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

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Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

This is the Game Industry / Jobs discussion thread. Mostly inhabited by folks in the industry, a good place to ask about making games for a living, etc.

If you want to talk about game design et al in general, there's a thread for that
If you want to ask about or discuss general game programming, there's a thread for that.
If you're developing in / curious about / needing to ask questions related to UDK, there's a specific thread for that.

Too much drama in the old thread. Time for a new thread. Old thread is here if you are interested.

IRC Channel: #SAGameDev on SynIRc.
Discord: There are several, just ask in the thread.

How Do I Get a Job Making Games?

Make Cool poo poo. If you can't do this you're not getting in. There is no way to bullshit or cheat your way in. The only ways in require putting in the work.

I worked at Gamestop...
No. Get the gently caress out.

The "I wanna be a" FAQ:
To be updated as people suggest things/ask things

Q: I've got this neat idea for a game
A: That's not a question, and so does everyone else. Having ideas is not a job. Nobody pays you for just having ideas. You need to demonstrate, via portfolio, that you have the skills required to contribute to the development of a game and that you have the motivation to be willing to learn and contribute as part of a team.

Q: Can't I just be the guy that tells everyone what to do?
A: Get enough money to develop and publish a game. There is no "tells everyone what to do" job, unless you're a solo operation. That's the only time it's a dictatorship. In any other environment, you're going to have to listen to and be influenced by other people. This can range from a two-man team to a full-fledged studio with lead designers, lead programmers, art directors, producers and publishers that all get a say in this, but no one is sitting around thinking great thoughts all day for a paycheck. All of those people are working hard.

The closest thing to this is a career in production. Product managers help teams make informed decisions about what to do, why to do it, and what the impact will be and what success or failure looks like. Producers/project managers lead teams operationally towards achieving those goals and answer the "how" and "when". The responsibilities here can vary greatly between studios based on culture. I've worked with studios that have a flat hierarchy that empowers production to drive everything and exceptional leads with good mature teams that production can trust to deliver. In other studios, production was neutered and leads drove all decisions with production being relegated to scheduling and producing reports that will go unread. Guess which one was more successful?

Q:The Dream: I wanna work in QA because I think this will allow me to get past the rigorous hiring process for higher positions including, but not limited to: artists, programmers, designers and producers.
A:The Reality: No. No, you won't get past being in QA. Real talk time: Yes, good QA is critical. Beyond critical. Yes, you can make a name for yourself making a career in QA if you're a) really really good at it and b) really love it. But, the overwhelming majority of QA positions are junior/entry-level, contract positions. Running games is a business, and QA labor costs less than engineer labor, and is in much higher supply. Which means, as a contract, typically hourly wage employee on the bottom rung of the totem pole, you are basically grinding in a thankless job, without much security. Again -- it's a business, so if you're not good at QA, nobody's going to care about giving you a shot to show off your art skills.

mp5 posted:

I'll offer my two cents on the subject. I feel like it's important to establish the distinction between different types of QA, and maybe this will allow me to give back to a thread that has helped me pretty significantly in getting to where I am.

The first and probably most important thing is that there's different types of QA out there. I got my start in this industry doing Publisher QA. This sort of thing is what the OP's quote basically refers to. It was contract work that left me unemployed for 1-3 months at a time, it was kind of thankless, and at times it was very difficult because there wasn't a lot of direction. My work basically boiled down to Localization testing, but I didn't really know what that meant going in. There wasn't really a test plan. We had to design our own test cases on the fly and that can be really difficult for someone just starting out who has no idea what the hell a test plan even is. I did become pretty good friends with someone who moved out of QA into PR after I had been there for 2 days, but he had been there for at least 2-3 years doing testing. "Sucking poo poo in the QA pit", as the quote says. There was no place for me to grow professionally there, no larger role I could fill.

I do genuinely like every single one of the people I worked with and worked under, that was just the reality of the situation. This is what can happen when you work at a small studio (20 or less in my case) that is not developing its own games and cannot afford to keep you around. One of the positive things I will say for the publisher I was working at: they gave me a chance when nobody else would or could, including the AAA developers in one of the largest hubs of game development in North America. I will always be grateful for that. In summation: If you are desperate then publisher QA is a possible option, but know what you are getting into and make plans to branch out elsewhere ASAP.

Developer QA is where I'm at right now, and if you want to get a good start in QA and make something of yourself through it, that's where you probably need to be too. You need to be working at a place that will not lay off the testers when a project goes gold because (speaking for myself) if you're living contract to contract you spend a lot of time worrying about basic survival needs instead of learning and growing. You need to be at a place where you can work overtime if you want it (sometimes even if you don't want it and they make you) because yes, the basic tester's pay can be kind of crap! Developers will often promote their testers internally once they have proven themselves because it's usually easier to do that than it is to hire people from the outside who don't know the culture (just like other jobs in this business). Someone who starts as a tester at a developer can move into management or supervisory positions naturally if he's good at it. A really good tester can be a valuable asset in teaching new hires the best way to analyze a developer's products. People like that can make a very good living for themselves. If you want to be a tester, aspire to be that kind of person. Actively work for it.

There are also external QA studios (sometimes called "QA farms") which handle contract work for developers that don't want to hire their own staff for a few different possible reasons. You'll see them advertised in places like Game Developer Magazine. I've never worked at one of these organizations so I can't offer any firsthand insight, but it seems like advancement there would be possible albeit limited. I know a couple of people who have been working at places like that for a while and seem to be doing alright for themselves, but I can't say for certain.

