Work Experience at Splash Damage

Work experience is back at Splash Damage!

With 150 people taking part this year, we thought we'd shed some light on what's going on, why we're expanding the program, and how to get involved next time.

Bigger and Better

We've always had work experience at Splash Damage but this year, thanks to our incredible Facilities team, we've put together our biggest program ever.

It is:

• 150 people
• 4 different groups across the year
• From 16 institutions from all over the country
• Ages 16-24

"It can be so hard to get into our industry," said Chelsea, our Events Manager. "You often need years of experience, even for junior-level roles, so we hope that this initiative can give young people a chance to break in."

We designed our work experience program to be as wide-ranging as possible, allowing the group to experience all disciplines while giving them practical, hands-on experience to use in portfolios and CVs.

The first group has just finished their week with us, so let's dive into it.

So what did they do?

What didn't they do?

The week began with our CEO, Richard Jolly, talking about the history of Splash Damage, our legacy of games, and where we're going in the future. He talked about his journey through education and how it led him to where he is today.

Then they dived into our first challenge, set by our Art Department.

Design your own Transformer.

The entries were so good we wish we could share them all, but we'll keep them secret just in case we use them in Transformers Reactivate...

The rest of the week was full of expert talks and panels from a number of disciplines and people. From our UI/UX teams to Design and Programming, to senior figures within Splash Damage sharing words of advice and inspiration for this next generation of budding talent.

"It's so important to nurture the next generation," said Rich, our CEO. "There are far more games-specific courses these days, but the opportunities for them to enter the workforce feel far more limited. It's been fantastic to be a part of this first cohort, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the groups this year bring to Splash."

What did the group think?

It's all very well and good us telling you what happened, but what did the group think of their time here? The testimonials are very flattering, so we'll keep it brief to not be too self-serving:

This experience was amazing! This opportunity helped me understand a lot more about the game industry. Answered a lot of questions I had and opened more doors! Talking with the splashers has been great everyone was amazing and getting their insights about the industry and their journey was something that I consider priceless! - Rodrigo

I absolutely loved coming to Splash Damage this week for work experience! My favourite takeaway from this whole week would definitely be the panels, especially the art panel as it has given me both more knowledge and motivation to develop my skills in the creative field and take different approaches while also widening my capabilities/interests so that i could have a focus on narrative and writing as well as drawing/designing! - Georgia

Splash did a wonderul job at making me feel welcome, and provided me with so much valuable information and feedback that I will carry with me for years to come. I felt well-cared for and encouraged to participate with enthusiasm. I feel incredibly lucky to have had this as my first work exp, and i will be measuring future work exp oppurtunities to the standard set by Splash Damage. - Ella

How can you get involved next time?

We know there are plenty of people keen to get experience in the games industry, and people who will be disappointed to miss out on opportunities like this one in the future.

At the end of this year, we'll be opening up spaces for our 2025 cohort, giving people plenty of time to apply.

We'll share more details nearer the time on how to apply and how to stand out, but in the meantime keep an eye on all of our social channels to see when the news goes live.

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