Prescott Lawani

🎯 Applying for a role in games? I have received hundreds of inquiries over the past several weeks and months asking how to get your resume noticed. I cannot respond to every inquiry as much as I try, so I wanted to make sure I am setting you up for success. Here are a few resume tips that can help your application stand out — and actually get seen: First: We don’t use AI parsers or keyword-scanning tools to filter resumes — every resume is reviewed by hand. So it is important to keep it simple, clear, and accessible. ✅ Put your best stuff first Lead with your most relevant work experience or education (whichever is stronger) — don’t make the reviewer dig for it. There is a growing trend of listing oldest experience first, but unless there’s a strategic reason for it, keep your most recent work at the top. ❌ Skip the photos & QR codes Photos are more suited for CVs — and unless you’re applying for a modeling or acting role, they’re just not needed. If you must include one, make it a professional headshot (not a selfie from your last con — as cool as those are). And QR codes? These are often used with in lieu of a URL or Portfolio link. with rising identity theft risks, many people will not scan them. 🎨 Creative role? Include a working portfolio Applying for a creative position? A portfolio is a must. Double-check that your hyperlinks work and passwords (if needed) are included. Broken links = missed opportunity. 📝 Cover letters or summaries =🥇 Especially if you're changing industries, applying for something niche, or your background isn’t a perfect match. It’s your chance to showcase transferable skills, industry knowledge, or simply share your why. Pro tip: I read them all. 📄 Word vs. PDF? Go PDF. Word docs are fine, but in 2025, saving your resume as a PDF (File > Save As > PDF) protects your formatting and info. I won’t hold it against you either way — but some recruiters and hiring leaders will. 📁 Name your file like a pro Avoid submitting files titled just resume.docx. Use your name — it’s a small thing that makes a big difference when sharing with teams: Example: JoshuaForrest_Resume_2025.pdf The job hunt isn’t always easy — but small details can make a big impact. You've got this! 🎮 #ResumeTips #GamingJobs #CreativeCareers #GameIndustry #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #RecruiterTips

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My Advice to College Students Pursuing Games I’m not an educator, but I’ve worked with thousands of early-career people and have nothing stopping me from being brutally honest. Early-career people with no prior experience in games have about a 5 percent chance of finding a core job in the industry within a year. That means a role at a studio or publisher actually making or releasing games. If you include any job at all, employment rates can be 50 percent or higher. But for development work, those are the odds. There are only about 1,500 to 2,000 entry-level games jobs globally each year, and many now go to experienced people down-leveling. Tens of thousands graduate annually from college, arts, and games programs targeting these roles, along with experienced professionals also competing for them. The math isn’t kind, so you have to make it fairer for yourself. Start by broadening your skills. Go beyond your curriculum. Learn Excel, project management, public speaking, finance, and strong writing. Stay curious and keep learning. Understand the range of careers in games. There are hundreds of roles across design, production, engineering, art, writing, audio, analytics, and marketing. The total number of jobs may be smaller, but variety is still vast. Focus from day one on finding: Any job A job tied to what you studied A job that’s games-adjacent A games job You’ve succeeded even if you achieve the first. Don’t fall into the trap of prioritizing this list in reverse. Ask tough questions about your program. What jobs is it preparing you for? How many are outside games? How many graduates found games roles? How many use the skills they studied? Don’t accept viewbook employment rates. Ask about outcomes that match the work you want and the tuition you’re paying. Do it now, not 4 years from now. Build your professional identity early. Create a LinkedIn profile and keep it updated. If your field is creative, have a portfolio. Attend events and connect with professionals. Most early-career jobs come through relationships, not applications. You have four years to meet people. Use them. Don’t rely on internships. With only 300 to 400 each year, build experience through projects, game jams, and collaborations that show initiative and growth. Be realistic about geography and cost. Around 70 percent of North American jobs are in expensive hubs like California, Washington, Vancouver, Quebec, and North Carolina, with fewer than 15 percent remote. Only a quarter of all games jobs are in North America, so relocation may be necessary. Be financially aware. Model your debt, salary, and cost of living. Know what your degree will cost and what repayment will look like. I say this not to discourage you but to help you go in clear-eyed. I spent 17 years after college trying to break into games before I did, and I never gave up. Support yourself while you keep trying. If you find a job that pays your bills, keep building and look for games work on day two.

