Just got my first job in the games industry!

[Iced_Eagle]

Here is some sweet ****ing advice that might really help you:

When you can't figure something out, ask yourself the question you were going to ask them. Maybe say it to yourself, and really flesh the question out, like you were making a proper and detailed post on these forums. Occasionally, I find that by the time I have written a post on here, I sometimes figure out the answer to my question, simply from thinking about it and seeing all the facts there in front of me.

My brother and his wife are programmers, and he once told me [he gets annoyed] because people always ask him things but don't try to figure it out on their own. Then my sister-in law mentioned that a university professor she knew would say the same thing [in the above paragraph], basically.

Hehe, I know this fact very well.

In fact, some professor as a joke who believed in this method so much bought a mannequin called Perl who you have to ask the question to before you can ask them.

It has cut down the number of questions by about 70% I'd say.

I definitely know the difference between asking a legit question and bugging someone As the lead on my three teams, I very much know how it feels to be constantly nagged haha.

 

[VirusType2]

Hehe, I know this fact very well.

In fact, some professor as a joke who believed in this method so much bought a mannequin called Perl who you have to ask the question to before you can ask them.

It has cut down the number of questions by about 70% I'd say.

.

Ops - yeah! Now that you mention it, I believe that's exactly who she was talking about.

 

[mortiz-Redux]

Hey fellow devvie, I'm a games programmer at FreeStyleGames in Leamington, UK

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Hey fellow devvie, I'm a games programmer at FreeStyleGames in Leamington, UK

I really wish I could have worked in the UK for the summer! Unfortunately, logistically I just didn't want to work out the stuff with work visa's and such.

If you have any tips that you wish someone would have told you when you first started, please feel free to share! :cheese:

 

[99.vikram]

Congratulations on getting your dream job! Try to avoid sequels, and please see the codebase of the engine (for all those of us that can't..)

How did you get hired directly as lead on 3 teams?

 

[Warped]

my auntie is a programmer for a large bank but i don't know anyone personally in the gaming industry. Congrats bro.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Congratulations on getting your dream job! Try to avoid sequels, and please see the codebase of the engine (for all those of us that can't..)

How did you get hired directly as lead on 3 teams?

I'm not a lead on anything. I'm an intern and there's just different parts of the company that I could be put on.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I hated programming, couldn't imagine doing it forever. Glad it's working out for you though.

 

[mortiz-Redux]

yeah, everyone who's really smart gets into design, programmers are the bitches of the games industry.

 

[Ravioli]

yeah, everyone who's really smart gets into design, programmers are the bitches of the games industry.

Thats why they code nasty rude messages about everyone in the company, hidden deep within the source code and heavly encrypted.

I bet you cant find a shitton of fat jokes about Gabe in the source engine.

 

[phantomdesign]

Most places have no formal training process. The ideal way to get started in the video-game or special-effects industry is starting at a medium sized or larger studio that has experienced artists. Small studios are frequently lacking in experience, and time spent there is essentailly a waste towards moving up in your career. You will learn a lot quickly, much more quickly than in school... and a lot more useful and practical.

The only time I see asking for help being annoying is when you're not doing your own job, or certain people are less willing to help than others...but you will find some people who really enjoy helping as well. If you ask well thought out questions, and make an intelligent effort first, there's nothing wrong with it IMO.

P.S. I work in the specail-effects industry, mostly as an artist, but I love programming. I'm always working on my own side-projects in downtime and enjoy suprising the hell out of people. A programmer with ideas can be valuable, don't be afraid to share them. The only programmers I see as "bitches of the industry" are the typical computer science majors who end up programming databases.

 

[63]

Small studios are frequently lacking in experience, and time spent there is essentailly a waste towards moving up in your career.

+ working at a big place looks better on the resume.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

+ working at a big place looks better on the resume.

It is always a good thing if you're applying for a new job and you've worked at places the other person is familiar with, I agree.

However, sometimes it's worth taking the risk to work at relatively smaller places, if you feel that there is unbelievable amounts of potential. That's what I feel like with Airtight, because there are tons of really smart and talented people there, and it's not like it's a small indie studio or anything.

phantomdesign: Thanks for the advice! I actually had a long talk with one of the artists there, and we were mostly talking about interactions between programmers and artists. He thinks it's silly that there's so much Artists vs Programmers mentality out there, especially when we're all playing for the same team. He said that, for example, just because a programmer doesn't have a job as an artist, that they know nothing about art. Anyone can tell you when a piece of art is good, and what needs improvement. Vice versa, an artist can tell you that maybe a feature you've implemented doesn't "feel right" to play or such. From my limited experiences in the industry, I have yet to see a programmer be a bitch to a team. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough though

 

[63]

It is always a good thing if you're applying for a new job and you've worked at places the other person is familiar with, I agree.

