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Hazed_blue posted:[...] 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! This right here. A lot of places put value on skill far more than a major, but if you're learning from it, is there really a distinction? Studies get half the credit for my being hired. It gave me the technical expertise required to get a portfolio in capable hands without getting laughed at too much. (The second half of the credit goes to the guy that wanted to meet me because he thought it was really loving weird that I made my demo that primarily featured a skiing fetus that gets his gear stolen by a bear. Also, he was entirely voiced using a porkchop squeaky-toy. Hey, whatever works, right? v  v )
Shifty gimbal fucked around with this message at 07:50 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 07:48
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DancingMachine posted:Working at Bioware would be so awesome but... Edmonton. My first day was in December, when there was already a foot of snow on the ground and -15 outside. Bait and switch, I tell you! edit: In all seriousness though, I moved out here for the studio and what it does (I know I'm not the only one), and I don't regret that. Nice pay, great benefits, fun projects, and very dedicated staff. If the Oilers can just pull their heads out of their collective rear end, we'll be in better shape... Hazed_blue fucked around with this message at 08:36 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 08:27
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M4rk posted: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. The industry is significantly better than some other fields in terms of contract flexibility. That doesn't mean you can flat out refuse certain things, or even that it is a good idea to, but there can be room for negotiation. If you have a specific question, send me a PM and we can talk about it privately. I'll temper that by saying most companies have their non-competes/nda's pretty well good and set up and most of them are standard boilerplate. There is a fair amount of take-it-or-leave-it in these due to quite a few legal issues (lack of enforceability in all states, management/admin issues with having different employees under different non-competes, etc.) If something is flat out wrong, then you should by all means challenge it. But even a tough-looking clause may actually not mean much of anything to you. You should seek an attorney such as myself familiar with the industry for more detailed advice; some goons in this thread who I have represented can vouch for that as to how tricky these things can be.
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Jul 19, 2011 09:05
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Oh God I feel sick to my stomach.  In the last 3 days I've been offered to interview for a position with Ubisoft in Paris and one for a company I won't name in London that's offering me 40k. Good news? Not when your girlfriend has just signed up for university for 4 years. I think I might actually be sick.
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Jul 19, 2011 13:49
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Monster w21 Faces posted:Does that guy who wears the furry tail and dog collar still work there? Or is that you? A little late, but holy poo poo, I worked with that guy (Well, in the same gigantic tester pit) a ways back for SCI. I'm presuming there's not more than one, but having been around a lot of testers...
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Jul 19, 2011 14:24
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Monster w21 Faces posted:Oh God I feel sick to my stomach. Tell me about it, my missus is just about to start her MA in Brighton, so I'm stuck in the london-ish area for the next two years. Been unemployed for over six months, where do I keep gettig interview offers for? Everywhere but goddamned London! Anyone need an tech/artist for mobile/iOS. gently caress it, at this stage I might have to go back to testing, my portfolio is asssss, despite* years of working on big licenses. *because of. gently caress you Who Wants to be a Millionaire and your 90 000 ports.
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Jul 19, 2011 14:38
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Monster w21 Faces posted:Oh God I feel sick to my stomach. My partner and I have been 2400 miles apart for nearly the last two years because of her master's and now her PhD (which will take her another 4-6 years). We see each other about every month and a half to two months. Hopefully I'll make it to the west coast (best coast) in a couple months after finding a sweet pharma job. Or our game will go Minecraft huge and I can move into a mansion in Santa Monica  In any case, if it's a really awesome relationship, you'll make it work. If it isn't, then at least you got out of it and can find something better.
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Jul 19, 2011 14:48
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Monster w21 Faces posted:In the last 3 days I've been offered to interview for a position with Ubisoft in Paris and one for a company I won't name in London that's offering me 40k. Spuckuk posted:Anyone need an tech/artist for mobile/iOS. gently caress it, at this stage I might have to go back to testing, my portfolio is asssss, despite* years of working on big licenses.
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Jul 19, 2011 15:16
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We kinda just put down our down payment on our first place together in the last week and we're moving in together at the end of the month. Should have mentioned that. I'll talk to her though.
