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The Radix posted:"I make computer games." I remember during my senior year of college, when I was having trouble finding work, my mom decided to be SUPER HELPFUL and ask around if anyone she knew knew of any opportunities for "a... computer... person. He does computer stuff." (In case you can't tell, the kicker is that she had no idea what I do or what I went to school for, beyond that computers are somehow involved.) She was always so happy when she told me about her yoga class friend's nephew's company needing a new helpdesk technician or sysadmin or tech support call center worker or whatever, and I always hated to have to tell her that no, that's not what I do either, thanks for trying to help but really you can seriously stop now.  I was, very recently (meaning like last month), able to communicate to my entire immediate family what test automation was. Sort of. Meaning my sister understood it pretty easily, my dad wasn't listening, and my mom eventually got it but somehow got the impression that the game devs were my bosses and if I tried hard and applied myself some day I'd be one of them. At least she knows what programming is now. Progress!
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Nov 15, 2011 17:43
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Get her hooked on FarmVille, then just say "like FarmVille but for different consumers." Every time I try and discuss my business with my grandmother, she gets holier-than-thou and tells me how I should never start my own business, how the way to wealth is to stay employed and do your side business on the side. "No grandma, games studios close all the time, it isn't that stable, and besides, work-for-hire sa-" "I DON'T CARE ABOUT THAT I know all about that I STARTED MY OWN BUSINESS WH-" "Ok Grandma, I agree. You're right. Pass the potatoes." My dad is no help. The smug bastard just sits there, choking on laughter, his face turning beet red. Even my stroked-out grandpa finds the back-and-forth hilarious. She's the only one that doesn't get the joke. EDIT: This Christmas, I... think I'm just going to pretend I still work at LEGO and have a nice steady job, and am just doing all this amazing stuff on the side. And do that basically forever. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 18:04 on Nov 15, 2011 |
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Nov 15, 2011 18:02
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100 Pages!  My family's pretty good about following this sort of stuff, but I suppose it helps that I never shut up about it. 
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Nov 15, 2011 19:31
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I just tell my dad I work on Xbox The thought of trying to explain Xbox LIVE to a 60something year old man who doesn't even like to use computers much is . . . yeah.
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Nov 15, 2011 19:46
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My father didn't like the fact that I played so many games as a kid, but at some point (I don't really know how) my stepmom got hooked on Doom 2. Then, my dad bought her a Playstation for Christmas after having seen some Doom game for it in the store. They hooked it up and when I showed them the games on the demo disc that came with it, they both got hooked on Tomb Raider 2. Now they play games together all the time. They were almost more happy than I was when I got a job in the industry. It's nice to not have to explain a bunch, but I do deal with "It would be awesome if you made a game like Tomb Raider" sometimes.
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Nov 15, 2011 22:24
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I have never run into anybody who has any trouble grokking what I do, but that may have something to do with living in Seattle and my social circles...
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Nov 16, 2011 05:42
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Finally got a promotion after years working as a lowly bum in QA. I now have the slightly more dignified title of 'Analyst'. Feels good. But yeah, it's still QA  Seriously though, I know it's cliche, but QA is still by far the easiest way to break into games. I work for a big publisher, and sometimes it seems like over half the people working here started out in QA.
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Nov 16, 2011 13:27
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DancingMachine posted:I have never run into anybody who has any trouble grokking what I do, but that may have something to do with living in Seattle and my social circles... When I lived in DC however, the metro/political background of the area always made the conversations much more awkward. I played on a hockey team there that was made up of defense contractors, capitol hill lawyers, FBI, NSA, and multiple ex-military. And I was the youngster working on video games. *Lengthy conversation about the ramifications of an overseas nuclear warhead inspection that someone just came back from* "So Hazed_blue, how's work for you?" "I drew some armors. No one died, though."
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Nov 16, 2011 19:26
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My father-in-law and almost all of my wife's siblings (she has 7) are or were military or work in Washington and I'm seen as a fascinating enigma, allbeit a welcome one. They're not the typical marine/politico types though, so that helps.
