Generate Questions for 2023-09-19: Sola Chang/Blizzard

nguyen-jenn commented 10 months ago

Overview

We need to create a list of questions for our guest speaker Sola Chang attending on 2023-09-19.

Action Items

[x] Send issue to UI/UX Slack channel and ask UI/UX people to write their questions in the comments.
[x] Collate the questions into a list of unique questions (non-duplicated questions).
[x] Send them to the guest speakers within 2 weeks of their talk.

Resources/Instructions

Slack Announcement (edit this)

:mega: Mark your Calendars! **Sola Chang** will be visiting the UI/UX Community of Practice on **2023-09-19**! :computer: **Topic:** Being a UI/UX Designer in Gaming ? Please post **your questions** in this [GitHub issue](https://github.com/hackforla/UI-UX/issues/512) :arrow_left: :arrow_down: :bust_in_silhouette:**About:** Well Met! 👋 I’m Sola, a UI/UX designer at Blizzard who works out of Seattle. I graduated with an English degree, then taught computer science in Korea, while juggling freelance art gigs in between (I have a very colorful background 😂). I’ve been on Hearthstone for almost two years now and have worked on some amazing projects for a range of players across the world and have been loving every moment of it! :wave: **[LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sola8/)** Thank you! UI/UX CoP co-leads @ Jennifer Nguyen @ Julia Gab @ Aparna Gopal

Speaker Bio

Well Met! 👋 I’m Sola, a UI/UX designer at Blizzard who works out of Seattle. I graduated with an English degree, then taught computer science in Korea, while juggling freelance art gigs in between (I have a very colorful background 😂). I’ve been on Hearthstone for almost two years now and have worked on some amazing projects for a range of players across the world and have been loving every moment of it!

Mssunnymuffins commented 10 months ago

Tell me about your career journey
(If they did other UX) how did you get into UX for games?
What's your day to day look like?
What do you design? "Screens" like game menus, setup/"IA" like how the overall flow of the game will go for a player, or aspects of gameplay like how weapons should be swapped - or all? Or none?
How closely do you work with everyone on the team? Are job titles strict or more fluid/intermingled?
Do you do initial research? How so? What problem are you doing research on other than "users are bored? How can we solve this with a game?"?
What programs/tools do you use?
What are the big differences you've noticed?
Do you think someone needs a UX portfolio tailored to games? Or is making the transition with web and mobile case studies easy to do?
Building off that - do you think it'd be easier to start in traditional UX and get a job in gaming UX once you have experience? Or do you have to stay in games?
How's the job security and frequency in games?
You don't how to tell me your specific numbers, but generally how does the salary compare to traditional UX? Is there equity?
Is your work generally company based (do any projects for EA) or project based (work on this game and when the games done find a new job)?
(If they've done both) Which type of UX do you prefer? Why?
Learning materials you'd recommend specifically for gaming UX and UI?
Do you have any ideas for entry level projects? For example, traditional UX recommends hackathons or volunteering with civic tech orgs.

Aparna1Gopal commented 10 months ago

Questions

We understand you are going to be Jennifer's (our UI/UX Co-Lead's) peer/colleague at her Graduate school program. How do you see this Graduate program further enhancing your skills & profile as a UX Designer? Since you are already in the field & practicing?
What other recommendations would you have in terms of graduate programs, certificates, bootcamps for a Ux'er to upskill in Games UX Design?
What tips & recommendations do you have for effectively & efficiently cross-collaborating with your team? What specialities/domains does your team comprise of? - How does a game design org & team differ from an org/team in a different tech domain? Are there substantial differences & what recommendations do you have for someone looking to make this switch?

nguyen-jenn commented 9 months ago

Career Journey

Tell me about your career journey
(If they did other UX) how did you get into UX for games?

Working as UX Designer in Gaming

What's your day to day look like?
What do you design? "Screens" like game menus, setup/"IA" like how the overall flow of the game will go for a player, or aspects of gameplay like how weapons should be swapped - or all? Or none?
Do you do initial research? How so? What problem are you doing research on other than "users are bored? How can we solve this with a game?"?
What programs/tools do you use?
How closely do you work with everyone on the team? What tips & recommendations do you have for effectively & efficiently cross-collaborating with your team?
Are job titles strict or more fluid/intermingled? What specialities/domains does your team comprise of?
How does a game design org & team differ from an org/team in a different tech domain? Are there substantial differences & what recommendations do you have for someone looking to make this switch?

Tips to becoming a UX Designer in Gaming

Do you think someone needs a UX portfolio tailored to games? Or is making the transition with web and mobile case studies easy to do?
Building off that - do you think it'd be easier to start in traditional UX and get a job in gaming UX once you have experience? Or do you have to stay in games?
Do you have any ideas for entry level projects? For example, traditional UX recommends hackathons or volunteering with civic tech orgs.
What other recommendations would you have in terms of graduate programs, certificates, bootcamps for a Ux'er to upskill in Games UX Design?
Learning materials you'd recommend specifically for gaming UX and UI?

Considering a Career in Gaming

How's the job security and frequency in games?
You don't how to tell me your specific numbers, but generally how does the salary compare to traditional UX? Is there equity?
Is your work generally company based (do any projects for Blizzard) or project based (work on this game and when the games done find a new job)? (If they've done both) Which type of UX do you prefer? Why?

Misc

We understand you are going to be Jennifer's (our UI/UX Co-Lead's) peer/colleague at her Graduate school program. How do you see this Graduate program further enhancing your skills & profile as a UX Designer? Since you are already in the field & practicing?

stephaniehua commented 9 months ago

Sola's educational background and diverse career experiences are very inspiring. As a finance person who is trying to pivot into UX/UI design, I find it daunting to make such a drastic change. What inspired Sola to go from getting an English major, to teaching comp sci, to ultimately pivoting into UX/UI design?

Is there any advice she could give in terms of pivoting into a completely new career?

How did she hone her design skills and gain the proficiency to land a UX/UI design role without having prior experience?

What does she think about the current landscape of UX/UI and where it's headed, especially considering the introduction of AI?

Aparna1Gopal commented 9 months ago

UI/UX Communities & Learning Resources shared by the Speaker

Aparna1Gopal commented 9 months ago

Guest Speaker 2023: Create Consent Docs for Sola C #513

Aparna1Gopal commented 9 months ago

Notes:

Updated Wiki
Issue complete & being closed

hackforla / UI-UX