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I dig the guys portfolio. It's got a uniqueness to it. And Sigma-X is right on. The industry is small, and people change studios all the time. I could throw a dart at any major studio and I'm sure I've worked with someone there.
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Aug 31, 2011 04:16
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SGT. Squeaks posted:And Sigma-X is right on. The industry is small, and people change studios all the time. I could throw a dart at any major studio and I'm sure I've worked with someone there. This can't be quoted enough. It's freaking creepy how small this industry is.
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Aug 31, 2011 04:18
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Clonkers posted:Quick question Diplomaticus, in my current contract there is a clause stating anything I make while I work for this company belongs to the company. I signed this contract when I, you know, needed to eat and stuff but now I am finding that a little....annoying, is there any way for my company to try to take money off of me for things I do outside of office hours? Naturally anything I do while in the studio using their poo poo is all theirs, but the idea that they own anything I make at home just seems...wrong.
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Aug 31, 2011 04:41
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Clonkers posted:Quick question Diplomaticus, in my current contract there is a clause stating anything I make while I work for this company belongs to the company. I signed this contract when I, you know, needed to eat and stuff but now I am finding that a little....annoying, is there any way for my company to try to take money off of me for things I do outside of office hours? Naturally anything I do while in the studio using their poo poo is all theirs, but the idea that they own anything I make at home just seems...wrong. Quick answer -- Possibly. Longer answer -- I'd have to review the contract. Shoot me an email to drosenthal at gameslaw.net
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Aug 31, 2011 04:48
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Black Eagle posted:These are usually valid and enforceable contracts. Your options are a) renegotiate the terms of the contract, b) stay and try to get internal support for your project, or c) leave the company. It's a standard clause in a LOT of creative oriented jobs, both in and outside the games industry. The theory is that you're being paid specifically to come up with ideas for the company, not just for the ideas you don't think are good enough to use yourself. Of course it's entirely possible to renegotiate the contract, and depending on what you actually do, they may be more or less receptive (if you're in a non-design oriented position, they might be more lenient). One word of caution: Make sure you're very familiar with the terms of your contract before you get too heavily involved in any of your own personal projects. Diplomaticus could probably help outline it better for you, but if you do a bunch of work on a project while you're at the company, even if you don't show it to anyone until you leave, they would still technically have the rights to it if they can prove you made it while working there.
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Aug 31, 2011 04:59
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ExtraNoise posted:PAX Dev went well in my eyes. It would have been nice if there were fewer students/non-industry in attendance (or more devs) but the speakers all did a great job with their presentations and the after-hours chats were fantastic. This is good to hear. I tuned out of PAX-Dev after Google announced they were hosting a game jam there. One of my friends also had good things to say about it.
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Aug 31, 2011 05:29
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Well this might well be one of the happiest days of my entire life so far. After just one year of studies and a 3 month summer job stint I was offered a full 12 month contract at my studio, full of wonderful, inspiring and awesome people. It was the easiest decision I've ever had. Unbelievably joyous over this!!
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Aug 31, 2011 08:43
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Goon marketing is the best marketing 
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Aug 31, 2011 08:55
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Watchlar posted:Well this might well be one of the happiest days of my entire life so far. After just one year of studies and a 3 month summer job stint I was offered a full 12 month contract at my studio, full of wonderful, inspiring and awesome people. It was the easiest decision I've ever had. Unbelievably joyous over this!! Congratulations, good luck, work hard, and kick rear end! 
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Aug 31, 2011 09:07
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Diplomaticus posted:Goon marketing is the best marketing
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Aug 31, 2011 15:20
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I agree. Good feedback, knowledgeable and vocal audience, scrubs mostly kept out by the  .
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Aug 31, 2011 15:24
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Also agreed. It's why I tried to get as many goons as possible into the APB beta as possible. Even though it all turned sour.
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Aug 31, 2011 15:43
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I am a bit intimidated here, but what the hell. Here is my website that hold my Game Portfolio and Resume: http://www.paulnexttime.com/ once again, I would point out that I have been in the application process for an Associate Flash/Flex Developer position at Riot Games since GDC. Though it is not like I have not heard from Riot much since I applied, I have been in contact with someone for this whole time; he has even helped me improve the ActionScript Project that is part of the application process! I am just getting a little panicky since I am a year out of school and I have not even managed to get a job at McDonald's or dare I say Gamestop. Although I do have connections into many developers near me (my schools new Game Production Chair has a strong relationship with Scientifically Proven, a friend I graduated with is a producer at Vectorform AND now teaches at the school we graduated from) This Riot job has been such a tease. Since April I have had a constant feeling of "I could get finality on this job any day now..." so should I spread out my eggs to other, more local, baskets? then again, Riot is almost done with their Dominion game mode, which would signify them getting done with a major crunch and I can hopefully finally find out if I got what it takes or something. Then after that if I get turned away I can fall back on trying to get into the local places. well it is nice to get all this off my chest. [/  ]
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Aug 31, 2011 19:00
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You should just apply to any job that piques your interest instead of holding out for any specific one. Employers understand that it's business, and if you apply to them but choose a different job, it's not going to be a great personal insult to them.
