Game Development graduate on working on the new Forza Horizons 6

Having been a fan of the Horizon and Motorsport series for a very long time (my introduction being Forza Motorsport 2, which I still play to this day), I feel honoured and privileged to be able to work on Forza Horizon 6.

Getting a 10/10 rating from IGN and so many other outlets has simply blown me away. I was honestly speechless when I saw it come through. Everyone has worked incredibly hard on this title and it shows with the reviews coming through.

Speaking broadly, my contributions as a level designer consisted of working on the road network and race events, with several of my favourite races being the Electric Town Circuit, Daikoku Circuit and Edogawa Cross Country Circuit.

How did you find the Game Development: Design course at Falmouth? 

Falmouth University had been my first choice for several years before I started my studies there. I had heard a ton of good things about the course and the university itself.

Another massive draw for me was the location; having grown up on the coast all my life, this felt like the perfect choice. Falmouth is such a beautiful place, and I originally found out about the university through family holidays to Falmouth several years earlier. Once I heard I could study games there, I was instantly sold.

Studying at Falmouth was great. There was so much to do, although my favourite thing will always be going to the beach. Honestly, it felt like a very long holiday, so to anyone studying there, enjoy every moment you have. It goes quicker than you think.

Were there any projects you were particularly proud of?

The project I am most proud of was my third-year group project, Cosmic Cowboy. It was a turn-based game with a sci-fi western theme, a genre that no one in the group had worked on before. There were only four of us and the team was formed pretty last minute, but I am very proud of what we created during our third year. We even took our demo to Insomnia, the UK’s largest gaming festival at the time, which sadly is no longer running.

We also received a ton of support and feedback from our Games Academy supervisor, Sokol, who helped the project so much. He helped shape our rough ideas and gave us more confidence in our work.

You joined Playground Games soon after graduating. What helped you make that first step into the industry?

I get asked this question quite a lot and honestly, I don’t really have a concrete answer. There’s so much that goes into getting a job in the industry.

I would summarise it mainly as having a solid portfolio and CV, alongside participating in the Into Games IG50 programme, where I won one of the design categories. That category was sponsored by Playground Games in the year I took part. I highly recommend the programme to anyone currently studying games and preparing to graduate.

Finally, something I don’t see many people talk about is being confident in your work and showing your eagerness to learn. Be proud of what you create. If you can show that confidence in your CV and portfolio, it goes a long way.

When you look back at your student portfolio, what do you think made it stand out to studios?

Having a clear, easy-to-read layout that showed my ideas and eagerness to learn. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but showing your best three projects is much better than having 10 average ones. It’s quality over quantity, especially when recruiters have limited time to look through hundreds of portfolios. The best advice I could give is to make sure all your links work, especially on your CV.

Reaching out to people in the industry and asking for feedback is also super useful. You never know who you may work with one day because the UK games industry is smaller than you think. Many people, myself included, are always happy to talk to students about working in the industry and provide CV and portfolio feedback.

What was it like coming back to the Games Academy to speak to current students? 

Coming back to the Games Academy was amazing. Everyone is so incredibly talented and it’s great to see what people have been working on over the last year. Having taken my project to Expo myself a few years back, I understand all the hard work and late nights that go into these projects. I especially love seeing Games Academy projects evolve into fully funded projects that end up on commercial platforms.

I’m returning this year, so I’m really looking forward to playing some fun and unique games. There are always cool and crazy ideas that get me excited. I can’t wait!

External links

https://jackmulford8.wixsite.com/leveldesign 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-mulford/