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Hopping on the  I'm 23 and I've been in the AAA industry for about 9 months so far, and loving nearly every moment of it  EDIT: Having just graduated about a year and going through the student crunch, the thing that always worked for me was to get out of the room and walk around a bit. Taking a ten or 15 minute walk in the cold night air, really helps clear my head. Even better if you can spend that time working through the issue without the pressure of an editor to type it into. Or go into an empty class room and try to work it out on a white board. I still miss not having a nice space like that to get away from everyone and work things out on a white board. The Glumslinger fucked around with this message at 04:40 on May 14, 2013 |
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May 14, 2013 04:09
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Chunderstorm posted:So, question for all you devs as a student burnt out at the end of the semester. What works for you when there's a day where your brain just says "Nope, I'm not good at figuring out scripting logic today, gently caress you dude"? At work I try to plan things so the super-complicated stuff is taken care of early enough that I have time to push it off the table, go home early, and get some extra sleep before coming back in and looking at it again. In your case specifically, try to find some easy crap you can do to polish the game and make it present itself better for an hour or two. The less it has in common with your current hurdle, the better. Stop thinking about the problem. Once you accomplish your polish goal, take an hour to walk and get a meal/drink. Once that's over try going back to your current task. I realize you're in the "every minute counts" mode now (and I've been there), but you need minutes where you are smart and focused and those minutes are not happening now. Break your thought patterns for a bit and come back.
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May 14, 2013 04:20
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Chunderstorm posted:It's super crunch time, we've got the final build of our in-class project due at the start of class on Wednesday, and there's a lot of reliance on me to get a bunch more features into a system that only I fully understand. Yet I keep staring at the code, drawing some blanks, fiddling with some non-essential poo poo and just getting frustrated again. What gets you back in developer mode? I can only speak for myself, but... You just buck up and do it. School's a bit different since your job isn't literally on the line, but you pick a little chunk and finish that. Cross it off your todo list. Then you do the next. Before you know it, you're done (or get hung up on one dumb thing and waste all day!) Learn the sublime satisfaction of watching the todo column turn into the complete column. Tangible progress!
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May 14, 2013 04:26
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superh posted:I can only speak for myself, but... You just buck up and do it. School's a bit different since your job isn't literally on the line, but you pick a little chunk and finish that. Cross it off your todo list. Then you do the next. Before you know it, you're done (or get hung up on one dumb thing and waste all day!) Though I also tend to block Facebook/SA/etc. Those are guaranteed to turn a small distraction into a giant diversion.
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May 14, 2013 04:28
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29, 8.5 years in industry, 7 years AAA as a gameplay programmer, enjoy long walks on the beach er, scratch that last bit.
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May 14, 2013 05:25
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Way late to the conversation, but 30-mumble-year-old, had 11+ years in the game industry working in QA, a little localization, some content/mission design. Left the industry to pursue a proper BS in Computer Science, and hopefully in about a year's time, I'll have a degree that I've waited a decade to afford. For those that say you don't need a degree to make games, in my case, this is a personal goal that I've been striving towards AND I feel it'll help me when I jump back into the job market. Dunno if I'll head back into the game industry though; while I'd hate to throw away all that experience, I don't think I can deal with the bullshit schedules and piss-poor work-life balance anymore.  So from my anecdotal experience, yes, you can keep working in games for a good long while, if you keep your cost of living way down and keep good networking contacts.
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May 14, 2013 05:27
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Chunderstorm posted:So, question for all you devs as a student burnt out at the end of the semester. What works for you when there's a day where your brain just says "Nope, I'm not good at figuring out scripting logic today, gently caress you dude"? Honestly I was terrible at self-motivation as a student, but I've never had any motivation problems once they started paying me. Helps that the work is generally a lot more interesting in the real world. Currently in the middle of crunch; my routine is to work out for an hour after dinner. Makes it possible to come back and work til 10 or 11 without needing caffeine or sugar, and clears my head. To add myself to the list, 28 and about to finish my first year in AAA engineering. Didn't graduate from college, didn't have a portfolio with any completed games. (Had a couple of small projects but I don't think they even got looked at.) Had about 6 months of professional experience in software engineering outside of games. I know I'm a bit of an atypical case, but the lesson is while the standard advice to break into the industry is pretty good, it's not always necessary. If you're competent enough sometimes all it takes is applying.
