These are the briefs you will receive by automatic email once you have finished registering on the Open Days page. Please note that you will only receive one brief, based on the discipline you chose during registration. There is some general advice here as well as specific.

Everyone in the games industry works to a brief - that is, a description of a task that is needed as part of any given project (obviously game projects consist of thousands of tasks). Follow this brief as precisely as you can and this will give you the best chance of getting a coveted place on the Open Day.

Please only send us the work requested in the brief - don't send us your whole portfolio! We just want to see your best work. If you send multiple pieces of work we may well only have time to look at one item. Please also ensure that what you send is entirely your own work, or if it is a team effort, make it very clear to us what you did.

Please note that because of the number of students applying we are unable to enter into individual correspondence or accept job applications through this email address. If you wish to apply for a job please contact careers@blitzgamesstudios.com instead.

Thank you and good luck!

• 2D Artists

  • Single piece of hand-drawn concept art.
  • Environment, Character, Vehicle or Object - Traditional or Digital Media.
  • Can be black and white or colour.
  • Must be high enough resolution to print clearly on A4 - ideally 300 dpi.
  • JPEG or BMP only.

• 3D Artists

  • A JPEG image showing a 3D model you have built.
  • Must be either a Character, Environment or Vehicle.
  • Special consideration will be given to models built and textured so as to be suitable for use in-game.
  • Image must show views of both textured mesh and wireframe.
  • A JPEG showing the texture maps used on the model.
  • It is not necessary to send a 3D file but if you do, please make sure it is in Maya or Max format, include all the file textures and make sure the file's map paths are set to find these textures.

• Animators

  • A Quicktime MOV file showing your best animation.
  • AVIs are acceptable only if you really can't do Quicktime.
  • 1 - 2 minutes in length.
  • Animation must be character-based.
  • Looping walk or run cycles in a variety of moods are a good way of showing your understanding of the core principles of animation.

• Audio

  A candidate should provide an example of Sound Design or Music Design.

  Sound Design

  • A MOV or AVI of existing game footage with the audio replaced with sounds that you have created.
  • Add character sounds (footsteps, impacts, movement foley), ambient sounds, spot effects.
  • Try to place sounds within the environment using suitable effects and processing.
  • Maximum of 2 minutes in length.

  Music Design

  • Write a piece of interactive music suitable for a zombie game.
  • The music should have 3 variations:
    • Explore: This track should be used for the character just exploring the level. Sinister, but little action happening.
    • Normal: The character encounters a moderate level of action, some bad guys to fight.
    • Action: Character is in a big action scene.
  • Ensure that the tracks are mixed successfully, are evenly balanced and sound of a high quality (must be .wav 44.1khz stereo 16 bit).
  • The tracks should loop smoothly with no noticeable audible gap and make musical "sense" at the point at which it loops.
  • Maximum length of 2 mins per track.

• Game Designers

  A design can be either a new level for a pre-existing game, or an entirely original one of your own design - in which case you'll need to provide a swift outline of the basic mechanics of the game. This should be a maximum of 5 pages in Word including the following:

  • Top-down level map
  • Full written walkthrough (focusing on game flow, pacing and player experience)
  • Gameplay design considerations overview
  • Anything else you feel is relevant

  Alternatively you could send us a game that you have designed and made, whether from scratch or made in a game editor. If you choose this option, please also include a video play-through of a significant portion of the game with a voiceover or text description to accompany it. The voiceover or text must detail your design thought processes and considerations as the game is played. Additionally, please ensure that you stipulate clearly your contribution to the game if the game production was a group effort.

• Programmers

  A single folder containing a single executable illustrating your game-related programming skills. This will preferably show a simple arcade game or special effect.

  Please note that while C++ is preferred, your demo can be written in Java or C# / XNA but must run on a PC installed with Windows XP (Service Pack 3). The demo should be set up so that a single executable can be double-clicked in order to run the program, so please include any required dlls or libraries in the folder. Any additional runtime libraries that need to be installed (DirectX, Java, XNA Game Studio or OpenAL for example) should be provided in case our machine does not have them installed.

  It is also a good idea to send us a video of your game / demo in action, maybe with a voice-over or text on the screen explaining what's going on.

  It is a good idea to test your executable on someone else's machine (preferably with a different configuration) before you send it to us; this allows you to make sure that you have included everything we might need to be able to see your demo.

  Please DO NOT send .exe files via email, as they can go missing or be rejected by our firewall; either send us a CD, a link to your website if you have one, or use a site such as Megaupload.com or similar.

  Lastly, don't forget to include your source code!