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Just took a gander at your site and your available positions, and i'm really tempted to apply. And i don't know if it's a problem just for me, but your site seems to have some formatting problems - when i look at the senior artist position description, i can't see anything below "additional skills (pluses)", and there's no way for me to scroll down.
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Jun 23, 2013 19:27
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leper khan posted:I love talking about new features in C++. My problem with that language has always been that it just isn't big enough. If you ever decide to leave, 2Advanced is looking for C++ programmers. 
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Jun 23, 2013 19:29
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NinjaShteve posted:The former. I do need a professional career making games, and I could swallow the bitter pill of making Barbie 2: Electric Bugaloo for a while, but it would only serve to fund my independent work to eventually make something I wanted to make or get in with a studio already making stuff I'd want to make. You can already do this. There are more tools and resources available now, more than ever, that will allow you to make the games that you want to make. Honestly, the best thing you can do for yourself right now is to just start making something. Make levels for FPS games, make quests in RPG Maker, make some terrible puzzles for Portal 2. Really, just make things.
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Jun 23, 2013 19:39
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Bloody Wanker posted:Just took a gander at your site and your available positions, and i'm really tempted to apply. Looking at it in my iPad apparently it is not formatting nicely either  You should definitely apply.
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Jun 23, 2013 20:25
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leper khan posted:I just started working in C++ at a publisher modernizing their SDK, haven't used it since college. The lead was hit by a bus on the 405, and he probably wont be back for another couple weeks. Do any of you have recommendations on how I can convince the 'senior' engineers that thread safety matters? You guys all use threads, right? If I were in your shoes, I'd take a look at the crash reports and see how many crashes are coming out of that particular SDK. Also, take a look at the data flow coming out of the SDK and see if there's intermittent/unexplainable bullshit there. Both of those are likely outcomes of thread safety issues. If you aren't seeing either of those two symptoms, then you may be mistaken about how vulnerable the code in question is. If you've got some smoking gun evidence, they will very likely listen to you.
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Jun 23, 2013 21:05
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Liang Nuren posted:If I were in your shoes, I'd take a look at the crash reports and see how many crashes are coming out of that particular SDK. Also, take a look at the data flow coming out of the SDK and see if there's intermittent/unexplainable bullshit there. Both of those are likely outcomes of thread safety issues. If you aren't seeing either of those two symptoms, then you may be mistaken about how vulnerable the code in question is. If you've got some smoking gun evidence, they will very likely listen to you. If two threads call a function at the same time, a resource will leak. It's blatant and obvious (and simple to fix), and it's mostly a function of the developer responsible having little to no oversight. Code reviews have been eschewed because they "slow people down." The problem is not so much this particular thing, so much as an environment which makes things like this systemic. Forcing the project onto VCS was a major victory. It only took a couple weeks of politicking. I don't want to clutter this thread too much with this. It's starting to take a turn where it really belongs in one of the shadenfreude threads. 
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Jun 23, 2013 22:13
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Shalinor posted:Is there some reason why C++11 hasn't seen (EDIT: full, that is) adoption by Visual Studio? TL;DR - MS may make great dev tools, but thanks to the amount of effort they put into .NET C++ (and, to an even worse extent) C were basically abandoned for well over a decade, and fixing that takes time.
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Jun 23, 2013 22:57
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leper khan posted:If two threads call a function at the same time, a resource will leak. It's blatant and obvious (and simple to fix), and it's mostly a function of the developer responsible having little to no oversight. Code reviews have been eschewed because they "slow people down." Assuming the function is a part of a larger component and that the thread-safety of the component is not documented, the thread-safety of the component as well as the function is likely at thread-compatible level. That means that multiple threads can use the component safely as long as they do so in a thread-safe manner. A trivial example of this with 2 threads T1 & T2 would be when T2 starts executing only after T1 has stopped executing; in this case no fix is needed. In general thread safety is more something that the concurrent callers of a component have to guarantee, because they can have additional requirements that have to be met which the component can't easily anticipate. Like "pop a character from the stack but only if the stack contains an 'a' while guaranteeing thread-safety", for example.
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Jun 24, 2013 03:15
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Max Facetime posted:Assuming the function is a part of a larger component and that the thread-safety of the component is not documented, We told our partners that our product is thread safe. We shipped them something that is not.
