Wafflelord

Hi Guys!

I work as a games designer over here (over 2 years industry experience with a few shipped titles under my belt) and I'm looking to to find a design job in Canada. I've got my CAL for IEC and i'm just waiting for the rest to process. I'm applying to all sorts of positions in and around Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto but I'd be interested in other locations as well.

It would be fantastic to hear from anyone working in the industry that's made the jump to Canada already, or even people in the same boat as me! Did you move before looking for jobs, or did you secure one before you left? How is the industry compared to the UK? And of course, does anyone know of any design vacancies or would anyone be able to put me in touch with the right people to ask? (Canadian recruitment agencies, friends or family in the industry etc)

Any help, advice or general wisdom would be massively appreciated.

Thanks!

SambaDeAmigo

Been working in the games industry for over 13 years. Made the jump roughly 5 years ago. I applied at 2 games companies in Montreal after I landed and I was offered positions pretty quickly. However I turned both of them down as I didn't want to move to Montreal. So some friends and myself started our own company but we don't focus just on games.

I have six friends (game designers, 2D artists and coders) from the UK who got jobs very easily too in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver in the past 2 years. They all got jobs before coming over. The industry is seriously booming over here so I don't think you'll have a hard time finding work. Ubisoft in Toronto is recruiting like crazy btw. With the Ontario tax credits made available for games companies, I think we'll see more and more new companies forming in the province in the near future.

Scrapcat

PEI often has openings for game developers, if you search on http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/intro-eng.aspx for jobs in PEI you'll probably find some.

Mikeypm

A friend of a friend works for EA in Burnaby and he says they are pretty busy right now so maybe worth sending your Resume over to them

prairiechicken

Do you mean video games or board/card games?

My husband is a games designer but board/card games, not video games. We are making the move to Vancouver Island this year. We are lucky though - he actually works for a company in LA, and can work from anywhere so location isn't the issue. We are moving so we are in the right time zone, his job won't actually change.

There is a video game company I read about recently though, Hinterland Games, based in Cumberland on Vancouver Island (interesting to me only because it's in the next town along from where we are headed). They are developing a game they funded through Kickstarter. Only a small company, but they have a couple of jobs listed on their website, just in case it's relevant to you. http://hinterlandgames.com/jobs

Shirtback

I'll reiterate my suggestion posted elsewhere of enzyme.org as a foot-in-the-door opportunity, & second the Ubisoft suggestion above.

feralbob

Great bunch of guys 'n' gals - Working on The Simpsons: Tapped Out and a new project. I just finished working with them.

Wafflelord

Cheers for the advice everyone!

I'm looking at video game positions as that's where the bulk of my experience is (though I've made a few board games as well). I'm chasing up a few leads at the moment so finger's crossed!

That's awesome to hear. Kinda why i want to make the move, sounds like the industry is really picking up over there!

So are Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver some of the main hotspots over there? Are there any other places I should look at specifically?

Appreciate the advice

SambaDeAmigo

Check out the map
http://gamedevmap.com/

Wafflelord

Ah I almost forgot about this little gem. Thanks!

I'm still firing off resume's so if anyone knows anyone in the industry that could forward something for me, or to give some more insight into the industry over there it would be a massive help!

Cheers