I already have some ideas for a game I'd like to start working on, perhaps for the demo. It's a small 3D top-down fighter/shooter, with a simple fast-pased story to keep it interesting.
Anyone have any advice? I'd really like to get this job.
Advice from those of you in the games industry?
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SwitchCase
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Advice from those of you in the games industry?
I'm applying for Junior Programmer vacancy which asks for an impressive Demo rather than actual qualifications. What type of game would you recommend as being suitable. I hear a remake of a classic retro game is a good idea but I'm unsure on some things; such as, should I keep it 2D or would a 3D remake be beneficial?
I already have some ideas for a game I'd like to start working on, perhaps for the demo. It's a small 3D top-down fighter/shooter, with a simple fast-pased story to keep it interesting.
Anyone have any advice? I'd really like to get this job.
I already have some ideas for a game I'd like to start working on, perhaps for the demo. It's a small 3D top-down fighter/shooter, with a simple fast-pased story to keep it interesting.
Anyone have any advice? I'd really like to get this job.
Who's the job with?
Not that that matter, just interested!
Are you applying for the job right now? If so then it's obviously too late to put together an impressive demo before your interview... You really need to have something pre-made before applying...
It wouldn't have to be 3D necessarily as a 2D game could still be impressive if you did something special with it.
Remaking a classic retro game could be a good idea, but make sure you improve upon it in someway... make it better or add a cool new feature. That way it can be compared to the classic but a clear improvement is obvious and sets you above the original.
Not that that matter, just interested!
Are you applying for the job right now? If so then it's obviously too late to put together an impressive demo before your interview... You really need to have something pre-made before applying...
It wouldn't have to be 3D necessarily as a 2D game could still be impressive if you did something special with it.
Remaking a classic retro game could be a good idea, but make sure you improve upon it in someway... make it better or add a cool new feature. That way it can be compared to the classic but a clear improvement is obvious and sets you above the original.
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SwitchCase
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Cheers for the fast reply JP.
The jobs for Blitz.
I've not applyed for the job yet no, i'm getting a demo together first. I do have bits and bobs of games i've made in the past but I doubt their suitable. Though I might be able to reuse some of the code.
I understand about adding something to a classic but I bet they get the same classic game remakes all the time. I mean, you type invaders or breakout into google and there's thousands or remakes, each with their own improvement to the origninal. It's gotta be hard to make mine stand out in the sea of remakes. lol.
Btw, just interested, is it Playstaion you work for JP?
The jobs for Blitz.
I've not applyed for the job yet no, i'm getting a demo together first. I do have bits and bobs of games i've made in the past but I doubt their suitable. Though I might be able to reuse some of the code.
I understand about adding something to a classic but I bet they get the same classic game remakes all the time. I mean, you type invaders or breakout into google and there's thousands or remakes, each with their own improvement to the origninal. It's gotta be hard to make mine stand out in the sea of remakes. lol.
Btw, just interested, is it Playstaion you work for JP?
Aye i work for Sony in London.
Is it Leamington Spa you're going to for Blitz? I went there for an interview, though that's as far as i got
I'd just say that it's probably going to take you a little while to get an impressive demo together, impressive generally doesn't come quickly!
Also is Blitz the only guys you're applying to? I had 13 interviews before i got the Sony job and i applied to many more! I went all over the UK from Brighton to Edinburgh! I was willing to relocate, if you're not then obviously you're more limited to how many you can apply to.
Is it Leamington Spa you're going to for Blitz? I went there for an interview, though that's as far as i got
I'd just say that it's probably going to take you a little while to get an impressive demo together, impressive generally doesn't come quickly!
Also is Blitz the only guys you're applying to? I had 13 interviews before i got the Sony job and i applied to many more! I went all over the UK from Brighton to Edinburgh! I was willing to relocate, if you're not then obviously you're more limited to how many you can apply to.
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SwitchCase
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Yeah that's it in Leamington Spa.
I am looking for other jobs aswell, I am willing to relocate but i'm limited in where unless the job offers some sort of relocation package. Fortunatly though I can get to Leamington Spa even though I live up in Manchester. It's a shame theres not many studios in the North West.
I am looking for other jobs aswell, I am willing to relocate but i'm limited in where unless the job offers some sort of relocation package. Fortunatly though I can get to Leamington Spa even though I live up in Manchester. It's a shame theres not many studios in the North West.
