Inquiry for the editors (mostly)

[Jeroen Stout]

Hi, my name is Jeroen Stout and I'm a student GameDesign & Development at the HKU in the Netherlands.

Next year I'm going to do an internship at a company - or rather, I have to arrange for one. My aim is to become a game director for more than 'just games', put games in their rightful place as art again. So I'm kind-of hunting for locations near people that have really 'made me see the light' rather then get a specific job: where I'm going I need more experience in what it takes to dream than what it takes to make a nice shiny texture.

So. Michel Ancel.

I can't find any way to contact him personally - nor on how to contact Ubisoft with such an inquiry. It's kind-of a long shot, but do any of you have an idea of how to get his address (e-mail or postal), short of looking him up in the phone book (which I'm trying to do now, in a half-serious way)?

Any help would be most appreciated, what I want to do is a bit of a niche in terms of open positions don't want to get stuck modelling wastebins, so hence my aims.

Cheers,
-Jeroen

 

[N. Evan Van Zelfden]

Ah, you go to HKU. Do you study under the excellent Evert Hoogendoorn?

Michel Ancel is a rather nice fellow (he doesn't practice his English often, though). And he's one of the more remarkable European designers. I can't tell you what his personal reaction would be, but I can tell you that it's always important to pursue the official and the unofficial.

Thus, you should contact both Michel himself and Ubisoft. Ubi is a large company, and they'll be difficult to navigate. But try. Send emails, and follow-up by phone. Write letters. Have your professors recommend you for the internship.

An internship isn't unheard of, and I certainly wish you the best in your search.

 

[Jav3lin]

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[Starnerf]

Usually you'll have to start out modeling wastebins until you prove to the company that you can be relied on to model more complex stuff. I assume. Most companies wouldn't expect interns to be masters of their trade, but they expect you to be able to learn and adapt to the job at hand. Show them you can handle small stuff and they'll consider you for bigger things. I'm a programmer, not an artist, so that may be different but I'm pretty sure they aren't going to expect (or allow) you to create a whole new game when you get there.