"You have to be built differently to stay resilient in this industry" | Black Voices Progress Report

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This interview is part of GamesIndustry.biz's Black Voices Progress Report, offering insight into the different experiences Black professionals have in the games sector. You can read more about the project and check the other entries on this page .

Vanessa Brasfield originally thought she'd enter the games sector as an artist. However, this idea was quickly dashed away, as the idea of working for others to produce art became unappealing.

Still, she never lost that interest in the field, even as she went on to earn a Master of Science degree in applied computer graphics, art, and design at Purdue University (with a focus on data analytics and research.)

Now working at Crystal Dynamics as community coordinator, she also explores her interest in helping people understand what is seemingly complex. She explains that one of those subjects is assisting people to get hired within the games industry. The reason she's vocal about the matter in the game space because she wants information to be obtainable.

"We have a giant size transparency problem… I'm talking about how we're not even being transparent about what your portfolio [has to] look like when you want to apply for a job," she tells GamesIndustry.biz.

"Let's actually look at [this] the same way our high school counselors used to do. Here are all the things you're good at. Here are all the things that you like. Let's find you the position that boxes all of [your skills] together and gives you a nice package with a bow on top."

She continues, "I'm trying to help people understand how they can expand their skill sets too because, especially at the higher level, a lot of higher education is not prepared for this. I dislike the notion of expecting people to always go out and find everything on their own volition because there's a lot [of positions]."

Brasfield explains how content creators, such as streamers, are unaware that they are junior-level