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Jun 24, 2013 04:50
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leper khan posted:If two threads call a function at the same time, a resource will leak. It's blatant and obvious (and simple to fix), and it's mostly a function of the developer responsible having little to no oversight. Code reviews have been eschewed because they "slow people down." leper khan posted:We told our partners that our product is thread safe. Again, it should be relatively easy to prove this with your coworkers. I can't really imagine a publisher without 500k+ DAU and 2-5 sessions/day to exercise the suspected concurrency bug. It should be relatively easy to find smoking gun evidence by looking at the crash logs and bug reports. Like I said, if you're seeing it happen, it's a problem. If you aren't, there's more at play than you realize. Either way it'll be a good learning experience. 
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Jun 24, 2013 06:11
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NinjaShteve posted:So if I'm wanting to work with a company that does mainly FPS, like Bungie, I should focus on maps for FPS titles while if I were to pursue somewhere with a more RPG bend it would behoove me to work with something like Shadowrun Returns' quest editor (you know, assuming that when it comes out the editor works)? Exactly this. Make things that are like what you want to do. Last year my company hired someone from literally the middle of the Midwest because they had a good portfolio that showed him doing exactly what we needed him to do. We were his first job, and he kicks rear end (and will probably get poached from us in another year or two). If you can't get hired where you are, you can at least show an employer that you're able to do what they want of you over and over again. The toughest thing to do is to come up with the second great idea and produce something under a time constraint. Proving you can do that alleviates a big worry from your potential employers. As a designer in most companies, you don't need to be a great or even a good programmer, you just need to know enough to not make the real programmers want to kill you in your sleep. Basic stuff like how to comment well (and what to comment), what to do and not do in a loop, and how to manipulate lists. Some places want their designers to be able to prototype their own stuff, but usually not at the entry level. Depending on what you want to do, you may need art skills more than programming. Some companies have their level designers do most of the 'gray box' work, tweaking sight lines and play spaces and such before an artist takes it over and makes it look good. At other companies you'll draw a map at best. Either way, having the art knowledge of what goes in to building an area means you'll be a better communicator and team member. So basically you may not get hired to do programming, art, and design all at once, but basic to mid-level skills in art and programming make you a better designer and let you build a better portfolio, so they're worth pursuing if you've got some aptitude in them.
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Jun 24, 2013 06:18
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Tricky Ed posted:Exactly this. Make things that are like what you want to do. Last year my company hired someone from literally the middle of the Midwest because they had a good portfolio that showed him doing exactly what we needed him to do. We were his first job, and he kicks rear end (and will probably get poached from us in another year or two). If you can't get hired where you are, you can at least show an employer that you're able to do what they want of you over and over again. The toughest thing to do is to come up with the second great idea and produce something under a time constraint. Proving you can do that alleviates a big worry from your potential employers. This is all fantastic information. From your analysis, I have the necessary coding knowledge, which is comforting. I have a bit of background in 2D and 3D (mostly 3D) art. Nothing left to do now but get to work. Thank you!
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Jun 24, 2013 18:17
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Honestly improving drawing skills is a massive boon as a designer. Apart from the fact it gives you another vector along which to communicate your meaning to someone; a pretty idea always seems better than a scrappy one. It means someone's first impression of your idea is positive as opposed to "oh good why did he draw this is that a cow or a dog I don't even know".
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Jun 24, 2013 21:02
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MissMarple posted:Honestly improving drawing skills is a massive boon as a designer. Apart from the fact it gives you another vector along which to communicate your meaning to someone; a pretty idea always seems better than a scrappy one. It means someone's first impression of your idea is positive as opposed to "oh good why did he draw this is that a cow or a dog I don't even know". This is something I really stand behind as well. I'm not in the game industry as of now, but communication is always important. Also, a good drawing makes explaining a story or whatever easier. If you simply show me a stick-figure and tells me how it is a character that got abused as a child I will most likely go "Meh.". But if you show me a scarred face featuring an abundance of shadows and loads of detail I will most likely agree with you no matter what. It all boils down to how well you are able to sell your idea to others.
