Review of Geoffrey Tichadelle's Conference - Game Designer at Ubisoft

date 04.26.2023
type Conférences
campus Montpellier
Formation Video Game

Geoffrey Tichadelle, a former student on our VIdeo Games course, came to talk to us about the different professions in this incredible industry, and more specifically about his own, that of Game Designer. Two of our students were also there to chat with him, as well as the online audience. Everyone was able to ask him questions, which reassured some and awakened vocations in others.

An interview between old and new students

On Wednesday 19 April, we had the pleasure of hosting Geoffrey for a Twitch live stream. The talk, or rather interview, gave our students and the public an insight into the career of this alumnus of the ETPA school (now part of ESMA). He began by talking about his career path, which has taken him to work on popular licences such as Baldure’s Gate and Beyond Good and Evil, as well as Wolcen. Starting out as a intern at Larian Studio, his successive experiences eventually led him to Ubisoft, the Montpellier-based studio where he is currently involved in the development of BGE2. A eagerly-awaited sequel for fans of the 1st opus!

“I started with a studio that has a certain reputation. Larian is one of the best, if not the best video game studio in the world in terms of RPGs (role-playing games), so on your CV it certainly helps a lot […]”.

The hour and a half-long discussion covered a number of topics. After a quick summary of his training and career path, most of the questions focused on the advantages of attending a school like ours, how to make the most of your chances of working in video games, and how to get your first work placement.

« In particular, the school gave me a network. Today, we have an extremely active group on Discord, with people posting job offers every day. We are a group, a community in the end, because we share the same experiences, we come from the same place, and that immediatly creates links.»
There were also a few digressions, such as the impact of new artificial intelligence technologies on the video game industry, or simply what the atmosphere was like in each of the studios he has worked in.

« Do we expect you tu be ready and professional for your placement ? No, obviously not. I’m speaking from personal experience, but Larian has excellent management, so there was no toxic management at all. We were in a learning dynamic, the aim was to do stupid things to learn, evolve and grow as designers.»