|
whatspeakyou posted:Perhaps I'm pipe dreaming, but I'm curious how folks get their foot in the door on the network level of MMOs and online-based games in general. Most of the time I tend to see "requires experience in MMO-driven environment" which I can understand due to the specific nature of the system setup, but where's the entry level on such jobs? I've got about 5 years experience as a Network Admin/Engineer under high stress situations (was tactical comm for the USAF for 2 of those years) but I haven't a clue how anything translates to the online gaming field considering I've never been in on the ground level to see how it all actually works. Depends what you want to do. Are you a developer, or are you wanting to be a sysadmin type? Personally I am hiring MMO engineers, and I don't give a gently caress if you have MMO experience. It's all about attitude, intelligence and skill set. For instance, for us we would love to hire Java engineers with a lot of experience in J2EE scalability, which is just about the opposite of your standard game development setup.
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 18:09
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 21:43 |
|
|
Backov posted:Personally I am hiring MMO engineers, and I don't give a gently caress if you have MMO experience. It's all about attitude, intelligence and skill set. For instance, for us we would love to hire Java engineers with a lot of experience in J2EE scalability, which is just about the opposite of your standard game development setup. My heart is potentially going out to you if you're using Darkstar or Coherence or any of the other unfortunate MMO-esque middleware in Java.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 18:20
|
|
|
Backov posted:Depends what you want to do. Are you a developer, or are you wanting to be a sysadmin type? Probably more sysadmin, as that has been the bulk of my experience as of late. I see the obvious need for folks like me but I rarely see or hear of such positions being open (and when they are, they generally require network admin experience in an MMO environment, which sucks). My dream job would probably be to get my feet wet in the MMO environment and then hop on a new job and help build the infrastructure from the ground up. I really dig that kind of work.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 19:47
|
|
|
mutata posted:Hmm... I think you live in an overly idealistic world. I was making fun. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 20:39
|
|
|
AntiPseudonym posted:I'm pretty sure it's a bad idea to talk about it, I just want to contribute something I guess. v Your initial reaction is correct - even if you start out innocently, it always ends in tears, entitlement, and a particular segment of the playerbase feeling like they got shafted because they didn't get extra-special unofficial developer attention. PR and community people are there for a reason - they're a lot better at dealing with the pressures involved with the entire process and making sure they don't let slip something that's accidentally terrible. If it's in an official venue (convention, meet & greet, whatever) then it's totally cool to share war stories and behind-the-scenes stuff, but if it's on the internet it's almost universally a bad idea. It's one of the few really frustrating things about working in the industry - you're always a public face of your franchise and you have to be on your best behavior at all times, regardless of what community you're interacting with or where you are on the net. Guild forums, SA, random special interest website for your particular brand of car? Doesn't matter - behave yourself, keep your trap shut, and don't talk about specifics. Failure to follow that tends to lead to stupid rumors in the best case scenarios and firing at worst.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 21:42
|
|
|
wodin posted:Failure to follow that tends to lead to stupid rumors in the best case scenarios and firing at worst. Or a developer marrying a player. Whether this is a best or worst case scenario, I leave as an exercise for the reader.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 21:48
|
|
|
devilmouse posted:Or a developer marrying a player. Whether this is a best or worst case scenario, I leave as an exercise for the reader. This sure sounds like an entertaining story 
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 21:50
|
|
|
I don't know, if you worked on a game I don't think it's in poor form to comment on an LP of it. Remember the guy that went through the Sanitarium LP basically giving the director's commentary level by level? That was pretty awesome. So long as it's not like "gently caress the CEO" I don't really see the harm in it, but then I guess that's why they pay mr. stodgy lawyer-man to be a stodgy lawyer-man and not me...
