Game Jobs Megathread: Wear clean underwear to avoid the smellz.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Game Jobs Megathread: Wear clean underwear to avoid the smellz.

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concerned mom: Apr 22, 2003; by Lowtax; Grimey Drawer

krysmopompas posted:

Being closed to non-industry folks, no press allowed, no management allowed, and also semi-anonymous means that people are a lot more comfortable at the edge of their NDAs. Posting any info or content outside of TCE is also a pretty big violation of the rules, and only has happened once to my knowledge.

People can speak their mind in that environment, within reason, and not have to worry about it ending up on Kotaku out of context, getting them fired. Still, I've never seen anyone break an NDA or actually divulge anything that could legitimately be a trade secret.

I didn't break any rules linking to a thread in here did I?

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:01

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 07:55

Resource: Aug 6, 2006; Yay!

I applied for a Chaos Engine account and had a current member vouch for me, but still didn't get access. I'm not sure what else to do, it seems like a resource worth having access to. If anyone wants to help vouch for me or get me access etc, send me a PM please.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:01

krysmopompas: Jan 17, 2004; hi

concerned mom posted:

I didn't break any rules linking to a thread in here did I?

It's probably a grey area since you didn't mention the content in question.

Talking about it at all is kind of a grey area, but I'm just trying to defend the place a bit since it would be nice to have some more industry participation going on. Actual development talk has slowed down in lieu of politics and other random stuff over the past few years, so people contributing in those areas would help.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:23

devilmouse: Mar 26, 2004; It's just like real life.

TCE is notoriously slow to approve people and I'm sure tons of people fall through the approval cracks. It's also really UK-centric, which always confuses me since I never know half the studios being talked about.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:28

Adraeus: Jan 25, 2008; by Y Kant Ozma Post

FreakyZoid posted:

I like the idea of an "industry only" forum, though.

As the industry grows and becomes more diverse, the less "industry only" will be meaningful. Unfortunately, the industry is also growing rapidly; with rapid growth comes great upheaval. Change is scary for many people, so instead of leveraging diversity, many people seek out the familiar and form walled gardens where they cease to develop professionally, even eventually becoming creatively bankrupt (see Hollywood). I don't think The Chaos Engine is a destructive force; however, the insiders-only club culture that define similar communities, as well as a large section of the game industry, is bad for business and bad for games. The ties that bind are important to maintain, but not at the expense of new ideas, perspectives, and talent.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:31

devilmouse: Mar 26, 2004; It's just like real life.

Anyone have any experience with freelance / contract design work? After the studio exploded, I've been enjoying my free time and have been turning down full-time jobs. But a few companies reached out and asked if I would do part-time remote contract work, but I have no idea how much to charge them. The last time I negotiated an hourly salary was like 15 years ago and that was for menial office work.

Some people have said yearly salary / 2000, which gives your rough hourly wage, but that doesn't cover things like health insurance, so others say that number * 1.5, and still others go with twice that number. Being unemployed is more work than actually having a job. =/

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:50

Henry Scorpio: Mar 20, 2006; Maybe it just collapsed on its own?

Shalinor posted:

Getting an account is basically impossible, unless you know someone already in. I applied 2 years ago, back when I was at NetDevil, and nada.

... or at least I assume that's how it works. It could also be that they're just a jaded community with no real interest in expanding.

This pretty much mirrors my experience. At first I assumed that the company I worked for was black listed or something since we interviewed the guy that runs TCE and the interview went badly.

Then I applied again after switching companies, with references from people already in there, and still no dice. I'm fine with that though, I can get all my TCE news from the half dozen or so people I know who got accounts back when they were still giving them out.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 20:55

FreakyZoid: Nov 28, 2002

devilmouse posted:

. Some people have said yearly salary / 2000, which gives your rough hourly wage, but that doesn't cover things like health insurance, so others say that number * 1.5, and still others go with twice that number

There's no hard and fast rules obviously, but I used to change my quoted rate depending on size of the company, length of contract, and likelihood of repeat work.

The appeal of an industry only forum to me is being able to talk about things like MTX strategies without people being all "all MTX is evil, this should have all been on the disc" or getting overly defensive about their console of choice.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 21:09

Sigma-X: Jun 17, 2005

People talking about a closed door forum as a bad idea while posting on SA is amusing.

