LogInInternational Talent Acquisition Lead at LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS Ben Fray talked about the studio's work organization and hiring practices, explained how they manage to avoid burnouts, and spoke about LIGHTSPEED's approach to education.
Introduction
I grew up in the United Kingdom, and in addition to being a huge gamer, I studied International Relations and Languages since I was always passionate about connecting with people from around the world, and learning about new languages and cultures.
When I joined LIGHTSPEED a little over 5 years ago, the studio group had started to take global expansion very seriously and the passion and excitement were palpable in everybody I engaged with. Since then, our strategy has been highly consistent as we have set up multiple new game studios and offices in new global locations like the US, Japan, Singapore, the UK, Korea, etc. Working on these global teams and 0-1 projects has been challenging at times but also very rewarding to get the opportunity to help build things from the ground level with diverse, global teams.
Work Organization at LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS
LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS is built up of studios in different global locations that focus on different projects and project verticals, supported by globally distributed central platform teams that work on shared resourcing and R&D. This system is designed to share our advanced technical and art capabilities with developers around the world, allowing us to think big and deliver on our ambitious goals.
With teams across 10 markets, and plans to grow further, we have established a series of mechanisms that unleash the creativity of our developers. We are upgrading our development infrastructure so developers can create better games faster, and making investments in technology and art, including the creation of dedicated technology and art centers at LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS.
Furthermore, we have established two new game development studios in North America that have been operating independently and growing steadily:
- Lightspeed LA is the first North American AAA game development studio under LIGHTSPEED STUDIOS. Led by Steve Martin, who previously worked on GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. Lightspeed LA is focused on building AAA open-world games that emphasize an ambitious living world, sophisticated player-driven gameplay, and mature, thoughtful storytelling.
- Uncapped Games is a team of veteran developers brought together by passion, enthusiasm, and experience to try to make the world’s next great RTS game.
Approach to Hiring
A lot of the teams I support are in early stage development or setting up in new markets (which may just be a handful of people in a new market or project, but with big ambitious growth plans) and even our larger teams tend to operate a bit like startups in our day-to-day operations.
In terms of soft skills, aside from looking for passionate gamers, we do tend to look for “can-do” entrepreneurial attitudes and examples of being adaptable to change and the ability to thrive in potentially ambiguous situations. In addition, those that are interested in being a part of building and documenting processes and practices and contributing to the culture and longevity of the broader team as a whole. But a lot of this comes down to genuine interest, excitement and passion for our craft and working to advance the art & science of game development through great stories, great gameplay, and advanced technology.
Creating a Welcoming Atmosphere
We always will aim to provide a welcoming environment, assigning a mentor and onboarding buddy, talk to the new hire about their past experiences and get them excited about this project by playing the game and going over narrative beats with them. We make sure to have a slow ramp up and spend time walking them around, introducing them to the team and their peers through lunches and sharing sessions. Also, leaving an open communication paradigm allows the new hire to ask questions as they get comfortable and transition through their onboarding process. Include them in any meetings from the get go, so they can feel included and understand the cadence of how things are done at LIGHTSPEED.
Thoughts on Crunch and Strategies for Avoiding Burnouts
Speaking of the AAA studio I am based out of, we built “no-crunch” into our studio values at inception, and I genuinely got the sense that our leadership are regularly taking that into consideration when scoping the project and planning milestones, etc. We set clear expectations of our core work hours as soon as the interview process, to make sure newcomers are aligned with the team, trusting that people will self-manage their own schedule and be available during core hours.
We also hold regular reviews and encourage the sharing of unfinished work across the team, involving devs and support staff to boost morale and excitement for what we’re working on and give a shared sense of cohesion, progress, and value. In addition, I think just generally being flexible with people and their needs with little things like allowing ample time for a refresher in between jobs for example, providing great benefits, and encouraging people to take time off and recharge where needed.
Approach to Freedom and Education
Making great games requires great talent and we are growing our teams around the world, hiring some outstanding developers who want to build something new with global impact. We are working on some exciting new IPs which allow for and require a ton of creative input and freedom and that in itself, along with the structure, experience and resources we can provide is a major attractor for a lot of talent joining us. Being a startup culture, decision-making can be very flat, which is necessary to getting the best ideas heard and into our games. In addition, at the organizational and logistical level, we try to involve employees as much as possible and have been actively engaging employees with decision-making at the studio level based on employee feedback, such as our overall studio cultures, policies, work mode, benefits, etc. down to things like furniture and work equipment, etc.
As game developers, we are always learning. Whether it is a new artistic process, new workflows, or just a general understanding of how game systems work and evolve over time. Offering one-on-one training and also having others in the department show how things work is a great way to meld the new hire with our workflow. Having a strong database of documentation and structure is also a good way to share information and techniques.
Advice for Beginners
Understanding overall art theory in terms of composition is always highly sought after versus knowing to model something in 3D. We look for well-rounded individuals that can communicate, collaborate and do the work. It is always worth being proactive and seeking opportunities to improve your communication skills. In addition, a love of games and humility go a long way.