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Got an interview tomorrow for a QA role at Creative Assembly (Total War), should be fun.
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Jul 18, 2011 11:15
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honeymustard posted:Got an interview tomorrow for a QA role at Creative Assembly (Total War), should be fun. You sticking around for develop at all? I have an interview myself with IdeaWorks in London tomorrow but should be at some of the parties and the Expo.
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Jul 18, 2011 11:35
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M4rk posted:Atm I'm interning at Game Recruiter, which is a videogames recruitment service. Oh hey, awesome! If you see Marc Menchner around, tell him I said hello. The past couple GDCs have been too "Got a meeting, sorry!" for us to actually stop and say hello to each other...
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Jul 18, 2011 12:10
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GetWellGamers posted:Oh hey, awesome! If you see Marc Menchner around, tell him I said hello. The past couple GDCs have been too "Got a meeting, sorry!" for us to actually stop and say hello to each other... Yeah Marc is pretty boss. He helped me out quite a bit getting started in a non-traditional field.
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Jul 18, 2011 14:15
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Diplomaticus posted:Yeah Marc is pretty boss. He helped me out quite a bit getting started in a non-traditional field. GetWellGamers posted:Oh hey, awesome! If you see Marc Menchner around, tell him I said hello. The past couple GDCs have been too "Got a meeting, sorry!" for us to actually stop and say hello to each other... I love being in a jack-of-all-trades position and wish there were more opportunities for folks like myself, who know how to do a little of everything. InDesign, PhotoShop, AfterEffects, etc. M4rk fucked around with this message at 17:20 on Jul 18, 2011 |
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Jul 18, 2011 17:17
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Hey, if any of you guys out there are tech artists/animators, level artists, or even programmers, EA (Edmonton specifically) is looking for quite a few bodies to staff up on some upcoming projects. It's far from a glamorous place to live, but hey, you get to work on original IP. Feel free to message me if you have interest.
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Jul 18, 2011 17:21
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BizarroAzrael posted:You sticking around for develop at all? I have an interview myself with IdeaWorks in London tomorrow but should be at some of the parties and the Expo. Nope, though I probably should. I'm local to the studio, will just be walking in.
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Jul 18, 2011 18:20
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Hazed_blue posted:Hey, if any of you guys out there are tech artists/animators, level artists, or even programmers, EA (Edmonton specifically) is looking for quite a few bodies to staff up on some upcoming projects. It's far from a glamorous place to live, but hey, you get to work on original IP. Feel free to message me if you have interest. I can't send PM's so I hope you don't mind if I write here. I talked to the HR representative for Edmonton/Montreal not too long ago, she mentioned that the environmental artist positions were for people with 6 to 8 years of experience. I'd still like to apply for a level art position though. Could you send me your email address so that I could send you my info? You can also contact me via myusername@gmail.com if you don't feel like letting your email out in the open.  Thanks! Odddzy fucked around with this message at 18:37 on Jul 18, 2011 |
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Jul 18, 2011 18:33
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Odddzy posted:I can't send PM's so I hope you don't mind if I write here.
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Jul 18, 2011 18:46
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Hazed_blue posted:Sure, you can contact me at nlamartina at gmail dot com. We're definitely leaning towards more senior artists, but we're probably going to be looking for some capable junior artists as well. If you have the talent for it, don't let lack of experience stop you, you know? Definitely, thanks a ton for the heads up!
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Jul 18, 2011 20:27
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Hazed_blue posted:Hey, if any of you guys out there are tech artists/animators, level artists, or even programmers, EA (Edmonton specifically) is looking for quite a few bodies to staff up on some upcoming projects. It's far from a glamorous place to live, but hey, you get to work on original IP. Feel free to message me if you have interest.
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Jul 18, 2011 20:34
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M4rk posted:Do you know any guys at EA in Redwood City? They've got a Community Management position open too, and I'm interested.  I haven't yet visited the US-based Mother Brain, but I always hear good things about it.
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Jul 18, 2011 20:41
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I know there's already a PAX thread, but it's being overrun with the dickwolves controversy, so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a PAX Prime meetup/dinner like we do for GDC? Fun times can be had by all!
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Jul 18, 2011 21:32
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GetWellGamers posted:I know there's already a PAX thread, but it's being overrun with the dickwolves controversy, so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a PAX Prime meetup/dinner like we do for GDC? Fun times can be had by all! I currently don't have any passes for PAX, not sure if I can snag a late pass but I'd still be up for a meetup/dinner.