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Aug 31, 2011 19:34
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I dunno if this is the appropriate venue to inquire about this, but I'm a tester Namco-Bandai Games America and I've got a bit of a problem. Me and three other testers have been testing From Software's new title Dark Souls, putting in 9AM to 9PM shifts nearly every day for the past month. After all this time and countless bug reports, I come to see that our names are NOT in the game's credits. I see the names of other testers who have been testing the game for half the time we have, and others who have done even less. I've asked my lead about this and he told me he was trying to get our names in the game manual at least (my lead's a really cool dude, and he does seem genuine). Now, From Software had over a month to get our names in the game credits. How long does it take to add four names to the text file? I have a feeling someone dropped the ball either at NBGA or From Software, and now the testers who have broken their backs get hosed. It's like we had nothing to do with the game, and we can't even use the experience as a reference in the future. It can't be legal for them to use our work and then not credit us. I want to know if there's anything I can do to rectify this, since there is still a full month before the game gets released. This is bothering me more than it should, but I honestly just want my dues, and it's not just for me, but the other three who getting hosed. It's not like we'll ever get a second chance at testing Dark Souls. Project Oni fucked around with this message at 21:17 on Aug 31, 2011 |
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Aug 31, 2011 20:57
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Project Oni posted:I dunno if this is the appropriate venue to inquire about this, but I'm a tester Namco-Bandai Games America and I've got a bit of a problem. Technically there's not a lot that can be done on the dev side - a month out, they've passed certification and are probably going into disc fabrication. Changing the build to add names would force them to recertify and delay the entire game which there's 0 percent chance of them doing. Your best bet is to get piggybacked onto a patch or title update at this point.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:26
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icking fudiot posted:Your best bet is to get piggybacked onto a patch or title update at this point. Referencing the post about getting into developer QA on the first page, I was really hoping that having a huge title like Dark Souls under my belt would be the thing to help me move from lovely publisher QA testing to developer QA testing. I wonder if I can still reference my Dark Souls work even though I won't be credited. Damnit, I better be in that game manual at least. 
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Aug 31, 2011 21:34
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Project Oni posted:I wonder if I can still reference my Dark Souls work even though I won't be credited.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:39
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Project Oni posted:Damnit, I better be in that game manual at least. Typically manuals are finalized even earlier than the game is so I wouldn't count on it. FreakyZoid posted:Of course you can. Anyone who believes a game's credits are a full list of people who worked on that game is, unfortunately, an idiot. 100% this. I've got a couple of titles on my resume I am not credited on and it has never come up.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:48
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FreakyZoid posted:Of course you can. Anyone who believes a game's credits are a full list of people who worked on that game is, unfortunately, an idiot. Jaytan posted:100% this. I've got a couple of titles on my resume I am not credited on and it has never come up. This is really good to know, thanks. That's really a load off. I've been apprehensive to mention too much of this ordeal at work because I don't want to be a pest.
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Aug 31, 2011 21:51
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Jaytan posted:100% this. I've got a couple of titles on my resume I am not credited on and it has never come up. ... but it still sucks, and you should fight to avoid it. It's no fun when your name isn't in the physical box on the shelf
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Aug 31, 2011 22:50
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When my small company was contracted to do work on an MMO, we were credited as a company rather than as individuals, so stuff like that happens too.
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Aug 31, 2011 23:01
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Shalinor posted:It's a huge problem in MMOs. Sometimes they update the credits to keep track of who is supporting it post-release, sometimes they don't, etc, it gets weird fast. Half the staff would be screwed if anyone verified credits. Credits in the MMO industry pretty much mean pretty much nothing, unfortunately, because companies do stuff like this (http://www.shacknews.com/article/54263/warhammer-online-not-crediting-all). Your title at the old company, and being able to speak articulately about problems you faced and solved and the responsibilities you had are the major metrics for success in an interview. The 'the game industry is a small place' also goes double for MMOs because it's a relatively specialized skillset and there's a lot of inter-pollination between companies. You have to be a philosophical as well as technical fit, so there's sort of a double bar to cross. Generally speaking the credit policy seems like updating box-to-box (e.g. when EQ2 releases a major expansion, the updated box has new credits with different) but work that's done interstitially on patches is uncredited.
