This is the third part of our series covering common interview questions that you might encounter during an interview for a game design job. If you haven’t already, check out part 1 and part 2 of the series. We finish the series with four more commonly asked questions…

What hobbies or non-work activities do you do to improve your skills?

If there’s one question that doesn’t seem as important as the rest, but could very well make or break your chances of getting hired, it’s this one. Why would a game company care about what you do during your spare time, you might ask. Simply put, they want to hire sharp individuals who also genuinely enjoy what they do for a living.

Someone who performs discipline-related projects during his or her free time is usually likelier to more easily come up with unique ideas and pick up new skills. While others may completely forget about work, these individuals are still pondering the solution to a problem or figuring out a way to get better at something.

So to answer this question, figure out what you do during your time off that makes you better. To give you a good idea, here are a few excellent responses that correspond to different positions and talents. Of course, we advise you avoid saying you do anything that isn’t true:

• Artist – Learning new things on photo editing software, drawing, painting, photography.
• Programmer – Learning new scripting languages, working on personal game projects or anything requiring programming.
• Designer – Making puzzles, jotting down ideas for a game you’d like to make, actively discussing games on a design level with others, playing games where world building plays a big part.
• Writer – Reading, working on own creative writing works, writing game-related articles, having a blog, discussing game narratives with others.

Answering “I play a lot of games” just doesn’t cut it anymore, especially in this day and age where game development jobs are highly sought. A studio is much more likely to hire someone who not only puts in more work to stay ahead of the curve but enjoys doing it as well.

Where do you see yourself in X years?

Interviewers love this question because it’s an easy way for them to assess how interested you really are in the company and not just desperate for any job you can take. Basically your answer will show if you’re the kind of employee that will stick around for a while and not drift to another job in a year or two.

However, this is one of those questions where HOW you answer is slightly more important than what you answer. After all, who isn’t going to suck up and answer with “Hopefully working here”? We actually recommend something vague like “still making great games, no matter where it may be” since, again, it’s the delivery that counts.

Answering this confidently reveals that you actually have a plan for your career and hold a strong desire to continue improving. Every developer wants to hire someone who, even if they end up leaving in 5 to 10 years, helped make amazing games because they kept getting better at what they do. Interviewers want to predict if you’re going to be a par employee who never strives for more and will quickly be replaced by someone more ambitious.

The dreaded problem or test!

Being presented with a problem to solve has become so commonplace during game job interviews that you should assume it’s going to happen. While you’re not alone if the thought of being put on the spot makes you nervous, you’re still more than capable of impressing the interviewer, even if you don’t ace the test, because they’re doing more than assessing your skills. They want to see how you work, especially under pressure.

This, of course, varies depending on the position you’re looking to fill, such as in a programming or software test in which they actually do want to see how good you are at what you say you do.

When it comes to a verbal question or problem to solve, however, do your best to avoid panicking and even admit if you don’t entirely understand the question at first. Ask questions if you need to and then do what you can to figure out the problem. A game studio would rather hire someone that is willing to ask for help when necessary, before giving it their best shot, than an arrogant employee who thinks he or she can do it all without assistance.

And don’t freak out when an interviewers suddenly changes something about the problem mid-way through. As we mentioned before, they’re purposely trying to take you out of your comfort zone to see how you react as well as how willing you are to try despite being in unfamiliar territory.

Do you have any questions?

This question almost always comes at the end of the interview and is your chance to not only get some good info but demonstrate an interest in the company. Do your best to ask questions related to your position and show your long-term desires of working at the place where you are interviewing.

What better way to help you with this question than to list some great questions you can ask yourself. You’ll note that “So, do I have the job?” isn’t on this list as it’s probably the worst thing you could ask! You also aren’t expected to ask a dozen questions; one or two, maybe three is fine.

• If I’m hired, what will be my first task, project, etc?
• What new skills might I learn while working here?
• Are there opportunities for progress and promotions here?
• What do average week hours look like? Is there a lot of crunching?
• What’s it like working here?

Conclusion

The best thing you can do is remember that an interview is simply a conversation during which the company wants to learn about you what they can’t discover from a resume. The reason there aren’t very many knowledge-based questions is because an interview is a way for them to catch a glimpse of your personality, not test how much you know.

[su_note]Get the knowledge you need to succeed in the video game design industry. Learn more about the game design school at the New York Film Academy (campuses in New York and Los Angeles). [/su_note]

Being honest is absolutely vital. Most recruiters have sat through enough interviews to know when people are trying their best to show a version of themselves they think the recruiter wants to see. Instead, being genuine, engaging, and expressing interest in what is being discussed will go a long way toward earning you your dream game development job. Good luck!