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To Everyone Early in Your Games Career, This Is For You I know the tone I’ve taken lately might feel tougher. And I’ve shared a lot of hard data. But I want to be clear: I never do this to discourage anyone starting out in games. I do it because I don’t want you to get your heart broken. It’s easy to fall in love with the dream without being told the data. But to me, respecting you means telling the truth. It means helping you set expectations in a way that lets you still dream, but with clarity, preparation, and a better shot at lasting the distance. I’ll never stop encouraging you to go for it. I’ve seen hundreds of people get in, find their way, and grow. Even now. And if I wanted to see the best side of the data, here’s what I would say: There are more entry points than ever, just not always through AAA Many studios do want to invest in young talent, they just can’t always hire right now. These things are not permanent and I have seen many job cycles in my 20-year career. Transferable skills matter a ton. Don't think you can never pivot back into games from another job. Communities like ours will do their best to make a difference. Put most of our effort in relationship building. My data suggests 8+ out of 10 successful early career jobseekers, in this environment, get in through some form of connection. This takes a long time. Start today. Still, let’s stay honest. This will always be a vocational industry. A calling. One that asks a lot before it gives back. Right now, my data suggests early-career odds of getting hired in games over 12 months remain in the 5 to 7 percent range. And in the best of times, they’ve maybe reached 10 to 15 percent, ever. But if this is truly what you want, and you're willing to be resilient, take the long view, and work through other jobs if needed, I have seen people get there. Not in a few months. Sometimes not even in a few years. But they do get there. And whatever your dream is, always have one, if not two or more backup plans. Entirely different ones. Not because you’re giving up, but because you deserve the ability to eat, sleep, live, and thrive while you build the future you want. You deserve that kind of love. That kind of care. That kind of truth. I will always encourage you for games. Our community has aided many early career games placements. But I will treat you like an adult too. And I will never hide the facts from you.

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A hard truth no one tells you… Game design jobs aren't entry-level. Art? You can show your work. Programming? A GitHub repo does the talking. Design? That's harder. Studios don't just want ideas. They want proof you can design, execute, and iterate under real constraints. So how do you actually break in? 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘀. A 5-page pitch doc won't cut it. Build a small prototype, test it with real players, and show what changed based on their feedback. That's the portfolio that gets you noticed. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲. Reverse-engineer existing games. Deconstruct what makes them work. Redesign a mechanic and explain why your version solves a problem the original didn't. 𝗧𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗷𝗼�� 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳. Apply, get rejected, iterate. Fix your portfolio's weak spots. Build, ship, improve, and reapply. Every rejection is just a playtest result. 𝗡𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝘆 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. Don't just ask for jobs. Give thoughtful feedback on other designers' work. Offer value first, build trust second, and referrals will follow. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁. QA. Level design. Modding. Whatever gets your foot in the door. Most game designers didn't start as game designers. They started the work before they got the title. The hardest part? Figuring out which of these steps to prioritize and how to execute them without wasting years on trial and error. But you can compress that timeline and approach it systematically... In our Mastering Game Mechanics bootcamp, you'll learn the frameworks that help you confidently explain your design decisions and pass design tests, the exact skills studios look for when hiring. → Next cohort starts February 23rd (less than one month away!) → Book your fit call here: https://lnkd.in/g9wXUVGx

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How long do people actually stay in a games jobs? What does it mean for relationships? A datapoint I sample across our community is how long people stay in roles. For all the individuals I’ve reviewed, the average tenure in a single role is just over 2 years. I mention this because it ties directly to a message I share often. Don’t fixate only on the biggest names or dream companies. And to add to that: don’t fixate on people at just Place X or Y either. Build quality relationships. Real ones. Odds are better than not that just three years down the road, the person you’re connected with will be somewhere else anyway — maybe even at that place you dreamed of. Just build the best, highest quality relationships you can and maintain the same flexibility around where those opportunities are as you would for jobs themselves. If your connection is genuine, they’ll pollinate the industry like killer queens.