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Nov 16, 2011 19:46
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It's nice working in Leamington Spa. If you see a group of more than two young dudes sitting down during typical lunch hours at a restraunt or cafe, you can tell they're in the industry. More than likely Blitz more than anywhere else, they do have the most incog-loving-nito offices above Gamestation though. That said we're above a Kwik-Fit >.>
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Nov 16, 2011 22:00
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Partyworm posted:Finally got a promotion after years working as a lowly bum in QA. I now have the slightly more dignified title of 'Analyst'. Feels good. Given the chance I would bust you back to QA so fast... :P
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Nov 16, 2011 22:23
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I work next to EA in Redwood Shores and for lunch almost anywhere you go within a 1 mile radius you'll see game dev people. Sometimes I see my coworkers in random places too.
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Nov 17, 2011 01:51
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loquacius posted:I remember during my senior year of college, when I was having trouble finding work, my mom decided to be SUPER HELPFUL and ask around if anyone she knew knew of any opportunities for "a... computer... person. He does computer stuff." (In case you can't tell, the kicker is that she had no idea what I do or what I went to school for, beyond that computers are somehow involved.) She was always so happy when she told me about her yoga class friend's nephew's company needing a new helpdesk technician or sysadmin or tech support call center worker or whatever, and I always hated to have to tell her that no, that's not what I do either, thanks for trying to help but really you can seriously stop now.
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Nov 17, 2011 03:09
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End of an era for me here, what will probably be the last retail game I'll ever work on came out this week. Everything's downloadable only in the future. Also it's probably the last game I'll ever work on for a Nintendo platform. It is weird going from an environment of "We have to get this in, if it doesn't get on the cartridge that's it." to "iOS is a living environment, so we can add that level / feature in later." It really gives development a lot more breathing room, which is great.
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Nov 17, 2011 05:07
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The download market brings its own challenges, particularly that the amount of competition is unreal.
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Nov 17, 2011 05:11
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Hazed_blue posted:I'm actually excited to finally be living in an area where I can experience this too. In Edmonton, Bioware is virtually a household name, so when you mention it, you have a good chance of the stranger even knowing what games you may be working on. Hi fellow Edmontonian! ME3 goon here For myself, I usually just tell people I do software - it's rare that anyone other than a gamer seems to know who BioWare are, or really care, and usually just using the generic software term satisfies most people.
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Nov 17, 2011 05:26
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It kinda helps that it's a very videogame-y company name. Almost no one at the last place I worked knew the name when I mentioned getting a job at BioWare Austin, though pretty much all of them at least figured it was a game company of some sort.
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Nov 17, 2011 07:02
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Aliginge posted:It's nice working in Leamington Spa. If you see a group of more than two young dudes sitting down during typical lunch hours at a restraunt or cafe, you can tell they're in the industry.
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Nov 17, 2011 08:30
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Sometimes people misread my business card as "Edge of Realty" and I just run with it and pretend that we are a real estate company focused on young hip Austin college kids.
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Nov 17, 2011 15:42
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Chainclaw posted:End of an era for me here, what will probably be the last retail game I'll ever work on came out this week. Everything's downloadable only in the future. I don't suppose you can say which game, out of curiosity? Also I won't lie, the death of cartridges is making me play the tiniest violin. I am not going to be sad to see handhelds abandon set carts for games.
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Nov 17, 2011 16:34
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SpaceDrake posted:I don't suppose you can say which game, out of curiosity? Shinobi, which is a fantastic last game for a platform.
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Nov 17, 2011 17:56
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I really think the death of cartridges is a terrible thing for the historic record of gaming. I mean, eventually Blizzard's going to cancel WoW, and the PSN will be no more, and on and on. And what happens to those then? How are we going to keep a record, a gaming library of congress, when there's no way to check the books out and read them, so to speak? Having something physically there in your hands is much more important than I think people realize.