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Jul 19, 2011 15:48
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FreakyZoid posted:I'm guessing you've been around all the places that have just risen from Black Rock's ashes? They all seem to be doing iOS stuff. Got any names of the startups? I only knew one person in Black Rock and he's gone over to Relentless. They're looking for people, but a bit more senior than my comfort level, and my folio for console stuff is lacking at the moment.
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Jul 19, 2011 15:58
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Take the interviews. If it progresses any further than that and they really want you, then you mention that some other changes in your life have happened recently and you would not be able to move to {location} but you are still interested if it is possible to work remotely with {amount you are comfortable with} travel to on-site. As a serious biz community guy you're going to be traveling some anyways and you are not necessary to be on site for a fair amount of the work you do so working remotely is not unreasonable for most of the job. It's important to wait until they really want you specifically before you go all "BUT THERE IS A TWIST" as that improves your chances of getting the job because they've already decided you're the most qualified candidate. e: it is my understanding that traveling to Paris from the UK is relatively painless, like a long train ride kind of deal (3-4 hours?), and that the UK itself is pretty well connected/small. I could be hugely loving wrong though because I am terrible at geography.
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Jul 19, 2011 16:01
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Roundcube and ShortRound. Might be too small to be hiring yet, but it can't hurt to fire off emails. Relentless also have jobs going according to their site, and have just put out a new iPhone game.
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Jul 19, 2011 16:10
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FreakyZoid posted:Roundcube and ShortRound. Might be too small to be hiring yet, but it can't hurt to fire off emails. Cheers for that, I'll have a prod at them, see if anything comes up. Literally just got a mail from an old colleague asking if I'm interested in some freelance 3d stuff, life isn't poo poo ALL the time after all 
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Jul 19, 2011 16:19
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Sigma-X posted:e: it is my understanding that traveling to Paris from the UK is relatively painless ahahahaha I's not the geography of it it's how poo poo our trains are
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Jul 19, 2011 16:28
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Aliginge posted:ahahahaha Is there somewhere with good trains that are still a viable and useful means of transport in the modern age of planes? EDIT: VV Oh, that "infrastructure" stuff. Yeah, we don't need that here in 'MERICA, 'cus of apple pie and the blood of patriots 
Shalinor fucked around with this message at 16:47 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 16:38
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France, Germany and Japan are three off the top of my head. Countries that actualy invest into their trains and infrastructure rather than simply privatise the railways and watch them crumble ten years later. 
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Jul 19, 2011 16:42
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We really need a :Thatcher: emoticon for times like this.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:01
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Monster's predicament is exactly why I'm avoiding involving myself with females (outside of work) until I'm 65 and rich. 
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Jul 19, 2011 17:01
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Started my first day at ArenaNet not too long ago, partly due to the tips and confidence for interviewing and reading all the success stories in the last thread. Thanks mucho, for the stories and tips you guys throw around. I love this place. 
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Jul 19, 2011 17:04
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M4rk posted:Monster's predicament is exactly why I'm avoiding involving myself with females (outside of work) until I'm 65 and rich. Once you're IN a hub, you can mostly avoid moving, so long as you don't have a thing about working only on AAA huge-budget games. But if you land a job away from a hub and settle there... yeeeaaaaaahhh  It isn't a problem unique to games, it's just the standard predicament of working in a field with limited employment options.EDIT: Though it isn't full-proof - my Sr. Producer friend up in Vancouver has been looking for ages. So this route would also require you have a job title of the sort that isn't exclusive to large studios, I suppose (ie. artists and programmers and designers, not community managers / producers / one-per-studio people). Shalinor fucked around with this message at 17:09 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 17:06
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Monster w21 Faces posted:We kinda just put down our down payment on our first place together in the last week and we're moving in together at the end of the month. Should have mentioned that. My fiancee and I were apart for 3 years while I was in law school. It's doable if she's worth it.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:30
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Aliginge posted:France, Germany and Japan are three off the top of my head. If there was an :africa: emoticon I would so use it right now. I literally spent half my morning on the phone with the head of this country's rail system trying to get a straight answer as to why they are building a $300m USD rail route RIGHT NEXT TO THE ONE THAT ALREADY HAS EXISTED FOR YEARS BUT ABANDONED FOR SOME REASON -- actually not just abandoned, more like he is on record saying "I will not put a single penny into this existing track." 
