This article is part of the Get Into Games feature presentation. Check out the rest of the series for a complete look into the reality of getting a gaming career, as told to us by some of the industry’s best talent.

With a BA (Hons) in Game Design at Staffordshire University, Sarah Jones has already landed a job doing precisely that for London’s Asylum Entertainment. So impressed was she by the structure and relevance of her degree that she’s now undertaking her Masters thesis, indulging a love of design documentation she discovered while at uni. Thinking back and forward, she describes to us the increased wisdom of Britain’s education system in providing options first and specialties later, always in sync with industry practices and trends.

Why the videogame industry?

I was actually originally going to do an English-related degree, as I write a lot of stories. But the prospects of becoming a published author are quite small, so my parents suggested, “Why don’t you try doing something that still has story writing but contains something else?” So what else did I like doing? Computer games – there you go. I spent ages researching the programmes and stuff; I remember reading one tutorial on how to make Lara Croft in 3D. And I played loads.

So you had your parents’ blessing?

Yeah. They seemed happier with me doing games than being some crazy writing lady. Halfway through the course I had to say, “You know, my chances aren’t that much better with games design.” But it turned out fine: I ended up with a job in the end. I’ve been working since May as a freelance game designer at Asylum Entertainment in London.

I’m supposed to be doing my masters thesis, as well – I’ve written the introduction, at least. It’s based on design documents, finding the ideal structure for them based on what’s out there and trying to implement a theory I came up with in the third year about balancing story and gameplay.

Have avenues into gaming such as modding and self-tuition reduced the attractiveness of attending university?

The huge, huge thing about uni is that you move out of your parents’ house – you go off on your own and look after yourself. You’re dealing with new places and new people, and most importantly yourself. There are always people on forums when you’re at home, but you’re not talking to them directly, and you might not always word your request correctly. You can’t just ask someone to come over. We’ve had so many people to ask to play through a level or check a render to see if the angles and lighting are OK.

I do approve of modding communities because it does teach you to work in a team, and if you don’t get your stuff done it slows down everyone else. You get that at uni as well: at Staffordshire, they had to create a design document for their own original concept, but they weren’t allowed to have robots or zombies or pirates. They came up with some funky ideas; some groups got it and some groups didn’t. And in the second semester they have to make a level and cutscene from that design doc, so they learn that, if a person making the level hasn’t imported the assets, they can’t put in anything else. And the texturer can’t work unless the model’s made.

When did you realise that what you were studying was going to bear fruit?

I love narratology, and having discovered a love of design documents I knew, after the second year, that I could select modules that would refine my knowledge of that. There are some really good modules in the first and second year now, so if you do want to do game design you can focus on narratology, or handheld game design. Or, if you want to explore Hammer and how to use game engines, you can do that. So after the first year you learn to focus your studies. There’s also a marketing module in the third year now.

It’s hard to get placements in the industry, though, because of the big secrecy thing. Big games take two-and-a-half years, so they can’t take you on for anything other than testing because of confidentiality. Rare, I think, do a placement programme for a year, but that’s for programmers.

Did Staffordshire University selectively license Hammer?

I think they wanted to use Unreal at one point but they’re using Hammer now in the second and third year. It’s quite a nice engine because you can import things and manipulate them quite a bit. One group got hold of code which turned Half-Life into a strategy game, top-down with little things bouncing around, and you could command where they went. So there are more modding tools available and we have a couple of lecturers who know the engine really well. It helps you understand that sometimes they can be easy, sometimes hard.

What ambitions do you have now?

At the moment I’m working on a game I’ve been given to look at, and I’m being given guidelines and structures on how it should be. But I’d like to design and create my own idea, work within a team to make it, and not rely on others to come up with the concepts. I don’t think I’ll be getting into a position where I own my own company – I’m not that good with business.