Video Game CV

Video games have been a big part of my life for a long time now, and a big part of my identity also. Despite this, only in the most recent iteration of my CV did I add any mention of them - and that was because one of my current employers cofounded a game dev company. Today, the beeb featured an article about why video games could help you get a job, and so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to put out my gaming CV. Please find below some of my core skills, along with a brief explanation of how they have been developed through my time gaming.

Strong and responsible leadership

In order for any team to succeed in high pressure, results-oriented situations, it must have strong leadership. Having captained a team who competed in amateur Dota2 events, as well as practiced together extensively, I had to formulate long term strategies and make instant tactical decisions, and take responsibility for any failures thereof in the aftermath. Doing so required me to work very closely with my team, to understand their individual strengths and weaknesses in order to maximise their effectiveness in every situation.

Ability to cooperate with a team in an extremely high pressure environment

Solo queuing in team games, such as Dota2, Overwatch or Counterstrike, presents the opportunity to work closely as a freshly-formed lineup without any prior experience with one another. In a competitive environment, there is a huge amount of pressure on this new team, and tensions can arise quickly which would be counterproductive to the team’s shared goal. Years of playing in these kinds of scenarios has taught me how to quickly form workable relationships with others, even in a stressful environment and despite any potential personal differences I may have with them, as well as rapidly neutralise any negativity that might crop up in order to ensure the team’s objectives are met and its potential fulfilled.

Dedication and commitment to improving myself and my skills

Having competed at university level, primarily in Dota2 but also in Team Fortress 2 and Hearthstone, I have seen the amount of hard work and time it takes to be successful in such a cutthroat arena. Given my natural passion for these pursuits, in order to attain the ability level that I want and expect of myself, I have spent a large amount of time pursuing these goals, with constant self-reflection and re-evaluation along the way.

Analytic ability and understanding of nuanced strategies

Games such as Dota2 and Starcraft 2 have exceptional strategic depth, so much so that both games have been focused on heavily by artificial intelligence research projects. I’ve studied both these games at length, and in my attempts to improve at both I have had to consume, evaluate and iterate upon these expansive and complicated strategies.

Lateral thinking, creativity and an aptitude for solving complex problems

Problem solving is one of the cornerstones of single-player gaming, and games like Portal and Portal 2, The Turing Test and The Spectrum Retreat have allowed me to develop a rigorous methodology for solving these kinds of challenges. By working my way through a very large number of unusual and unique problems presented in various scenarios, I have developed the necessary out-of-the-box skills required to find creative solutions when required.