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Jul 19, 2011 17:35
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I'm never going to recommend a long-distance relationship because I had a particularly horrible result, but honestly things like leases and university enrollments can be fixed with money. Take the interviews for the experience if nothing else, though. The living arrangements can be figured out.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:43
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I'm not going to suggest for/against a long distance relationship because that's a highly personal thing, but I stick by my earlier advice of:Sigma-X posted:Take the interviews.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:46
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Tricky Ed posted:I'm never going to recommend a long-distance relationship because I had a particularly horrible result, but honestly things like leases and university enrollments can be fixed with money. Take the interviews for the experience if nothing else, though. The living arrangements can be figured out. Yeah, this is also true. Don't do LDR unless your partner is 100% the best god drat person in the world.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:47
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Spuckuk posted:*because of. gently caress you Who Wants to be a Millionaire and your 90 000 ports. You know I think I've worked on more canned games than ones that actually saw a release.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:51
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M4rk posted:Monster's predicament is exactly why I'm avoiding involving myself with females (outside of work) until I'm 65 and rich. I wouldn't champion the idea of getting involved with people at your studio either. That can end badly. Twice.
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Jul 19, 2011 17:57
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Nerolus posted:Started my first day at ArenaNet not too long ago, partly due to the tips and confidence for interviewing and reading all the success stories in the last thread. Thanks mucho, for the stories and tips you guys throw around. I love this place. Monster w21 Faces posted:I wouldn't champion the idea of getting involved with people at your studio either. 
M4rk fucked around with this message at 18:03 on Jul 19, 2011 |
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Jul 19, 2011 18:00
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Akuma posted:Oh yeah? Can you say who with? I've worked on a few WWTBAMs. One of which was pretty great (World Tour) but it never came out I was working on WWTBAM for Java phones, Glu Mobile. they all but shut the office in London a while back to save money by moving as much as they could to the terrible, terrible Sao Paolo studio.
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Jul 19, 2011 18:14
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Oh, okay. We did the DS/Wii/PS2 versions for a few years.
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Jul 19, 2011 18:21
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Aliginge posted:France, Germany and Japan are three off the top of my head. While I'm here, I might as well ask. I'm currently a university student taking a Masters in Comp Sci, and while I've never seriously considered getting into game development (because the Portuguese game industry can be safely classified as "zilch"), the thought has crossed my mind. So how exactly do you go from a programmer to a *game* programmer? I mean I've seen all the tutorials and advice and posts, that Comp Sci is good for you, that you need good mastery of "math, vector, physics, etc", that a portfolio is king, etc. But Comp Sci is just software development, which seems like the complete opposite of game development. Sure you get to know the nitty and gritty of hardware, coding, algorithms, etc, but once that's out of the way you're only focused on using the latest enterprise tools and technologies, not in writing the fastest efficient C++ for using the latest engines and getting the most polygons out of your system. If I wanna learn how it all actually applies to games am I left to fend for myself? Nothing really seems to cover the entire game workflow, just specific stuff like graphics, and if job postings are any clue there's about a billion possible types of "game programmer" and different stuff I have to know. Similarly, what makes a good programmer portfolio? People mostly discuss how to make attractive art and design portfolios, but what makes programming attractive? Clean code? Programming techniques? Lots of algorithms and fancy tools? Language and engine expertise? Complete software examples? Sure I can crank out a Tetris clone or two but I hope they don't expect me to be building full-fledged games on my own. Finally, is it worth moving out just for a games job? As I mentioned, I live in Portugal which has virtually no gaming industry, so if I wanted to take this career path seriously I'd have to really get out and about, since it's mostly focused in the US and UK. Anyone got any experiences they could share?