Being at a good studio is only one part of it, though. You need to be in the right kind of place making sure you are doing the right things. It's like any job. Put in the work, be reliable, take ownership of things you are responsible for which have had a positive influence and follow up with people on them, and always be willing to learn without being a judgmental prick to the developers whose work you are exposing flaws in. These things will help you get ahead even as a tester, and they will get you noticed by people. You don't want to be a grunt-level tester all your life. You don't want your career to become one big "Grandma's Boy" reference. It doesn't have to be that way.

The OP was right about one other thing, and that is that QA will not allow you to just "sidestep" the hiring process for other jobs in a company, not even at a developer. You still need to kick rear end and/or make cool poo poo. You will simply be in a better environment to learn about what kind of cool poo poo might get you noticed, and can maybe pick the brains of people who are already being paid to make cool poo poo. You don't necessarily have to make cool poo poo as a producer but you have to kick rear end in other ways.

Anyone who is serious about QA should also check out this here sweet book. You'll learn a lot from it. It's given me a great basis to work from.

I'll point out that I've been in reverse situations, where Publisher QA is treated amazingly, and Developer QA is the non-promoting, contract-to-contract environment. It all depends on the studio. And again -- if you're using QA as a launchpad into some other discipline, you still have to be proficient in that other discipline.

Q: I want to be a writer.
A: You are not special enough to get this job. HERE THAR BE DRAGONS.

Addendum: There is a robust writing community for the industry, but they're pretty much all freelancers. There is relatively little in-house writing. These positions are hard as gently caress to get. Take it from the writers in this thread -- if you manage to get a writing job, you've blown all the luck for the rest of your life and can kiss goodbye any dreams of winning the lottery.

quote:

OH HEY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT GAME WRITING LEMME JUST SETTLE ON IN HERE

The industry is changing, and for the better. What's really interesting nowadays is how the role of the narrative designer is being developed -- at some studios, a more accurate description of an ND is "narrative producer", advocating for story and keeping poo poo together as the key communicator between all functional disciplines that have a hand in story. Something to consider as part of the changing landscape.

But back to the discussion at hand re: the OP. If I were to rewrite the OP, I'd summarize as follows:
They exist, and in many forms -- contracting, offsite freelancing, full-time -- but they are rare as gently caress and competitive as all get-out.
You need experience and a dynamite portfolio to get a crack at these gigs if/when they appear. If you don't have experience, you need a dynamite portfolio and a willingness to do assloads of spec work, usually after signing an NDA that waives any rights to the content you develop as part of the process.
You need to know intimately, and be able to speak competently, about : writing for a diverse range of media, cutting-edge narrative techniques in games, game design, technical considerations, production pipelines (recording and localization are bigguns), and so on.

So, pretty much exactly what's already there, now that I think about it.

Here's another way to think of it: For every one fresh-faced budding game writer with a degree and little else under their belt, there are at least two ex-Hollywood writers with a movie and maybe some TV experience angling for the same job. If you want to get into game writing, your task is to figure out how you can bring more to the table than the dudes that could give a gently caress about games as a storytelling medium but want a spot with a little more (relative) stability.

(You'll know these guys when you see them because they never use Excel when writing chatter, if they write chatter at all.)

Yes, make NWN modules. They establish that you can wrap your head around content development toolkits and work creatively within parameters. Yes, work on your portfolio, even if it's not GAEM WRITINGZ. Write all the time. Get used to killing yourself for little to no recognition. And if you land any industry gig -- QA, production, whatever -- and you want to break into game writing, find the dudes tasked with the lion share of the work and beg to take some of it off their plate. Be prepared to prove your worth before they'll utilize you. Offer to copyedit.

Embrace your desperation and keep bashing your head against the wall. It's not Hollywood, but it gets closer and closer to that model every year.

Q: I want to be a designer, how do I become a designer?
A: Design and build levels, small games and other things that are playable. It's best to focus on making stuff that is similar to the sort of thing you'd want to work on - making a bunch of flash dating games is not going to get you a job working on an FPS. (this needs more fleshing out if you're a designer please post)

1) Make awesome stuff!! This is all that really matters at the end of the day. If your first try isn't awesome, finish it anyway, release it, and make your next attempt the awesome one. Make stuff for yourself: if you aren't constantly thinking "drat, I really want to play the level/game I'm making" then you're not going to get it done. If you're making maps, make them for a game you love; if you're making your own game, make it something you desperately want to play, not something you think will be "popular" or trendy. Make something tangible you can hold up and say, "I made this. It's awesome. I can do work like this for you." Until you can do that, nothing else on the periphery is going to make a difference.

2) Don't just make stuff and sit on it, be sure to show it off anywhere and to anyone who might be interested. Enter your poo poo in contests, post about it on forums, get constructive criticism from your peers. If you're working as QA or some other entry-level job at a studio, show your stuff off to the guys in your department, or to designers if you're tight with any of them. If I hadn't linked to my work on SA, I wouldn't have my current job.

3) If you want to be a designer, and you're able, get a four-year degree. Make it something you're interested in, use the time to expand your range of influences and work on your own game-related stuff in your spare time. I took a lot of film, art, and art history classes. Being culturally aware is important as a designer. Having a degree will help you get hired and be paid more. Meanwhile, pick up a level editor and use online forums and tutorials to teach yourself how to use it. Have some stuff to show off by the time you graduate.