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May 14, 2013 07:31
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Just adding to the statistics: I'm 32 and have been doing AAA for 7.5 years.
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May 14, 2013 07:47
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I'm 31 and I have 5 years of experience in the game industry... as a sysadmin, if that counts.
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May 14, 2013 09:34
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Paniolo posted:To add myself to the list, 28 and about to finish my first year in AAA engineering. Didn't graduate from college, didn't have a portfolio with any completed games. (Had a couple of small projects but I don't think they even got looked at.) Had about 6 months of professional experience in software engineering outside of games. I know I'm a bit of an atypical case, but the lesson is while the standard advice to break into the industry is pretty good, it's not always necessary. If you're competent enough sometimes all it takes is applying. This is pretty much my story, except I'm not in AAA (mobile  ), I'm 24, and I did more work as a software engineer before I got hired here.
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May 14, 2013 21:54
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Ok then! 31, close to seven years working on AAA MMOs. Programming them, specifically, with a few different titles along the way. Three weeks left in the industry before I try something else for a while, though.
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May 15, 2013 03:23
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Vinterstum posted:Ok then! 31, close to seven years working on AAA MMOs. Programming them, specifically, with a few different titles along the way. Three weeks left in the industry before I try something else for a while, though. What industry are you defecting to if you don't mind me asking, and why?
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May 15, 2013 05:40
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Oooh, ooh, is it a guessing game? How about Crunch time, workmate hygiene and lack of job security?
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May 15, 2013 05:56
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Dinurth posted:What industry are you defecting to if you don't mind me asking, and why? I've no idea if I can publicly say to be honest, but it's one of those software giants with a household name. SynthOrange posted:Oooh, ooh, is it a guessing game? How about Crunch time, workmate hygiene and lack of job security? I wish I had more war stories to tell of neverending crunch and sleeping under my desk on a bed of broken dreams, but I've honestly been pretty happy about my stint here. Crunch was never that bad, and even though I worked my rear end off on my last project that was my own choice due to the role I had. The one guy I remember with horrible BO had a rather awkward chat with HR, and shamefully fixed himself up. Job security hasn't been a big concern either really; I'm in the fortunate position of being a programmer with a few years of experience working in Montreal, getting a new job at a different studio would've been relatively easy if I ever got laid off. In my case it's just that it's time to try something new; technical challenges are getting fewer and harder to come by, and I've always been more motivated by those rather than the actual making-a-cool-game bit. Game engines... tend to do the same thing as the other game engines around. I've tried the whole management thing as well, and I think I'll wait a while before doing that again. If this thing doesn't deliver, I can always make a comeback to the industry in a couple of years.
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May 15, 2013 14:00
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Vinterstum posted:In my case it's just that it's time to try something new; technical challenges are getting fewer and harder to come by, and I've always been more motivated by those rather than the actual making-a-cool-game bit. Game engines... tend to do the same thing as the other game engines around. I've tried the whole management thing as well, and I think I'll wait a while before doing that again. If this thing doesn't deliver, I can always make a comeback to the industry in a couple of years. If you are looking for more technically challenging than MMOs you are going to be in for disappointment. I maintain there is nothing as technically challenging in all of CS as an MMO. It is a microcosm of every possible problem out there.
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May 15, 2013 14:51
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Guess I might as well join in this stats game. 32, been in AAA for almost 10 years now, will be 8 years as a programmer this year. Still don't see myself leaving AAA or the industry as a whole. As long as there are interesting projects to work on and I'm working somewhere with a good work-life balance, I'm happy
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May 15, 2013 14:54
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Hughlander posted:If you are looking for more technically challenging than MMOs you are going to be in for disappointment. I maintain there is nothing as technically challenging in all of CS as an MMO. It is a microcosm of every possible problem out there. Yeah I know, and I've done them for seven years now. Even something like that loses its challenge eventually. Maybe I should just become a dentist instead, or something.