Sony has studios in Liverpool (F1 & Wipeout) and Runcorn (Motorstorm), not sure how close the actually are to Manchester though as i'm a southerner
Derby has Rebellion (used to be Core Design, Tomb Raider)...
Birmingham has Swordfish Studios (Jonah Lomu Rugby, Cold Winter)
Solihull has Sega Racing Studio
those ones are more midlands rather than north west, but what the heck
Personally i used recruitment agents and they did a pretty good job for the most part. Aardvark Swift were the ones who actually got me the job at Sony but i forget the name of the other good one... (if you're interested i can look it up). Basically you give them your CV and they'll send it out to every games studio they know of (in the areas you want to look), pretty good way of finding out where studios are!
Derby has Rebellion (used to be Core Design, Tomb Raider)...
Birmingham has Swordfish Studios (Jonah Lomu Rugby, Cold Winter)
Solihull has Sega Racing Studio
those ones are more midlands rather than north west, but what the heck
Personally i used recruitment agents and they did a pretty good job for the most part. Aardvark Swift were the ones who actually got me the job at Sony but i forget the name of the other good one... (if you're interested i can look it up). Basically you give them your CV and they'll send it out to every games studio they know of (in the areas you want to look), pretty good way of finding out where studios are!
I don't think the actual sort of game is that important, in many companies you could get by with any sort of application as long as it shows that you have a good grasp of programming. I'd say most (or even all) companies care more about how finished a game looks than what sort of game it is.
Don't you already have any finished game? One reason to ask for demos is that employers want to see that you care about programming - which means usually that you already can show off some stuff which you did for yourself.
A 2D-shooter is probably more than enough (I got my first job with way simpler games). You won't need much of a story - they don't play your game to get immersed but to check you out. Make it simple, but complete. Like - add menus and highscores. Make sure to test it on another computer - several if possible. Let others test it. Don't do any last changes - use the version which is tested even if it misses some features. Your game should not crash! (if you wonder why I care about that so much - it happened to me once... and I wanted to sink in the floor. I also saw it happen to several other people by now. This is the curse of presentations!)
Beside that - well the better it looks the better your chances :-)
Don't you already have any finished game? One reason to ask for demos is that employers want to see that you care about programming - which means usually that you already can show off some stuff which you did for yourself.
A 2D-shooter is probably more than enough (I got my first job with way simpler games). You won't need much of a story - they don't play your game to get immersed but to check you out. Make it simple, but complete. Like - add menus and highscores. Make sure to test it on another computer - several if possible. Let others test it. Don't do any last changes - use the version which is tested even if it misses some features. Your game should not crash! (if you wonder why I care about that so much - it happened to me once... and I wanted to sink in the floor. I also saw it happen to several other people by now. This is the curse of presentations!)
Beside that - well the better it looks the better your chances :-)
Last edited by CuteAlien on Thu Jul 24, 2008 2:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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rogerborg
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Personally, I'd love to see someone submit a demo that showcases the basics, rather than fancy pants graphics. Positional audio, responsive UI, efficient and secure network, efficient resource management and I/O, clear documentation and unit tests for the above...
I guess that's why I don't work in the games industry any more though, so you should probably do the opposite of that, and hack together some a buggy piece of eye candy, same as everyone else.
I guess that's why I don't work in the games industry any more though, so you should probably do the opposite of that, and hack together some a buggy piece of eye candy, same as everyone else.
Please upload candidate patches to the tracker.
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SwitchCase
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@JP
Liverpool is around an hours drive away, Runcorn a little closer. So yeh i'll check out those studios and the others aswell.
I'll have a look at Aardvark Swift, cheers. If you could find out the name of the other, I'd really appreciate it. I really want to get into the games industry, so yeah every agency i can find i'll register with.
@CuteAlien
Cheers for the advice.
I have 'finished' games yes but I find (as you suggest) that hobbiest dev usually leaves alot of loose ends, since it's more of a learning curve or experiment, as opposed to an attempt at a polished product. I don't think something I've already done would be suitable as a demo.
@rogerborg
Don't worry, I'm really not into buggy eye candy either. I appreciate well written code. My computer can't really handle this eye candy anyway.