4) Play a lot of different stuff and think critically about it--how and why it does and doesn't work. Don't stick to only playing the big, hyped GOTY candidates, or spend 90% of your time playing WoW or Counter-Strike. Give yourself a broad base of stuff to experience and analyze. Games that are only halfway there, or rip off popular titles with poor execution, are usually more instructive than perfectly polished blockbusters that get glowing metacritic scores. Games outside the genres you normally play can inform how you think about your old favorites. Being a designer means understanding exactly how games work, and further how to avoid the mistakes of past games you've played and create an experience that's absolutely compelling to the end user. If you don't play games, it will show when you try to design one! This is called being bad at your job!

5) Be prepared to move. I (not the OP, another poster in this thread) was lucky enough to be in SF already, and still I had to move 2000 miles to get my first design job. If you're not prepared to go to where the games are, especially if you're in the middle of BFE, it's going to be a long hard road to your first design job unless you're incredibly lucky or start your own company. Think of it as an opportunity: most dev studios are in pretty cool, metropolitan cities, or at least quirky little college towns. -- Thanks Dr. Video Games 0002! Addendum: This means go to California, especially the LA and San Francisco area. Also, Seattle, Vancouver, Montreal, and Austin. There are also some rising hubs, like Boston, New York, the D.C. area, Atlanta, Baton Rouge, and a couple others. -- For reference, it took me 3+ years to find studio work in D.C., before my name got out there enough to start getting calls.

Q: I want to become an artist, how do I become an artist?
A: Make art! Pick a discipline (environment, vehicles/props/weapons, characters, UI/motion graphics, animation, etc) and focus 80-90% of your portfolio on that. Do NOT stick to a single style and DO NOT use a style as a crutch to hide your weaknesses - IE, making furry/animu/robot characters because you don't know anatomy, cel-shading because you can't texture, DS/PSP specs because you can't figure out normal mapping, etc. Focus on a variety of styles and settings, and learn (but don't necessarily show) related aspects of the discipline (IE, you should know the basics of animation if you're a character artist, etc). Only your best work in your portfolio, and keep it focused. Your singly biggest thing will be to constantly keep a high-quality, evolving portfolio showcasing both your talents and how you are learning and improving as an artist.

Q: I want to be a programmer, how do I become a programmer?
A: Write programs. Also you probably have to be loving insane because I don't know how you guys do that stuff because I get flustered when I go beyond making basic 2d shooters in flash. The going advice is generally to focus on your core math skills, and not worry so much about the hot new language of the day. Learning your core math skills will make you better as a programmer independent of any language or type of project you'll be working on at a given time. It will also help you to think for yourself, which is very critical. Just ask in the thread. There are plenty of engineers here. It would greatly help for you to know the basic principles of Agile software development.

Addendum: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=5#post376752722

Q: I want to do games business development
A: There are two broad categories of biz dev on the publisher side. One is content dev, where you sniff out new content for the publisher to invest in. The other is corporate dev, such as acquisitions of firms.

In both, you tend to be under the legal or corporate planning arms of the publisher. Biz dev isn't hired out of school; you'll need an MBA and/or relevant biz dev experience, OR a good network in the industry, all of which requires years of work experience. I've also seen JDs involved in biz dev, as an alternative to MBA, but MBAs are more frequent for the corporate side. (Industry networks reign on the content side.)

The nice thing about corporate biz dev is that you don't need to have industry experience to start down the path, and the industry is small enough to grow your network quickly once you enter.

Biz dev at a studio or start up is a different beast. There, you are mainly pitching the business to others in order to attract clients or investment. Many times the position is instead filled by the CEO, COO, or GM.

Q: I want to do game audio, how do I do this?
A: I don't know audiogang.org is a good place to start

Q: I want to be a journalist for games.
A: No you don't. Games journalism is a dying industry right now, because there are so many sources for information out there that people simply don't need big funded sites anymore. If you just want to write about stuff, go start a blog. If you really want to be a journalist in the industry there are a couple things: 1. You have to be a really really good writer. I'm not talking about "oh, I think I can write;" I'm talking about "I got nearly perfect on my verbal SAT scores and have a Journalism/English degree from a top tier school," that kind of good. 2. You need a degree, and you need prior journalism experience. Anything less than that is not going to get you paid. Blog experience helps, but doesn't count. Write for your local newspaper, freelance, do what you have to do. 3. Know somebody in the industry who knows someone in journalism; typically this will be community managers, some producers, and the like. 4. Go to trade shows, especially where you can get press credentials as a blogger, and make friends (but don't be obnoxious about it). This is a good way to find openings, since this kind of job doesn't appear too often on the job boards.

Or just get on YouTube and contract with a MCN, and get tens of thousands of subscribers that way.

A2: I'm going to have to disagree with the OP saying that you need to be a grammar god from a top tier school to get into this field, or even a "good writer." I don't look for degrees, I look for journalists. As a news editor I need people who will report facts quickly and accurately, and have enough knowledge of the industry and its history to see the "big picture" and explain why my readers need to care about something (or if they don't have that knowledge, they can look poo poo up fast enough that I don't notice).

Of course this is all from the perspective of news, but that's like 80% of games journalism anyway. But what do I know, Kotaku is the most popular game news site and I disagree with just about everything it does, so maybe I'm wrong.