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 21:52
|
|
|
I'm currently applying to a game company for a programming position, and have been looking into tools programming. It seems like a specialization I can get really into. However, I still don't have much insight into what it entails in more specific cases, and I haven't had much luck googling for examples of what tools end up being created. Can anyone give me a few examples of the kinds of things tools programmers would commonly develop, or have any other thoughts/suggestions on tools programming in general? I appreciate the help.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 21:53
|
|
|
Pipelines are huge. If you have a tool that can convert Max and Maya files into stuff that will just drop into a game and work, without all kinds of tedious exporting/importing rubbish, your artists will love you like a benevolent deity.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 22:01
|
|
GetWellGamers posted:Pipelines are huge. If you have a tool that can convert Max and Maya files into stuff that will just drop into a game and work, without all kinds of tedious exporting/importing rubbish, your artists will love you like a benevolent deity. This is assuming the game engine uses a common file format, which usually isnt the case from what I've learned. Fuuuck youu Gamebryo backend and your retarded .nif files. Our tools programmers are also shader programmers. They give us some nifty MEL/Python scripts sometimes. But lately there's not a lot of tools/scripts they can develop that already hasn't been made readily accessible by the public that we use. Although I'm pretty sure our world builders/environment guys have some pretty sweet tools that have been modified/developed specifically for them
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 22:13
|
|
|
Just had my interview with 38 Studios. Their HR lady was very nice. I'm looking forward to hearing back from them.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 22:17
|
|
|
devilmouse posted:My heart is potentially going out to you if you're using Darkstar or Coherence or any of the other unfortunate MMO-esque middleware in Java. This company was doing Java based MMOs 10 years ago. We don't do middleware. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 23:42
|
|
|
Backov posted:This company was doing Java based MMOs 10 years ago. We don't do middleware. *thinks* *thinks harder* You work on RuneScape, don't you?!
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2011 23:43
|
|
|
Van Ishikawa posted:I'm currently applying to a game company for a programming position, and have been looking into tools programming. It seems like a specialization I can get really into. However, I still don't have much insight into what it entails in more specific cases, and I haven't had much luck googling for examples of what tools end up being created. Can anyone give me a few examples of the kinds of things tools programmers would commonly develop, or have any other thoughts/suggestions on tools programming in general? I appreciate the help. A lot of tools development thrives on the scale of large studios. If you've got 60 artists in a studio, and in a week you can build a tool that saves them 5 minutes of work a day, it's worth the time because it will start paying off after 8 weeks. Tasks like this include cleaner / easier exporting for Maya, building scripts to quickly setup rigs, validating data and checking for errors earlier in the process, so a warning can pop up in Maya when an artist builds something incorrect, instead of waiting until run-time. Also there is a lot of data massaging before export of assets, after exporting assets, at build time for each platform, and at load time. Sometimes tools programming is integrating third party tools, like Incredibuild into a build process. There are also content creation tools. Maybe your artists want to be able to build collision data for actors in Maya for your in-house physics engine. Some studios will have a dedicated tools guy that only does tools, and some studios engine/tools teams overlap.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 03:01
|
|
|
whatspeakyou posted:Perhaps I'm pipe dreaming, but I'm curious how folks get their foot in the door on the network level of MMOs and online-based games in general. Most of the time I tend to see "requires experience in MMO-driven environment" which I can understand due to the specific nature of the system setup, but where's the entry level on such jobs? I've got about 5 years experience as a Network Admin/Engineer under high stress situations (was tactical comm for the USAF for 2 of those years) but I haven't a clue how anything translates to the online gaming field considering I've never been in on the ground level to see how it all actually works. I'm a sysadmin in a game company and we have a sub-team of guys dedicated to online gaming and our mobile MMO. I don't think we advertise our positions as needing MMO experience and most of us never really had experience managing the server-side of MMOs before. Good luck!
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 03:51
|
|
|
devilmouse posted:*thinks* *thinks harder* You work on RuneScape, don't you?! Yes, and Transformers and Stellar Dawn (both as yet unreleased).
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 10:15
|
|
|
Hey RuneScape, why you hate artists?
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 11:04
|
|
|
Backov posted:Yes, and Transformers and Stellar Dawn (both as yet unreleased). Say hi to Jess for me.  (Punch her in the arm as well.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 14:55
|
|
|
waffledoodle posted:Sounds like we've got something in common  I was only a kid, and I'd never LAN'ed before that one contest I went to. Also in round 2, I went up against the two that would become the finalist and semi-finalist, so... uh, yeah I remember there was me and one other beyond them - I skunked the other handily, but we both just kind of sat back and got schooled by the other two.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 18:31
|
|
|
Haha, not unless you went to my high school. It was the first time I had ever played over LAN either, and I remember panicking when everyone else was strafing too. "They know my secrets!" The Doom contests were held by the computer programming club, which was actually a gaming club, but since the school wouldn't allow such a thing, our school's cool computer science teacher let the club operate under the ruse of being about coding. I joined when they held the first Doom contest (only members could enter). I was elected PR Officer for the club the following year, and won the tournament again. The next year I was made club president, even though I didn't actually run. I thought it was because I was nerd-popular, but as it happened, it was only because the president wasn't allowed to participate in contests 
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 20:37
|
|
|
Aliginge posted:Say hi to Jess for me. Dude I am right here I read this thread every day you know :I (Also I have no idea who Backov is, who are you dude? Oh god what if it's someone I see every day)
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 21:42
|
|
|
floofyscorp posted:Dude I am right here I read this thread every day you know :I Will maybe see you next Thursday when I'm there for my assessment day.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2011 22:11
|
|
|
floofyscorp posted:Dude I am right here I read this thread every day you know :I I can't punch you in the arm across the internet though can I? :U p.s. Our bosses are buying us spangly new Wacom Intuos 4M tablets.  (Not cintiqs, but we're working on it.)