I applied for a TCE account years ago when I first heard about it, never heard back, and didn't give a poo poo and forgot about it until now. I've heard a lot of whinging about TCE but it does sound appealing.

Having a forum where you can avoid the tremendous influx of stupid newbie questions (especially HOWDO MAKE GAEMS?) seems pretty nice.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 21:29

Adraeus: Jan 25, 2008; by Y Kant Ozma Post

A $10 cover is a far cry from exclusivity.

# ? Oct 31, 2012 21:45

Sigma-X: Jun 17, 2005

Adraeus posted:

A $10 cover is a far cry from exclusivity.

I didn't say it was. But SA is without a doubt a product of it's paywall, and proves that a barrier to entry changes the discussion significantly.

There are a lot of open game developer forums out there. They have plenty of good discussion, but they also have a lot of noise asking the same questions ("which software do I use" "is school important?" "how to become a game artist" are like the top 3 thread topics on polycount all the time.)

# ? Oct 31, 2012 21:50

Diaghilev: Feb 19, 2005; The final argument of kings and common men.

The first game I worked on ~~has been canceled~~ is going to be shut down shortly, and this article seems to indicate that the studio, Loot Drop, isn't doing so hot either.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/30/ghost-recon-commander-commands-no-more/

It feels weird.

Diaghilev fucked around with this message at 22:25 on Oct 31, 2012

# ? Oct 31, 2012 22:15

Akuma: Sep 11, 2001

You get used to that sort of thing. For a while I think I had more cancelled games than released.

To this day there's still thousands of copies of a game I made in some warehouse somewhere; the DS version came out in 2009, but the Wii version (which I lead/coded) never did!

Fake edit: Wait, I don't know if "cancelled" is the word if something is out and playable, and then gets shutdown...

# ? Oct 31, 2012 22:19

Shalinor: Jun 10, 2002; _{Can I buy you a rootbeer?}

Adraeus posted:

A $10 cover is a far cry from exclusivity.

No, but we get a pretty solid signal/noise ratio in here, and many of us are open to answering various borderline questions via PM. You just kind of have to read between the lines to figure out who works where / what they might chat about.

Basically, I wouldn't recommend being any more open anywhere else than you are here. It doesn't matter how closed a forum is, you can always get ratted out by another member (and the game industry is full of burnt out assholes who would love to rat you out). All closing a forum assures is a better signal/noise ratio.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 00:31

xgalaxy: Jan 27, 2004; i write code

Sigma-X posted:

Having a forum where you can avoid the tremendous influx of stupid newbie questions (especially HOWDO MAKE GAEMS?) seems pretty nice.

Speaking of which I keep hearing about a TCE equivalent forum for indie developers but don't know any other specifics. Anybody know?

# ? Nov 1, 2012 01:11

Splat: Aug 22, 2002

I totally forgot I'd tried to register for TCE 4 years ago, still nothing apparently. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 02:44

Adraeus: Jan 25, 2008; by Y Kant Ozma Post

Akuma posted:

Fake edit: Wait, I don't know if "cancelled" is the word if something is out and playable, and then gets shutdown...

Nope. I worked on NBA ShootOut '05 for the PS2. I thought the game was fun. The fun factor was definitely there. And I'm not into sports at all! But there would be thousands of new bugs after every build. SCEA was bringing in testers from every team, including me (my main project was Field Commander for PSP) and even folks working on Shadow of the Colossus, which was super hush-hush and the subject of great envy, to try to get the count down. After I left for SOE, I think SCEA decided to discontinue the NBA ShootOut franchise because there was no chance of ever shipping the 2005 entry and the cost of that single entry was simply too much to justify the return.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 03:20

Hughlander: May 11, 2005

Diaghilev posted:

The first game I worked on ~~has been canceled~~ is going to be shut down shortly, and this article seems to indicate that the studio, Loot Drop, isn't doing so hot either.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/10/30/ghost-recon-commander-commands-no-more/

It feels weird.

If I had

for every online title I worked on that shut down I'd have enough money to buy an Xbox game. You get used to it, though I think that time frame beats my old record. Isn't that faster than APB or Auto-Assault?

# ? Nov 1, 2012 04:40

Heti: May 22, 2007; I like Video Games

RoboCicero posted:

Good luck! I was in a similar situation last year, but I was really lucky in that I managed to land a programming job right out of college. What position are you going for? I might write up a short blob about My Journey, though I'm not sure if it'd help or not.

