Trion Worlds Interview Questions
& Process

HR took over 2 days to respond to my emails. The first step was a phone interview that lasted 30 minutes, and the interviewer called on time. I expected a technical phone screen, but it was unusual. We didn't do much technical Q&A, and there was minimal discussion about my previous roles and how they related to this position. We talked a lot about the job itself, and the duties seemed manageable. The interviewer did ask a couple of vague scenario questions, even admitting they might not be fair. I was told within a few hours that they were moving on to other candidates. When I asked for feedback, I was told they needed someone with more sysadmin experience and weren't looking for a helpdesk person. Even though I haven't worked helpdesk in over 7 years, I feel responsible that they got the impression I wasn't qualified.

I applied through Gamasutra and a recruiter reached out quickly to set up a phone chat with the design leads. That call was pretty chill and informal. They invited me for an on-site interview in San Diego, flying me out and scheduling me from 9 am to 4 pm with various department heads. The people I met were smart and came from well-known game studios. They gave me an overview of the game and asked some smart questions. I had to solve design problems on a whiteboard, which was stressful but also kind of fun. They also answered my questions thoroughly and I got to play an early version of the game, which impressed me. The last meeting was with the studio head for about 30 minutes; he seemed a bit reserved, probably assessing if I'd fit in. I got an offer before leaving town, which was a nice surprise given how eager they were. I ended up declining because I was worried about being tied to a single product's success and the office environment wasn't ideal (dark, no amenities nearby, and seemed like a male-dominated workplace). Work-life balance was also unclear, with a feeling of potential crunch time.

The interview process at Trion was well-coordinated and executed. I met with all the anticipated interviewers, and their interviewing skills were generally good, despite some predictable 'good cop/bad cop' dynamics common in the tech industry, especially in the Bay Area. It seemed the company hadn't fully planned the initial direction for the game I was interviewing for, appearing to try and rescue a failing project. Consequently, the interview questions focused heavily on the company's current challenges and the existing tensions between development and management teams.

The first interview was with the Head of HR, where we discussed my previous roles and my career aspirations. The interview ended early because the salary expectation didn't match, as they offered a maximum of 50K, but I was looking for at least 80K for this role, which seemed fair given my interest in gaming.