ABSTRACT
As a technical communicator working at Epic Games, I conducted a workplace study surveying technical communicators and what I dub “learning-based content developers” to answer the following research question: How do the background, skills, and content that TCs engage with affect their perceptions of their role and the work they do? The findings of this small survey can help technical communication professionals and educators understand the kinds of work TCs are doing in this industry, where they are in their careers, and what their focus is in their work. Overall, TCs employ and develop similar skills and content to TCs in other industries, are passionate about what they do and the products they work on, and value sharing that knowledge to support others.
- Karabinus, A., & Atherton, R. (2018). Games, UX, and the Gaps: Technical Communication Practices in an Amateur Game Design Community. Proceedings of the 36th ACM International Conference on the Design of Communication, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1145/3233756.3233949Google ScholarDigital Library
- Raimer, C. (2018). "Dialogic, Data-Driven Design: UX and League of Legends." In eds. Potts, L & Salvo, M. Rhetoric and Experience Architecture. Anderson: Parlor Press.Google Scholar
- Thominet, L. (2018). How to be open: User experience and technical communication in an emerging game development methodology. Communication Design Quarterly, 6(2), 70–82. https://doi.org/10.1145/3282665.3282672Google ScholarDigital Library
- Colby, R., & Colby, R. S. (2019). Game design documentation: Four perspectives from independent game studios. Communication Design Quarterly, 7(3), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3321388.3321389Google ScholarDigital Library
- Society for Technical Communication. (n.d). Defining Technical Communication. https://www.stc.org/about-stc/defining-technical-communication/Google Scholar
- Carliner, S. (2004). What Do We Manage?: A Survey of the Management Portfolios of Large Technical Communication Groups. Technical Communication, 51(1), 45–67.Google Scholar
- Lanier, C. R. (2009). Analysis of the Skills Called for by Technical Communication Employers in Recruitment Postings. Technical Communication, 56(1), 51–61.Google Scholar
- Blythe, S., Lauer, C., & Curran, P. G. (2014). Professional and Technical Communication in a Web 2.0 World. Technical Communication Quarterly, 23(4), 265–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/10572252.2014.941766Google ScholarCross Ref
- Brumberger, E., & Lauer, C. (2015). The Evolution of Technical Communication: An Analysis of Industry Job Postings. Technical Communication, 62(4), 224–243.Google Scholar
- Carliner, S., & Chen, Y. (2018). Who Technical Communicators Are: A Summary of Demographics, Backgrounds, and Employment. Intercom, 65(8).Google Scholar
- Lanier, C. R. (2018). Toward Understanding Important Workplace Issues for Technical Communicators. Technical Communication, 65(1), 66–84.Google Scholar
Index Terms
- Surveying Technical Communicators in the Video Games Industry: Understanding the Backgrounds, Skills, Content, and Roles of TCs in the Video Games Industry
Recommendations
Evolving skill sets and job pathways of technical communicators
Recent research in technical communication (TC) indicates that the field has become more varied than ever in terms of job titles, job skills, and levels of involvement in the design and production process. Here, we examine this diversity by detailing ...
Preparing technical communicators for future workplaces: a model that integrates teaming, professional communication skills, and a software development process
SIGDOC '99: Proceedings of the 17th annual international conference on Computer documentationThis paper outlines a model that uses teaming as a framework to support professional communication and process to improve student performance, as measured by the quality of output. It describes a pedagogical approach used in a computer science ...
Leveraging industry onboarding materials in the curriculum
SIGDOC '17: Proceedings of the 35th ACM International Conference on the Design of CommunicationDelivers a resource-sharing project between undergraduate technical writing programs and industry technical documentation groups that provides: 1) Crisp descriptions of the top five content development skills, 2) Industry college-hire and new-employee ...
Comments