Interview With Ryan Camu About Writing |
Importance of Written Communication |
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He leads a team of talented individuals in helping create and pitch video games to various publishers. I interviewed him about his line of work and how written communication factors into it. As I interviewed him, I asked a variety of questions but concentrating on the importance of writing and written works within his field. He responded with enlightening answers about how he uses written communication in his field and the different genres and techniques he employs to do his job with the most efficiency.
Ryan Camu, began working in the industry at an early age. He started as a product tester at the recommendation of an acquaintance and rose through the ranks to become a Production Director at his company where he leads a subdivision of staff to help create the intended product; the video game. When he started, he had no formal education related to the field but during the interview he stated that one would now require a BA, or a degree related to Computer Sciences as well as mastery in a myriad of related skills to get into similar positions nowadays. When asked about what advice he would give to any aspiring prospects hoping to emerge in the field, he replied that one should put their creativity first, as that would be what would create a great game. He stated that one should worry about the financial issues and technical aspects of creating a game as well but to never make it a priority over your creativity. Creativity will always be needed in the industry as it changes and evolves which it continuously does especially in this day and age where technological advancements open up new options on how to do things. He advised that if one wants to get into the industry one must make sure that they are constantly learning new skills and applying them in whatever they are doing. To efficiently do his job, Ryan Camu works in multiple genres and implements different writing techniques depending on the situation. When asked what genre he uses on the most frequent basis, he answered with email to coworkers concerning production development. He sends and receives approximately one hundred emails a day. “It is the fastest way to send information and notifications to team members and the rest of the staff,” he explained. He went further on to say while the amount of written works created and circulated was a great deal, he expected this from the beginning as a lot of written material is created all throughout the process of creating a video game. Ryan told that even when he was a product tester, he had to fill out a lot of paperwork on a daily basis so the experience was expected and not entirely new to him. Along with emails to communicate with his coworkers, Ryan Camu also uses creative writings, powerpoints, and other presentation techniques to help pitch ideas to potential publishers so as to attain funding for further projects. He is regularly required to masterfully use genres and written communication to convey the potential emotional impact of the game whilst also stating its validity in the markets and how it would garner a profit for those who would invest in it by displaying all of the facts and figures. When questioned about the emergence of digital communication in the workplace, Ryan stated that even though emails to coworkers about product development is his most used genre, physical written documentations are still just as important in the workplace. At the question of, “Do you feel that writing within your field has become paperless for the most part?” Ryan answered quite concisely, “No.” He elaborated by going on to say that from conception to execution, written documentation is made. Also, it helps to align the team's ideas and expectations. This is crucial in his line of work because a major part of his job is to make sure that all of the members of his team have the same ideas in mind and work towards the same end goal. Ryan Camu stated during the interview that there is always a lot of subjectivity in the beginning of a project and that ideas often could not match up when envisioning the final product so the physical written documents were critical in making sure that everyone involved were exactly on the right page. In conclusion, Ryan Camu, a professional in the field I wish to join makes use of written communication immeasurably. He uses it to pitch products, lead teams, align ideas, amongst many other duties in his line of work. This interview has shed to light how much written communication is required in the field, especially the genres of emails to coworkers and staff and multimedia presentations to pitch products to publishers and that the written language is and will be invaluable to my occupational prospects in the future. |
Various genres and modes are required when communicating in such a field as the creation of video games. While concept art is a good way to help express ideas and themes that are necessary in the conception of a video game, other forms are required to further its development. As the interview stated, ways of maintaining contact with your fellow employees is imperative in the constructive component and so genres that rely on easily communicating information are incredibly useful to those in the field. Written communication is not only important in maintaining contact with your team members but is also invaluable in helping market the product. Methods of advertisement to help pitch and distribute the game are just as important as the art that creates it.
Important Genres and Mediums When Creating VideogamesInitial Stages
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