I'm in college right now for Computer Science and I was wondering what courses in particular would be useful if I wanted to get a job at Riot.
I'm in my freshman year taking a class on data structures, but I'm looking to take more challenging courses that would be appealing. Any rioters have suggestions on areas of study that would help land me a job in the future?
We have a ton of people doing a ton of different things, so there's no one way in. What's important is to be really good at what you do, really passionate about games and the folks who play them, and really excited about being the best teammate and collaborator you can be.
Some general advice: get some breadth in your first couple of years. Keep an eye out for an intersection between what you enjoy doing, what you're good at, and what you don't mind working really hard on. Try to get an internship (maybe at Riot!) because learning how to work on a team, seeing how people manage projects, and building something for a customer are all super important experiences that are hard to replicate in the classroom.
Some specific advice totally biased by my own experience: try to get your hands dirty with some data analysis projects. Look for interesting courses having to do with statistics, machine learning, natural language processing, or data mining. It's a good kind of thinking to bring to a problem.
I don't work for Riot but I do work in I.T. A Gaming company like Riot probably has people in all aspects of computer technology which would include computer networking, graphic designers, web developers, Server administrators etc. Computers is so vast in it's studies but instead of looking for a company you want to get hired at you should look at a specific aspect of computer technology and learn as much as possible.
Find out if riot has internships. That would probably help you the most.
Hello summoner! My name is Anbringehr, I'm a candidate for a position within Riot Games ( player support, I have my second interview this upcoming Tuesday). I just want to say that there is in no way one specific path into Riot Games. The paths into this culture, are as diverse as the people who work here.
I want to give you some resources that could help you on your quest.
Websites
There are those that list their interview experiences from their first unsuccessful attempt into Riot Games (myself included, look up Cody Bradley on the Riot Linkedin page) on this page as well, as a means to help our fellow summoners try to ascend into the position they want.
(Aaron Li's Experience)http://goo.gl/bpylZk (He made it!) This is truly a great blog done by Aaron on his experiences. It explains everything you could possibly want from an interviewee's perspective. I suggest looking it over once, twice, five times to gain a better perspective and insight on the player side of things.
**http://goo.gl/aEwD12**(Riot Games) This is a great tool to research the company, you are going to want to read it top to bottom, so when you do come for an interview, you are able to come into the interview ready to hit the ground running, Watch Riot Conferences, GDC Vault Talks, make sure you read Developer Trackers and catch up on your Red Trackers.
Be yourself! (http://goo.gl/ZunW3V) The key is to be yourself, Riot can generally smell bullshit a mile away. The objective isn't to find a Job at Riot Games. Jon Pan, made a reddit post about the hard realities of working for Riot Games (http://goo.gl/Zj74Wn), I suggest you read that as well, provides a unique and fresh insight into that aspect of company culture
OTHER HINTS AND TIPS
Research League of Legends, Your knowledge and passion will be tested (some teams require more, some, less)
Understand "Player Focused"
Riot games is a Player Focused company, so, it helps having gaming experience and knowledge of other titles and Genres. Note : Your "gamerness" will be assessed. Understand that players are not customers. Realize that they are people, that they are gamers, but more importantly, that they are summoners. Just like you and me. Establishing a personal connection with a summoner you are trying to assist is the best way to provide the best first hand player experience, because we understand as players as well the problems they are experiencing. We are able to provide an honest and empathetic response because we know. WE KNOW
I hope this helps.
Good luck! If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!