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May 15, 2013 14:54
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Vinterstum posted:Yeah I know, and I've done them for seven years now. Even something like that loses its challenge eventually. Maybe I should just become a dentist instead, or something. I would suggest that if you want technical challenges, a big software giant isn't necessarily the place to go. Try and find a contracting company that works with diverse clients on various to-spec projects. The work is high intensity, but it also changes constantly. (I'd recommend you to Cardinal Peak, but they're a Colorado company  ).EDIT: That is very true. The crunches I witnessed were insane - which is why I backed very, very quickly out of it. Still, the problems were interesting. Shalinor fucked around with this message at 16:22 on May 15, 2013 |
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May 15, 2013 15:10
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Shalinor posted:Nah, try non-games dev. You're not burning any bridges, so hey, when in a year you're probably going "holy geeze non-games is even worse," you can always go back, The friends I have who've gone the whole consulting-company route all seem to have more frequent and tougher crunches than I ever had  . But yeah, we'll see; at least this'll be a nice change for a while. If it doesn't work out, I'll just head back and maybe try something new like rendering, or join a startup maybe. I'll be moving to SF, so there should be decent opportunities for either.
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May 15, 2013 15:33
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I turn 37 next week. I have over 18 years of professional game development experience. Reaching the milestone of more than half my total lifespan to date being spent in game development will probably trigger a mid-life crisis.
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May 15, 2013 18:36
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Chunderstorm posted:So, question for all you devs as a student burnt out at the end of the semester. What works for you when there's a day where your brain just says "Nope, I'm not good at figuring out scripting logic today, gently caress you dude"? 1) Having other people around to make lists of what needs to be done for me. When I'm burnt out I can't look at it objectively and work out what still needs doing. If you're in a team and someone can do that for you; great. Otherwise I would say time spent making lists is not wasted. I get great satisfaction from just closing tickets, ticking boxes, rubbing things out or whatever form the list takes. It makes you feel productive. 2) Is making sure that when I have downtime I have busy downtime. That sounds counterintuitive but what I mean is, I don't just have the Sunday off; me and the wife and kid go out and do something different all day. Find some local event that's happening. Or we go to the cinema if I'm not pulling a late night. Or the theatre. Or even just dinner. If you plan for and fill your YOU time, then you look forward to it, and you don't regret that time spent not fixing things (because you do need an evening or a day here or there).
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May 16, 2013 00:06
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Oh jesus, the OUYA thread's turning into a horrible trainwreck as an indie game developer pops in for a Q&A and showing off his new OUYA exclusive game, does the math for us and finds he's got to make 6000 sales to break even on what he's invested in the project. He's made 5 sales since the game launched weeks ago. Why the hell would you do this to yourself? 
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May 16, 2013 01:28
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SynthOrange posted:Why the hell would you do this to yourself? OUYA had strong marketting, and a lot of young developers bought into the bullshit.
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May 16, 2013 02:05
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The only developers that are going to make money on the OUYA are the ones that got paid by OUYA to make a game for the system.
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May 16, 2013 02:12
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xgalaxy posted:The only developers that are going to make money on the OUYA are the ones that got paid by OUYA to make a game for the system. and they are going to make exactl as much money as Ouya paid them.
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May 16, 2013 02:13
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Bah, just pivot and re-release for Nvidia Shield, surely that will be a huge success!
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May 16, 2013 02:16
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29 with 5 years as a designer (well, one of those years in the middle was unemployed/doing temp QA). Started at a shovelware company and am currently at a small casual outfit. Mostly just been educating myself as I go along, trying to pick up every bit of wisdom that's out there (books, interviews, etc) and applying it to my own work. Sometimes I lament at my lack of having gotten a more structured mentoring. That's made me a bit curious about what everyone thinks about the Warren Spector/University of Texas announcement. I've always wanted to work with and learn closely from my industry heroes, and this seems like an opportunity to do so.
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May 16, 2013 02:34
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SynthOrange posted:Oh jesus, the OUYA thread's turning into a horrible trainwreck as an indie game developer pops in for a Q&A and showing off his new OUYA exclusive game, does the math for us and finds he's got to make 6000 sales to break even on what he's invested in the project. He's made 5 sales since the game launched weeks ago. to be fair that's gotta be a killer attach rate
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May 16, 2013 02:43
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djkillingspree posted:to be fair that's gotta be a killer attach rate Eh, some people REALLY want to make the next Angry Birds. Maybe it's the same kind of delusion that makes people flock to Hollywood, being the next superstar. I work in the industry (3d artist) and I just started making some simple games on my own using Construct 2 in my free time. Difference is, I paid 100$ for it, if I remember correctly. 20.000$ seems like too much for someone with zero design experience. Having worked in a bazillion games myself, I still don't grasp the basics of game design and I would never throw that much cash at something that I barely know how to design properly. We are all passionate about games, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this, but you got to know your own limits (and work on them). Having said that, the poor dude is taking a lot of flak, some of which is not warranted at all. I really wish him the best, but he will need a miracle =/
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May 16, 2013 03:20
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SynthOrange posted:Oh jesus, the OUYA thread's turning into a horrible trainwreck as an indie game developer pops in for a Q&A and showing off his new OUYA exclusive game, does the math for us and finds he's got to make 6000 sales to break even on what he's invested in the project. He's made 5 sales since the game launched weeks ago. Are there even 6000 ouyas in the wild? 