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Aug 31, 2011 23:09
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Violently Car posted:You should just apply to any job that piques your interest instead of holding out for any specific one. Employers understand that it's business, and if you apply to them but choose a different job, it's not going to be a great personal insult to them. Nexttime, this, a thousand times this. Why haven't you applied to 100 jobs in the time you've been waiting back to hear from Riot? Oni, good luck getting your name somewhere but I wouldn't hold my breath. About 2 months out from release, a game goes off to Cert, which is where Sony/MS/etc test the game and make sure it lives up to their standards (naming conventions, etc) and doesn't loving brick the system/crash repeatedly. If it fails, it will get quickly patched and go back for a second cert. At this stage in the process they're most likely either already certed and going through the manufacturing stage, or finishing up a second cert if they failed their first. It was probably an oversight and it sucks that you weren't aware to look for it/part of the process for checking it, but I wouldn't worry about it hurting your career at least, nobody in the industry believes that credits are 'accurate,' they're usually a stamp of whoever was still in the office when it shipped off to certification, and anyone who left beforehand is lucky to get an 'additional' credit or special thanks credit.
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Aug 31, 2011 23:15
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Random question: Is there a thread here for the CryEngine SDK? I downloaded it a little while ago but I'm not sure where to start with it. I remember that a few people mentioned it earlier in this thread when it came out so maybe you guys might know if there is a thread? (and if not; anyone comfortable enough using it to make one?)
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Sep 1, 2011 05:21
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Clonkers posted:Quick question Diplomaticus, in my current contract there is a clause stating anything I make while I work for this company belongs to the company. I signed this contract when I, you know, needed to eat and stuff but now I am finding that a little....annoying, is there any way for my company to try to take money off of me for things I do outside of office hours? Naturally anything I do while in the studio using their poo poo is all theirs, but the idea that they own anything I make at home just seems...wrong. To add to this (and to go somewhat against Black Eagle's previous assertion), this is a depressingly common as many posters noted, but I don't believe such a clause has ever been seriously tested in court - and I mean tested tested, by a dude willing to drag the court battle all the way to the Supreme. If you signed the contract, they'll definitely try to call you on it if you release something, but the real enforceability of such a contract, signed or otherwise, is questionable, since as you note it brings up multiple ethical, legal and possibly even Constitutional questions. I'd double check with Diplo or someone else before making something on your own (unless you feel like being The Guy Who Tests It), but at the same time such contracts are somewhat hard to enforce (and smaller companies may not feel it's worth their time to try and prove you worked on A Thing during the contract period). I Am Not A Lawyer applies, mind. But it's still a questionable clause, from what I understand of the legalities around it. (Bigger hint, for future job offerings this is something you/anyone else ITT want to ask about and raise a stink about if they try to foist it on you) SpaceDrake fucked around with this message at 05:52 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 05:47
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striff posted:http://codymeyer3d.com/ They also basically said that Prop Art is part of Environments as a whole, so the best thing to do would be to just crank out more environments like your UDK Sewer.
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Sep 1, 2011 06:16
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The couple companies I've worked for have had approval and exemption forms available for people to pass their project off and have the company sign off their rights to it ahead of time. I'd ask someone in legal if there is such a protocol and if not, could there be at your studio.
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Sep 1, 2011 06:17
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One thing is that often those clauses just boil down to right of first refusal. It really just means that if you have an idea, you have to run it past the company first in case they want to develop it. Often if you've done this, they'll just reject it and you're free to pursue it on your own without worrying about them later coming in and claiming it (since they already said no when you offered).
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Sep 1, 2011 06:21
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Last month I passed my first year inside the industry and I'm amazed at how much better I have gotten, even despite the fact that I am the only animator at my studio. I probably advanced faster in the last year than I ever did in 4 years of college. Although to be fair, I wouldn't have been able to do so without the proper foundation. How do you guys feel that your abilities have developed after joining a real studio?