Also see SirLarr's post on the subject: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=2#post376611972

Q: I want to be a video game lawyer and do video game law
A: There is no such thing as "video game law", per se. There is contract law, IP, and labor law for game industry clients. There are so few attorneys in the field that jobs come up once every few years at best, and even still those lawyers in the industry don't necessarily have 100% of their practice in games. Very very very few people succeed at this, even amongst talented attorneys. If you seriously want to try this, ask Leif.

Q: I want to be something else related to games, how do I become it?
A: I have no idea help me fill this section

Differences between Game Design Schools, Trade Schools, Colleges, Art Schools etc.

devilmouse posted:

As someone that's had the pleasure of interviewing/working with far too many people... (Blah blah over generalizations, stereotypes...)

For programming (and god help us all, "design"), Full Sail turns out pretty weak candidates, though if they're not working on mission/performance critical systems and you give them a ton of oversight, they can be alright. Digipen's programmers tend to be much better, for whatever reason. The difference in a CS major and a trade schooler is scary. The CS majors tend to be able to think abstractly about problems and concepts while the trade school folk get panicky if they can't apply some drilled in rote memorization solution from a book. There's a pretty sharp distinction between computer PROGRAMMERS (trade schools) and ENGINEERS.

For art proper (not animation or tech art- which, again, seem to turn out alright... perhaps because these are both skill sets you can learn? There are precious few animators these days that are classically trained.), the trade schools are abysmal. The best artists I've worked with all went to traditional art schools (RISD, MICA, etc) and they blow away their trade school counterparts.

In both cases, the trade school people have this odd primadonna / entitlement complex about them. "I got my degree in making games, so obviously I know things!" At RISD, kids would be regularly be reduced to tears in crits and profs would bluntly tell them that they might want to change majors / drop out. Learning to take criticism seems absent from the trade schoolers and when you're working on the bottom of a totem pole, the last thing you want to do is to pout about not being taken seriously enough (artists with <1 year experience throwing a hissy fit when not being allowed to texture/model characters... programmers wanting to rewrite large swaths of the engine because 'that's how Unreal does it'...).

If you're going to drop some stupid amount of money on a school, make it a real one and get a proper education, not some "accredited" "certificate". Or just take free classes online at MIT or hook up with some modders and build something or hang out on cgtalk and get crits to build up a portfolio on your own.

The art schools around here all have pretty strong ties with the game shops and the game companies have intern/co-op opportunities pretty consistently. Everyone wins with these... the students get experience and the companies get cheap labor. If there's a match, then a job offer can quickly follow.

edit to be less of a dick: I have worked with great people that went to Full Sail/Digipen/etc, but these are far from the norm.

What do Interviewers Look For??

FreakyZoid posted:

Last year I wrote this based on some of the things I do and don't like seeing in design interviewees.

http://www.mainlyaboutgames.co.uk/2010/06/tips-for-game-design-interviews/

Recommended Books: (These aren't my recommendations, merely goon recommendations)
Game Development and Production (Wordware Game Developer's Library)
http://www.amazon.com/Development-Production-Wordware-Developers-Library/dp/1556229518

Websites:
boards.polycount.net (art)
cgtalk.com (art)
game-artist.net (art)
gamedev.net (programming)
gamasutra.com (game development, also really good job board)
http://gameindustrytweet.com/ - list of industry people's twitter accounts. Don't abuse this.
http://www.gamedevmap.com/ - map of the industry. Find someone near you!
http://aigamedev.com/ As the name suggests, it's AI-specific and all mostly technical. It's a "premium" site, but the forums are somewhat active and I've actually learned a fair bit there that I've been able to put into practice.
http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/ Again, looking at the URL, you know what this is: Stack Exchange's Game developer question and answer site. If you're learning about programming, it's a good one-stop shop for being to ask anything and not be mocked.

Job Boards:
http://www.gamasutra.com/jobs/
http://www.gamejobs.com/
http://www.creativeheads.net/
http://www.gamedev.net/gamejobs/
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/jobs
http://www.indiegamejobs.com/
gamerecruiter.com (recruitment company, some goons have had good experiences with them)

Other Awesome and Related Threads:
Source Mapping 2007
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2670759
New Source Mapping thread
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3137669
Old thread
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3091708&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=1
Making Games megathread (for actual design related stuff, and the goon game design competitions)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2711122#post337034285
:siren:

E3 2010 Goon Meetup :siren:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3301989
:siren:

Current SA Game Dev Contest Thread :siren:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3310460

Who are we
"How I got a job in the industry" stories - I think these are helpful because this industry doesn't have as clear a path as others: (note, slightly out of date, but PM me if you need an updated position/title)