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Nov 17, 2011 19:17
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GetWellGamers posted:I really think the death of cartridges is a terrible thing for the historic record of gaming. I mean, eventually Blizzard's going to cancel WoW, and the PSN will be no more, and on and on. And what happens to those then? How are we going to keep a record, a gaming library of congress, when there's no way to check the books out and read them, so to speak? Having something physically there in your hands is much more important than I think people realize. ROMs certainly make archival and access easy, but that's a deep, dark rabbit hole unto itself. Publishers certainly aren't going to release or weaken the rights to their IP, and without the self-limiting nature of a physical object keeping the amount of copies for rent under control they're understandably scared. That said, I think it's an unfortunately shortsighted view. I'd love to see a library of games that's open to the public, accessible to non-gamers, and divorced from the warez scene. Doctor Yiff fucked around with this message at 19:32 on Nov 17, 2011 |
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Nov 17, 2011 19:30
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Just got off the phone with a game dev company that I had applied to. Apparently when they say, "Some AI experience is a plus" for an entry level position really translates to "We generally hire candidates with master's level education". I didn't get that job. However, the recruiter said, "I think you've got a great background for our core tools team. I'm going to forward your application to them." I'm determined to break into this industry, and I'm just as happy working on tools, so wish me luck!
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Nov 17, 2011 20:13
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GetWellGamers posted:I really think the death of cartridges is a terrible thing for the historic record of gaming. I mean, eventually Blizzard's going to cancel WoW, and the PSN will be no more, and on and on. And what happens to those then? How are we going to keep a record, a gaming library of congress, when there's no way to check the books out and read them, so to speak? Having something physically there in your hands is much more important than I think people realize. I hate to say it but here's one thing pirates are good for.
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Nov 17, 2011 20:37
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GetWellGamers posted:I really think the death of cartridges is a terrible thing for the historic record of gaming. I mean, eventually Blizzard's going to cancel WoW, and the PSN will be no more, and on and on. And what happens to those then? How are we going to keep a record, a gaming library of congress, when there's no way to check the books out and read them, so to speak? Having something physically there in your hands is much more important than I think people realize. People are currently hosting a "classic" WoW server: http://www.therebirth.net/ The physical cartridge stuff gets more difficult to properly support as time goes by. The old hardware doesn't last forever, emulation isn't perfect, especially when it comes to the controls. Many modern TVs don't even support hooking up these old consoles easily.
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Nov 17, 2011 20:41
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Stupid yearly physical (and clumsy lab techs)... it is amazing how much a badly bruised vein can interfere with your typing / motivation.
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Nov 18, 2011 01:11
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So, there's this: http://www.dorkly.com/article/27379/the-dorklyst-7-reasons-you-dont-want-to-work-in-the-video-game-industry None of the points raised in that article haven't been brought up here, but it's always nice to have it in one place to stomp down any unrealistic dreams someone has. On the bright side, I've only been affected by like, two of the things listed in the article. Yay I haven't been in the industry long enough. 
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Nov 18, 2011 04:11
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I'll find out how hard it is to describe when I deal with my extended family during the holidays. My immediate family knows about it and understands everything that's involved. As a lifelong businessman, my father is intrigued about how everything works here. My sister got a taste of what I'll probably run into from time to time. She was at work, and had some issue with her computer. So, she called the IT guy to come fix her computer... IT Guy: So, what are you doing for the holiday? Sister: Oh, my brother's going to be in town from Seattle. IT Guy: Oh? What's he doing out there? Sister: He just started a job over there. IT Guy: Where's he working? Sister: Steam. IT Guy: Valve?! Your brother works for Valve? Of course, she had to get on the phone and tell me all about this story. Except my mother beat her to it.
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Nov 18, 2011 05:03
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Maide posted:So, there's this: http://www.dorkly.com/article/27379/the-dorklyst-7-reasons-you-dont-want-to-work-in-the-video-game-industry #5 is the worst. 
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Nov 18, 2011 05:38
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Maide posted:So, there's this: http://www.dorkly.com/article/27379/the-dorklyst-7-reasons-you-dont-want-to-work-in-the-video-game-industry #6, #4, and #3 for me. A tiny bit of #2 when I first started but gently caress that mess. I actually found I got more done with a standard schedule.
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Nov 18, 2011 06:08
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I know saying "fired" has more punch, but while I've seen a lot of redundancies in the games industry, I've seen very few actual firings. The thing about "you'll work on games you don't like" always bothers me as well. I suspect people in 99% of industries don't only work on stuff they really like, so that would just make games dev like most other jobs.
