive and creative moves.
Same as if you show up for a gunsmith job (a la Sons of Guns) and show off the MG-42 you made.
Same as if you show up for a property management job with proof that your lowered costs, had high residency #’s, low turnover, and a huge line of credit with the banks. (their confidence in your business model)
HIRE THIS GUY!
Dang it. Where is the darn daisy scene. I want a daisy scene. You can’t have real tension in a video resume without one.
“I get the job”
“I don’t get the job.”
“I get the job”
“I don’t get the job.”
“I get the job”
“I don’t get the job.”
“I get the job”
“I don’t get the job.”
… to be continued
Sorry, but if it was truly his only purpose of that effort to ‘maybe get his resume looked at’, he’s shown incredibly poor business acumen, investing that much time for that speculative a return.
What if he gets an email from a developer at the company ‘Nice work, I did one just like it last week’ ? 🙁
Google the mod name. Maybe not a job for him yet, but judging by its popularity, I think it paid off 😉
And it was probably a good use of his time in learning the skills while making it.
Not ashamed to admit I’ve been involved with Bethesda’s games for several years now and with the modding of those games for almost as long. (Bethesda actively encourages players to make modifications to their games by releasing development tools almost as soon as a game is out.) When they made Fallout: New Vegas (a sequel to their hit game Fallout 3,) many of the more interesting mods developed for the earlier game showed up as features in the new game. There is a persistent rumor in the online community devoted to those mods, that the talented modders received job offers from the company.
So Mr. Velicky’s efforts are not quite the long-shot they appear to be at first glance.
My grandson is attending Full Sail in Orlando at the moment to learn how to do stuff like that.
You’d think with enough talent to craft a mod for an existing game, that this guy might consider going into business for himself? Hmmmmmmm…..All he needs is some venture capital.
What is Ringo doing in there?
he was doing just fine, until he took an arrow in the knee.
And here is is left to guard cities, while his brother is out hunting dragons too….
Here he* is….
Yum. Makes me want to play Skyrim again. I spent hours immersed in that world and never felt that it was “time wasted” on a “stupid video game.”
I think I was “exploring” the same dungeon and fighting the same enemies for the 50th time when I realized Skyrim is trash with nice graphics. Shame it took me that long.
This guy wants a job in lieu of a development contract? Cheap, cheap, cheap. He should be hunting for VC.
I have a policy against buying games from US developers. Most of them are Obama supporters. When you buy their games, they recycle your money into campaign contributions to socialists.
There are plenty of non-US developed games. And if you really want something, you can buy it used, play it, and then sell it used. The developers don’t get your money and can’t send it to socialists that way.
As a Skyrim fan who has also followed LI throughout the GZ trial, I wasn’t too overly impressed by this modder’s efforts.
The video presentation is rather amateurish, and the majority, if not all of the models look stock game (vanilla). Until one of the characters spoke and I recognized a few new map layouts it looked like I was watching a video Skyrim straight out of the box.
There is some decent new voice acting, new maps, scripting, quests, etc., and that’s all good, but it’s far from a sweeping total conversion that would catch the eye of a game developer seeking fresh talent.
I will give him kudos for dedication, persistence and imagination, and I hope it pays off for him in the long run, but then again browse around Skyrim Nexus and you will find a cadre of incredibly talented modders who are creating some exquisitely detailed add-ons worthy of the finest game design studios.
At least some of the best (or most popular) are making some decent spending cash through Nexus’ donation system.