Sigma-X (Art Producer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543
GetWellGamers (QA)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543#post330512073
Shalinor (Programmer/Designer/Indie studio CEO)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543#post330522567
Yahtzee (Design. Also the ZP reviews)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post330575202
GimpFarFar (Concept Artist)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post330586477
aasBandit (Designer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post330587936
MiseryUnited (Designer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=3#post330657666
hippieman (Producer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=5#post330865875
rope kid (Designer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=6#post331076220
Cach.e (Programmer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2552543&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=12#post336939010
Dr. Video Games 0002 (Designer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&postid=338053643#post338041677
marshmonkey (Designer)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&postid=341360814#post341360814
Leif. (formerly SWATJester/Diplomaticus) - Producer/Project Manager, Lawyer
Splaa - Spent 3 years at Activision Minneapolis in the production trenches. credits
SirLarr - Journo
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=2#post376611972
Real_scud - I'm a UI developer/designer for Tiger Next-Gen (360/PS3) and have been working at EA Tiburon for almost a year and a half.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302351&pagenumber=1#post376583281
TheRedEye - Journo, 1UP
DancingMachine - Programmer, Microsoft, worked on Flight Simulator X and FSX: Acceleration
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302351&pagenumber=1#post376586966
Monster w21 Faces (head of community management/designer)
Imajus (lead environmental artist)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302351&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post376594100
Dunkman (Community Coordinator)
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=2#post376606569
Monochrome - Senior Tester, Harmonix
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302351&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=2#post376601006
Dipes - indie game designer
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3302351&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=3#post376615271
Zerf - Programmer at Paradox Interactive
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=2#post376613050
Matlock -Journo
Magic - Codemasters Racing Studio
Evang -
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=4#post376694060
Lum - "Lum The Mad", Journo, Programmer, lead designer, tools programmer at NCSoft Austin
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=4#post376654377
Star Warrior X - Indie developer
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=4#post376652965
Hummer - Senior Designer at 343 Industries
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?noseen=0&threadid=3302351&pagenumber=4#post376645113
Blocko - Senior Developer QA at Relic
Mega Shark - Senior Producer
Andio - Global Support Services Coordinator for SCEE
theflyingorc - Gameplay Programmer at Funcom
Dinurth - Producer.
loquacius - Test Engineer
mutata - Eternal Intern
Chernabog -2d animator/artist
Aliginge - Aliginge - 2D Artist at 4J Studios (Minecraft! ) and part time Pepsi Max addict.
Maide - S2Games - Web Programmer (Everything in the realms of: Web-Based Tools, All Game to Database interactions, everything Web Sites, System Designs, and much, much more!)
Smegbot - Programmer
Freelancepolice - Producer but also Designer at Fullfat in Coventry
Fishbus - Level Designer at Splash Damage
diaghilev - Mobile Tester at Pocket Gems.
AmazonTony - Marketing Manager - Digital Video Games Amazon.com
Brackhar - Senior Technical Designer at Riot Games
volcultsmer - Technical Director (programmer) at DICE: Stockholm

There are probably dozens more, not included on this list. Keep bugging me if your info is wrong or missing or outdated.

Note: feel free to PM me if you want to be added to this list; it would be nice but not necessary if you included position, company, and credited games.

I hate X about the OP

I didn't write all of this; I wrote some, copied some, used some from other threads. If you disagree with the OP, give me something to put in to balance it out. Make sure you post it publicly in this thread. And don't yell at me about it, because I may not have written it.

Leif. fucked around with this message at 02:14 on Feb 4, 2018

# ? May 31, 2011 16:49

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 11:55

ExtraNoise: Apr 11, 2007

Thanks, Diplomaticus. That last thread title was absolutely cringe-inducing.

Notch has confirmed he's going to E3; I'm curious how many in the industry are going to hound him while he's there.

# ? May 31, 2011 17:04

Sigma-X: Jun 17, 2005

New thread title is better, and having an actual tag means I can filter for the thread instead of scanning for the moof tag.

Also re-reading the OP is a mindfuck because some of it is copied from something I wrote years ago :v:

# ? May 31, 2011 17:10

Carfax Report: May 17, 2003; Ravage the land as never before, total destruction from mountain to shore!

Q. I want to do games business development

A. There are two broad categories of biz dev on the publisher side. One is content dev, where you sniff out new content for the publisher to invest in. The other is corporate dev, such as aquisitions of firms.

In both, you tend to be under the legal or corporate planning arms of the publisher. Biz dev isn't hired out of school; you'll need an MBA and/or relevant biz dev experience, OR a good network in the industry, all of which requires years of work experience. I've also seen JDs involved in biz dev, as an alternative to MBA, but MBAs are more frequent for the corporate side. (Industry networks reign on the content side.)

The nice thing about corporate biz dev is that you don't need to have industry experience to start down the path, and the industry is small enough to grow your network quickly once you enter.

Biz dev at a studio or start up is a diffent beast. There, you are mainly pitching the business to others in order to attract clients or investment. Many times the position is instead filled by the CEO, COO, or GM.

# ? May 31, 2011 17:34

CuddlyZombie: Nov 6, 2005; I wuv your brains.

This thread title is excellent.

# ? May 31, 2011 17:37

Lord Humongus: Apr 10, 2009; ice ice baby

I would like if anyone could please give me some feedback on how this sc2 map looks so far.

http://infestedsc2.tumblr.com/

Thanks!

Edit:ugh if this is the wrong thread to post this in sorry dudes. I just wanted some feed back.

Editedit: ugh what did I ever do to have people always ignore my posts.

Lord Humongus fucked around with this message at 01:43 on Jun 1, 2011

# ? May 31, 2011 17:39

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

ExtraNoise posted:

Thanks, Diplomaticus. That last thread title was absolutely cringe-inducing.

Well, this thread title is grammatically cringe-inducing...

# ? May 31, 2011 17:42

Adam Bowen: Jan 6, 2003; This post probably contains a Rickroll link!

