To back up and summarize the odds and ends of my adventure, my job hunt has ended – I landed a job as Assistant Project Manager at a Romanian video games studio that works for one of THE publishers in this industry. I chose this position over a design one based on a simple reasoning (back then): as a manager, I can step in and shape the design process, but as a video game designer, I would not be able to help up managing a project. And since my past experience is heavily centered on management, the choice seemed logical. 

So starting October 1st 2009, I moved to Bucharest and got my hands dirty from day one. No training, no "Hey, I’m X and I am going to be helping the management for this project" , no "Here’s the restroom". I simply sat at my new desk and started writing.  Because it was crunch time already. Apparently, in the video games industry, there is always crunch time. 

That was my fault, however. I asked the company that hired me to have work laid out from me from the moment I met them. If there is something I can’t stand, that’s being at work and getting bored. I like to get involved in my work and I treasure the outcome of my doings, especially when it involves a team of highly creative people that I can help and assist to perform at their best. That’s why I am so excited about the management process of any software project (video games included, and I say software because I was not involved in managing any other kind of project), because management is about trust, unity, and most of all, making everybody get the best out of everybody else. In my opinion, a good manager is the thread that holds the team together and is the team’s first and most important line of defense in front of The Client, who will always want the impossible for the smallest price possible. 

I am getting ahead of myself again. I must point out that I am speaking from my own experience alone, and I have this faint feeling I am starting to scare people away from the video games making, which is the last thing I want to do. I am sure there are better starts in this adventure than mine, and I must admit that even my start is quite fulfilling, despite the long hours and the constant war I wage inside of me, with all the problems a crunched out software project made by an incredibly creative team poses. I have 4 years of management experience in software, and 9 years of video games journalism mainly centered on Game Dev. I play video games since I first got my hands on my father’s x86 at his work. Back in the 80s, in Romania perhaps more than in other parts of the world, having access at at PC was a big thing. I started my gaming experience by killing a bunch of pixels that I knew represented crows.

I am not a gamer, though. Especially now, I play very rarely, because of the lack of time and the repulsiveness a computer provokes me at home, after having spent that many hours in front of one at work. What excites me – and always has – is the stuff behind the games, the magic powers the developers have to make so many people experience adventures they’d otherwise never dream of. More importantly, I strongly believe that video games have not yet reached their potential, which is to do a tone of good in this world. What better way to show someone the attrocities of war, than through a game that offers a first hand, extremely real (and hopefully scary) experience?  What better way to train a student, than through a video game that can shape up skills, abilities and attitudes in an interactive, engaging way?  What better way to plan your house, or your own business, than through a simulation that costs close to nothing and can be made together with the people you chose? What better way to run a country than to try your laws beforehand, in a virtual, yet nonetheless real environment? I could go on and on, but I believe I made my point for now. The point being, that video games can be very powerful tools to get very important messages across a world full of people ready to invest time in them, time and interest. 

But the video games industry is not yet centered on these ideals and I don’t know if it will ever be. Like Hollywood, the guys who hold the money are much more willing to bet on sure profits than on new found lands. And money drives the things here, not hope and ideals. I am not saying this is a bad thing – businesses need to be profitable in order to survive and thrive – but the frustrating part is that these profit driven reasons cut down the wings that most game developers have, and they cut them down without even wondering what the audience might want.  What’s truly amazing is that the audience wants more than pretty blasts, eye candy special effects and photo realistic graphics. Many games have already proven that – and not just in recent times.

I am sure that the video game press is not aware of the wars that go on inside the closed gates of the dream creators. I believe the press has forgotten its power and failed repeatedly to help those who can provide a change to really do so. It has forgotten the power of its voice and the fact that all video game sales are driven by this extremely important voice. All marketing and sales studies that THE publishers have start with the specialty press that conveys a title to the hardcore gamer, who then makes or breaks it by forwarding it (or not) to their circle of friends. I do not believe that all the people want from video games are hard tested challenges of fame, strength and fortune, dressed in the best graphics the hardware can provide now. And if I am right, then it is probably time to act.

What can the press do, you might wonder? For once, to go beyond the obvious and "make", which is, promote a game that’s innovative and transmits a noble and powerful message, event if this message is not backed up by the latest trends in lip sync or the greatest cut scenes ever made. Remember that those eye candy effects you so heavily criticize are the ones that the most time was spent on,  time that could otherwise be invested in a better core mechanic that could have helped the game overall much more.  

Demand to know the people who get their hands dirty, not the ones in suits who are responsible for selling you a fine packaged product. Seek their passion, seek to know them and make them shinier stars than those who hold the cash. Create celebrities amongst the game devs, like Hollywood did with their actors. Not to make them rich and famous, but to give them some of the power they so honestly deserve. If you can promote them, you’ll be sorting out the courageous people who could pave the way for video games with a deeper, bigger impact. Get to know the toy makers, and they’ll get to know you. Empower them, and you’ll make the money holders think twice before imposing on features that add nothing to gameplay, but are shiny and hence, easy to sell. Remember that most game devs are game devs because they are gamers, just like you. Their jobs pay worse than others, their hours are way longer, their responsibilities, bigger – the only thing remaining to follow such a career is passion. Just like you.