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Jun 24, 2013 21:21
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We have an awesome new website. Also jobs...come get a job. Jobs for all!* *No designers please. http://outplay.com/
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Jun 26, 2013 13:47
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Monster w21 Faces posted:We have an awesome new website. Good job! Thats nice
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Jun 26, 2013 13:51
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If you're a Tools Programmer, Gameplay programmer with unreal 3 experience or Engine/graphics Programmer with unreal 3 experience and would like a new, exciting and terrifying challenge drop me a PM. We're a growing free to play developer operating out of Edinburgh where we make the other game than the one you're thinking of where you drive around and shoot people.
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Jun 26, 2013 15:43
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Man. Ice-Pick Lodge, the guys doing Knock Knock via a successful Kickstarter, are kind of at the end of their rope:Ice-Pick Lodge posted:“Actually there’s not much of cops-and-robbers, it’s just a strange flood of coincidences: minor accidents, depression, disease and other tangential circumstances which pull the people out of our ranks. We were seven when the project started, now we are only three, or a bit less. The rest are out of working condition, they need to withdraw and recover. Ayrat and Natasha, our programmers, are working “on a wing and a prayer”; as for me – I’ll do my best to solve the countless problems which sprung from these losses.” ... which I guess makes sense. We all budget the minimum required to make the game, which doesn't leave much wiggle room for catastrophic problems / you don't have the staff to cover for that either. (They've been running a goofy PR angle the entire time to fit the game, but this sounds genuine)
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Jun 26, 2013 15:55
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Sion posted:If you're a Tools Programmer, Gameplay programmer with unreal 3 experience or Engine/graphics Programmer with unreal 3 experience and would like a new, exciting and terrifying challenge drop me a PM. We're a growing free to play developer operating out of Edinburgh where we make the other game than the one you're thinking of where you drive around and shoot people. I'm a really good ideas guy.
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Jun 26, 2013 16:46
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Monster w21 Faces posted:I'm a really good ideas guy. I'm a pseudo ludo narrative designer with a synergistic approach to procedural storytelling within a scalable next gen cross platform distributed post cloud indulgence. I am extremely disgusted that Chrome said scalable is the only non-word in that sentence.
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Jun 26, 2013 17:11
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Monster w21 Faces posted:We have an awesome new website. Cool, I will be sending applications to a couple of those tonight.* *Not a designer
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Jun 26, 2013 18:54
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Sion posted:If you're a Tools Programmer, Gameplay programmer with unreal 3 experience or Engine/graphics Programmer with unreal 3 experience and would like a new, exciting and terrifying challenge drop me a PM. We're a growing free to play developer operating out of Edinburgh where we make the other game than the one you're thinking of where you drive around and shoot people. You don't make Saints Row :\
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Jun 26, 2013 20:21
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Sigma-X posted:You don't make Saints Row :\ He said shoot people, not kill them with dubstep and giant dildos.
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Jun 26, 2013 21:03
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Sigma-X posted:You don't make Saints Row :\ Volition also aren't in Edinburgh.
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Jun 26, 2013 21:15
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https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/138c5efd45e9 "Don't go to art school" - good read, presents some less costly ways to get arts educated, if dropping $250k on an arts education makes you weep.
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Jun 26, 2013 21:40
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Frown Town posted:https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/138c5efd45e9 Oh Noah Bradley  Facebook and the conceptart guys are exploding with rage over this already, and it hasn't even been posted longer than a day. Artists are the worst.
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Jun 26, 2013 21:49
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Horrible Smutbeast posted:Oh Noah Bradley What are they saying? Why are all artists the worst? I'm an artist and I pretty much agree with everything in the article.
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Jun 26, 2013 21:53
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Frown Town posted:https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/138c5efd45e9 Our RISD-trained art director posted:Eh, I don't know. I'm pretty bullish on classical/formal art training. I don't care where you get it, but doing art exercises online won't really push someone very far and a lot of mediocre artists can turn out great with proper schooling.