The use of the word "guy" in the title is extremely phallocentric, shouldn't it be ideas person? Women and transgendered individuals have ideas as well.

# ? May 31, 2011 18:04

Vita: Nov 7, 2009

Jesus christ don't start this poo poo again (I know it's ironic but still)

# ? May 31, 2011 18:10

FreakyZoid: Nov 28, 2002

Diplomaticus posted:

What do Interviewers Look For??

Last year I wrote this based on some of the things I do and don't like seeing in design interviewees.

http://www.mainlyaboutgames.co.uk/2010/06/tips-for-game-design-interviews/

# ? May 31, 2011 18:22

Blinkman987: Jul 10, 2008; Gender roles guilt me into being fat.

For journalists/writers, for god's sake, be on loving time. If you're so lucky as to be offered a position writing for a company or website on contract, the last thing some editor or content manager needs is to have to go to their boss and answer questions as to why a translation isn't done or a piece didn't go up for the day. I am repeatedly shocked that people given such an opportunity would play so fast-and-loose with it.

FreakyZoid posted:

Last year I wrote this based on some of the things I do and don't like seeing in design interviewees.

http://www.mainlyaboutgames.co.uk/2010/06/tips-for-game-design-interviews/

Recently, we posted a job with the requirement of the applicant being in-touch with pop culture and current trends as we do a lot of licensing. The applicant listed his library card and Netflix subscription. While I would not recommend this to job applicants, we all felt it was the best thing ever and the guy got the interview.

Blinkman987 fucked around with this message at 23:31 on May 31, 2011

# ? May 31, 2011 23:27

BizarroAzrael: Apr 6, 2006; "That must weigh heavily on your soul. Let me purge it for you."

Just set up a new blog for my projects, I just made my first post about using Hammer and making a Portal 2 map. Would like to know if it's too wordy, if I shouldn't be talking about aborted ideas, anything really. I'm a bit concerned about what I should and shouldn't assume a reader knows about the mechanics of Portal. I'll pick out a theme and hussy it all up in a week or so.

http://www.escapefromthewatertemple.com

That just redirects to the frontpage at the .wordpress address, so if anyone knows how to fix it that NameCheap will redirect links to subdomains please let me know, I've not seen the option that the help pages talks about.

Edit: And I still have the IRC channel on autojoin, and I've not been seeing anyone else in there for a bit, that should change.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 00:47

mutata: Mar 1, 2003

BizarroAzrael posted:

Just set up a new blog for my projects, I just made my first post about using Hammer and making a Portal 2 map. Would like to know if it's too wordy, if I shouldn't be talking about aborted ideas, anything really. I'm a bit concerned about what I should and shouldn't assume a reader knows about the mechanics of Portal. I'll pick out a theme and hussy it all up in a week or so.

http://www.escapefromthewatertemple.com

That just redirects to the frontpage at the .wordpress address, so if anyone knows how to fix it that NameCheap will redirect links to subdomains please let me know, I've not seen the option that the help pages talks about.

Edit: And I still have the IRC channel on autojoin, and I've not been seeing anyone else in there for a bit, that should change.

Reverse the text size to picture size ratio. Text is fine, but make it smaller and jack those thumbnails to maximum. Eye candy will drive people to read.

It is a bit wordy, yeah. It's ok to assume a certain level of video game familiarity, but drop in some paranthetical clarifications on some of the more weird things. Be sure to proof read, I saw some typos and weird syntax ("I would mostly used subtractive mode in UDK"). Consider putting some of the info into captions for the pictures (since your pictures illustrate things you're talking about) in order to break up the wall of text effect. If your goal is to discuss process and learning, then discussion of failures is fine, but don't forget to include how you solved them or what you learned from them 100% of the time. Never just describe a screw up or failure you experienced and go "oh well!" and move on.

mutata fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Jun 1, 2011

# ? Jun 1, 2011 01:40

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Blinkman987 posted:

For journalists/writers, for god's sake, be on loving time. If you're so lucky as to be offered a position writing for a company or website on contract, the last thing some editor or content manager needs is to have to go to their boss and answer questions as to why a translation isn't done or a piece didn't go up for the day. I am repeatedly shocked that people given such an opportunity would play so fast-and-loose with it.

Counterpoint: for journalists, your interviews at trade shows will run long. You will be late for things. Know what you can and can't be late for.

Also: Marketing staff and producers that are presenting at trade shows: don't ever loving make us wait, and especially don't blow us off after you've already scheduled us in for an appointment (I'm looking at you, Realtime Worlds.)

# ? Jun 1, 2011 03:10

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

FreakyZoid posted:

Last year I wrote this based on some of the things I do and don't like seeing in design interviewees.

http://www.mainlyaboutgames.co.uk/2010/06/tips-for-game-design-interviews/

Added to OP.

Carfax Report posted:

Q. I want to do games business development

A. There are two broad categories of biz dev on the publisher side. One is content dev, where you sniff out new content for the publisher to invest in. The other is corporate dev, such as aquisitions of firms.

In both, you tend to be under the legal or corporate planning arms of the publisher. Biz dev isn't hired out of school; you'll need an MBA and/or relevant biz dev experience, OR a good network in the industry, all of which requires years of work experience. I've also seen JDs involved in biz dev, as an alternative to MBA, but MBAs are more frequent for the corporate side. (Industry networks reign on the content side.)

