Introduction
I have always hoped to work in the game industry. Compared with traditional animation, games offer interactivity, dynamic storytelling, and a wider space for creative expression. In terms of career planning, I am particularly drawn to the game industry in Guangdong, especially Shenzhen—one of the most influential and mature game development hubs in China.
Research on Shenzhen’s Game Industry
Shenzhen hosts many leading game companies, with Tencent Games headquartered in the city. According to local government industry reports, Shenzhen’s game enterprises contribute significantly to national output and possess strong global competitiveness, especially in overseas markets. The city has formed a complete ecosystem covering research, production, distribution, and operations. Working in such an environment means higher professional standards, more complex pipelines, and greater opportunities for growth.
Target Company: Tencent Games (TGC)
Among these companies, Tencent Games is the one I am most emotionally connected to. I have played many of their titles since childhood—for example, 洛克王国 (Rock Kingdom)—which shaped my early understanding of art style, character expression, and interactive entertainment. The diverse art directions across Tencent’s different projects match my own stylistic interests, especially in stylized character design and animation. I also believe I can integrate well into their creative culture and production methods.
洛克王国 (Rock Kingdom)
Roles I Am Interested In: Character Design & Character Animation
The positions that attract me the most are Character Designer and Character Animator.
- Character Design requires strong visual development skills, style exploration, cultural understanding, and the ability to communicate personality through form.
- Character Animation demands solid animation principles, expressive acting, rig knowledge, and familiarity with real-time engines.
Over the past year, I have been focusing heavily on Chinese-style character design, particularly a Journey to the West theme. This practice helped me strengthen my stylization, cultural integration, and narrative-based design thinking.
My Character design works
Professional Practice Research
I interviewed a senior student working at Tencent, who gave me valuable insight into the actual production pipeline. According to him, character development goes through multiple stages: conceptual sketches, style exploration, modeling, rigging, animation, and integration into the engine. He emphasized that game characters must balance aesthetics with performance optimization, gameplay requirements, and technical constraints. His experience helped me understand the collaborative and iterative nature of professional game production.
Reflection
Through this research, I realized my strengths lie in stylized character creation and cultural themes. However, I also recognize that I need to deepen my knowledge of 3D workflows, such as modeling, rigging, and engine implementation. My current style is highly stylized, which may not always align with large studio pipelines. I need to broaden my visual language and develop a more adaptable design approach.
Overall, this investigation helped me confirm my desire to work in Shenzhen’s game industry and clarified the skills I must strengthen in the coming year.
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