Fable series developer and wholly-owned Microsoft studio Lionhead plans to launch a work experience program for local students next week. The company says that it wants to help build a relationship between the British development sector and area schools in the hopes that young people will be inspired to build games for a living. Students from schools in close proximity to Lionhead can get work experience on-site, and will learn about "all of the six main disciplines of making a game," according to Lionhead. Each student will also have a personal mentor to work with.
"The video games industry offers a huge variety of career opportunities, but it is very intense and hectic," said Lionhead producer Jemma Harris. "It has been challenging to understand how we could offer a really worthwhile experience to young people in a busy fast-paced working environment. Staff here have worked closely with teachers at Woking Sixth Form College to come up with a program which will showcase the diversity, creativity and excitement of games development."
"We hope that we will encourage talented students to seriously consider the games industry as a career option," she added.
Lionhead's partnership with local educational institutions is one of the guiding principles of the Livingstone-Hope Review, the government-backed report on how games education can be improved. It is good to see the studio step up and support its community. Lionhead said in closing that it plans to work closely with local schools and colleges to ensure a steady stream of students are taking advantage of the program.
Source: Develop