The nice thing about corporate biz dev is that you don't need to have industry experience to start down the path, and the industry is small enough to grow your network quickly once you enter.

Biz dev at a studio or start up is a diffent beast. There, you are mainly pitching the business to others in order to attract clients or investment. Many times the position is instead filled by the CEO, COO, or GM.

Added to OP.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 03:11

Silvergun1000: Sep 17, 2007; Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.

Here's something I've been curious about. I work as a Project Manager, and I remember reading something from back during GDC talking about how a lot of developers were really pushing hard to hire Project Managers. Is being a Project Manager in the games industry much different than being one in any other industry (I mostly work in manufacturing / quality in the gamING industry), and if so, what sort of skills are most companies looking for and what sort of stuff do you do?

# ? Jun 1, 2011 03:34

Ice Blue: Mar 20, 2002; Sorry, I get paid to shoot paintballs, honey, not the breeze.

CuddlyZombie posted:

This thread title is excellent.

Is this an overly common sentiment in people trying to get into the industry? As if coming up with ideas without putting actual work into implementing the idea is a job.

Ice Blue fucked around with this message at 04:17 on Jun 1, 2011

# ? Jun 1, 2011 04:10

Leif.: Mar 27, 2005; Son of the Defender
Formerly Diplomaticus/SWATJester

Ice Blue posted:

Is this an overly common sentiment in people trying to get into the industry? As if coming up with ideas without putting actual work into implementing the idea is a job.

Yes.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 04:27

Blinkman987: Jul 10, 2008; Gender roles guilt me into being fat.

Diplomaticus posted:

Counterpoint: for journalists, your interviews at trade shows will run long. You will be late for things. Know what you can and can't be late for.

Also: Marketing staff and producers that are presenting at trade shows: don't ever loving make us wait, and especially don't blow us off after you've already scheduled us in for an appointment (I'm looking at you, Realtime Worlds.)

This is completely true. I manage on-site live content for our company as well and have to manage expectations of people who have never had to work or generate content under those circumstances.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 05:13

GetWellGamers: Apr 11, 2006; The Get-Well Gamers Foundation: Touching Kids Everywhere!

I did this last time, but I'm going to complain again about your "I want to start in QA" rant. You should make the distinction that Publisher QA is an unloving hellhole whereas Developer QA has ample room for advancement if you do your work. :colbert:

# ? Jun 1, 2011 05:18

LowPolyCount: May 16, 2004; Transform... for Justice!

Ice Blue posted:

Is this an overly common sentiment in people trying to get into the industry? As if coming up with ideas without putting actual work into implementing the idea is a job.

Give it time. It's going to start showing up in a couple pages.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 05:58

SUPER HASSLER: Jan 31, 2005

Blinkman987 posted:

For journalists/writers, for god's sake, be on loving time.

Having both edited and written for mags/sites in the past, I can confirm that I (at least) would much rather you submit things on time over submitting things that are good, because at least I can edit crap and try to salvage it.

Barring that, have a really great excuse.

If anyone cares, I've been freelance writing / translating in games for over a decade, first for the media but mostly for actual games nowadays. I fell into it via a very long and non-repeatable sequence of events (you can no longer start a website on your high school web server and get noticed by anyone, for example).

I always feel bad when someone says "How can I get your job?" because I have no idea how I got my job. My gut reaction, especially when I'm in a lull, is chiefly "Don't, because then I'll have more competition."

# ? Jun 1, 2011 06:14

Ice Blue: Mar 20, 2002; Sorry, I get paid to shoot paintballs, honey, not the breeze.

I hope somewhere in the industry someone has a company and gives themselves the job title "Ideas Guy".

# ? Jun 1, 2011 09:18

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

Ice Blue posted:

I hope somewhere in the industry someone has a company and gives themselves the job title "Ideas Guy".

Gotta get some new business cards soon...

# ? Jun 1, 2011 09:22

miscellaneous14: Mar 27, 2010; neat

GetWellGamers posted:

I did this last time, but I'm going to complain again about your "I want to start in QA" rant. You should make the distinction that Publisher QA is an unloving hellhole whereas Developer QA has ample room for advancement if you do your work.

I'm definitely in the latter and can attest to this fact. There have been multiple advancements from the QA department I'm in.

_{_{Hopefully I'll be one of them...}}

# ? Jun 1, 2011 09:22

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

Not to be pedantic but I'm no longer a community officer. I'm the head of community management/designer.

I'll also be writing about how I got into the industry in the next few days as it's a weird story.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 09:50

Cool Web Paige: Nov 19, 2006

I have a question that may seem strange

How do larger companies like EA or Activision come up with new games?
Do they have in house teams who are tasked with churning them out or do they do it like Hollywood and Book Publishers and pick from submitted manuscripts?

# ? Jun 1, 2011 09:57

Devian666: Aug 20, 2008; Take some advice Chris.; Fun Shoe

Ice Blue posted:

I hope somewhere in the industry someone has a company and gives themselves the job title "Ideas Guy".

bestow did this twice in two threads. I can't wait until Crimson Haze Forever is released.

e: How far away is this years game making competition? I'd like to make a bit more progress this year.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 10:00

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

vxskud posted:

I have a question that may seem strange

How do larger companies like EA or Activision come up with new games?
Do they have in house teams who are tasked with churning them out or do they do it like Hollywood and Book Publishers and pick from submitted manuscripts?

