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Aliginge posted:3D Modeller types, if I can get your input: Anything to set you apart from the glut of "Generic Gun Model/Generic Army Man/Generic Fantasy Dungeon" portfolios. My only advice would be to ensure that it still looks kickass when viewed as 3 or 4 screenshots because most people wont be assed to even watch a youtube video of it let alone download plugins and junk to actually play it.
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Oct 23, 2012 00:10
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Dinurth posted:So, this happened: http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/10/18/rumor-starhawk-developer-lightbox-interactive-hit-with-major-layoffs Really sorry to hear about lightbox. I interviewed with them years ago before they moved to Austin. Decided not to go forward with the process when I found out they were moving. But I've always kept track of them as a company since.
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Oct 23, 2012 02:07
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Aliginge posted:3D Modeller types, if I can get your input: If it's multiple scenes with different environments, go with it. If it's just one scene, you'll probably still want to throw some other meshes in your portfolio too. Having a scene is usually better than not, as it tends to better highlight your fundamental ability to work up a space, and solve problems that don't exist with singular props (blending, scene lighting, prop layout etc.), especially if you can show your complete process from concept to playable space. Also, be sure to show some wires and flats from the scene somewhere as well (props and environment textures).
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Oct 23, 2012 03:21
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Anyone here work at Sleepy Giant? Just got kind of an odd e-mail from them...
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Oct 23, 2012 05:54
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GetWellGamers posted:Anyone here work at Sleepy Giant? Just got kind of an odd e-mail from them... I know a couple guys from there if no one steps up, feel free pm me.
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Oct 23, 2012 07:05
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Wanderer posted:If you work for a Western development studio that's currently involved with the production of a horror-themed game, ideally one with zombies, could you drop me a PM? I've been approached by a Japanese scenario designer who's looking to work with a Western studio in the horror field and I'd like to be able to put him in touch with somebody. Hahaha... I've worked on zombie games for Japanese publishers... some of the most nonsense filled years of my life. Never again.
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Oct 23, 2012 19:14
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http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/180005/Breaking_Mass_layoffs_closures_at_Zynga.php#.UIbifPmlrAB So, anyone get fired from Zynga?
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Oct 23, 2012 19:38
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drat has their bubble burst pretty hard? What happened? Is it that freemium isn't actually all that sustainable?
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Oct 23, 2012 20:28
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They took too long moving from Facebook to mobile. The bottom fell out of Facebook a long time ago. The restrictions Facebook has put on developers since the good old days of Zynga has really killed profitability. Now iOS micro transactions are the golden goose.
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Oct 23, 2012 20:31
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concerned mom posted:drat has their bubble burst pretty hard? What happened? Is it that freemium isn't actually all that sustainable? Freemium is extremely sustainable if you do it correctly. Wargaming, Kabam, and Kixeye are all thriving. That being said, more layoffs from Bigpoint: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/180008/Bigpoint_lays_off_120_halts_development_in_US.php#.UIbxovmlrAB
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Oct 23, 2012 20:37
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Comrade Flynn posted:http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/180005/Breaking_Mass_layoffs_closures_at_Zynga.php#.UIbifPmlrAB Given that the rumor mill is saying they were given two hours to clear their offices, I really, really hope they're not posting here right now.  For those in Boston, Irrational has positions open and are in the home stretch on Bioshock: Infinite (http://irrationalgames.com/studio/careers-at-irrational/). If you're willing to go to California, the big companies are always hiring (Blizzard, Riot, Activision, EA, etc).
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Oct 23, 2012 20:58
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Monster w21 Faces posted:They took too long moving from Facebook to mobile.
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Oct 23, 2012 20:59
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Employment is overrated anyway... Upside, before I had even cleared out my office, I had 10 job offers from friends and my linkedin inbox exploded with blood-thirsty recruiters and invites and whatnot. Plus, 3.5 months of severance! Hey! For the more junior people in my office though, if people have any job openings, we're collating them all and helping everyone land on their feet.
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Oct 23, 2012 23:19
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devilmouse posted:Employment is overrated anyway... Bummer! Thought of you when I heard the announcement. You staying in Boston or going to move?
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Oct 23, 2012 23:33
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Comrade Flynn posted:Freemium is extremely sustainable if you do it correctly. Wargaming, Kabam, and Kixeye are all thriving.