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May 16, 2013 04:25
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cgeq posted:29 with 5 years as a designer (well, one of those years in the middle was unemployed/doing temp QA). Started at a shovelware company and am currently at a small casual outfit. Mostly just been educating myself as I go along, trying to pick up every bit of wisdom that's out there (books, interviews, etc) and applying it to my own work. Sometimes I lament at my lack of having gotten a more structured mentoring. From what I've heard about the program at UT it sounds like they want to train creative leaders, but I don't see why anyone making good games would want to hire a person out of school into that kind of position. Those positions are few, and they are positions that need experience. So I guess if that's what they're teaching, I'm not sure where the jobs would be. I've been fortunate to work with some of the people I might call "industry heroes". However, big names are useful for marketing, and I think it's important to realize that most games with big names, are not created by one person. If you do want to work with someone in particular I would try to talk with current and former co-workers if you can, to see if they are good mentors for whatever you want to do. If you want to work with and learn from your heroes, you should probably find out where the people who worked in the trenches on your favorite game are and go work there.
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May 16, 2013 04:31
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SynthOrange posted:Oh jesus, the OUYA thread's turning into a horrible trainwreck as an indie game developer pops in for a Q&A and showing off his new OUYA exclusive game, does the math for us and finds he's got to make 6000 sales to break even on what he's invested in the project. He's made 5 sales since the game launched weeks ago. So I recently had someone approach me to help them with programming for their game which would be exclusive to one of these android devices that are basically bluetooth controllers(I didn't know this before going to talk to them) As they were explaining the game idea, how they're going to sell it (exclusively through the devices store), and so forth, the guy in charge got more and more hostile to me. Only afterward did I realize that my face must have matched my internal feelings, which was abject horror and confusion that only got stronger the more they talked. They really really believed in what they said though, they believed that a bluetooth controller with an android device will revolutonize the world and that they'd do quite well selling the game exclusively through said device's eclusive store. Some people are true believers, even when what they believe in is terrible. I obviously didn't get the contract to help them make their ill-advised game. Juc66 fucked around with this message at 07:00 on May 16, 2013 |
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May 16, 2013 05:25
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Apparently people like us and stuff: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2013-05-16-machinima-xbox-360-app-fastest-downloaded-in-past-year
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May 17, 2013 07:18
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Sarcasmatron posted:Apparently people like us and stuff: Heh. Are you still with Machinima? I've got some hilarious stories of incompetence from when I worked for one of your competitors (a highlight being the CEO being directly responsible for losing his ENTIRE equity stake in the company and something like $100,000 in cash investment, by ignoring my advice).
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May 17, 2013 09:13
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First interview with Ubisoft went well, crossing my fingers!
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May 17, 2013 10:47
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Noodle Bar: Visited Belt: Bursting
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May 17, 2013 14:10
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The Bitcoin Bundle. Featuring a bunch of games you already own from the Humble Bundle. ... I'm not sure how I feel about this. It's a cute marketting angle, but beyond that, hehe. Though I really do like the marketting angle, and the bind it puts bitcoin fans into. "Prove this is a real currency, even though you probably don't need these games!"
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May 17, 2013 15:47
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Diplomaticus posted:Heh. Are you still with Machinima? I just started over here last month, herding cats. Lots to do, having fun. I was working in a cop shop doing digital forensics last year, so I'm beside myself happy to be working somewhere that doesn't have Fox News blaring in the break room.
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May 17, 2013 15:50
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Does anyone know if Apple even bothers contacting you if they're interested in featuring your game anymore? We noticed an option to upload marketing materials a while back, but after an update that option is now gone. 
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May 17, 2013 23:53
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Seriously late on this, but I'm 35 and, thanks to someone updating some credits on mobygames, I now have a provable career in localization dating back to 2002.  I keep thinking it'll peter out next year and it never does.
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