I think they do rounds of optioning. Devs work on their own designs and proposals and then when optioning time swings around for the publishers the different teams get to pitch their games.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 10:43

Dr_Amazing: Apr 15, 2006; It's a long story

I'm looking at going back to school next year and getting a degree in computer science. After 2 years the school lets you take a focus in video game programming. Does this sound like something worth doing? They stress that it's hard work and not just playing video games which I guess is a good sign, but I figured I'd ask here.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 10:52

Physical: Sep 26, 2007; by T. Finninho

Dr_Amazing posted:

I'm looking at going back to school next year and getting a degree in computer science. After 2 years the school lets you take a focus in video game programming. Does this sound like something worth doing? They stress that it's hard work and not just playing video games which I guess is a good sign, but I figured I'd ask here.

What school?

# ? Jun 1, 2011 10:56

Akuma: Sep 11, 2001

Dr_Amazing posted:

I'm looking at going back to school next year and getting a degree in computer science. After 2 years the school lets you take a focus in video game programming. Does this sound like something worth doing? They stress that it's hard work and not just playing video games which I guess is a good sign, but I figured I'd ask here.

It depends on the syllabus!

# ? Jun 1, 2011 11:50

Dr_Amazing: Apr 15, 2006; It's a long story

Physical posted:

What school?

University of PEI in Canada. This is the site for the program: http://www.upei.ca/csit/videogaming

# ? Jun 1, 2011 11:51

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

Dr_Amazing posted:

University of PEI in Canada. This is the site for the program: http://www.upei.ca/csit/videogaming

quote:

Concepts in Computer Graphics & Applied Computer Graphics Programming

o 2D and 3D graphics programming using industry standard tools including 3ds Max� and Maya�

The only way a CS/programmer should be using Max/Maya is possibly making tools for it - and that isn't what they're implying.

That sounds like a relatively bullshit degree that's new and still trying to figure itself out. Just get a traditional CS degree whilst teaching yourself games on the side.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 14:49

mutata: Mar 1, 2003

Eating my traditional "enroute to first day of internship" breakfast. Orientation meetings start in about an hour then it's off to the races for as long as I can hang on!

# ? Jun 1, 2011 15:03

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

We just put out our first press release since I started my job. Hooray!

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/253957-video-games-firm-boosting-dundees-ailing-sector-with-150-jobs-unveils-new-base/
http://scottishgames.net/2011/06/01/outplay-hq-dundee-official/

# ? Jun 1, 2011 16:36

Alterian: Jan 28, 2003

Isn't the game competition being posted today?

# ? Jun 1, 2011 17:05

SnafuAl: Oct 20, 2010; VR! VR! VR!
BLOODY VR!

Monster w21 Faces posted:

We just put out our first press release since I started my job. Hooray!

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/253957-video-games-firm-boosting-dundees-ailing-sector-with-150-jobs-unveils-new-base/
http://scottishgames.net/2011/06/01/outplay-hq-dundee-official/

I always get confused as to what is and isn't offices down that side of Dundee. I didn't realise that Seabraes was an office building until I started my internship there, and now I find out Vision is offices too!

Just goes to show how much attention I've paid to Dundee in the last five years I guess.

EDIT:

Category Fun! posted:

This is a long shot, but do you know anything about what's happening at Abertay? I applied for GDPM there and I still haven't received a response to my application. Apparently there's still trouble with the Principal and Vice Principal being suspended, and all kinds of senate hearings and lawsuits flying around. I even heard a rumour at one point that they were going to shut down their games courses or merge them with Dundee College. Have you heard anything about that?

The games courses aren't going anywhere, they're still getting funding from the Government for the "Centre for Excellence" or whatever the hell it's called. The Principal and VP stuff made no impact whatsoever on day-to-day stuff at the uni either. You should hear soon about applications (given that hand-ins are just finishing), but I'd recommend trying to follow up on it. I'll see if I can find out if there's someone you can email about that.

(For context, just finished my honours year at Abertay.)

SnafuAl fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Jun 1, 2011

# ? Jun 1, 2011 17:08

Category Fun!: Dec 2, 2008; im just trying to get you into bed

Monster w21 Faces posted:

We just put out our first press release since I started my job. Hooray!

http://news.stv.tv/scotland/tayside/253957-video-games-firm-boosting-dundees-ailing-sector-with-150-jobs-unveils-new-base/
http://scottishgames.net/2011/06/01/outplay-hq-dundee-official/

This is a long shot, but do you know anything about what's happening at Abertay? I applied for GDPM there and I still haven't received a response to my application. Apparently there's still trouble with the Principal and Vice Principal being suspended, and all kinds of senate hearings and lawsuits flying around. I even heard a rumour at one point that they were going to shut down their games courses or merge them with Dundee College. Have you heard anything about that?

Congrats on the new office, too!

# ? Jun 1, 2011 17:09

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# ? Apr 29, 2024 11:55

FreakyZoid: Nov 28, 2002

Category Fun! posted:

Apparently there's still trouble with the Principal and Vice Principal being suspended, and all kinds of senate hearings and lawsuits flying around.

Yeah, that was interesting. All the rumours I heard were that they were taking funding intended for other places, and funnelling it towards the games course because that was the place's USP and shining star.

I think to say it had no effect on the day to day running would be naive, there must be people who now have more on their plate than they otherwise would have had.

# ? Jun 1, 2011 18:12

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

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