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Jul 18, 2011 21:35
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GetWellGamers posted:I know there's already a PAX thread, but it's being overrun with the dickwolves controversy, so I was wondering if anyone would be interested in a PAX Prime meetup/dinner like we do for GDC? Fun times can be had by all! 
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Jul 18, 2011 21:39
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Hi Game Jobs thread, I'm freaking out. A little more than a year ago I left my job as a PA for a mid-sized developer (and was about to be promoted to an in-house writer, woo living the dream) and also high school to go to the University of Southern California to get a degree in Interactive Media. Which is basically game design. There's all this touted stuff about how USC's program is the best design program in the world according to the Princeton review, everyone who goes there is a magical superhero, etc. And don't get me wrong, I've been learning a lot of useful and interesting stuff at school. But lately I'm reading all this literature about how "design" degrees are really worthless, and unless I go to art school or become a comp sci major or something else concrete, I'm going nowhere. I've kind of stubbornly thought USC was the exception to the rule, I mean we churned out Genova Chen and a bunch of other people, but now I'm not so sure. TL;DR do I quit now? Is my major useless? Should I have just taken that job and skipped college? Oh god P.S. I have actual developed skills to back myself up on, like art and writing, so I won't flounder if I have to change.
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Jul 18, 2011 22:13
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M4rk posted:Do you know any guys at EA in Redwood City? They've got a Community Management position open too, and I'm interested. Also, EA's complex in Redwood is absolutely beautiful. They have a private gym, and are a few minutes away from the beach if I remember correctly. A bunch of my friends work there, and they say the hours are grueling, but you could definitely pick a worse location to be in.
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Jul 18, 2011 22:14
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Hi Game Jobs thread, I'm freaking out. Second, look at your financial situation vs how far you've gotten in the program so far. Also, do you even like comp sci? Don't go for something you'll hate. I ignore "game schools" in general because of their heavy marketing, but they do churn out folks that are pretty prepared for what they need to do. The biggest hurdle once you're out of the school, though, is getting a job. A killer portfolio game will get you most of the way, especially if it's close enough to being retail-worthy that some polish will make it Steam-certifiable and sellable. Then you get folks knocking on your door trying to hire you. I went a more mundane route: got a Public Relations degree from a cheap state college and then get into the industry using my hobby as a launchpad (fansites). It seems to be working so far, though I don't have an actual job-job yet...
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Jul 18, 2011 22:24
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Lieutenant Dan posted:TL;DR do I quit now? Is my major useless? Should I have just taken that job and skipped college? Oh god EDIT: Oh look, GameLoft has an EASpouse. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 22:46 on Jul 18, 2011 |
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Jul 18, 2011 22:40
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Lieutenant Dan posted:TL;DR do I quit now? Is my major useless? Should I have just taken that job and skipped college? Oh god If you're learning new things, making connections, and being nurtured in an environment that allows you to practice your skills, then a gaming degree is absolutely worth it. I have my degree from a "game school" standing on a shelf in my office, and that paper didn't land me my first job. That said, the contacts that I made for said first job, the work that I showed in my demo reel, and the skills that I used to make it, all of those came from being at that school. If you feel that you're getting something worthwhile out of your school, and it sounds like you are, then by all means stay!
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Jul 18, 2011 22:58
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Shalinor posted:EDIT: Oh look, GameLoft has an EASpouse. Yeah, but we have the EASpouse!
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Jul 18, 2011 23:14
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Shalinor posted:Just work on your portfolio. You shouldn't quit unless you just barely started the program, which is unlikely. The degree won't be worth a ton on its own, but will show fine next to a kick rear end portfolio, and have a value of above $0 but below what you spent on it. I am suddenly really loving glad I didn't work my rear end off for an internship or anything there. (decided uni was worth more than an internship at the time)
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Jul 18, 2011 23:23
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Hazed_blue posted:If you're learning new things, making connections, and being nurtured in an environment that allows you to practice your skills, then a gaming degree is absolutely worth it. I can't stress this enough. The University of teesside which I attended for five years left me with two Games Art degrees and still I had a hard time finding a job since the degrees themselves are worthless, but the time spent in a game creation community as large as that is far from worthless. During my time there I've dabbled in all aspects of game art and specialised in one or two while very much noting how much I don't like 3D animation, when I first went there TO study animation. As well as this I have a list of industry ex-teesside comrades a mile long. Most of my actual "good" art has been done in the two years since i graduated my masters, but I'd be a very different artist and a very different person if I didn't do my degrees and live and work with people who similarly throw themselves into their respective games fields. EDIT: I guess a Masters degree will also help me out should I ever want to emigrate as well. 
