I don't see why that'd be tacky, as long as the rest of video is proffesional etc.
About the innovation thing, I agree to some extent. Altough I can't really blame the publishers with the amount of money that goes into games today.
Also it's not like there's no innovation, because theres always that ONE publisher that does take the risk. Also certain titles start selling less etc, and they have to find the next new thing to milk. Innovation isn't gone, it's simply slowed down.
If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
Moderator: Moderators
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
How feasible is this? The specs (see faq) have 2 gig storage. A 2 gig sd card is $10 all by itself, wireless usb adapters sell for $30-$40, so how is this going to sell for $10-$20 being a complete handheld?EDIT: The most tactful way I can think of would be to put a trailer for the Windows PC based playable prototype on YouTube with "we are seeking a publisher" where the release date would be. Had Robert Pelloni done this with Bob's Game instead of the e-drama route, would it likely have turned out happier?
http://the-nd.com/
nD
I don't see any updates on the official forum or anything else indicating that it'll actually come out before December 2012. I really want to believe that the nD is not vapor, but I've started to lose faith.In [url=http://the-nd.com/forum/showthread.php?tid=102]the FAQ[/url], TechNick wrote:When will the nD be released?
The nD is currently in the prototyping phase. The first consumer ready systems won't be available until sometime in 2012. Dev kits will be available to developers before launch. The target release date is currently "before the Wii U launch."
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
Tepples,
Have you considered developing for the XBLA Indie platform? I did a game on there a few years back and got about 2000 purchases and over 15000 demo downloads. It was no where near as polished as your games (a fairly simple Snake clone without music).
Interestingly enough, the things that I got the most visibility from were homebrew projects for modern platforms, especially the PSP. I only did a few utilities and a port of the Frotz Interactive Fiction engine and I get emails every week from folks about them.
I interviewed Richard Garriott in 2002 for my senior English paper on how to get into the games industry (disclosure: I ended up going into business programming
). He said the number one thing they (at the time NC Soft North America) look for in a candidate are finished game projects. No matter what the scope, as long as the game was finished, polished and playable, was a more important that degrees. The only thing more important was prior experience in the industry (obviously).
In the interview Mr. Garriott indicated that it was better to present solo projects rather than team projects because that way they understand clearly what you did. It also gives them an opportunity to evaluate your skills with all areas of games development, not just programming. The implication was that someone barely competent with all disciplines of development was often more valuable than a person that was extremely talented in one discipline, because they (again NC Soft NA, a small development house) often needed developers that were flexible and could pitch in where needed.
We did get into the technology of those game projects as well. At the time mobile phone platforms were just coming up to the point that they were viable for games development. He indicated that any development experience, even with 2d games or old platforms, were relevant, and that new technologies were easy to pick up.
Just keep in mind that this was not a typical game industry employer. From what I've read and heard (and again, have no experience with), many development houses commoditize their developers to such an extent that many of these considerations are never taken during the hiring process.
Also this is one of the reasons I went into business programming. I found a good job with a wounderful employer, and decided that being happy in my job was more important that being challenged in my job. I challenge myself in my spare time with homebrew projects
Finally, thanks to the mod for splitting the topic.
P.S. Developing for touch-screen based devices is as brain-dead as the games you see on them. It's laughable to call a touch screen an input device for really any genre other than simple puzzles. Try running an NES emulator on your touch-screen only Android device and play literally any game other than Big Bird's Seak and Spell And this is coming from someone that spent most of his NES dev hiatus deving for Android... *grumbles to himself*
Have you considered developing for the XBLA Indie platform? I did a game on there a few years back and got about 2000 purchases and over 15000 demo downloads. It was no where near as polished as your games (a fairly simple Snake clone without music).
Interestingly enough, the things that I got the most visibility from were homebrew projects for modern platforms, especially the PSP. I only did a few utilities and a port of the Frotz Interactive Fiction engine and I get emails every week from folks about them.
I interviewed Richard Garriott in 2002 for my senior English paper on how to get into the games industry (disclosure: I ended up going into business programming
). He said the number one thing they (at the time NC Soft North America) look for in a candidate are finished game projects. No matter what the scope, as long as the game was finished, polished and playable, was a more important that degrees. The only thing more important was prior experience in the industry (obviously).In the interview Mr. Garriott indicated that it was better to present solo projects rather than team projects because that way they understand clearly what you did. It also gives them an opportunity to evaluate your skills with all areas of games development, not just programming. The implication was that someone barely competent with all disciplines of development was often more valuable than a person that was extremely talented in one discipline, because they (again NC Soft NA, a small development house) often needed developers that were flexible and could pitch in where needed.