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Jul 19, 2011 19:50
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SupSuper posted:Similarly, what makes a good programmer portfolio? People mostly discuss how to make attractive art and design portfolios, but what makes programming attractive? Clean code? Programming techniques? Lots of algorithms and fancy tools? Language and engine expertise? Complete software examples? Sure I can crank out a Tetris clone or two but I hope they don't expect me to be building full-fledged games on my own. http://www.theprodukkt.com/
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Jul 19, 2011 20:37
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SupSuper posted:So how exactly do you go from a programmer to a *game* programmer? I mean I've seen all the tutorials and advice and posts, that Comp Sci is good for you, that you need good mastery of "math, vector, physics, etc", that a portfolio is king, etc. As trite as it may seem, the best advice I had was to start programming games in my own time. Actually producing game code quickly exposes what's needed for performance and all the articles on different techniques start to come in handy as reference. The importance of maths in particular presents itself the moment start introducing almost any interactive element to a game, be it rendering/physics or any of that ilk as these areas will quickly present performance issues with naive implementation. As far as the relevance of CompSci goes, high-level design is still vital for large scale games, it just becomes more important to have an idea of what's occurring at a lower level as well as the fact that strict design models might not be ideal for all scenarios. Where I work, programmers at all levels are expected to know the pros and cons of data-oriented design over traditional OO at interview-time. Short of applying for a role that requests it, I wouldn't have though you'd be expected to have a detailed working of existing game-engines, interviewers are looking more towards a flexibility and quick uptake of new tech in general, a skill which can be refined by always trying out new languages, APIs etc.
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Jul 19, 2011 20:40
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Spuckuk posted:the terrible, terrible Sao Paolo studio. Would you mind elaborating a bit on this?
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Jul 19, 2011 20:49
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M4rk posted:Three words: procedurally-generated demo. Shieet, are there any articles on this stuff? Procedural stuff always amazes me.
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Jul 19, 2011 21:19
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Say what you want about Train2Game, but the drinks they pay for are just fine. Went to their thing in Brighton by Develop this evening for a bit, caught their presentation. I masked my scorn, others less so. The presentation included two facts that I think were deliberately kept separate; there are 4500 on the program (not sure about that) and they have 50 people at a time on placement. Doesn't sound like great odds, and they made it clear that if an employer didn't like the guy they could be rid of them in no time flat. Also they had slides for each discipline course, each including "career switcher" as an intended target. The design course listed as potential resulting careers as "Entry level designer", "general software designer" and "Quality assurance". I think QA was on every discipline slide. The also do a course for QA. Even 3 ciders in I wasn't convinced.
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Jul 19, 2011 23:56
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BizarroAzrael posted:Say what you want about Train2Game, but the drinks they pay for are just fine. Went to their thing in Brighton by Develop this evening for a bit, caught their presentation. I masked my scorn, others less so. The presentation included two facts that I think were deliberately kept separate; there are 4500 on the program (not sure about that) and they have 50 people at a time on placement. Doesn't sound like great odds, and they made it clear that if an employer didn't like the guy they could be rid of them in no time flat. Also they had slides for each discipline course, each including "career switcher" as an intended target. The design course listed as potential resulting careers as "Entry level designer", "general software designer" and "Quality assurance". I think QA was on every discipline slide. The also do a course for QA.  I was thinking of going to Develop but i kinda forgot to poke work about it. Although we do have a stand there. Pop by and call the SD guys names (like, "friend")
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Jul 19, 2011 23:59
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Another interview, this time with WB Mobile in Burbank, fingers crossed again this time.
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Jul 20, 2011 01:27
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Everyone thinks I'm crazy, but I'm leaving my cushy 3d modeler job. I haven't been happy in the industry for a while so I'm going to pursue my professor career and do art and games on my own terms. I'm getting burned out, tired of game artist politics, crunching, being laid off every few years, and people trying to take advantage of my passion. It's not any one place. It's the majority of my experience as a whole from all the places I've worked at collectively.
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Jul 20, 2011 03:36
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M4rk posted:What do you do at ANet? I like that studio, wish it wasn't married to NCsoft... I work on the QA art team. We test maps and all the problems with environment stuff (world-outs, seams, clipping issues, stuck positions, everything else), armor, weapons, and all visible equippable items on characters etc. We work pretty close with the art guys, it's a pretty sweet position and I love this place already. The pay isn't the best, but it's entry-level and I work with awesome people in a great place so I don't mind at all. The contact that us ANet guys have with NCsoft is very very minimal, it seems like more of a distant alliance than anything else. We've got our own little community going on here in the office.
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Jul 20, 2011 06:56
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