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Oct 24, 2012 00:02
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Comrade Flynn posted:Bummer! Thought of you when I heard the announcement. You staying in Boston or going to move? I'm not sure yet. Taking some time off and hanging out are the first orders of business. Then I'll figure out what I want to do, where I want to be, and so on. There's a non-trivial chance that I put the past couple of years spent in the belly of the beast to use for good instead of evil. These loops will be so compulsive, you see!
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Oct 24, 2012 04:33
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As one of the aforementioned junior people, it was one hell of a ride, and I'm gonna spend that 3.5 months building a portfolio and finished games. Backup plan, I have this fascinating pitch from a gay social network in my inbox.
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Oct 24, 2012 04:48
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If I had 3.5 months of severance, knew a bunch of people in the same position, and we all had experience making short-turnaround games and a proven development track record, I would be starting a studio. Good luck to you all.
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Oct 24, 2012 05:07
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We're looking for folks (especially engineers) with social games experience at Amazon Game Studios. http://games.amazon.com/jobs Feel free to PM me if you feel like you'd be a good fit for any of those.
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Oct 24, 2012 05:09
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Sigma-X posted:If I had 3.5 months of severance, knew a bunch of people in the same position, and we all had experience making short-turnaround games and a proven development track record, I would be starting a studio. Shhhhh, don't give away the game plan! The joke today was "Boy, it's going to suck when we turn you guys down when you try to acquire us in a year or two. Could have just let us keep our jobs, but nooo....."
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Oct 24, 2012 05:11
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I was seriously tempted when my last studio got shut down. I was offered a pretty drat long severance. But I wasn't comfortable pulling the trigger with my family situation. :\ It's also harder than it sounds to get 3 or 4 people to go "all in" on a new studio for a long enough time. Speaking of, how is your stuff going, Shalinor?
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Oct 24, 2012 05:22
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We were all really sad to hear the news (especially with the talent at the affected studios, drat), but I'm glad they offered you severance. Makes me kind of paranoid about our status, though I feel like my career to date has been a series of layoffs that somehow lead to a cooler opportunities each time.
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Oct 24, 2012 05:33
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DancingMachine posted:Speaking of, how is your stuff going, Shalinor? ... but, to get here, I went through 3 failed projects, 1 partner that didn't work out / we parted ways (after sinking a lot of cash into that project), and I'm $17k in the red. Not counting living expenses. And now I'm taking a game I will have spent 6 months on, and just casting it out into the App Store for free, hoping people will kindly buy stuff in it. Furthermore, I am to the point that if this and the next game fail - however unlikely that is - I'd probably be dipping into 401ks until I got a job again with someone else  So. Well, but not the kind of well that I want to talk any recent layoffee's up with. It is NOT easy going independent. The general advice I would offer to that end would be: - Have a year of living expenses or equivalent (ie. unemployment / living with parents / something), minimum, AND $10k+ for business expenses. - Partner up only with people you have personally worked with, for whom you would personally vouch with glowing recommendations. "Well he can kinda"'s and "my friend is totally"'s will cost you way more than they're worth. - Don't bother with interns, and ignore any equivalents that say they will work for free. That will also cost you time. Only do it as a charitable act, and only once you can afford such. - If your idea estimates longer than 6 months to polish and release, bin it and try again. Don't try to do a big project as your first indie project. Trust me. - If you are a programmer with no artist, do not rely on contract art. It is expensive, and it is very likely you don't have the skill to wrangle contract art into a consistent style. Either figure out what you can do artistically on your own, or use bought/free assets (the asset store in unity is great for this) from a single artist that are designed to work together. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 05:43 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 05:37
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Frown Town posted:We were all really sad to hear the news (especially with the talent at the affected studios, drat), but I'm glad they offered you severance. Talked to a bunch of guys down there this afternoon and they were all sweeties and offered up room if I wanted to stay at the company (as did people in SF), but yeah... Mostly I'm annoyed that I won't get the referral bonus for Mikey! I feel bad that you guys aren't going to be able to leverage our engine guy to fix up your loading/perf issues. There was a joke about how his work alone on your game and Farm2 would have paid for our studio easily for a few years, but OH WELL! 