On a different note... I'm thinking maybe I should apply for QAing jobs aswell. Foot in the door and all that. Any thoughts?
Liverpool is around an hours drive away, Runcorn a little closer. So yeh i'll check out those studios and the others aswell.
I'll have a look at Aardvark Swift, cheers. If you could find out the name of the other, I'd really appreciate it. I really want to get into the games industry, so yeah every agency i can find i'll register with.
@CuteAlien
Cheers for the advice.
I have 'finished' games yes but I find (as you suggest) that hobbiest dev usually leaves alot of loose ends, since it's more of a learning curve or experiment, as opposed to an attempt at a polished product. I don't think something I've already done would be suitable as a demo.
@rogerborg
Don't worry, I'm really not into buggy eye candy either. I appreciate well written code. My computer can't really handle this eye candy anyway.
On a different note... I'm thinking maybe I should apply for QAing jobs aswell. Foot in the door and all that. Any thoughts?
QA jobs are horrific... no one lasts long in those jobs as it's sooo god damned boring. Imagine playing a buggy level of a game over and over and over trying every possible thing you could do to try and find bugs, finding a load and then having to do it all over again when the developer sends a 'fixed' version which turns out to have the same bugs again. And having to do this for days on end. To be honest it doesn't sound toooo bad does it? But believe me it is! I've been doing a LittleBigPlanet beta trial and that's annoying and stressful enough as it is!
And i don't know how much of a foot in the door it would really be as it doesn't really give you any game dev experience. But there are other foot-in-the-door jobs out there, like mine, which is basically just coding menu interfaces (when they're even needed.. got nothing to do at the moment apart from my game (thank god! if i had any proper work i'd never get my game done!)) so the agencies could find you something if you're not up to the level of a proper game developer yet.
Creative Personnel was one of the other good agencies i used. They got me an interview with Rockstar in Edinburgh the day after i started applying for jobs! As for applying to Sony/Evolution, i might be able to pass your CV onto them for you which may/may not benefit you So when you're ready feel free to drop me a PM and i'll see if they've got any jobs going!
And i don't know how much of a foot in the door it would really be as it doesn't really give you any game dev experience. But there are other foot-in-the-door jobs out there, like mine, which is basically just coding menu interfaces (when they're even needed.. got nothing to do at the moment apart from my game (thank god! if i had any proper work i'd never get my game done!
)) so the agencies could find you something if you're not up to the level of a proper game developer yet.Creative Personnel was one of the other good agencies i used. They got me an interview with Rockstar in Edinburgh the day after i started applying for jobs! As for applying to Sony/Evolution, i might be able to pass your CV onto them for you which may/may not benefit you
So when you're ready feel free to drop me a PM and i'll see if they've got any jobs going! -
SwitchCase
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I'd imagine QAing would be bad. I've done QA before (in a different industry) part-time when I was at college, and it was a pretty dam boring, monotonous job. Cheers for the heads up though, I was thinking I'd try to stick it out.
I suppose your right, I should be able to get a junior programming position. The problem I have is I didn't take up any Uni offers when I finished college. Which means it's probably going to be a little harder to prove my ability.
Cheers for the help JP, it's really appreciated. Once I've got this demo done and dusted, I'll give you a shout. I'll register with Creative Personnel aswell. Thanks again mate.
I suppose your right, I should be able to get a junior programming position. The problem I have is I didn't take up any Uni offers when I finished college. Which means it's probably going to be a little harder to prove my ability.
Cheers for the help JP, it's really appreciated. Once I've got this demo done and dusted, I'll give you a shout. I'll register with Creative Personnel aswell. Thanks again mate.
Last edited by SwitchCase on Mon Jul 28, 2008 4:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Well i assumed you had a degree... you probably will struggle without one though you could get lucky if you've got some really good demos that show the required experience, but it doesn't really sound like you do from what you've said...
I don't want to put you off or anything but it's really not very easy to get into the industry!
I don't want to put you off or anything but it's really not very easy to get into the industry!
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SwitchCase
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Yeah, no harm in trying and if you don't get any jobs then you can go to uni anyway and you'll be well prepared to pick the right course and take full advantage of it and you've already got a certain amount of game dev and programming experience which personally i didn't really have before or during uni so had to squeeze a lot in to my final year and the 6 months or so after uni!