We did get into the technology of those game projects as well. At the time mobile phone platforms were just coming up to the point that they were viable for games development. He indicated that any development experience, even with 2d games or old platforms, were relevant, and that new technologies were easy to pick up.
Just keep in mind that this was not a typical game industry employer. From what I've read and heard (and again, have no experience with), many development houses commoditize their developers to such an extent that many of these considerations are never taken during the hiring process.
Also this is one of the reasons I went into business programming. I found a good job with a wounderful employer, and decided that being happy in my job was more important that being challenged in my job. I challenge myself in my spare time with homebrew projects
Finally, thanks to the mod for splitting the topic.
P.S. Developing for touch-screen based devices is as brain-dead as the games you see on them. It's laughable to call a touch screen an input device for really any genre other than simple puzzles. Try running an NES emulator on your touch-screen only Android device and play literally any game other than Big Bird's Seak and Spell
And this is coming from someone that spent most of his NES dev hiatus deving for Android... *grumbles to himself*Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
What I personally hate about xbla indie project, is that I can't download the indie games in Europe. If it weren't for that, I'd say it would be a VERY good option. (even if not perfect, but come on guys it's a nice compromise)
edit: apparently parts of Europe DO have it, but at the very least not The Netherlands.
edit: apparently parts of Europe DO have it, but at the very least not The Netherlands.
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
XBLIG isn't available in countries whose governments mandate a particular organization's rating system, such as Australia. In the USA, the ESRB system is voluntary, mandated only by retailers and console makers, but some countries have made it a crime to sell a not-rated game.
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rainwarrior
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Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
For a programmer, no, not at all.tepples wrote:Which leaves how to afford getting to and from interviews in another state for several months. Are entry-level candidates with a degree and a portfolio expected to move before applying?
Typically you will have a first interview by phone. Then if interested, they will pay for your transportation for an on-site interview. Upon hiring they may offer to pay your moving expenses, and even if they don't it's something that is reasonable to request during the hiring negotiations.
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
Any decent employer that you'd want work for will do exactly the above. We pay travel and moving expenses for candidates from Malaysia, India, Europe, pretty much anywhere. But we only do so if it's requested, so don't be afraid to askrainwarrior wrote:For a programmer, no, not at all.tepples wrote:Which leaves how to afford getting to and from interviews in another state for several months. Are entry-level candidates with a degree and a portfolio expected to move before applying?
Typically you will have a first interview by phone. Then if interested, they will pay for your transportation for an on-site interview. Upon hiring they may offer to pay your moving expenses, and even if they don't it's something that is reasonable to request during the hiring negotiations.
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
So, my first job was doing assistant Unix sysadmin work at a small ISP. They really needed tech support, so I bargained with them to do both. If it is really your first job in a particular field you don't have much leverage, so do whatever it takes to get your foot in the door. My friend did something similar since he had no actual experience programming in the workforce, he just gave them an agreement that he would take a pay cut for the first 3 months to "prove" himself, and after that they have to pay him more, or let him go.
As for getting a degree... I don't think its necessary in the tech field (computers/electronics) if you're smart and can learn on your own. I don't have a degree and I've worked for some large and small companies, most of the time they're more interested in 'what you can do'. Once you build up your resume with stuff that you've accomplished it gets much easier to get hired.
What I find interesting is that most of the people I've worked with at these tech companies don't actually have a genuine interest in programming/electronics. They just sorta do it as a "job". I think that's what separates the passionate workers from people who are only interested in doing "the work" and collecting a paycheck. I have a hard time not doing a good job, and if the team doesn't care about the project then it gets hard for me to like my work.
As for getting a degree... I don't think its necessary in the tech field (computers/electronics) if you're smart and can learn on your own. I don't have a degree and I've worked for some large and small companies, most of the time they're more interested in 'what you can do'. Once you build up your resume with stuff that you've accomplished it gets much easier to get hired.
What I find interesting is that most of the people I've worked with at these tech companies don't actually have a genuine interest in programming/electronics. They just sorta do it as a "job". I think that's what separates the passionate workers from people who are only interested in doing "the work" and collecting a paycheck. I have a hard time not doing a good job, and if the team doesn't care about the project then it gets hard for me to like my work.
Re: If somebody wants to be hired for the first time
What he said, 100%.