Welcome to the final installment of “Game Your Way to a Career.” In this conclusion to our series on video games and 21st century skills, we’re discussing content creators, and how building skills related to content creation can give gamers a leg up in many different career paths! Read on to discover what exactly a content creator is, what they do, and why their role on esports teams and beyond is both important and useful in the real-world.
via Giphy
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The Esports Ecosystem: Content Creators
As usual, we’re drawing upon NASEF’s Esports Ecosystem to kick us off. You can learn more about the Esports Ecosystem in the diagram below, or by checking out NASEF’s website!
via NASEF
Creation stands at the heart of esports entertainment, where content creators play a pivotal role in shaping narratives and engaging audiences. NASEF defines content creators as storytellers who skillfully craft and convey the stories of esports teams, streamers, and organizations. Whether it’s through written materials, live shoutcasting, captivating streams, innovative software development, or visually stunning art and design, content creators bring a unique vibrance into the esports industry that is as personable as it is entertaining.
via NASEF
Content creators don multiple hats – setting up their own equipment, recording, editing, and publishing content that not only entertains but also weaves a compelling narrative around the entities they represent. It’s a multifaceted role that demands creativity, technical expertise, and a thorough understanding of an organization’s or individual’s image and goals.
More than a game: cultivating transferable skills
In GNL Magazine, Kiesha Richardson, a gaming and tech content specialist and cybersecurity professional, highlights the success of esports players and content creators who have achieved recognition on platforms like Forbes 30 under 30. Richardson emphasizes that making a career out of playing video games involves more than just setting up a streaming account and playing games. The skills acquired by content creators through trial and error are transferable to various industries, with the potential to land successful careers.
Throughout the article, she identifies seven transferable skills that gamers learn and hone through creating content:
Marketing: Successful content creators use creative tactics for social media marketing to engage and grow their audience. Establishing a personal brand and authenticity are crucial aspects, requiring an understanding of analytics and strategic planning.
Community Management: Building and managing a community around content is vital for the success of a content creator. These creators must engage with diverse audiences, manage multiple social media accounts, and organize events.
Video Editing: Creating highlight videos, intros, and gameplay videos is essential for marketing. Content creators use tools like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, for example, to edit, mix, and enhance their videos.
Public Speaking: Keeping an audience engaged requires effective communication. Content creators learn to narrate gameplay, explain actions, and communicate with viewers from diverse backgrounds.
Team Leadership: As their community grows, content creators may need a team to manage their tasks. Leadership skills involve prioritizing, delegating, and leading a team to achieve goals.
Business Management: Though content creation is often thought of as a creative endeavor, understanding the business side of it is absolutely necessary. For instance, content creators must handle contracts, negotiate brand partnerships, and manage finances as they transition into a business or brand.
Tech Support: Last but not least, content creators use various software, and technical difficulties are unfortunately oftentimes part of the job. Being able to troubleshoot and fix technical issues quickly and effectively is crucial for consistent content creation.
Richardson concludes by encouraging content creators to recognize the value of their skills and advises employers to appreciate the transferable skills gained by individuals with a background in content creation, even for roles outside the gaming industry!
Keeping the skills listed above in mind, this Hitmarker article details how building content creation skills can translate to all sorts of skills for a successful career in the following fields:
Editorial: Editorial professionals create and edit written content tailored to the gaming audience, requiring strong writing skills and a deep understanding of gaming culture, and, as Hitmarker notes, practical experience in the gaming industry is often more crucial than formal education.
Journalism: Journalists cover the latest news and trends in gaming – this necessitates strong writing, research, and interviewing skills.
Videography: Videographers produce high-quality video content for purposes like trailers and event coverage, which demands expertise in videography, lighting, and sound. The practical experience in gaming videography that content creators often have gives them an advantage when applying for these sorts of roles.
Photography: It’s a photographer’s job to capture high-quality images of gaming events and experiences, requiring a talent for photography and a familiarity with gaming culture. Again, practical experience is often prioritized over formal education in this field.
Video Editing: By assembling and polishing raw video footage, video editors create engaging content for various platforms. Expertise in video editing software and an understanding of the gaming industry are essential in these types of careers.
Graphic Design: Graphic designers create visually appealing designs for gaming brands, necessitating expertise in graphic design software and (say it with us) a deep understanding of gaming culture.
Motion Design: Lastly, motion designers create animation and visual effects for game-related content, requiring expertise in animation and visual effects software. When pursuing this type of job, practical experience in the gaming industry is crucial.
Overall, the video game industry offers diverse content creation roles, where practical experience and industry-specific knowledge often outweigh formal education. Professionals in these roles need strong technical, creative, and communication skills to adapt to the gaming industry as it changes and grows!
Game-based learning for aspiring content creators
As we’ve mentioned before on the blog, game-based learning can teach a variety of skills, many of which are especially relevant to aspiring or current content creators. From media literacy and storytelling to design and coding, both commercial and educational games can aid content creators in refining their practices. The best part? A lot of these game-based learning resources are free!
For example, the article “Want to be a better fact checker? Play a game” explores the growing trend of using educational games to enhance students’ media literacy. This article highlights seven free games with varying approaches to achieving this goal: Bad News challenges players to act as fake news writers, with a study indicating increased psychological resistance to misinformation. BBC iReporter immerses users in the role of journalists, guiding them to discern trustworthy online content. NewsFeed Defenders, a collaboration between us, the Annenberg Public Policy Center, and iCivics, is an online simulation specifically designed to teach users how to evaluate sources online.
Other games mentioned in this article, like Fakey, Interland: Reality River, Factitious, and Fact-Check It! also contribute to the ever-growing list of free digital resources for media literacy education. It’s safe to say that games have an important role in promoting critical thinking and discernment skills in students who are navigating an information-saturated digital world.
In another vein, this roundup of games featured on BuiltIn contains ten (many of them free) different game-based resources for teaching software development skills. These games cover diverse programming topics and cater to developers of various expertise levels.
Oh My Git! focuses on teaching Git commands and file manipulation through a gamified experience. Vim Adventures offers an innovative approach to teaching essential Vim commands by integrating them into the game’s navigation and puzzle-solving mechanics, while CSS Diner addresses front-end development skills, specifically the intricate rules of CSS selection, using a food-themed game. Combining JavaScript programming with MMO gameplay, Screeps allows players to build self-sustaining colonies using code. In SQL Murder Mystery, SQL queries are integrated into a detective-style game.
Other notable games include Shenzhen I/O, Human Resource Machine, Robo Instructus, While True: learn(), and Grey Hack – each focusing on different programming aspects while providing an immersive learning experience.
Creating the future
As students engage with video games and esports, they not only enhance their gaming skills but also develop a skill set that lays the foundation for their future careers. The ability to tell compelling stories, create engaging content, and navigate different types of media is not one to be downplayed or overlooked by employers in any field!
To sum up, game-based learning isn’t just about mastering in-game challenges; it’s a powerful tool that molds the storytellers of tomorrow. Whether you’re passionate about writing, streaming, software development, creating art, or anything else under the content creator umbrella, esports and game-based learning provide the perfect platform to hone these skills.
If you’re eager to explore how game-based learning can improve your industry, community, or company, you’ve made it to the right corner of the internet. We’re Filament Games, an educational games studio with 18 years of experience. We help our clients use the power of gaming for positive impact – and we’d love to hear your ideas. Drop us a message today!
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