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 00:07
|
|
|
Only two weeks left at my Serious Game job and most of my duties have been transferred over. I cannot wait to get to my Producer gig.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 00:28
|
|
|
floofyscorp posted:Dude I am right here I read this thread every day you know :I I am lead of game engine infrastructure. When I started work at Jagex, I had to get IT to remove SA from their web filters "Adult, Nude, Offensive" category so I could read my offensive posts every day. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 08:46
|
|
|
Backov posted:I am lead of game engine infrastructure. Oh my god I had no idea, now I don't have to keep it to my phone anymore!  And nice mod name! :p
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 09:46
|
|
|
Another art post! Squirrels!   I promise I'll have some actual game art soon.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 15:21
|
|
|
mutata posted:(It's also completely awesome)
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 16:03
|
|
|
Shalinor posted:This character concept perpetuates negative gender stereotypes related to squirrel facial hair growth. I submit "Gender stereotypes related to squirrel facial hair growth" as a thread title. (Also, thanks! )
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 16:13
|
|
|
We launched our second game in two months yesterday. It's called Booty Quest and I believe it to genuinely be one of the fastest, smoothest match 3 experiences out there. It also has parrots! 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 16:18
|
|
|
Monster w21 Faces posted:We launched our second game in two months yesterday. It's called Booty Quest and I believe it to genuinely be one of the fastest, smoothest match 3 experiences out there. I now have a new game to share with my wife that she will be obsessed with. YOHO!
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 18:34
|
|
|
Zynga  quote:Attracting top employees can be difficult for cash-strapped startups. So, in many cases, they give out company stock to supplement salaries that employees might feel is below-market. Source
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:24
|
|
|
Google has chefs?!? Man even the chefs at Google make $20 million. I gotta start learning to cook. Seriously though, that is lovely. edit: But in line with things I've heard about Mark Pincus.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:28
|
|
|
Vino posted:Google has chefs?!? Man even the chefs at Google make $20 million. I gotta start learning to cook. Yeah I interviewed there once, and they have some pretty goddamn good food. Microsoft does too for the record, and I've never been to Apple's HQ but I imagine they've got some pretty good vegan options. On topic: Zynga has done something shady, exploitative, and immoral. I am really trying to be surprised here.  I bet that brand new stock-incentive plan will really work on prospective new employees who don't bother to google the company first!Seriously though, is there anyone who works at Zynga in this thread? I'd love to hear an insider perspective on this (and also I'd like to know if I'd be offending anyone by badmouthing Zynga here  )
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:35
|
|
|
That Zynga executives are sociopaths should really come as a surprise to nobody. That Zynga executives feel the money they get from this is worth the bad PR is somewhat surprising.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:39
|
|
|
People stick it out at companies that they would normally leave all the time for stock options. Go talk to someone who was at Broadcom in 1999. Those stock options might have been the reason a lot of people were staying. What a class act. "Let's just go ahead and poo poo on our employees and bust up our contracts so that none of them can potentially make more money then WE, the all-powerful Executivate, think that they deserve!"
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:39
|
|
|
Yeah, it's not like that Google chef they cited as an example even ripped off Google or anything. All he did was take assets that were legally his and sell them on the open market for exactly what they were worth. I guess Zynga wants to make extra sure that no one gets rich who wasn't rich already! God bless America. 
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:45
|
|
|
I think we do have someone here who works at Zynga, which is partially why I posted the article - wondering if that had any impact on him.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2011 22:49
|
|
|
|
| # ? Jun 6, 2024 21:43 |
|
|
Just got off the phone with someone concerning a games-related job. Pumped. Just gotta return this writing test...
|
|
#
?
Nov 11, 2011 00:09
|
|