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Jul 18, 2011 23:25
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Hi Game Jobs thread, I'm freaking out. Check out Microsoft Studios' internship programs. There are a ton of design interns that come from USC and they usually get some kind of awesome direct hire placement. Stick with it, make neat poo poo, and take this time to develop your portfolio.
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Jul 18, 2011 23:38
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Also, EA's complex in Redwood is absolutely beautiful. They have a private gym, and are a few minutes away from the beach if I remember correctly. A bunch of my friends work there, and they say the hours are grueling, but you could definitely pick a worse location to be in. It's not a beach like you'd think, it's nice to look at but no one would think of swimming in Foster City The gym is indeed awesome, and the cafeteria is really reasonable too. Redwood Shores is probably one of my top 5 favorite corporate campuses I've been to.
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Jul 19, 2011 00:16
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Just had my second phone interview for the Senior QA Tester spot at Irrational. Should hear back by the end of the week if I get to fly up there for an in person interview.
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Jul 19, 2011 00:19
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Lieutenant Dan posted:I've kind of stubbornly thought USC was the exception to the rule, I mean we churned out Genova Chen and a bunch of other people, but now I'm not so sure. Just remember, Jenova Chen didn't make Cloud alone. If you want that level of success you need to set the bar yourself and go for it. Like everyone has said, the main thing to distinguish is that if you just focus on passing your classes and getting the degree, you'll probably be stuck with something none too valuable.
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Jul 19, 2011 00:34
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Hi Game Jobs thread, I'm freaking out. As someone who graduated from the same program, I can tell you that while it certainly did not immediately grant me a job or even any significant marketable skills, it gave me some awesome contacts and a foot in the door. I'm currently working with Disney as a game designer, and they seem to really loving love USC students (we're everywhere, seriously). You could probably get an interview for an internship solely by just being a USC student. Microsoft's another great place to look into, as typhus said. Game companies hold recruiting events on campus all the time. Go to those and get to know the recruiters (this is how I got into Disney). Being able to build a strong network is one of the best advantages of the Interactive Media program, in my opinion. If you haven't been already, start taking elective classes taught by professors who are currently in the industry. Usually, they'll end up bringing in their co-workers to give guest lectures on specific topics which makes for great networking opportunities. I personally recommend Danny Bilson's class on game fiction, as he likes to bring the class to THQ and get the execs there to review everyone's final projects. Also, I don't know how much has changed since I graduated in 2010, but seriously start learning some technical skills. My biggest beef with the program was that they tell you that all you need to succeed is to be ~*creative*~, and let other people handle implementation of your ideas. This is not how it works, and it was a nasty wake-up call to stupid, naive, gullible me who stuck my head in the sand for 3 years not learning anything other than some Flash because I thought I could be the "ideas" guy. But yeah, as everyone else has said, make a killer portfolio and start making connections while you can. A lot of great stuff comes out of USC, but you have to do a whole lot more than just the basic course requirements.
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Jul 19, 2011 00:45
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GeauxSteve posted:Just had my second phone interview for the Senior QA Tester spot at Irrational. Should hear back by the end of the week if I get to fly up there for an in person interview. The more goons working on Bioshock Infinite, the better, right? The E3 demo was amaaayzing. *Swoon* EDIT: Guys, I've taken a couple business law classes during my time in college, just for elective credits, and learned quite a bit from very insightful professors about contract writing and rights, etc.. I'm not an expert by any means, obviously, but I feel a bit more empowered now than when I signed a contract with Curse in 2008. I'm wondering if you folks have ever negotiated your contracts with the companies you work/worked for, or if that's even possible. Because I know I'm going to read any contract I'm supposed to sign from front to back, highlight every clause I have issues with, and ask for clarification on every point that concerns me before signing. Are contracts a brick wall in the videogame industry? Will the company just toss me out on my rear end if I refuse to accept certain terms of the contract, such as non-compete agreements? Have you guys ever refused to sign a contract until it was amended or corrected? I can't imagine a company would go through weeks of searching and interviews and throw it all away and start over if the person they wanted to hire decided he/she wanted to negotiate the contract. Just wondering, maybe I'm alone in being a total hardass when it comes to contracts. My favorite law professor was this old ex-military dude who led tank columns in the 70s and 80s, and I've been infected by his legal badassitude. M4rk fucked around with this message at 03:25 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 01:09
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Re: Game Design Degrees The actual degree is a piece of paper. Saying you're qualified to make games becauuse you have one is what makes it a joke, since it isn't really that hard to get on if you just stick it out long enough. Instead, make the experience behind getting it count. Meet good people and constantly make things. I am a designer who got my job because I was a dedicated and competent partner in school projects, and someone in my class got into a position where he was asked to recommend people. I got really lucky in the sense that the job found me, however. I would recommend you work on some ideas and pick something to start with you can make in a simple engine like Unity or Flash. Don't try to create a 200 or so page MMO design document stating you're going to change MMOs forever, however.... That just gets your resume passed around as a joke.