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Oct 24, 2012 05:38
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devilmouse posted:I feel bad that you guys aren't going to be able to leverage our engine guy to fix up your loading/perf issues. There was a joke about how his work alone on your game and Farm2 would have paid for our studio easily for a few years, but OH WELL! I get the feeling that you've also been victim to unreasonable expectations shareholder wise and this is an attempt to say to shareholders 'hey look we are doing something here'. It looks a case of finding stuff that can be cut without direct short-term cashflow loss rather than actually looking for a long-term strategic shift, so you get inefficiencies like that coming up.
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Oct 24, 2012 09:06
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Shalinor posted:So. Well, but not the kind of well that I want to talk any recent layoffee's up with. It is NOT easy going independent. The general advice I would offer to that end would be: If I can add to this... DON'T skimp on your legal expenses. Make sure you have a good attorney familiar with the games industry to help you out. I am not saying that to try and drum up clients for myself, but I recently had two situations exemplifying this. 1) Client worked for a small independent studio whose sole product was an asynchronous multiplayer browser game with an international player base in the low hundreds of thousands. The company did not have a lawyer to help them get situated, and used legal zoom for what little documents they did have. His studio went under abruptly (for reasons I'm still trying to figure out), leaving the players holding large amounts of now worthless in-game currency. The studio, in dissolution, mismanaged the refunds, and was only able to refund some of the currency. The client is being sued now over this by a player. Legally, there's no basis for the player's suit (it is now settled favorably), but the real problem is that there is a significant chance that he will be sued by his former employers or their creditors. 2) Client, a two-person indie shop, purchased contract art assets from an artist using a contract they drew up themselves. The assets contained copyright infringing material. The infringement suit was settled, but now they needed to get contribution/indemnification from the artist (referred this part out). In both cases, this was entirely avoidable. In both cases, the costs and attorneys fees involved were several times what it would have cost them to have counsel in the first place. Plus two more instances that aren't about a studio themselves but are interesting. 1) Divorce case in which husband used family funds to finance an internet cafe, which held gaming tournaments for a fee; one of the games allegedly included a minigame with "gambling". 2) Client has a business with a SecondLife presence. They bought some stuff to spruce up their area; purchased items contained copyright infringing material and were deleted. Now they're trying to get their money back from the item "creator". Seriously, it can be really tough trying to find the funds to scrape together money for a lawyer when you're living off ramen and can't pay rent. But your struggling will eventually end in either success or failure, and both scenarios are full of situations where having had legal counsel will pay dividends. I'm happy to discuss any situation/question y'all may have -- consultations are always free, regardless of whether I end up representing you or not.
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Oct 24, 2012 09:06
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mutata posted:Anything to set you apart from the glut of "Generic Gun Model/Generic Army Man/Generic Fantasy Dungeon" portfolios. My only advice would be to ensure that it still looks kickass when viewed as 3 or 4 screenshots because most people wont be assed to even watch a youtube video of it let alone download plugins and junk to actually play it. Gearman posted:If it's multiple scenes with different environments, go with it. If it's just one scene, you'll probably still want to throw some other meshes in your portfolio too. Having a scene is usually better than not, as it tends to better highlight your fundamental ability to work up a space, and solve problems that don't exist with singular props (blending, scene lighting, prop layout etc.), especially if you can show your complete process from concept to playable space. Also, be sure to show some wires and flats from the scene somewhere as well (props and environment textures). Just want to thank you both for the input, deciding on portfolio pieces has always been the hardest thing for me. 
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Oct 24, 2012 09:10
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wodin posted:For those in Boston, Irrational has positions open and are in the home stretch on Bioshock: Infinite (http://irrationalgames.com/studio/careers-at-irrational/). If you're willing to go to California, the big companies are always hiring (Blizzard, Riot, Activision, EA, etc). Yeah, we still have a lot of positions open at Riot and are actively hiring for all departments: https://www.riotgames.com/careers Jan posted:Going into specifics would be breaking NDA, yes. But let's just say that they require us to handle by ourselves error handling and OS functionality that other SKUs handle themselves. And it's not fun. At all. Hope you enjoy managing file read/writes! I'm told working on a nintendo console makes you very glad you took that senior level OS class in college. And very sad. Brackhar fucked around with this message at 10:08 on Oct 24, 2012 |
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Oct 24, 2012 10:04
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I'm someone who survived the layoffs at Zynga Austin and I just want to say that it is going to be awkward as hell going into the studio today. I miss all my work bros
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Oct 24, 2012 13:52
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If any Zynga peeps want to come and work in Scotland let me know. Yep...Scotland.
