I’m building a skill set from the perspective of an Indy developer. I am learning a lot of different elements including: Character design and animation, Environments, VFX, Blueprint, Level Design, Concepting etc… I feel like to work on personal projects these are necessary skills, but if I ever choose to work in the industry, would a diverse portfolio hurt or help?
There is a pretty big list of generalist job openings.
However, generalists are commonly, and in my view, unjustifiably regarded as jack of all trades, master of none. You are likely to spread out your efforts trying to comprehend everything.
As an example, a character artist will always excel at modelling creatures as compared to generalist, provided both are of equal skills/experience.
There is a common belief going around that generalists are less likely to get a job in a well-know triple a studio, but they are favored more in small studious. I won’t comment on this.
My experience of working on-site as a generalist in an outsource company, devoted to mobile games content was quite short, yet mostly negative, but that is very subjective.
If you position yourself as generalist, and hunt this particular job, then diverse portfolio is a must. Otherwise, keep it focused on the position you are applying for.
Hope that helps you.