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Jun 26, 2013 22:11
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Classical training is fine, but the price of some of those degrees just isn't worth it. Sure, you'll get trained up in art, but your finances will be ruined. Personally, I think it's much more worth it to get a more rounded education (as topics outside of art will only serve to make you a more interesting artist) at a 4-year with a decent art program. Then you can supplement that education with training post-college because you'll actually be able to afford to pay tuition for training programs. Edit: vvv For sure, I just think that a six-figure art school education for most middle-class people is too risky and financially excessive. Go take drawing classes at community college before you dive into a real program or get into a school and explore your options. Half the battle is developing the work ethic to improve yourself, and you can do that anywhere. I take it back, though, I don't agree with NOT getting a degree of any kind. It closes too many doors that would be open merely because you have a degree. A diploma is basically a permission slip to get a job, and it's worth it. mutata fucked around with this message at 23:41 on Jun 26, 2013 |
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Jun 26, 2013 22:44
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Frown Town posted:https://medium.com/i-m-h-o/138c5efd45e9 There articles are always a bit pointless, much like our debates about whether or not you should get a design degree. Some people do exceptionally well without formal training, others require education to reach their potential. Some people graduate unable to find a job and end up resentful and deep in debt, others get a great job immediately and pay their education off quickly. But it is impossible to know which category you belong in and how much a particular program will benefit you except in hindsight, so all advice telling you to go to school or not is irrelevant. Unless you're rich, in which case you should go to school because why the gently caress not?
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Jun 26, 2013 23:14
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I don't think it's pointless, in that the author gives some helpful links in the sub-$250k category. It's important for people to realize there's a definite alternative to giving your money to an art school which is a business designed to make money at the end of the day. I went to a state school with a full ride, and my first year there, I was all  once it became clear that the education I was receiving wasn't going to make my portfolio marketable. I kept wondering, "Should I have gone to art school?" I'm not sure if I would've emerged out of my top pick (Ringling) any more marketable as a games artist; but I do know that I have a lot more money in the bank now, coming out of a state school and getting hired immediately, than I would've in the alternate universe where I gave $200k to Ringling. I also got exposure to programmers and other non-artists that has been valuable working in a team environment.It turns out that you typically can't just throw a bunch of money at your education and come out with solid skills or a banging portfolio - poo poo takes time. I'm not condemning art school, I just think it's important for people to realize a.) there are alternatives and b.) schooling/education does not guarantee you a career. You actually need to put a lot of effort into whatever you want to do.
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Jun 26, 2013 23:42
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Sweet, art discussion The problem is not Art Eduction versus Self Taught, it's that student debt is now the single biggest form of debt in America, recently passing credit cards and mortgage loans IIRC. I think it's hard for someone who truly believes in a classical education (which as a self taught artist, I would love to have) to say that it's not worth endebting yourself for the rest of your natural life for that. I'm mercifully only £20k endebted, I cannot imagine what it must be like having that kind of debt hanging over you. There are some extremely talented artists on CA and I've always found their resources fantastic, but I always thought for the most part their community had a strong culture of the majority parroting received wisdom from people who knew what they were talking about and anything which contradicts that is probably very difficult for them to swallow, hence the outcry. :L
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Jun 27, 2013 00:27
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Crunch is... over? Possibly? This submission is supposed to be "the one." Now we wait (and work on day-one patch bugs).
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Jun 27, 2013 01:13
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baby puzzle posted:Crunch is... over? Possibly? This submission is supposed to be "the one." Now we wait (and work on day-one patch bugs). You reminded me of this, which is an entertaining read: http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/making-a-ship-date
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Jun 27, 2013 01:41
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aas Bandit posted:You reminded me of this, which is an entertaining read: http://trenchescomic.com/tales/post/making-a-ship-date That story sounds oddly familiar for what happened on Starcraft 2, where a non-tester (member of the tools team) was sent to the UK with their supposed gold disc, except in this case the killer bug was the airline losing his luggage which contained the disc.
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Jun 27, 2013 01:55
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I'm not sure (actually I'm pretty sure) what it says about our industry when this is the first thought that crosses my mind when I see [X| 13] next to the Game Jobs thread. "Hey there's a bunch of new posts in the game jobs thread, I wonder which studio just announced a closure?!?"
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Jun 27, 2013 02:52
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It's the Concorde arrrrrrgh.
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Jun 27, 2013 03:04
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baby puzzle posted:Crunch is... over? Possibly? This submission is supposed to be "the one." Now we wait (and work on day-one patch bugs). Congrats on hitting final sub! Looking forward to it myself, soon!
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Jun 27, 2013 03:20
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Gearman posted:Congrats on hitting final sub! Looking forward to it myself, soon! We're almost there too... It's been quite the ride.
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Jun 27, 2013 03:21
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Anyone around casual connect next month? My company is speaking so I'll be around as backup.
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Jun 27, 2013 03:27
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