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"Who do you vent to?" I ask this question to every game dev student. The silence that follows is deafening. I've mentored hundreds of students trying to break into gaming, and everyone expects to struggle with C#, shaders, or debugging. But the thing that derails careers isn't technical but emotional buildup. In my 1:1 calls, students often talk for 15 straight minutes without me saying a word. They're overwhelmed, feeling behind, comparing themselves to peers who seem to be crushing it. And when I ask who they vent to? Most pause and then realize that they don't have anyone Building a game dev career is emotional work. These aren't lazy students—they show up, ship projects, work their ass off. But without release valves, everything piles up until even small tasks feel impossible. That's when consistency drops. Assignments get missed. And eventually, some just disappear. The most skilled developers I know aren't just good at debugging code but good at debugging themselves. They have people they trust to vent to when shit gets hard. Look, your coding skills won't save you if your emotional health is broken. You need both. Who do YOU vent to about your career struggles?

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If you’re a university or college student studying Computer Games Development, this is for you. Things are hard in the industry right now. I am aware but here are a few things that may help a little. Use your time wisely. Strong grades matter, but they are not what ultimately secure a job in the industry. Start by identifying the role you’d genuinely like to specialise in. Research job descriptions and study the requirements carefully. Which of those skills do you already have? Which ones do you still need to develop? Build a plan around closing that gap while you’re still studying. Whether you spend four years at university or two years in college followed by two at university, this is valuable time. Focus on passing your assessments and meeting course requirements, but be strategic. Many assignments can be completed efficiently, giving you space to strengthen your CV and deepen your practical skills. Use that extra time carefully. Waiting until graduation to research the market can put you at a disadvantage, especially in a competitive industry. A degree alone is no longer enough. Each year, more graduates enter the field, and there are not enough roles for everyone. The industry is a business, and employers are looking for candidates who can demonstrate real, practical ability. Make sure you stand out. If you want to be a programmer (for example), commit to it. Develop depth in your chosen area and avoid changing direction every time things become challenging. Mastery takes focus and persistence. Team projects are valuable, but be honest about your individual contribution. Employers will want to know what you personally delivered. Consider joining game jams in small teams of one or two people and add those projects to your portfolio. This shows initiative, ownership, and hands-on capability alongside your coursework. Awards and qualifications are important, but when you sit in front of an employer, you need to demonstrate that you can apply your skills in practice. That would be my advice: choose a focus, stay consistent, and master your craft. #gamedev

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Hey everyone! 👋 I’m genuinely blown away by the reception and virality of the first post in the LVN Gameplay Programming Showcase. Thank you to everyone who read, shared, and reached out. I wasn’t expecting that kind of response, and it’s been incredibly motivating. Time for LVN Gameplay Programming Showcase 02: Third Person Movement : Jumping [Unity, Unreal C++ and Unreal Blueprints] Get ready for Luis's acrobatics! (Yes, the Mixamo player model. And yes, I’m keeping the name.) Instead of simply adding a jump mechanic like I’ve done in past projects, I decided to give this one a twist. The entire system is animation-based, meaning the actual jump and flip (double jump) forces are triggered by keyframe events inside the animations rather than code-first logic. This gave me the opportunity to practice event integration between gameplay and animation timing, and I’m really happy with how it turned out. This entry builds directly on the Base Mobility system (01): https://lnkd.in/d-hDqjd2 Key Features: - Jump buffering for responsive input - Flip (double jump) available mid-air if enabled - Jump and flip force triggered via animation notifies (Unreal) or animation events (Unity) - Smooth state transitions between jump, fall, flip and land - Velocity reset before flip to ensure consistent launch height - Fully synchronized with Mixamo animations - Customizable parameters including (among others) jump force, flip force, buffer timing, gravity scale (Unreal), air control (Unreal), ground detection (Unity), and double jump toggle GitHub (Scripts and Screenshots): https://lnkd.in/d-MnKtdb As always, I welcome feedback and suggestions. Feel free to reach out if you see something that could be improved or approached differently. Thanks again for the support ^^