Even if you know your favorite titles aren’t anywhere near being the bestselling games of the year, it’s still fun to see which are. With so many amazing games releasing on various consoles, it’s hard to suppress that genuine interest in finding out which games most people love and how they relate to what you like.

According to NPD sales (physical retail numbers only), below are the top ten bestselling games of 2014 and what it shows about our industry. Again, keep in mind that this list does not account for pre-owned, digital, or bundled games:

1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC)
2. Madden NFL 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3)
3. Destiny (XBO, PS4, 360, PS3)
4. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
5. Minecraft (360, PS3, XBO, PS4)
6. Super Smash Bros. (3DS, NWU)
7. NBA 2K15 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
8. Watch Dogs (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC, NWU)
9. FIFA 15 (360, PS4, XBO, PS3, Wii, 3DS, PSV)
10. Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, NWU, PC)

The Best-Rated Games Are Not The Best Sellers

With the exception of GTA V and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, most of the games on the list have generally favorable reviews but aren’t exactly at the top of the Metacritic’s 2014 list of best-scoring games. Games like Bayonetta 2, Dark Souls II, and even indie title Shovel Knight all received higher scores from most reviewers but are not at the top of the list. Dragon Age: Inquisition, the winner of countless 2014 Game of the Year awards, is also absent from the list.

What does this mean? First of all, multi-platform games are more likely to sell in high numbers – no one is arguing against that for obvious reasons. But more importantly, it appears that most gamers don’t completely rely on ratings or review scores and instead just want to buy something they think they’ll enjoy. And to be honest, this is a good thing because it shows that game journalists and review sites don’t have as much power to sway votes as most assume.

Everyone Loves Sports Games

Those that can’t stand sports games can’t help but sigh when they see three of them taking up spots in the top ten best-selling games list. The fact is, people really love playing as their favorite teams and taking them to the top, even if they’ve been doing that every year with each iteration of that same series.

But hey, at least 2015 saw these franchises receive decent review scores and finally make better use of new-gen consoles like the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. If there’s one thing to take from this list, it’s that sports games are here to stay and will likely continue dominating sales for as long as people love sports in general.

Call of Duty Isn’t Going Anywhere Just Yet…

Did you happen to see which game earned the spot for the top selling game of all? That’s right, Call of Duty is still apparently as popular as ever despite droves of internet comments suggesting otherwise. Even though Advanced Warfare did change things up a bit, gamers all over the world still can’t get enough Call of Duty.

Even Call Of Duty: Ghosts, the previous year’s release in the franchise, snuck into 2014’s top ten. Suffice to say, Activision Blizzard is doing quite well for themselves after setting several studios up so that a new Call of Duty is released every year. Not to mention Hearthstone gaining a legion of fans, World of Warcraft maintaining its MMO dominance, and Heroes of the Storm just around the corner.

…And Neither is Minecraft!

There’s just something about this indie sandbox game that people just can’t get enough of. Despite having been initially released on PC more than half a decade ago, it continues flying off store shelves now that it’s releasing on all the main gaming consoles, including recently on Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

More interesting is how it’s now being used as an educational tool in schools across the globe. It’s hard to complain about a game being in the top selling list when it has an enchanting ability to promote creativity, problem-solving, and is a lot of fun to play!

Hype Can Be A Good Thing

Destiny/Watch Dogs

It’s not uncommon for a game to buckle under pressure from incredible amounts of hype. Resident Evil 6, for example, was highly anticipated but ended up disappointing its fans upon release. Perhaps the task of matching the success of its predecessors was too much for Capcom, which is clearly evident due to Resident Evil 6’s attempt at mixing so many ideas together and doing a poor job of it.

Destiny and Watch Dogs were two such games that carried plenty of hype on their shoulders, possibly from the moment they were revealed/announced. Despite not giving us the perfect games, both titles still ended up impressing plenty of gamers and reviewers alike, even earning them a spot on a few GOTY lists.

Nintendo Is Still The Best 1st-Party Developer

It may seem like a ridiculous statement considering that only Super Smash Bros. is on the list of top sellers. However, worth mentioning is that NPD executive director David Riley did admit that Pokemon would have been on the list if sales for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were combined. Even so, take a look at the highest-scoring games on Metacritic and tell me what you see. Bayonetta 2, Bravely Default, and Mario Kart 8 are some of the best rated games of 2014.