Thanks. My schoolin' was programming focused but I'm applying for design and programming positions. I've read hundreds of stories about people breaking in but I'm not going to stop you if you want to tell yours :v:

# ? Nov 1, 2012 05:13

DancingMachine: Aug 12, 2004; He's a dancing machine!

devilmouse posted:

Anyone have any experience with freelance / contract design work? After the studio exploded, I've been enjoying my free time and have been turning down full-time jobs. But a few companies reached out and asked if I would do part-time remote contract work, but I have no idea how much to charge them. The last time I negotiated an hourly salary was like 15 years ago and that was for menial office work.

Some people have said yearly salary / 2000, which gives your rough hourly wage, but that doesn't cover things like health insurance, so others say that number * 1.5, and still others go with twice that number. Being unemployed is more work than actually having a job. =/

You could very easily charge $70/hour. $90+ gets harder to justify, but if you're super productive in a short time frame and somebody on the other end knows your work it's doable.
The big money in this sort of thing is in charging a flat fee for a deliverable. e.g. I will port your flash game to android/iOS for $XXk. But that path is fraught with many risks, obviously.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 05:17

Diaghilev: Feb 19, 2005; The final argument of kings and common men.

Hughlander posted:

Isn't that faster than APB or Auto-Assault?

GRC was released on May 22, 2012, so that's a rough lifespan of five months. APB got about three and a half months before the shut-down announcement.

Oh well! I kinda wish I could grab a complete download of the game for future reference.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 08:25

Jaytan: Dec 14, 2003; Childhood enlistment means fewer birthdays to remember

On one hand, I got a job via thechaosengine.

On the other, it was working on Tony Hawk Ride.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 08:54

GeeCee: Dec 16, 2004; "You're going to be...amazing."

urrghghg sick days should be more fun than this :zombie:

in other news. My new folio is up...and full of old stuff. Gonna upload a bunch of mobile 2D work stuff if I can clear it with management and then set about this small game project I mentioned earlier.

http://www.coroflot.com/gingerchris

# ? Nov 1, 2012 13:37

Dinurth: Aug 6, 2004; ?

So, 2 things: 1. I managed to land a new job with only 2 weeks of unemployment under my belt, haven't even received that first severance check yet!

2. Can someone explain to me the proper way to calculate experience? I worked with someone recently that always claimed they had "15 years of experience" despite the fact that they were only 28. Apparently calculating overtime translated into years? Is there a generally accepted way to go about this stuff?

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:12

concerned mom: Apr 22, 2003; by Lowtax; Grimey Drawer

I think that would apply to pilots maybe, but not pilot wings..

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:25

MarsMattel: May 25, 2001; God, I've heard about those cults Ted. People dressing up in black and saying Our Lord's going to come back and save us all.

Ah, so is that how those "5 years experience in HTML5" requirements are arrived at?

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:36

Sigma-X: Jun 17, 2005

Dinurth posted:

So, 2 things: 1. I managed to land a new job with only 2 weeks of unemployment under my belt, haven't even received that first severance check yet!

2. Can someone explain to me the proper way to calculate experience? I worked with someone recently that always claimed they had "15 years of experience" despite the fact that they were only 28. Apparently calculating overtime translated into years? Is there a generally accepted way to go about this stuff?

Ask that guy how he has 15 years at the age of 28.

I mean, if you can claim that since I was making bad mods and total conversions (remember when that was a term?) in the 7th grade that I have 17 years experience I'm updating my resume

I've never heard of some experience equation. The number of years thing is usually fairly soft, too, and meant to provide an estimate of basic skill.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 15:50

Shalinor: Jun 10, 2002; _{Can I buy you a rootbeer?}

You're going to get laughed out of the building if you pad your experience that way. It's only kosher for cheeky kids trying to break into the industry.

Your experience is how many years you've been working. Simple. Overtime doesn't increase that. Much of games development experience is overtime already, so it's more or less assumed that many of your X years were spent in a caffeine haze :v:

... and once, I started to make a Total Conversion for Doom called Office Wars. The Cacodemon was a pen that shot ink at you. Hell yeah.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 16:10

waffledoodle: Oct 1, 2005; I believe your boast sounds vaguely familiar.

Maybe his friend is in fact William Mandella.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 16:27

Dinurth: Aug 6, 2004; ?