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Jul 19, 2011 04:20
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For what it's worth both myself and my boss dropped out of college and we're both employed as designers.
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Jul 19, 2011 04:25
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I... just... well... huh. So I got this in my inbox tonight, and feel like posting it here under the heading of "strange poo poo you get when you list your email on your game design company's website":Mike Rozak posted:I got your E-mail address from the old MudDev discussions (2004-2007) where I used to post. I am spamming you because: And then attached were these pictures, which I have helpfully uploaded into an imgur album for maximum "what in the ever living gently caress" potential (they are work-safe): http://imgur.com/a/n9zuY - and it would seem he has a page here: http://www.mxac.com.au/drt/ ... so... uh... don't be this guy when applying for games jobs, I guess. I can't tell if this guy got so clever with his artfully submitted game design doc that he accidentally disappeared up his own sleeve, or what. In any case, I would still personally say that using a consistent accessible email address is good for networking, just realize you may get... this... in your inbox someday. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 04:36 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 04:30
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Double post
anime was right fucked around with this message at 06:01 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 04:34
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A HUGE FUCKIN BLUNT posted:For what it's worth both myself and my boss dropped out of college and we're both employed as designers. Shalinor posted:I... just... well... huh. So I got this in my inbox tonight, and feel like posting it here under the heading of "strange poo poo you get when you list your email on your game design company's website":  This is what I send people when applying for jobs: http://linkedin.com/in/mwilhelm M4rk fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 05:04
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Shalinor posted:I... just... well... huh. So I got this in my inbox tonight, and feel like posting it here under the heading of "strange poo poo you get when you list your email on your game design company's website": This sounds exactly like something a guy I know would write. He has schizophrenia.
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Jul 19, 2011 05:15
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M4rk posted:Repeat post, dude. oh god I worked with a Mark Wilhelm and I woulda lost my poo poo if you were him. You are not nearly rockabilly enough to be him though.
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Jul 19, 2011 05:24
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Splaa posted:oh god I worked with a Mark Wilhelm and I woulda lost my poo poo if you were him. You are not nearly rockabilly enough to be him though. Seriously, Google anyone's name + crime and you'll find something interesting.
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Jul 19, 2011 05:35
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Working at Bioware would be so awesome but... Edmonton. 
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Jul 19, 2011 06:45
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Lieutenant Dan posted:Hi Game Jobs thread, I'm freaking out. Step 1: Don't freak out. This is pretty much step 1 for anything. You're right in that USC is one of the better degrees to have. I don't have a lot of experience with interns, but every one we've had out of USC has been stellar. Plus, you're at USC, and that's pretty nice by itself. Your forthcoming degree isn't worthless by any means, but it's also not a coupon for 1 free game job, either. Look around your class. You can probably tell who's good and who's coasting. You need to prove that you aren't coasting (and if you are, stop that) to any potential employer, and you do that with your outside work. You also need to know how to implement your own designs, period. Take some electives in programming. There are endless arguments over which is "best" to start with, but any language you learn will help. C/C++, Java, C#, or Python will all be valuable in some way. Learning your way around Excel (being able to use macros, lookups, indirects, etc) will help. On our team, the designers who can use Perl, PHP, and SQL can flat out do more than the people who can't. That's valuable. That lets you stand out. Being at USC has other advantages in that you've got a huge number of classes to explore. Take extra stuff wherever you can. Literature, history, geography, sociology, psychology, statistics, physics, cartography, logic... you've got endless opportunity to broaden your knowledge and all of it will help you be a better designer. So yeah. The degree itself isn't useless, but it isn't all you'll ever need either. I use my game degree every day, but working hard and having good stuff to show is what got me out of QA and into design.
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Jul 19, 2011 07:22
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It looks like West Side meetup for Seattle is happening tomorrow, at the Garage, and Openfeint is paying for an open bar. I'm sure I'll see a few of you there.
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