AFTER ALL THIS TIME, I’M STILL INDIE ME - Rach Macpherson On Why Being Yourself Is Important In The Games Industry | Winter Spectacular 2023
It would be an understatement to say that 2023 has been a difficult year for games.
While we’ve been treated to stunning new Triple-As, delved into new worlds, and seen indies push the boundaries on what makes a good game, we’ve also seen mass redundancies, the shelving of video games only months before they were due to release, walkouts and uncertainty over the future of games media.
We’ve also seen some really wonderful new things begin to take root: Aftermath, Second Wind, new publishers and PR agencies, fantastic campaigns.
In a year of so much change, and in a season of reflection, I’ve found myself wondering how all of this impacts on newcomers to the industry. This year, more than any other year, I have seen more tweets (xs?), LinkedIn messages, and emails asking about how to break into the industry. Asking how did I manage it? What would I recommend doing if I started again today?There’s no doubt for those of us who exist outside of the London or Dundee hub of games, it can sometimes be more difficult to find a job - regardless of whether it's QA, marketing, development, press or PR. Three years ago, I was that newcomer, freshly arrived in the industry with an eagerness to make a name for myself and no earthly idea of where to even begin.
So how did I make it into the industry and what advice would I give to folk to take into 2024?
Well, to begin, the first thing I always say to those looking to find a job in games - and what I told my new mentee just a few weeks ago - is to be open to any and all opportunities. I started in journalism at the tender age of 16, starting as a music freelancer before eventually making my way into digital news journalism and working on a newsdesk for four and a bit years while I completed my undergraduate degree. During that time I also tried loads of other different opportunities; freelancing in social media, interning for a television production company for three months in Canada, television runner, working in my mum’s Etsy shop, I could go on.
The point is that not only did I gather a range of transferable skills from a range of industries, it also meant that when the marketing internship opened for Neonhive in 2020, I was open to trying something new. I didn’t have expectations of continuing within the industry after the internship, I just wanted to try my hand at learning new skills and take full advantage of another great opportunity.
Fortunately, my sparkling wit and excellent patter impressed my colleagues so much that I was offered a part-time role while I finished up my Masters degree and I have since continued to hone my skills and learn everything I can about PR and Marketing.
What I’m trying to say is that in an industry where the competition is fierce for every existing role, where news desks are being closed and everyone is having to rethink how they approach their work, being open to trying your hand at any role can be important. Everything from interning to working at events to doing admin, allows you to see different sides of the industry and hone a variety of skills within and outwith the games industry that could be useful later on in your career - or make you a very valuable candidate for a new job.
And who knows maybe that role will surprise you and inspire you to follow a path you never expected?
The second thing to consider is connections. Something I’m also asked often, is if you don’t live in London, and you struggle to pay for expensive event tickets or travel to meet people, how do you network and talk to people? Well, I’ve found that often you need to make your own opportunities.
I live in the centre of Glasgow and I travel down to industry events, maybe once or twice a year. It can be difficult at times to arrange to see people when you have limited time at events or forge meaningful connections when a lot of the time your main tools to do so are email, Twitter, a terrible sense of humour and a love for Danny DeVito memes. But I was reminded recently by some colleagues that there are people who exist in other parts of the UK too, and that sometimes making your own opportunities to connect with folk is just as powerful and useful. So, pitch up to a pub one day and tell people you’ll be there if they want to meet and grab a pint; reach out to people you know who live nearby and ask if they want to grab a coffee; or, for those even further away people, you can’t go wrong with asking for a quick video call at some point to discuss opportunities or common interests (I mean who wouldn’t want to discuss the new Disney Dreamlight Valley expansion pack, Gaston is right there!); and never, ever, underestimate the power of a thoughtful email. If there’s one thing I learned from being a journalist, it’s that saying ‘thank you’ can mean a lot.
The power of a repost and a like on social media cannot be denied either. Something my mentee has been amazing at this year is reaching out to people in the industry and asking them for their opinions, attending online events and striking up conversations with people they’ve never met before.
Meeting people in real life is great, but if there’s anything the pandemic has shown us it’s that an online connection can be just as strong. I’ve made some of my best friends and strongest connections in the industry this way, and in fact, some of them are attending my wedding next year.
My final bit of advice, and maybe it’s corny to say, is just to remember to be yourself. Memorably, when I started one of my first jobs, I was told off for signing off my emails to a lawyer with little kisses. It wasn’t considered to be professional or in good taste; now, I sign off almost everything with little kisses. My first interview with Neonhive was supposed to be thirty minutes long, instead I sat speaking for an hour because I got started on The Witcher 3 and I got excited to talk to someone about it; a good few of my contacts in the industry now know me as a huge Witcher fan first and foremost.
What I’m trying to say is that being yourself - whether that’s someone who makes bad jokes or someone who is passionate about talking about Witcher 3 or someone who signs off all their emails with little kisses - it is a great way to forge new relationships, make a name for yourself and genuinely engage with other people over common interests. I think with so many talented and amazing people working within the industry and making fantastic games, it’s great to be known for specific passions or being able to connect with people.
I was asked to talk about my journey into PR and advice I would give other people seeking to find work within the industry who are maybe, like me, not based in some of the central UK games industry hubs. When I first started in games, I think it was initially very easy to feel like I was on the peripherals of it all - Glasgow is a long way from London after all.
But, I think the more I embraced being myself and hitting my stride in my work, the easier it was to feel in the midst of it all - despite the thousands of miles that lay between me and many of my contacts. Now I’ve carved out my own corner of the games industry, just by using the skills I picked up from all my previous jobs, going out of my way to forge relationships with people on my own terms and by being myself.
Maybe these tips won’t work for you, or maybe they will - what we’re looking at now is an industry that is incredibly difficult to break into and that is changing in ways that are unprecedented pretty much constantly.
You know, the other day I mentioned to my fiance that I remembered covering some of the early Baldur’s Gate 3 announcements way back in 2019 when I was working on the newsdesk and looking up vacancies at Rockstar Games, and thinking ‘man, I wish I could work in games’ - and now, on my third playthrough of Baldur’s Gate 3, I’m doing a job I love and working with outstanding folk.
If I could go back to that 21-year-old and tell them onit would be ‘anything is possible’.
