Here’s the thing about the video game industry (or at least what we like to think about the video game industry): it’s a blloming new medium of interactive story telling full of people with enormous talent and passion for what they do. It’s tempting to think that with an interest in games and a lucky break, we could be the next Peter Molyneaux (think Fable), the next Ian Livingstone (Lara Croft). But the thing is, we often forget the important thing: skills. Hard work. Being able to work with and maybe even manage large teams with disparate views on how a project should be going. Deadlines. Bottomlines (Show us the money!)

There’s a whole bunch of practical considerations which go into making a great game which need alot more than just passion and a cool idea. And That’s something Olivier de Rotalier, GM of Ubisoft Singpore, is not afraid to come right out and say.

Olivier de Rotalier's talk to students during the GCA Students' Day

Here’s the good news: Ubisoft Singapore is hiring. And they understand that when they hire junior staff, they’re not going to get the most amazingly skilled or experienced people. Which means they’re willing to give students a couple of years to learn as they work. Here’s the not-so-good news: if you’re just pitching a cool game idea which you think will be the Next Big Thing, Oliviere de Rotalier (and probably by extension Ubisoft) isn’t gonna be that interested.

Here’s what they do look for in students: team players with great technical skills. C++ is really important- and this gap in what students are taught is something Ubisoft is working with Singaporean schools to fix. Portfolios and personal projects are a must- but they’re looking for quality, not quantity.

Maybe this comes as a surprise to you and maybe it doesn’t but it’s great to hear a company exec being so up-front about what they’re looking for. And this is exactly why GCA holds a students’ day (we don’t actually make any money from it since entry is free). So that the future game developers of Singapore can get honest advice from some of the big guns in the industry.

It hasn’t all been so serious though. Masaya Matsuura, composer and president of NanaOn-Sha played games during his talk. Here to speak about music in video games as well as about video games about music, he was more than happy to show us his new cell phone game Ens-Ens.

Ens-Ens; a cell phone game about music and tempo.

The GCA students’ day is still far from over which means it’s not too late to come by and check it out. If not, it’s definitely all aspiring game developers should put in to their calendars for next year.