Not just coding: creative talents flourish in Edmonton video game industry

Edmonton’s game-development industry supports a much broader creative workforce than programmers alone, creating opportunities for artists, writers, animators, producers, musicians and other disciplines. University of Alberta professor Sean Gouglas estimated that programmers may account for only 20 to 25 per cent of the workforce at larger studios, illustrating the range of skills required to produce modern games. Edmonton’s combination of established studios and post-secondary training was helping both attract international talent and develop local workers. Beamdog concept artist Aimee Correia moved from Australia to Edmonton for her career, while BioWare narrative producer Crystal McCord entered the industry after studying television and radio at NAIT and working in film and television. The University of Alberta’s growing computer game development certificate further connected arts and science students through collaborative game projects, demonstrating how Alberta’s game industry creates career pathways across technology and the creative arts.