However, sometimes it's worth taking the risk to work at relatively smaller places, if you feel that there is unbelievable amounts of potential. That's what I feel like with Airtight, because there are tons of really smart and talented people there, and it's not like it's a small indie studio or anything.

Yep, totally agree. I took the same path you did

 

[Kaptain H]

Bah, programmers get all the jobs. Congratulations, and I hope you learn a lot!

 

[Krynn72]

I have yet to see a programmer be a bitch to a team.

Harhar.

Its really got nothing to job vs job. Its personalities vs personalities. Rational people can get along fine with rational people. If either, or both sides are not rational about the things the "need" then things get nasty. Cocky attitudes also cause problems. People who think they're great at what they do tend to think any error is on someone else's part, and when its not... oh boy that makes trouble. Probably the best advice I can give in this regard is to have a little humility. It will save a lot of headache for everybody.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Just thought I'd give an update on this for anyone who cares (likely noone!).

- I got an offer from Microsoft as an SDET in Games Test Organization (part of MGS) which I am taking. It will be at the end of May (after Airtight internship ends for me now)

- Now for the part which tons of people have already said "WHAT?!" about... I had an assessment / interview with Blizzard, but I'm turning it down in favor of the MS offer. As of this time, the MS job seems to make more sense. Maybe I'll reapply later if I find out the MS gig isn't for me, but that's in the future.

Anyways, there ya go! The latest happenings in my professional life.

 

[unozero]

if you'd start working for Blizz now it's like selling your soul.

 

[the cow says moo]

if you'd start working for Blizz now it's like selling your soul.

Yeah, but same goes for Microsoft.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Yeah, but same goes for Microsoft.

There's tons of more opportunities at MS, which is a big reason why I'm going to try it out.

 

[Bad^Hat]

Yeah but keep in mind if you go with Blizz there's every chance you'll be put on the dev team for their 53rd secret unannounced project to be released in 2030 (right alongside Diablo III, heh).

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Yeah but keep in mind if you go with Blizz there's every chance you'll be put on the dev team for their 53rd secret unannounced project to be released in 2030 (right alongside Diablo III, heh).

Probably. But if I havent been bat shit crazy over any of their previous games, why should I take the bet that I would be insane about the latest one? It would be cool to be the envy of everyone and know what Blizzard is working on, but that would pass pretty quickly.

With MS, I could get a chance to work on Crackdown 2, Alan Wake, Halo: Reach, Project Natal stuff, etc and I would be in heaven. :angel:

It just really boils down to what you are totally interested in, and for now, MS is that place for me.

Plus, there's craploads of unannounced MS titles that I could be working on!

 

[the cow says moo]

You realize there are probably thousands of asians who wish they were in your position right now and would choose Blizzard, right? Maybe even dozens of thousands.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Whew, well thank god I'm not asian!

 

[MorganFreeman911]

Man, congrats! I can't tell you how envious I am!

 

[mortiz-Redux]

Thing is if you did love Blizzard games then why work for them? Same thing with Valve, I absolutely love Half-Life so it'd be a big decision to go to work for them (even though I probably would) because once you've worked on a game you can no longer play it as a game, all the fun is taken out of it.

Bottom Line: If you really love a franchise to play, don't work on it, simple.

 

[ktimekiller]

new crimson skies plox

 

[Bad^Hat]

Probably. But if I havent been bat shit crazy over any of their previous games, why should I take the bet that I would be insane about the latest one? It would be cool to be the envy of everyone and know what Blizzard is working on, but that would pass pretty quickly.

With MS, I could get a chance to work on Crackdown 2, Alan Wake, Halo: Reach, Project Natal stuff, etc and I would be in heaven. :angel:

It just really boils down to what you are totally interested in, and for now, MS is that place for me.

Plus, there's craploads of unannounced MS titles that I could be working on!

Cool, good for you, man.

Also the Blizz thing was a joke.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Cool, good for you, man.

Also the Blizz thing was a joke.

Hehe it's hard to tell! Almost every person I told my Blizzard opportunity about, they were like "WHAT?!"