That's what I thought, I just always brushed it off as "ok whatever Mr. 15 years experience".

By that logic I've been gaming since I was 3, so 27 years of experience for me!

# ? Nov 1, 2012 17:14

GeeCee: Dec 16, 2004; "You're going to be...amazing."

Christ I could say eight whole years of 3DSMax experience and say absolutely none when it came to industry 3d experience. Similarly my eleven years of photoshop use get swiftly cut down to one. :goleft:

All this talk of 3d is making me want to attempt a proper Pjernstejn castle model. Teesside Uni goers will remember either Pjernstejn or Berg Eltz as That Nightmare Bastard First Year Project you had to do :v:

Project condition: "Everything Welded To Everthing Else." :tizzy:

# ? Nov 1, 2012 18:00

floofyscorp: Feb 12, 2007

Aliginge posted:

Christ I could say eight whole years of 3DSMax experience and say absolutely none when it came to industry 3d experience. Similarly my eleven years of photoshop use get swiftly cut down to one.

All this talk of 3d is making me want to attempt a proper Pjernstejn castle model. Teesside Uni goers will remember either Pjernstejn or Berg Eltz as That Nightmare Bastard First Year Project you had to do

Project condition: "Everything Welded To Everthing Else."

I prefer to believe that it was all just a horrible second-year nightmare brought on by eating too much parmo.

I count my individual program experience in 'since I started using it'(13 years of Photoshop, gently caress yeah) but my 'industry experience' is 'years I have been working in the industry'. Just seems to make sense this way, really.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 18:14

icking fudiot: Jul 28, 2006

pretty brutal retrospective on kaos studios.

having done some outsource stuff for them during this time, it seems accurate.. still sorry to hear it, years later though.

http://www.polygon.com/2012/11/1/3560318/homefront-kaos-studios-thq

# ? Nov 1, 2012 19:21

D1Sergo: May 5, 2006; Be sure to take a 15-minute break every hour.

I was about to make a post about how I have 4 years of Photoshop experience in college that doesn't really feel like any experience at all, but I started thinking about it and realizing that I was selling my own abilities short. I dabbled on and off over those 4 years so I wouldn't really feel comfortable outright saying I have 4 years experience, it "feels" more like 1 or 2. Soooo that's kind of tricky.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 19:23

GeeCee: Dec 16, 2004; "You're going to be...amazing."

floofyscorp posted:

I prefer to believe that it was all just a horrible second-year nightmare brought on by eating too much parmo

I tried a Parmo once in my seven years in boro, it was loving foul and I'll generally eat anything.

To anyone wondering, it's a slab of breaded chicken topped with cheese and pizza toppings and often mountains of garlic sauce, wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the greasiest goddamn thing known to mankind.

loving Middlesbrough, man....

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:01

Monster w21 Faces: May 11, 2006; "What the fuck is that?"
"What the fuck is this?!"

And I thought a kebab pizza was bad...

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:06

The Angry Brit: Sep 17, 2005; Do I pull G's? no sir, I'm married

Aliginge posted:

I tried a Parmo once in my seven years in boro, it was loving foul and I'll generally eat anything.

To anyone wondering, it's a slab of breaded chicken topped with cheese and pizza toppings and often mountains of garlic sauce, wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the greasiest goddamn thing known to mankind.

loving Middlesbrough, man....

That's some kind of party box right? for numerous people to share - right? :ohdear:

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:16

Sultan Tarquin: Jul 29, 2007; and what kind of world would it be? HUH?!

Man I would eat the poo poo out of that.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:17

Juc66: Nov 20, 2005; Lord of The Pants

Sultan Tarquin posted:

Man I would eat the poo poo out of that.

Gotta go to germany for that take on the food.

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:28

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# ? Jun 4, 2024 07:55

Nagna Zul: Aug 9, 2008

Aliginge posted:

I tried a Parmo once in my seven years in boro, it was loving foul and I'll generally eat anything.

To anyone wondering, it's a slab of breaded chicken topped with cheese and pizza toppings and often mountains of garlic sauce, wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the greasiest goddamn thing known to mankind.

loving Middlesbrough, man....

That looks delicious.

Then again, maybe that's just because I haven't eaten any junk food in over three months. Broccoli and tuna gets old after a while...

# ? Nov 1, 2012 23:31

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