They hit us with a series of complicated tests and puzzles that they felt would introduce us to and prepare us to enter the game writing industry. It must have worked: by the time the program was over, I had two job offers on my plate, one of which I accepted.
- Jeffrey Campbell
Narrative Designer, Propaganda Games
NSI playWRITE Success Story
Jeffrey Campbell Lands Position at Propaganda Games
In its inaugural year, NSI playWRITE was originally intended to give undiscovered Canadian writers to break into the industry by providing them internships with some of Canada's most illustrious game studios.
Jeff Campbell managed to do one better, earning himself a full-time position with Disney's Propaganda Studios and the venerable title of 'narrative designer'.
NSI playWRITE training leads student to full-time job at Disney's Propaganda Games
Published December 11, 2008
It's been a few months since NSI playWRITE enjoyed its inaugural launch back in the Spring of 2008--and NSI playWRITE participants have waited eagerly to hear whether their hard work has earned them a much-revered position with a Canadian game studio.
NSI playWRITE's launch marked the beginning of an ambitious endeavor engineered by the National Screen Institute and Zeros 2 Heroes to find and train undiscovered Canadian writers and help them break into the video game industry--helping writers gain a foothold in what may be one of the coolest industries out there.
It's been quite the journey--and we're proud to say that it has resulted in our very first NSI playWRITE placement of candidate, Jeffrey Campbell. We would like to congratulate Jeff on being selected and hired by Disney's Propaganda Games for the position of 'narrative designer' and being the first of our candidates to officially find a new vocational home through NSI playWRITE (not to mention a darn cool job title).
Jeff reflects, "Unlike most writing programs, NSI playWRITE had a very daunting and selective application process, from which only ten writers were chosen. That's a good thing; as I learned, the program wasn't for the weak-hearted."
"Over a period of ten days (at least, I think it was ten; the whole thing is a blur) we met a dozen legit game writers who gave us a profoundly deep look into their world. They hit us with a series of complicated tests and puzzles that they felt would introduce us to and prepare us to enter the game writing industry. It must have worked: by the time the program was over, I had two job offers on my plate, one of which I accepted."
NSI playWRITE candidates have run a game writing gauntlet that had them evaluated through a rigorous jurying process, engaged them with a challenging week-long boot camp and put them to task with an arduous independent design phase under the mentorship of game studio representatives.
Propaganda Games' Paul Parsons was Jeff's mentor and had the following to say: "here at Propaganda Games we have a commitment to bringing in quality young talent who may be new to games development, and our involvement in playWRITE is part of that. Finding someone like Jeffrey reaffirmed this commitment for us, as he is clearly a very talented writer who will help us make some great games down the road."
NSI's Brendon Sawatzky offers, "Jeff will gain extremely valuable experience with one of the industry's top companies and we know that they will benefit from Jeff's enthusiasm and talent. We're looking forward to finalizing more internships in the coming weeks so more NSI playWRITE participants can put their training to work."
As we make early preparations for next year's iteration of NSI playWRITE, the National Screen Institute and Zeros 2 Heroes continue to forge ahead with our studio partners in creating new opportunities that can launch our NSI playWRITE candidates into the game writing stratosphere.
