Interview

How to get a job at 10-year-old mobile game studio Tag Games

Talent and Office Administrator Gwyneth Thomas shares insights

How to get a job at 10-year-old mobile game studio Tag Games

Dundee's Tag Games is a company that's recently celebrated its 10th birthday - beating Pocket Gamer by just two months - and has been focused on mobile gaming since day one. 

Having survived J2ME development for feature phones, the firm now works primarily on work-for-hire projects with high-profile clients such as the BBC, Wooga, and Square Enix.

Tag Games is also currently hiring, so we reached out to Talent and Office Administrator Gwyneth Thomas to discuss company culture, what she's looking for in applicants, and advice for breaking into the games industry.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you give us some background on Tag Games and what you do?

Gwyneth Thomas: Tag Games was founded in 2006 and was the brainchild of a team of Dundee-based development veterans who wanted to explore the possibilities of mobile gaming.

10 years later, we have grown to a team of over 40 that specialise in building free-to-play games as a service, with a focus on mobile/tablet. We have delivered amazing titles for clients such as Activision, Ubisoft and Rovio as well as creating our own IP.

I’ve been at the studio now for around 8 months and it has been great to work in such an inclusive, relaxed but productive environment.

Being a fairly new recruit myself, I aim to bring my personal experiences into the recruitment process to ensure a smooth transition for every new member of the team.

We’re steadily expanding in every department and it therefore remains so important for us that the close-knit, convival and collaborative environment is kept at the forefront of making some terrific games.

We’re hiring in Art, Design, Production, Programming, QA and Analytics.
Gwyneth Thomas

What specific areas/disciplines are you currently hiring in?

We currently have a number of projects ongoing, or in the pipeline, so are looking for talent in a number of areas.

At the minute, we’re hiring in Art, Design, Production, Programming, QA and Analytics.

As you're overseeing recruitment at Tag Games, what do you look for in candidates?

A passion for what we do is absolutely paramount and should be the driving force behind anyone who desires to work with us.

We want people committed to making the best games possible and that are excited by the world of mobile gaming.

They must be ambitious, pushing the boundaries of what is possible technically, visually or in other areas such as game design, or commercialisation.

We are constantly evolving and growing as a company so we also need people who are able to be flexible and embrace both change and challenge.

Why do you think Tag Games/Dundee is a good place to work? 

At Tag our simple focus is on making great games and the best way to do this is to ensure our talent has a great environment to work in and are encouraged to take ownership of their work and contribute across the studio.

We’re a sociable office that understands the right work-life balance is important to our staff. Throughout the year there are countless events staff can get involved in, ranging from snowboarding trips to boardgame nights to a yearly summer barbeque.

Dundee itself is great place to live. It’s got a beautiful waterfront location, has all the culture and entertainment you need, yet still has the beauty of the Scottish countryside on its doorstep.

Dundee is a creative hub, especially for the games industry, and there’s a fantastic community of studios here..
Gwyneth Thomas

It’s a creative hub, especially for the games industry, and there’s a fantastic community of development studios here.

The city is also undergoing a £1billion transformation around the waterfront and it’s exciting to see how rapidly Dundee is developing.

What advice would you have for someone trying to get into the games industry?

Getting a foot in the door is the hardest step. Once you are in and have the opportunity to let your talent shine it is much easier to move into the discipline, or role you desire.

Therefore you need to work hard and be persistent when it comes to the application process, be prepared to complete tests or go the extra mile to prove you are the best candidate for a specific position.

It sounds obvious but make sure you spell check your application email/letter and CV and above all be friendly and approachable!

The full list of Tag Games vacancies can be found on its jobs page.

Features Editor

Matt is really bad at playing games, but hopefully a little better at writing about them. He's Features Editor for PocketGamer.biz, and has also written for lesser publications such as IGN, VICE, and Paste Magazine.