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Sep 1, 2011 06:58
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Chernabog posted:Last month I passed my first year inside the industry and I'm amazed at how much better I have gotten, even despite the fact that I am the only animator at my studio. I probably advanced faster in the last year than I ever did in 4 years of college. Although to be fair, I wouldn't have been able to do so without the proper foundation. Same as you, pretty much. In the 4 months I've been with my studio so far I've developed more than in a year of school and personal practice. Can't wait to see what the results are a full year from now with this pace
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Sep 1, 2011 07:00
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Chernabog posted:Last month I passed my first year inside the industry and I'm amazed at how much better I have gotten, even despite the fact that I am the only animator at my studio. I probably advanced faster in the last year than I ever did in 4 years of college. Although to be fair, I wouldn't have been able to do so without the proper foundation. I learned more in my first year than I did in the previous 2 years of self-education (didn't go to school for this). Looking back on the stuff I did for Red Faction Guerrilla, it all sucked compared to Red Faction Armageddon, where I did much better, and the current project I'm on I'm finally really getting into zBrush and also improving my texture skills tremendously. You learn much quicker in a studio environment because you're surrounded by folks who know what they're doing and can provide honest, critical feedback and techniques.
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Sep 1, 2011 07:11
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When I look back at my reel now I don't even know how I landed a job. And for me I don't think it was so much the critiques as much as the fact that I was (am) animating every single day for 8 hours.
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Sep 1, 2011 07:16
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Chernabog posted:When I look back at my reel now I don't even know how I landed a job. Oh yeah, this definitely helps a lot, too. But I've picked up a lot of little workflow tips over the years through just osmosis. One of the other things that I find interesting is that there's a lot of habits I've built to avoid issues/speed things along/etc that I'm completely unaware of until I try to explain my workflow or debug someone's stuff.
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Sep 1, 2011 07:39
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SpaceDrake posted:To add to this (and to go somewhat against Black Eagle's previous assertion), this is a depressingly common as many posters noted, but I don't believe such a clause has ever been seriously tested in court - and I mean tested tested, by a dude willing to drag the court battle all the way to the Supreme. If you signed the contract, they'll definitely try to call you on it if you release something, but the real enforceability of such a contract, signed or otherwise, is questionable, since as you note it brings up multiple ethical, legal and possibly even Constitutional questions. We're still talking about IP assignments combined with non-competes? They're tested and generally solid. The IP assignments stem down from a Supreme Court case which outlines the rules regarding work-for-hire and IP assignments. Beyond that though, it's essentially without dispute that if you sign a valid document assigning your IP, absent any contractual defenses (I was drunk; forgery, etc.) it's a valid assignment. It CAN be argued, sometimes, that an overly aggressive IP assignment policy (e.g. I agree to assign all of my rights in any IP I create to X, forever, regardless of where I do it or on my personal time, etc.)can be contractually void for lack of consideration. That's a failure in the contract though, not in the underlying fairness of IP assignments. The grey area exists only insofar as how far they extend and to what level they constitute a non-compete in a jurisdiction that doesn't recognize non-competes. I love reviewing these things because a) generally unless you are a lead creative, the company doesn't care. b) they are opportunities, if you look at them in the right direction, to get your IP noticed by potential decision makers. c) It tends to be a common issue (though also a commonly misunderstood one), and therefore is relatively easy to research, making it cheap for you to hire me, reinforcing it as an attractive service for the industry, perpetuating the cycle. Everybody wins!
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Sep 1, 2011 08:03
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Chernabog posted:How do you guys feel that your abilities have developed after joining a real studio? Just being in an office with other developers for eight hours a day puts my productivity through the loving roof compared to what I was like as a student/graduate. Only a month in though although my drawing and painting is progressing quite rapidly 
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Sep 1, 2011 09:00
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Sigma-X posted:You learn much quicker in a studio environment because you're surrounded by folks who know what they're doing and can provide honest, critical feedback and techniques. My first job was the sole programmer for a tiny outfit. It was great, and we did some awesome stuff, but I didn't learn anywhere near as much as I did once I got here and had someone to tell me "well ok, that works, but THIS way is way better because...".
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Sep 1, 2011 15:19
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I'm done with my game and looking for new opportunities. If any of y'alls studios are looking for a narrative designer or game designer or whatever, ping me.
typhus fucked around with this message at 15:23 on Sep 1, 2011 |
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Sep 1, 2011 15:20
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Do you guys know any studios with internship programs that are available during the winter? I'm going into my senior year and I still don't have an internship and OU has an abysmal internship pool for game dev as of yet.
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Sep 1, 2011 16:11
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The Cheshire Cat posted:I remember that a few people mentioned it earlier in this thread when it came out so maybe you guys might know if there is a thread? What you're recalling was probably discussion of the engine itself rather than of the SDK. I don't really think it needs its own thread, though?
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Sep 1, 2011 16:14
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