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Nov 18, 2011 09:41
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FreakyZoid posted:I know saying "fired" has more punch, but while I've seen a lot of redundancies in the games industry, I've seen very few actual firings. SupSuper fucked around with this message at 12:40 on Nov 18, 2011 |
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Nov 18, 2011 12:34
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Maide posted:So, there's this: http://www.dorkly.com/article/27379/the-dorklyst-7-reasons-you-dont-want-to-work-in-the-video-game-industry 7. You Won’t Work On A Game You Like Yes. Put it this way: I worked on a Bella Sara game. That's a horse racing franchise. For 7 year old girls. After that, though, it was mostly action and racing titles, but it really depends where you are. Smaller developers certainly can't especially choose what they work on. 6. You’ll Be Expected To Move Far, Far Away Yes, it's likely. I suppose I'm lucky that I'm in the UK which (for now) has a gaming industry and I moved within England for my job. Travelling home for me has usually been a 4 hour train journey, though at £80 a ticket on, shall we say, a 'tight budget' I've rarely done so over the last 4 years. Sucks. 5. The Fans Will Attack You For Everything Yes. As I've matured and further tried to see a balanced view of opinions in life, I appreciate how crazy fan feedback can be more than ever. Some people just never trust what developers say, or even believe what they say when explaining technical issues (e.g. idiots who insist that certain racing games continue to have central pivotting 10 years after the original games which featured such). 4. Nobody Will Understand Your Job Yes. Try being a 'studio technician' where the job is a rare, unusual one - essentially making builds of the game and taking care of other jobs in the studio. It's not too hard to describe ("office assistant" in layman's terms) but few people outside the industry understand what it's like or what is involved in making a game. 3. You Can’t Complain – Literally Mmm. Yes, to a degree. I can't say more than that. 2. You Will Work So Many Hours, You Will Essentially Stop Existing During crunch, yes. My record was 74 hours in a week, but even then I was doing relatively mundane work so I can only imagine what it's like for programmers and artists who really have to concentrate throughout. It's insane and it does take over your whole life. The sense of camaraderie is what pushes you to keep going, though. 1. You Will Get Fired Mmm. I resigned a month ago.
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Nov 18, 2011 12:42
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SupSuper posted:The reason it's highlighted so much is that 99% of people that wanna get into videogames do expect they'll be making their ~*~dream games~*~, it's a wake-up call. Nobody becomes a doctor expecting to be curing the coolest diseases or an architect expecting to be designing famous buildings or something (unless you're 5), yet people outside the industry seem incapable of seeing videogames as a "real job" like any other. You'd be surprised. Most architects and architectural students I've come across are as blindly optimistic about being "starchitects" as sixteen year olds are about working for their own game designs at Blizzard. Anyway this is definitely not a games-only phenomenon. Look at film and music for people that are equally deluded. Although honestly I've known lots of web developers and programmers who thought they'd wind up making the next Facebook or Google, not stuff like SellMyBoat.com.
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Nov 18, 2011 15:41
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God forbid someone want to succeed and make amazing things. That's the core loving motivation. There are always some folks who are unwilling to accept anything less, and those are the same folks who usually aren't going to put in the effort to learn how to do anything, but the difference between the "stars" and the people who want to be stars is time and effort, not magic. Don't renegotiate your dreams because there will be rough spots. There is blind optimism but the problem there is blind, not optimism.
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Nov 18, 2011 15:58
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Easy chief. Nobody is saying not to aim high or follow your dreams. There is a difference between unrealistic expectations (which people feel entitled to) and lofty goals (which people actually work towards) even if they are the same vision. We're talking about whether an abundance of the former is somehow unique to games.
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Nov 18, 2011 16:16
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What is the thing about being expected to move far away? Do people think they can work from home?
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Nov 18, 2011 17:12
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Just because you don't work in a game you like it doesn't mean that you can't enjoy your job anyway. My last job was basically a farmville with fairies type of game and I still enjoyed working on it even though I would never play that in my spare time if I hadn't worked on it.
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Nov 18, 2011 17:17
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Magic posted:7. You Won’t Work On A Game You Like I got a job at the company that made and is still making my favorite game. I've already found bugs in it. 
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Nov 18, 2011 17:26
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