Lecturers in Industry: Ryan Pedder, Games Design

At GC we’re proud that so many of our lecturers have either come from industry or still work in it. We’ve been catching up with Ryan Pedder who teaches Games Design, alongside creating 2D and 3D artwork for a range of mobile app games, amongst other things! 

He has recently been working on a few larger projects, and spoke to us about his experience in industry, as well as sharing a few insights into how he ensures his students can also achieve their goals and land jobs in the growing games industry. 

Which course do you teach at college, and how long have you been teaching for?   

I teach Games Design Level 3 at Cinderford and Gloucester campuses. I've been teaching for about a year and a half, and it's been very enjoyable. 

How are you staying current and working in the Games Design industry? 

I also work for a games company in America called GeoNova. I work full time for the college, and I squeeze in as much time around that, so I try to spend about two or three hours a day working for GeoNova - but I keep the weekends to myself! 

It’s remote-based and the time difference is always a bit of fun. I saw an advert on LinkedIn and  they required 2D artists and 3D artists, so I just popped in my CV and portfolio and did the interview and they accepted me. I do 2D art and now mainly 3D art, depending on what the project is.  

So games design artwork, is that what you do for the company?  

Because the company is small, I do a bit of everything. I do a bit of environment, do a bit of character, animation, whatever is really needed at the time. It's important to be flexible within the games industry, especially at the independent developer indie level. That's why we tell our students to have some sort of specialism, but have the ability to learn new things, and be driven to learn more things as well. 

What kind of projects do you work on in industry? Is it fun?  

It is fun! And I work on a multitude of different products. I've been creating some mobile app games. Currently we are working on a bit of a larger project, too. I do find it enjoyable and the culture within the team is great. All my colleagues there are absolutely amazing as well. I have great laughs with them, and they know their stuff. 

What kind of things have you learnt from working in the games industry?  

I've learnt so many things. The industry is a bit different compared to learning in a classroom environment, and having that more down-to-earth feel within a company is a different environment for completing work, so you can feel a lot of different passion in there. I've learnt a lot of things about workflows, but also interviewing and how to get a job and what a company is looking for, which I do bring into my classrooms as well. 

What are the main things you've practiced in the industry that you are able to teach your students about? 

I'm learning all techniques for different types of modelling and different types of styles as well, because each style has its own subtle differences in workflow as well. But they all have general workflow.  

Learning the actual professional side of it; I've been doing interviews with them and seeing what they're looking for as well. Getting into the gaming industry and starting off is difficult and learning that stuff allows me to take in that knowledge and give a better chance for my learners. 

The main things that we're looking for within the industry are communication, self-drive and self-learning as well. You have to make sure that you're able to work in a team; that's the main thing we're really looking for within the games industry. 

Why is it important for you, especially in an industry like games, to stay current with what's going on? 

It's important to stay current because technology is changing so much and advancing so much as well. It's moving so fast with AI, with the most recent developments, for example. Working at GeoNova, I think what I gain is more current knowledge within the industry, and I get to pass that on to my students. 

Are you a bit of a gamer yourself? 

I am a bit of a gamer! I personally play more strategy-based games, like Total Wars, Stellaris and all those kinds of games, because I just enjoy the management side of things. I also just enjoy playing other small indie games, and I follow a couple of their developments as well.  

For me, this is really a ‘dream come true’ type of job. But for some it's like they don't realise how much work goes into making games. One of the reasons why I enjoy teaching is also trying to spread that passion to my learners, but also make them aware that playing games is fun, but it's also a commitment towards creating something fun and enjoyable as well.  

What do you try and instil in your students that you picked up yourself? 

What I try to instil in my students is having passion to make games that can be transferred from playing games as well. But the main thing is being passionate about creating artwork that other people will be playing and viewing as well.

Want to know more? Take a look at some of the Games Design courses Ryan teaches: