I know. I wouldn't have bothered applying if I didn't know who they were. It's just now they've reached that status where the next thing they produce is going to be golden. People were so hyped about Dragon Age, even though some of them didn't actually like how it was closer to Baldur's Gate than it was to Mass Effect. You know if Bioware announced a new title tomorrow, news sites would be all over it.
That is the kind of company that'd be fun to work for: Where you can take risks in producing a new game even if people don't like it, because you know it'll sell decently regardless.
I find its all dependant on what exactly you want to be doing. When you look at the broad scheme of things, it basically boils down to this:
1) Do you want to be defining the gameplay? This is where a CS degree is great. You learn about events, networking, and all about programming so its easy to pick up a tutorial on the subject and get rolling. There's tons of books in stores, and lessons online that deal with creating gameplay, learning DirectX, and modifying current architecture. All will be useful if you have an idea for a game based around a new game mechanic you've come up with. This stuff is generally so heavy that it will take at least 1 person's full attention, so he won't be able to work on the other fields.
2) Do you want to be defining the story? I and everyone else on here will argue that a great game has the gameplay interlaced with the story. However, I find that it more heavily relies on your art director to actually bring that through. Yes, your guy or gal who set up the hitpoint system for your game has a say in how the story goes, but he essentially won't be applying anything other than through game mechanics. Your artists will be the ones creating the models, the textures, sometimes the environments. Since this is what people will be seeing, this position has a great influence on how the game turns out. A degree in Art and animation would be very useful here. Animating is probably one of the more exclusive jobs in game design. I may know a ton about Engines and C++ but none of that helps you pick up Maya and start animating professionally, something a lot of people think is easy. Doing something in Flash will give you a head start, but animating itself is practically a full time gig, given the scale that games get into. there are cinematics, basic world movement, every attack, and all that. And thats what make the art position so heavy, so that they artist can't really work on game development either, because dealing with models and textures is a huge job.
3) Level Design?
It's not really covered in any major degree, since level design is not exactly something you would need to learn for any other job besides a video game developer. The good thing is, this is one of the things they teach you in those game schools, supposedly. Alternatively, there are lots of books on the subject. It's not as easy as some people might think, creating a good level. You have to make sure the lighting is just right to make sure the path is intuitive for the player. While not easy, its not as time consuming at the other jobs (or at least for me, ymmv), so this position lets you float around and help in the other areas of game development. The art director might be too busy with animating to do a landscape for a cinematic, in which case, you have the basic knowledge already on how to create environments to play in, so a landscape is pretty simple. Likewise, your codemonkey could be flying along with updates, and when it comes time to test the numbers for gameplay balancing, you've got the levels lined up to do so.
So, in my experience, I've found that it takes people with these 3 skills to pump out a quality feature 3D game. However, game design schools don't really focus on one aspect long enough for a person to be sure of what field they really want to be in. Someone with an Art degree will know a little bit more about various tricks they can use to increase that aspect of the game. Likewise, someone who works in C++ all day will likely come across a bug fix for their web app that might spark help with their game (I know I have).
I think banking on super video game specifics is probably less helpful for you than if you get a group of people together with specific knowledge in the other related fields.
Surprisingly enough, most game developers don't care about what education you have, just what skills you can show.
With computers, employers have found that self-taught basement perchers can be just as if not more skilled and efficient then your 4 to 8 year graduates in the subject.
Valve has been quoted as saying post secondary education not required, just send in a portfolio of your skills.
In fact, almost any game company position you want... Go to your favourite game dev website, look at their opportunities page. See anything you like? Look at the requirements: Its usually a portfolio demoing your skills, sometimes they want your name on something thats shipped, or at least 4 years working with the language. Almost next to never do they care if you have any education in the field. With game development, its worth next to nothing if you can't show how these skills help you create something creative.
Yeah, everyone told me to stay away from Computer science lest I become a zombie at a cubicle staring at code all day.
But I did some research, and I know one day I want to be just like Steve Ballmer.
One day, I'LL be the one sweating on stage shouting developers over and over until people give in and start clapping. Who doesn't dream of a life like that?
I was the only one who went in realizing that programming in C++ was nothing like playing Halo 3, and also the only one who came out understanding how games like that are written in C++. (Halo 3 I'm not exactly sure, but Half Life 2 is) Funny how that works.
It's true, I went into computer programming FOR game design because my city there was nothing close to Game design. However, I know that I'm no artist, so I don't want to get into the whole character creation and animation. I know I want to be working with either DirectX or OpenGL and the Engine code. So really it worked out nicely.
First semester about half the class also was in it to help do games. Second semester a few people dropped out, the Java lessons killed them. We used Eclipse so I found it easy, but I guess a few people don't like logic puzzles. By the Second year - all of those game programmers except for me and one other had dropped out. They hated Multi-threading and Socket networking. I loved that stuff. The thing that REALLY drove them off, was relational databases. SQL is so easy to learn, I could probably educate half my friends how to use MySQL or Oracle in like 3 one hour sessons, but you won't find it interesting unless you have a use for it. Being big on the MMO scene, I instantly saw how a relational database could be extremely useful in a game like WoW.
Now I'm out and working in the real world. I won't get hired by EA right out of college though I don't know if I'd want to be. A lot of teenagers dream of getting on board with EA or Microsoft Games, but in reality those bigger companies give the new guys the shit jobs while the senior guys do the fun stuff. I know a guy who graduated from the art College in town with a degree in Animation, and he got hired by EA pretty much instantly. What did he get to do? Trees! He gets to animate trees all day. I don't know if he's still doing that now, haven't talked to him since. They've probably turned him into a zombie.
Before I had any college experience though, there was an opening at Bioware, before they released Mass Effect - so pretty much just before they got as famous as they are now. I really wanted to apply but they stated they wanted some experience before taking someone on for the position (I believe it was lead level designer). Shucks.
So now in my spare time I work on a portfolio. I've got a few maps I've created in Hammer for HL2 Deathmatch, some Maps I've done in Unreal for Unreal Tournament. A few flash games to show some of that skill. Working on a game in the Source Engine to show some skills and Idea's I've got floating around. When I'm done, I'll see who wants me for what price. Ideally, I'd like to get in at Lucasarts so they can start making GOOD games again, like I STILL play Xwing vs Tie Fighter... So we'll see how that goes.
Halo 3 did make more than most hollywood movies in its first day than they do in their first weekend. Over the course of a few months though I believe most movies catch up.
While I would agree that video games are a big industry, I wouldn't go as far as to say they are as influential as movies. Video games (especially new releases) usually cost about 5 or 6 times as much as a movie ticket. If you consider the amount of sales and not the dollars earned as influential (which I have come to take its meaning), than movies still win out.
The only Superior he was supposed to give the password to is the Mayor. He was only supposed to do that in an environment deemed secure enough for no one else to get the password. He complied with that. He is basically being sued into oblivion because he didn't want the secretary, the press, and/or anyone else getting a hold of the password.
Hey, you want the password? yeah its p@ssw0rd. Tell your friends!
Before you know it, it'll be written into the next Windows shell and you won't even have to enter it anymore. No more managing passwords and user accounts and all the stuff that makes IT frustrating.
Not only have autopilots worked incredibly well in the past, with a high success rate, but the idea is to keep Pilots awake by letting them exercise their mind while in flight.
Staring at the same blinky lights and widgets all day is going to be about the same as staring at the same blank blue sky.
A game of solitaire and Minesweeper shouldn't be that big an issue. Its like 10 minutes. If there was a catastrophic failure in that time there are systems in place to warn the pilots, like buzzers and alarms and warning sounds.
When was the last time we had an airliner NOT get people safely to its destination based solely on a Pilot being distracted?
Most MMO's aspire to higher subscription ratings with 1 million being considered the line between success and an "also ran".
That's where EVE played it differently and were still very successful. They didn't NEED a million subscribers to make a good profit off of supporting their product for a lengthy period of time. They just built their market around the ability to buy additional time codes and sell them in game for in game money.
Essentially, they've diverted the money that would be flooded to chinese farmers back into their own pockets.
It's me. I don't have a DVD or CD burner, so I've been trying to get my pirated material onto other medias.
I just can't figure out why people don't want the latest Star Trek movie on a simple, small, and affordable 720 three and a half inch floppies collectors set!
I never got what the big deal was with The Pope anyways. He's just as human as you or I, so his interpretations can be just as flawed as yours or mine, yet elected by his own circle of peers, instead of by the masses that follow his orders.
I'll give him due respect as a fellow human being, one whose wisdom probably far exceeds my own in a great many things. However, I have a feeling I know a bit more on the subject of Internet Transparency than him, so I'll politely decline his advice.
Exactly. What exactly is the benefit of a society where you are worried about "Job Loss" in a sector that won't promote any growth? Who is not going to have a job? People who are working against net neutrality, and that alone. Its not like the Lawyers don't have skills to apply law in other fields. Its not like Technicians don't have skills to work in other IT Fields. Its not like Lobbyists can't lobby in other fields.
It's like the idea that we need to have a secretary for every employee because without it there would be job loss.
This is correct. Not including Endzones of course, but yes, there is a 50 yard line on both sides, and 5 yards from both of them is the "C" center line.
Except the difference between all those things is that Alcohol and Tabacco companies don't self police their industries, whereas movie theatres AND game retailers check for ID.
The rational was that if they've been able to spend more 3 hours on Facebook a day they didn't have enough work to do.
Our IT Department is small enough that we're practically immune from layoffs, there is only 4 of us so firing 1 is losing 25% of your staff. We're nearing 1000 users, so thats especially a bad idea.
I don't really get involved with managers decisions. I am eyes and ears. They tell me to investigate, I look into it, report the findings. Its someone elses job to decide what happens to them.
It's not always a nice place to work, given some of the BS that goes on around other departments, but ours is pretty lax cause its a tight knit group. The pay is alright but the real perk is working with friends.
Yes, we're lucky enough that Movie theatres do the self policing, so that the cops don't have to be involved in that. And the Law has been created to stop minors from smoking, drinking. However, this won't stop older friends or family from boot-legging.
That's why parenting is more crucial. If your a kid and you saved up your allowance to buy a video game, and your parents take that game away, you just wasted your allowance. If thats not enough ground them for a week.
My point is that we've tried putting laws to stop under-aged this and that, and it never ferrets out the problem entirely. However, a good mom or dad can be VERY effective. 2 Parents looking after their own kids can be way more efficient than a police force looking after all the kids in the city.
Wouldn't that be the best way to turn a simple mistake INTO a publicity stunt? Even if it turns out to be false, got people talking for another week, right?
First of all, I doubt there is any evidence that companies on the whole are selling "R"-rated (ignoring the fact that there is no such rating) games to minors.
Really? You just mentioned "M-rated" moments later. That is the rating! The problem is that the ESRB doesn't have the manpower to thoroughly rate a game entirely accurately, nor does anyone take the rating seriously enough to impose any actual limitations on it.
If the parent doesn't object to, say, their 14 year old driving a car, drinking alcohol, or smoking a cigarette, or seeing an R-rated movie, why should it be the State of California's business to tell them they can't?
I think that this kind of legislation should only go through if we can either develop a proper rating system or inject some serious power into the ESRB because they can't quite handle the responsibility as it is right now.
Parents SHOULD be aware of what their children are doing 100% of the time. When I was growing up, I didn't go anywhere without letting my parents know. Even when I'd sneak out at night, I was sure to leave a note, because I knew my mother would call the cops if I was missing. That note would detail where and who I was with, and what time I expected to return. This was enough to satiate my parents.
When my parents let my older brother play GTA2, but not me, it felt quite unfair, but my brother is 4 years older than me. When I came of what they deemed a proper age, they went and purchased UT2K4 for my birthday and I was happy to have their blessing, rather than trying to sneak-play a violent game. I knew there would be hell to pay if I was caught playing a game I wasn't allowed.
It's really not that difficult. You keep the entertainment in a public room in the house, computers, TV's, etc. Then you tell them what they can and can't do. Then you punish them if they break the rules.
Putting a restriction at the point of sale is about as effective as stopping kids from downloading music. The whole issue is a parenting problem, and it wasn't a problem over a decade ago, so why are we proposing a new fix?
Well, I've seen the street view car a couple times in my city, and trust me, you can't keep up with it without sprinting. She doesn't appear sprinting in any of those pictures.
Slashdot Mirror
I know. I wouldn't have bothered applying if I didn't know who they were. It's just now they've reached that status where the next thing they produce is going to be golden. People were so hyped about Dragon Age, even though some of them didn't actually like how it was closer to Baldur's Gate than it was to Mass Effect. You know if Bioware announced a new title tomorrow, news sites would be all over it.
That is the kind of company that'd be fun to work for: Where you can take risks in producing a new game even if people don't like it, because you know it'll sell decently regardless.
I find its all dependant on what exactly you want to be doing. When you look at the broad scheme of things, it basically boils down to this:
1) Do you want to be defining the gameplay?
This is where a CS degree is great. You learn about events, networking, and all about programming so its easy to pick up a tutorial on the subject and get rolling. There's tons of books in stores, and lessons online that deal with creating gameplay, learning DirectX, and modifying current architecture. All will be useful if you have an idea for a game based around a new game mechanic you've come up with. This stuff is generally so heavy that it will take at least 1 person's full attention, so he won't be able to work on the other fields.
2) Do you want to be defining the story?
I and everyone else on here will argue that a great game has the gameplay interlaced with the story. However, I find that it more heavily relies on your art director to actually bring that through. Yes, your guy or gal who set up the hitpoint system for your game has a say in how the story goes, but he essentially won't be applying anything other than through game mechanics. Your artists will be the ones creating the models, the textures, sometimes the environments. Since this is what people will be seeing, this position has a great influence on how the game turns out. A degree in Art and animation would be very useful here. Animating is probably one of the more exclusive jobs in game design. I may know a ton about Engines and C++ but none of that helps you pick up Maya and start animating professionally, something a lot of people think is easy. Doing something in Flash will give you a head start, but animating itself is practically a full time gig, given the scale that games get into. there are cinematics, basic world movement, every attack, and all that. And thats what make the art position so heavy, so that they artist can't really work on game development either, because dealing with models and textures is a huge job.
3) Level Design?
It's not really covered in any major degree, since level design is not exactly something you would need to learn for any other job besides a video game developer. The good thing is, this is one of the things they teach you in those game schools, supposedly. Alternatively, there are lots of books on the subject. It's not as easy as some people might think, creating a good level. You have to make sure the lighting is just right to make sure the path is intuitive for the player. While not easy, its not as time consuming at the other jobs (or at least for me, ymmv), so this position lets you float around and help in the other areas of game development. The art director might be too busy with animating to do a landscape for a cinematic, in which case, you have the basic knowledge already on how to create environments to play in, so a landscape is pretty simple. Likewise, your codemonkey could be flying along with updates, and when it comes time to test the numbers for gameplay balancing, you've got the levels lined up to do so.
So, in my experience, I've found that it takes people with these 3 skills to pump out a quality feature 3D game. However, game design schools don't really focus on one aspect long enough for a person to be sure of what field they really want to be in. Someone with an Art degree will know a little bit more about various tricks they can use to increase that aspect of the game. Likewise, someone who works in C++ all day will likely come across a bug fix for their web app that might spark help with their game (I know I have).
I think banking on super video game specifics is probably less helpful for you than if you get a group of people together with specific knowledge in the other related fields.
Surprisingly enough, most game developers don't care about what education you have, just what skills you can show.
With computers, employers have found that self-taught basement perchers can be just as if not more skilled and efficient then your 4 to 8 year graduates in the subject.
Valve has been quoted as saying post secondary education not required, just send in a portfolio of your skills.
In fact, almost any game company position you want... Go to your favourite game dev website, look at their opportunities page. See anything you like? Look at the requirements: Its usually a portfolio demoing your skills, sometimes they want your name on something thats shipped, or at least 4 years working with the language. Almost next to never do they care if you have any education in the field. With game development, its worth next to nothing if you can't show how these skills help you create something creative.
Yeah, everyone told me to stay away from Computer science lest I become a zombie at a cubicle staring at code all day.
But I did some research, and I know one day I want to be just like Steve Ballmer.
One day, I'LL be the one sweating on stage shouting developers over and over until people give in and start clapping. Who doesn't dream of a life like that?
I was the only one who went in realizing that programming in C++ was nothing like playing Halo 3, and also the only one who came out understanding how games like that are written in C++. (Halo 3 I'm not exactly sure, but Half Life 2 is) Funny how that works.
It's true, I went into computer programming FOR game design because my city there was nothing close to Game design. However, I know that I'm no artist, so I don't want to get into the whole character creation and animation. I know I want to be working with either DirectX or OpenGL and the Engine code. So really it worked out nicely.
First semester about half the class also was in it to help do games. Second semester a few people dropped out, the Java lessons killed them. We used Eclipse so I found it easy, but I guess a few people don't like logic puzzles. By the Second year - all of those game programmers except for me and one other had dropped out. They hated Multi-threading and Socket networking. I loved that stuff. The thing that REALLY drove them off, was relational databases. SQL is so easy to learn, I could probably educate half my friends how to use MySQL or Oracle in like 3 one hour sessons, but you won't find it interesting unless you have a use for it. Being big on the MMO scene, I instantly saw how a relational database could be extremely useful in a game like WoW.
Now I'm out and working in the real world. I won't get hired by EA right out of college though I don't know if I'd want to be. A lot of teenagers dream of getting on board with EA or Microsoft Games, but in reality those bigger companies give the new guys the shit jobs while the senior guys do the fun stuff. I know a guy who graduated from the art College in town with a degree in Animation, and he got hired by EA pretty much instantly. What did he get to do? Trees! He gets to animate trees all day. I don't know if he's still doing that now, haven't talked to him since. They've probably turned him into a zombie.
Before I had any college experience though, there was an opening at Bioware, before they released Mass Effect - so pretty much just before they got as famous as they are now. I really wanted to apply but they stated they wanted some experience before taking someone on for the position (I believe it was lead level designer). Shucks.
So now in my spare time I work on a portfolio. I've got a few maps I've created in Hammer for HL2 Deathmatch, some Maps I've done in Unreal for Unreal Tournament. A few flash games to show some of that skill. Working on a game in the Source Engine to show some skills and Idea's I've got floating around. When I'm done, I'll see who wants me for what price. Ideally, I'd like to get in at Lucasarts so they can start making GOOD games again, like I STILL play Xwing vs Tie Fighter... So we'll see how that goes.
Halo 3 did make more than most hollywood movies in its first day than they do in their first weekend. Over the course of a few months though I believe most movies catch up.
While I would agree that video games are a big industry, I wouldn't go as far as to say they are as influential as movies. Video games (especially new releases) usually cost about 5 or 6 times as much as a movie ticket. If you consider the amount of sales and not the dollars earned as influential (which I have come to take its meaning), than movies still win out.
Steve Jobs just posted an open letter of sorts
That facebook page that keeps friend requesting you is not the real Steve Jobs.
Where do you work that DOS is the prefered OS across the entire company?
The only Superior he was supposed to give the password to is the Mayor. He was only supposed to do that in an environment deemed secure enough for no one else to get the password. He complied with that. He is basically being sued into oblivion because he didn't want the secretary, the press, and/or anyone else getting a hold of the password.
What what?
They just made our jobs easier.
Hey, you want the password? yeah its p@ssw0rd. Tell your friends!
Before you know it, it'll be written into the next Windows shell and you won't even have to enter it anymore. No more managing passwords and user accounts and all the stuff that makes IT frustrating.
[/sarcasm ]
Not only have autopilots worked incredibly well in the past, with a high success rate, but the idea is to keep Pilots awake by letting them exercise their mind while in flight.
Staring at the same blinky lights and widgets all day is going to be about the same as staring at the same blank blue sky.
A game of solitaire and Minesweeper shouldn't be that big an issue. Its like 10 minutes. If there was a catastrophic failure in that time there are systems in place to warn the pilots, like buzzers and alarms and warning sounds.
When was the last time we had an airliner NOT get people safely to its destination based solely on a Pilot being distracted?
Most MMO's aspire to higher subscription ratings with 1 million being considered the line between success and an "also ran".
That's where EVE played it differently and were still very successful. They didn't NEED a million subscribers to make a good profit off of supporting their product for a lengthy period of time. They just built their market around the ability to buy additional time codes and sell them in game for in game money.
Essentially, they've diverted the money that would be flooded to chinese farmers back into their own pockets.
It's me. I don't have a DVD or CD burner, so I've been trying to get my pirated material onto other medias.
I just can't figure out why people don't want the latest Star Trek movie on a simple, small, and affordable 720 three and a half inch floppies collectors set!
I never got what the big deal was with The Pope anyways. He's just as human as you or I, so his interpretations can be just as flawed as yours or mine, yet elected by his own circle of peers, instead of by the masses that follow his orders.
I'll give him due respect as a fellow human being, one whose wisdom probably far exceeds my own in a great many things. However, I have a feeling I know a bit more on the subject of Internet Transparency than him, so I'll politely decline his advice.
Exactly. What exactly is the benefit of a society where you are worried about "Job Loss" in a sector that won't promote any growth? Who is not going to have a job? People who are working against net neutrality, and that alone. Its not like the Lawyers don't have skills to apply law in other fields. Its not like Technicians don't have skills to work in other IT Fields. Its not like Lobbyists can't lobby in other fields.
It's like the idea that we need to have a secretary for every employee because without it there would be job loss.
This is correct. Not including Endzones of course, but yes, there is a 50 yard line on both sides, and 5 yards from both of them is the "C" center line.
No you dummy, it was a soundstage on mars.
Except the difference between all those things is that Alcohol and Tabacco companies don't self police their industries, whereas movie theatres AND game retailers check for ID.
At least they have whenever I buy a game.
The rational was that if they've been able to spend more 3 hours on Facebook a day they didn't have enough work to do.
Our IT Department is small enough that we're practically immune from layoffs, there is only 4 of us so firing 1 is losing 25% of your staff. We're nearing 1000 users, so thats especially a bad idea.
I don't really get involved with managers decisions. I am eyes and ears. They tell me to investigate, I look into it, report the findings. Its someone elses job to decide what happens to them.
It's not always a nice place to work, given some of the BS that goes on around other departments, but ours is pretty lax cause its a tight knit group. The pay is alright but the real perk is working with friends.
Yes, we're lucky enough that Movie theatres do the self policing, so that the cops don't have to be involved in that. And the Law has been created to stop minors from smoking, drinking. However, this won't stop older friends or family from boot-legging.
That's why parenting is more crucial. If your a kid and you saved up your allowance to buy a video game, and your parents take that game away, you just wasted your allowance. If thats not enough ground them for a week.
My point is that we've tried putting laws to stop under-aged this and that, and it never ferrets out the problem entirely. However, a good mom or dad can be VERY effective. 2 Parents looking after their own kids can be way more efficient than a police force looking after all the kids in the city.
Why not?
Wouldn't that be the best way to turn a simple mistake INTO a publicity stunt? Even if it turns out to be false, got people talking for another week, right?
First of all, I doubt there is any evidence that companies on the whole are selling "R"-rated (ignoring the fact that there is no such rating) games to minors.
Really? You just mentioned "M-rated" moments later. That is the rating! The problem is that the ESRB doesn't have the manpower to thoroughly rate a game entirely accurately, nor does anyone take the rating seriously enough to impose any actual limitations on it.
If the parent doesn't object to, say, their 14 year old driving a car, drinking alcohol, or smoking a cigarette, or seeing an R-rated movie, why should it be the State of California's business to tell them they can't?
I think that this kind of legislation should only go through if we can either develop a proper rating system or inject some serious power into the ESRB because they can't quite handle the responsibility as it is right now.
Parents SHOULD be aware of what their children are doing 100% of the time. When I was growing up, I didn't go anywhere without letting my parents know. Even when I'd sneak out at night, I was sure to leave a note, because I knew my mother would call the cops if I was missing. That note would detail where and who I was with, and what time I expected to return. This was enough to satiate my parents.
When my parents let my older brother play GTA2, but not me, it felt quite unfair, but my brother is 4 years older than me. When I came of what they deemed a proper age, they went and purchased UT2K4 for my birthday and I was happy to have their blessing, rather than trying to sneak-play a violent game. I knew there would be hell to pay if I was caught playing a game I wasn't allowed.
It's really not that difficult. You keep the entertainment in a public room in the house, computers, TV's, etc. Then you tell them what they can and can't do. Then you punish them if they break the rules.
Putting a restriction at the point of sale is about as effective as stopping kids from downloading music. The whole issue is a parenting problem, and it wasn't a problem over a decade ago, so why are we proposing a new fix?
Well, I've seen the street view car a couple times in my city, and trust me, you can't keep up with it without sprinting. She doesn't appear sprinting in any of those pictures.