Collage or Paul Thompsons LinkedIn Profile and CV.

Frequently Asked*? – Why does my CV have so much about Comics and Games on it?

On Linkedin I see near unending advice on how you should laser focus the tailoring of your CV to each individual role you apply for, and yes, I do some of that: I have chunks of content I can add or remove, words I re-order and sentences I re-phrase for each role I apply for.

But there are a couple of items on there which are both always on there and don’t seem to be laser focused for the role at hand: Comics and Games projects, usually amongst the bulleted lists on Page 2, but I always have one of these in the main Employment History part of Page 1.

Why I think this important to have on my CV?

1. Why Comics?

Comics as a medium can express information at light speed, Words plus Pictures can get places words alone can’t and adding the element of Sequence: this before that, that above this, can convey information extremely intuitively.

There were comics before there were Gantt Charts, Powerpoint, Process Flow Diagrams and all are informed from the language of comics and an understanding that sometimes the space on the page equals time in the narrative.

Anyone with an interest in UX should be interested in Scott McCloud’s seminal work “Understanding Comics” and Will Eisner’s no less classic “Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative

Both creators are vitally important to the development of the comics medium and below are two examples to consider** – in particular consider why there was a need to present and publish these instructional works AS comics.

Scott McCloud – The Google Chrome Comic

Scott McCloud - in an excerpt from his Google Chrome comic.

Will Eisner – The M16A1 Rifle: Operation and Preventive Maintenance

Will Eisners instructive comic - on Rifle Operation and Meintenance.

2. Why Games?

Sid Meier famously said, “Games are a series of interesting decisions“, which is a quote that has been debated and discussed ever since.

Games are excellent at teaching planning, strategy and tactics as well as concepts such as prioritisation, resource management, sunk cost fallacy, co-operation, and trade-offs between known and unknown risks and benefits:

  • What will the other players do? Understanding what they want?
  • Rolls of dice, decks of cards containing changes of circumstance.

But as well as play, I’m as interested in what the process and principles of Game Design can teach us than the actual games as well as the crossover with any the creation of any kind of process or product.

  • Playtesting and Paper Prototyping – feedback and design iteration.
  • The Creation of Fun – and what’s in it for me?
  • Accessibility and Usability – of both the rules and the game pieces themselves.

It you’re…

  • modelling the behaviours of systems, people and teams
  • have a need for rapid prototyping
  • need to run a workshop on finding common ground, prioritisating risks, resources and priorities…

…there’s a lot in Game Design principles to draw from and a lot you can gain from studying game design.

And So…

Comics and Games are fundamentally an exercise in removing the friction from collaboration and communication – between designer and players, between artists and writers, between creators and readers, and their immediacy and familiarity makes them ideal tools for teaching and learning.

However…

While I am here justifying the inclusion of these interests through their relevance to the toolkits and activities of a role in IT and IT management, there needs to be some value in expressing what you’re about as a human being – to connect with other human beings – but that’s assuming my CV gets through the AI filtering in the first place.

Feedback welcome, as ever. If you’re interested in Learning more about Making Comics or Making Games and live in the North East of England, please do check out these groups:

Footnotes

* I’m the only person who frequently asks this.

**In 2025 I don’t support the subject matter of either of these comics, but both are classic examples.