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Oct 24, 2012 13:55
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19orFewer posted:I get the feeling that you've also been victim to unreasonable expectations shareholder wise and this is an attempt to say to shareholders 'hey look we are doing something here'. It looks a case of finding stuff that can be cut without direct short-term cashflow loss rather than actually looking for a long-term strategic shift, so you get inefficiencies like that coming up. As soon as I heard when the conference call was it all made sense to me. Like the old time EA layoffs every October. Best way to keep your stock price up when you miss your numbers is to announce that you just laid a bunch of people off the day before.
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Oct 24, 2012 14:05
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nolen posted:I'm someone who survived the layoffs at Zynga Austin and I just want to say that it is going to be awkward as hell going into the studio today. Ugh, can't believe how badly mishandled that situation is. At least they gave us all a nice clean break up here and didn't (grossly) misunderstand people. Though they wanted a few of us to come to SF and work on the games we were about to launch as well and we looked at them like, "uhh, that is not exactly the promise of job security or good will!" Hughlander posted:As soon as I heard when the conference call was it all made sense to me. Like the old time EA layoffs every October. Best way to keep your stock price up when you miss your numbers is to announce that you just laid a bunch of people off the day before. I may or may not have giggled with glee when despite layoffs yesterday, their stock still dropped 5%. Eagerly look forward to seeing it tank further!
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Oct 24, 2012 14:06
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I didn't think Zynga stock had much room to fall further.
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Oct 24, 2012 14:25
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This is a stretch, but I don't suppose there's anyone who knows of a sound design position available in Montreal? 2+ years (industry) experience here.
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Oct 24, 2012 15:09
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To any of the Zynga Austin people (that want to stay in Austin, KingsIsle Entertainment is hiring. http://kingsisle.com/jobs
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Oct 24, 2012 15:36
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:This is a stretch, but I don't suppose there's anyone who knows of a sound design position available in Montreal? 2+ years (industry) experience here. Randomly turned up in a LinkedIn feed today - just after you posted http://www.gameloft.com/corporate/jobs/job-opportunities/38/2122?loc=1&goback=.gde_1842071_member_178339053 I have nothing to do with gameloft or sound, so if it is a bunch of junk I am not to blame :P
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Oct 24, 2012 16:05
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19orFewer posted:Randomly turned up in a LinkedIn feed today - just after you posted Greatly appreciated, I just started with LinkedIn last night, so I'm not sure if I've set myself up yet to be notified of this sort of thing. Working on it, though. Also, what's everyone's opinion of LinkedIn, anyway?
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Oct 24, 2012 16:11
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They're struggling to stay relevant and hip by introducing cheeseball features like how other people can "endorse" the skills you've listed. Personally, I have never made any meaningful contact solely through LinkedIn, but a recruiter did contact me looking for referrals once and I got my friend a job that way, so I can't really bash it too much. I see it as just one more place I can put my name and resume.
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Oct 24, 2012 16:23
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LinkedIn is great for an online resume and recommendations. The contacts/networking/social aspect of it are very "meh".
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Oct 24, 2012 16:27
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Rupert Buttermilk posted:Greatly appreciated, I just started with LinkedIn last night, so I'm not sure if I've set myself up yet to be notified of this sort of thing. Working on it, though. I have a slightly pro-view of it since I work in monetisation/design which is a hot keyword pairing and it makes me feel popular being contacted by people wanting to headhunt me. I'm not sure whether it is as good for general design work or other more specialised fields though - it would depend how good you are at having the right keywords, skills, contacts etc. What it most definitely is good for is seeing which recruiters are active in your particular field and might be worth contacting. The biggest problem when using it to keep up with jobs is finding the right groups to join so that you get the useful notifications and discussions without the horrendous spam (do not ever join social game developers unless you want to see 500 scam job offers for example.) I must admit it's also been really nice at times as a social tool to track old colleagues in their careers and have a chat when they change jobs. I'm very keen to keep my real social networks all neatly separated though, so if you have colleagues on facebook as well as friends this may be a bit pointless. Edit: and yes, the endorsement thing is a pointless irritation and it seems I am indeed more positive about the overall career usefulness than most :P
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Oct 24, 2012 16:29
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