In fact, almost all Nintendo games have at least an 80+ score, including DKC: Tropical Freeze and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker. Nintendo even won Metacritic’s Annual Game Publisher Rankings award, showing that even though the Wii U hasn’t been the success story the Japanese developer had hoped, they still make some of the best games around.

When all is said and done, top selling games aren’t necessarily the best games; especially given that the definition of “best” is so subjective to begin with.

[su_note]Ever dream of working on a bestselling video game? Learn more about the game design school at the New York Film Academy (campuses in New York and Los Angeles). [/su_note]

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In part 1 we revealed three of the most common questions you are likely to face when heading in to a game design job interview. Here in part 2, we continue with three more…

What would you say is your biggest weakness?

This is another one of those questions that you should assume you’ll be asked in just about any interview. Admitting your flaws to the person that will decide if you get the job or not may seem like a lose/lose situation, but there is a way to answer and come out looking like the ideal employee.

The trick is to confess an honest weakness of yours and then follow it up with how you’ve improved or try to deal with it.

For example, say that you have a habit of checking and rechecking your work often, which results in more time spent on a project. You can admit this but with a positive flavor to it by saying it’s because you want everything to be high-quality and as close to perfect as possible.

After that, you can then discuss how you’ve improved upon that weakness to demonstrate an ability to learn and grow. This is best done by using a previous job as an example. Going with the habit of rechecking too often, you can say that in your last job you taught yourself to avoid rechecking too much and thus now have the ability and confidence to produce excellent content the first time around

Many recruiters have also confirmed how important the time it takes the interviewee to respond is. Responding almost immediately may give the impression of your weakness being so blatantly obvious that previous employees had to bring it up on several occasions.

Of course, taking a long time to answer may lead the interviewer to think you’re trying to formulate an answer that isn’t exactly honest but sounds good.

The other secret to this question is not so much in the answer but how long you take to respond. If you answer too quickly, you might be suggesting that you already know all your worst points because they are blatantly obvious and you’ve been told so many times.

If you take too long, it will seem as if you’re searching for an answer that sounds good, doesn’t make you look bad, and is something the interviewer would be happy to hear. Again, it gives the perception that you are being ingratiating rather than honest.

How would you improve a game you’re currently playing?

You may have noticed that game developers don’t really hire people based purely on the fact that they play games a lot. This is because being extremely good at a particular game or genre doesn’t necessarily mean you’d be any good at designing one yourself.

What most studios are looking for are people who, while playing the game, are thinking about why it’s good, how it can be better, which mechanics would be great in another game, and so on.

This attribute is so important that this question is asked to not just potential design recruits but artists, composers, and other positions. Even if you’ll only be doing concept art or testing the game, devs want to bring in people that will grow involved in the project and be able to voice a reasonable opinion no matter what department they work in.

So to actually answer this question, it of course depends on the game you talk about. But no matter which title you choose, make sure you don’t spend too much time complaining about a problem and instead focus on your idea to improve it.

This is especially important if you’re criticizing a game that the company where you’re interviewing developed, although some are impressed when you are willing to pinpoint a flaw in their game.

Do you hate a certain weapon or ability in your favorite multiplayer game because it is overpowered? Be prepared to offer good ideas on how you’d tone it down without making it completely useless or unfun.

It also helps to pick a criticism that most people agree upon, otherwise you’ll come off as petty and nit-picky.

What is your favorite game and why?

Sometimes this question is also rephrased as “What is the best game of all time and why?”, but the answer they’re looking for is the same.

Essentially they’re looking to see if you can not only identify a good game but also communicate why it is so great. Note that even if you honestly think a certain game is awesome, the fact that it’s universally considered a stinker might hurt your chances.

A good example would be using “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” and not just saying that you like the combat or story. Rather, talk about why it was so groundbreaking when it first released and how it has managed to age well.

In an industry where teamwork and communication is everything, being able to verbally talk about a game is just as important as whichever talent you’re trying to contribute.

You should avoid picking a widely-popular game that only recently came out as it will look like you’ve never thought about what the best game ever is. Similarly, it may be wise to avoid talking about a title the company made or else you’ll seem like a suck up, unless you actually really love the game to death.

Also be prepared to defend your decision in case the interviewer is familiar with the game and wants to see how you deal with opposing opinions and ideas.

[su_note]Learn the skills you need before you get the interview. Check out the game design school at the New York Film Academy (campuses in New York and Los Angeles). [/su_note]

We conclude our series on game design interview questions in part three of the series. Check it out here.

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