A newly announced downtown Victoria branch of Microsoft Game Studios is considering some Camosun students for their 75-person team being assembled this year, according to technical director Chris Robertson.
“Just because somebody got off the bus after a two-year diploma doesn’t mean that they don’t have the same abilities or future potential as someone who did a four-year bachelor. Really, it’s just about intelligent, passionate people,” says Robertson. “There’s no reason you couldn’t find those people at Camosun.”
Robertson, a 20-year veteran of the games industry, along with studio director Edoardo De Martin, is trying to build a team of 75 employees by the end of the year. And contrary to what some might expect, the software behemoth isn’t exclusively seeking candidates with years of industry experience.
“A major part of what we’re doing is recruitment. That means nurturing relationships with a local schools, Camosun being one of them,” says Robertson. “To bring young, fresh energy into the studio means taking bets on people who don’t necessarily have a lot of experience, but they’re never going to get to be veterans without some people taking some bets.”
De Martin echoes that sentiment, saying that “teams that are mostly comprised of veterans lack some of the boldness that youth brings. We want to add youth to our team mix, for sure.”
Eric Sehn, Camosun’s dean of trades and technology, is excited about the possibilities that Microsoft brings to the local high-tech industry. Sehn says he looks forwards to opening dialogue with Microsoft about what the college can provide.
“Making sure that our curriculum is relevant, particularly to their needs around gaming, is really important,” says Sehn. “What we want to do is have the opportunity to sit down with them and say, ‘What kind of skillsets are you needing and how can we incorporate that?’”
According to Robertson, the most important quality in any candidate, Camosun student or not, is passion.
“If somebody’s passionate about what they’re doing, then everything else will fall into place,” says Robertson. “They will learn what they need to learn, they will do what they need to do. Without the motivation, you can have all the ability in the world, but you won’t necessarily apply it.”