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"My portfolio should be enough to get me hired as a concept artist" WRONG ! I know the idea is tempting, but unfortunately that's not how application works. So many concept artists squander their portfolios with poor application practices and get disqualified on something else than their work. The application process has rules you need to respect, and as boring as they are, CVs and Letters need to be done properly. So please... Check out your CV and Letters. I know I know we are artists and our Portfolio is what matters the most. Okay... But you need to be aware that some companies, especially the big ones, are using something called an ATS ATS, or Application Tracking System, is a software that reads your CV and Letter, check out the keywords in these, compares them to the requirements of the company for the job, and then ranks you against other candidates. If it is good enough your application gets reviewed by a Human, if it is not good enough, you get an automatic rejection email. Most tech companies use it and it is safe to assume that a lot of big entertainment companies also use it because it helps filter through the tons of applications they are receiving. To avoid getting disqualified by a freaking software, please make sure that :  - Your CVs are text documents with selectable text, ideally PDFs, DO NOT SEND PICTURES !!! - You avoid anything that the ATS can’t read (images, logos, columns…etc) - You use plain text formatting (bold, italics, colored text, bullet points…etc) - And that you curate the keywords and content of your CV and letters to the companies job descriptions in a SUBTLE way. - The link to your Portfolio is CLEARLY VISIBLE and CLICKABLE, that’s the first thing they will look for As a summary, do not make it fancy. Your CV and letters are not meant to be fancy. These are transactional documents meant to convey certain informations as efficiently as possible to recruiters. The only moment you can send a fancy CV is if a person asks you directly for it, for any other situation, assume the company might have an ATS and that this software might disqualify you if your documents are not meant for it. That's for the documents, and of course it won't compensate for an irrelevant portfolio. To learn how to craft a banger portfolio that matches what companies need and gets you hired, go watch this. It's 100% free, no email required : https://lnkd.in/dhP9F8-M

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Black Myth Wukong might not have won Game of the Year in 2024 but it was definitely the most influential game in the global video game industry. Development studio Game Science changes the world's perception of the Chinese game developer, which was largely that the teams were talented, capable of making games work on many devices, but less concerned about fidelity and purely focused on the free-to-play, live service part of the business. Black Myth Wukong changed that, showcasing a technically masterful game that was a single player title, sold for a premium price. One Chinese government agency reported the game was made for more than $41 million dollars ("more than 300 million yuan") , which has never been confirmed as far as I can tell. Then, the game's popularity drew questions: "Was it just Chinese players playing? Or were there a lot of international players as well?" It turns out quite a few players outside of China played Black Myth Wukong. 80.lv reported that 30% of its total playerbase was from beyond mainland China. The publication estimated that at 7.5 million copies sold. We're seeing more single player, premium games coming from China. Will they be as successful - maybe even more so? It's hard to tell, but it's another example of how the global video game market continues to evolve and change over time.

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Summer without a gaming internship hits differently. Most of us have been there. Completely lost. But you have an advantage. I created 39 ways to level up your game dev skills this summer. You don't need to do everything on this list. Pick what excites you. Make progress while having fun. You're only a student once. Enjoy it 🎮 Here are 44 productive summer moves for aspiring game developers: Apply and Connect: 1. Apply to Epic Games, Riot, EA's early career programs 2. Do coffee chats with game developers 3. Network with developers on LinkedIn 4. Join the local IGDA chapter Build Your Presence: 5. Update your game development portfolio website 6. Update your LinkedIn with game projects 7. Make an itch.io developer page 8. Create a demo reel of your work Learn New Skills: 9. Take Unity Learn or Unreal Engine online courses 10. Enroll in GameDevdottv or Coursera classes 11. Learn new game engines (Godot, GameMaker, Construct) 12. Practice pixel art or 3D modeling in Blender 13. Learn version control with Git 14. Learn game audio design and implementation Create and Ship: 15. Build small games and publish on itch 16. Launch a devlog for your games 17. Compete in game jams 18. Create mods for existing games 19. Create game design documents for portfolio Join Communities: 20. Join communities like r/gamedev, PlayHire, Work With Indies 21. Join Discord servers for game developers 22. Attend gaming conferences or virtual events Study the Industry: 23. Build a case study on your favorite indie game 24. Study successful indie games on Steam 25. Learn game monetization and marketing basics 26. Study game analytics and player behavior 27. Learn about accessibility in game design Get Organized: 28. Create Notion templates for game design docs 29. Sign up for job alerts from gaming companies 30. Sign up for game industry talent platforms Challenge Yourself: 31. Practice technical interviews for programming roles 32. Participate in Games for Change Student Challenge 33. Submit to Game Development World Championship 34. Practice game testing and QA methodologies 35. Explore VR/AR development Expand Your Skills: 36. Study game narrative and storytelling techniques 37. Practice presenting your games to others 38. Join a study abroad program with game design focus 39. Build a network of fellow aspiring game developers What game are you working on right now?

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