Go deeper. Anyone can write a review, but very few can speak out what they want from games, and even fewer have played enough to truly sort out and define the best moments from the worst.   Become real critics, not simple fan boys who may get to influence some sales and make some rich people richer. Connect with the large community you are a part of and find out what drives them, and promote that. Understand the bigger reason for which they – and you – enjoyed or disliked a particular game. I’d bet that wasn’t the graphics. Play for more than fun; play for meaning. It’s your job to do so, and your word the most important tool to shape this industry the way you want it.

Do your lessons better. Playing games with a notebook in front is easy, but wouldn’t it be interesting to watch the evolution of a studio, or a publisher, and get their trends? Find out where there strong suit is and what they bet on, to get those shiny dozen dollars out of your readers pocket, and ponder if they are worthy of this investment or not? Watch them closely, and you might even rescue those in need, the passionate people who probably contributed in creating your favorite game. Learn who hires and who fires, who buys studios and who closes them, try to find out why, speak up. Read not the, but through press releases, investigate, demand to know how business works, how studios look like, what their plans are, how much a publisher is involved. Be the voice of the gamers. Roleplay marketing to find out what sells and shape the expectations of your readers. You are the most important trial a game must pass, and through that trial, remember that the guys with money are never judged, only the ones who did the hard work instead. So find out who are you truly punishing or praising and make sure that they are worthy of your judgement.

Once you’ll be more involved in the "how it’s made" process, you will be able to judge any game better. I believe there is a great need of people who are able to become true game critics. The video games industry is growing up, and like any teenager, it is now at a time when it needs wardens to teach it how to behave, how to develop the basis of a great future and how to become truly valuable for people. You are these wardens. So start taking on this responsibility.   

How:  I sent an open application e-mail to jobs@ tcos.com, containing a CV, a letter of intent (also known as a Cover Letter) and a short e-mail stating my willingness to openly apply for any job at Spellborn that the team would trust me to do.

Result: Rejected – because I am a Romanian citizen and as such, I require additional paperwork which is almost impossible to obtain by the Netherlands official organization that deals with foreign work employment. If I were hired at Spellborn, I would have rejected me in the exact way. Getting a foreigner approved for a job is a very painful experience for a company and can take up to 6 months, during which time you could receive a governmental NO at any time. As a company, I would definitely stay away from any similar process, no matter how good the candidate might be ( and I certainly am not).  

Details: I was unaware that Romanians cannot freely work in Holland, because, as one of the founders of the European Union, I thought that this country would have been one of the first to agree to free labor market rules in EU.  It turns out that, in fact, Holland is cautious about receiving Romanian and Bulgarian workers, and that there are only 2 true ways to get a legal job in this country (I won’t comment one of these ways, because we’re all professionals J ) .

The only way that applies to a person like me is this to be so good, that a company would be willing to go through a lengthy process of demonstrating that there is no other Netherlander or EU citizen able to fill this potential post better than you. Of course, this is practically as impossible as it sounds. Here is the website that enlightened me (trust me, it took me a while to find it): http://www.undutchables.nl/working-in-the-netherlands/work-permit/

Quoting from Undutchables – The Recruitment Agency for Internationals:

Citizens of Bulgaria and Romania are not able to work in the Netherlands free of restrictions. In most cases, an employer still needs to ask the Dutch employment Authorities (CWI) for a tewerkstellingsvergunning (right to work) for such a candidate. This is a complex procedure, since the employer needs to prove that there is no Dutch citizen sufficiently qualified for the vacancy. For more information, see below "Non EU-citizens". 

Non EU-citizens  

There are really only two ways for a non-EU citizen to get a work permit:

The first way is to apply directly to companies yourself.  You cannot use a recruitment agency like Undutchables because our clients require that all candidates have their paperwork in order. This is because it saves the companies a lot of time as they are looking for people who can begin work immediately.  Applying for a work permit may take up to 6 months and companies just do not have the time to do that. 

If, however, you do apply to companies on your own and they would like to hire you, then they will start the permit process for you.  This is not as easy as it sounds. The company has to prove that it is in their best interest to hire you above all other Dutch and EU candidates.  They also have to prove that the job has been advertised for at least six weeks and that they have interviewed Dutch and EU candidates, yet you were the best person for the job.

If you obtain a work permit through a company, please bear in mind that this work permit is bound to the company. If you stop working for that company, the permit will no longer be valid. 

The second way of getting a work permit is if you have a Dutch or EU partner.  (not quoting anymore because it’s not the case).

Hope this helps! Working at Spellborn is still my very first most favorite dream (but I am entitled to one obsession, so just let me be  )!