|
I've looked at similar companies but they have all been out of my price range. I am probably going to find somebody on upwork, since I've got all of my playtesters from there so far, but for this job I need more expertise.
|
#
?
Nov 2, 2017 16:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:25 |
|
|
https://kotaku.com/big-layoffs-at-studio-behind-gigantic-studio-behind-to-1820120915 I'm looking for work now  . It was a lot of fun while it lasted, and I accepted the job fully knowing the risks and maybe even expecting that this would happen. Still a huge bummer.
|
|
#
?
Nov 3, 2017 19:44
|
|
|
What a huge bummer of a day. We have some openings at Bungie. Hope everyone lands on their feet.
|
|
#
?
Nov 4, 2017 06:22
|
|
|
TastyShrimpPlatter posted:https://kotaku.com/big-layoffs-at-studio-behind-gigantic-studio-behind-to-1820120915 Toss a resume at me.
|
|
#
?
Nov 5, 2017 20:12
|
|
|
https://kotaku.com/1820224231 I'm safe, but my colleagues are not.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2017 20:17
|
|
|
Suspicious Dish posted:https://kotaku.com/1820224231 Bad week for games.
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2017 21:19
|
|
Until game companies set their goals realistically and don't grow quickly (which almost never loving happens these days) there will always be layoffs. Publisher: "Here's $50mil to make a game. We'd like to see a return of 2x our investment, and even though we'll say we won't influence development we're ultimately paying your bills so you better fuckin listen to us." GameCompany: "Ok great, now we have funding to make a game, but we only have 20 people and the project the publisher wants us to build would require us to grow to 60 people."Publisher: "Do what you need to do to get the project done, with our influence and sway over what you're doing."GameCompany: "We've hired 40 additional people, but in the process quadrupled our burn rate to meet expectations and deadlines, and our competitors just released a game thats similar but better than our's"Publisher: "Here, take $20mil more to extend development 6 months past due date and make your product better than competitors"GameCompany: "Our product is now dated, our engine is poo poo, the game sucks, the performance is crap. Our competitor started in a much better place than us financially and marketing though, and they seen our progress so they know how to bury us."Publisher: "Well, we'll just cut our losses, we're not funding anymore development so good luck have fun."GameCompany: "poo poo, our burn rate is too high, we need to "restructure" aka lay off people and put their livelihoods and families at stake."Publisher: "Lul don't give a poo poo cya"GameCompany closes Publisher repeats same poo poo but with a different studio. Oh and also the video game marketplace is one gigantic loving gamble that people still risk millions attempting to ride the coattails of others who were lucky enough to be financially stable. That will never change. Might as well just invest your money into ETFs or stocks, pretty much same type of gamble. The developers aren't who flourish in the industry, it's the publishers who throw money around like candy and who most likely get all kinds of tax breaks and benefits for "creating jobs" which are inevitably volatile for the employees involved. And the majority of the time the talent isn't even sourced locally because companies are constantly shutting down, moving, etc just to get all kinds of incentives. ceebee fucked around with this message at 22:28 on Nov 7, 2017 |
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2017 22:24
|
|
|
ceebee posted:Might as well just invest your money into ETFs or stocks, pretty much same type of gamble. The developers aren't who flourish in the industry, it's the publishers who throw money around like candy and who most likely get all kinds of tax breaks and benefits for "creating jobs" which are inevitably volatile for the employees involved. And the majority of the time the talent isn't even sourced locally because companies are constantly shutting down, moving, etc just to get all kinds of incentives. As a person who knows a little bit about finance (not an expert though), this sort of investment is called "small cap growth" -- it's historically the absolute riskiest, most unreliable kind of way to invest your money and so only the really stupid or the stupidly rich ever actually put their money into it. Kind of like with what's happening to that Bitcoin thing right now. So don't feel bad about what the publishers are doing -- they don't really care as long as one of them hits.  It's more like investing in Penny Stocks than ETFs or traditional stocks, which are usually like in the top row of that picture I linked. The idea is that most of the time you're just throwing your money away, but when it does hit it's like winning the lottery because even a small increase means millions for the people throwing money at the publishers in the first place. Rich people usually only ever bother using like 2% of what they have each year on stuff like this afaik, but that 2% or whatever is actually a crazy large amount of money in the US because of the whole income inequality thing. Plus, if their investment doesn't work out then they can sometimes use the loss as a tax deduction for themselves to help balance everything out because the government wants rich people to invest money in small stuff.  Just thought a little perspective on the whole thing might help you feel better or whatever. Thanks for reading!
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2017 22:44
|
|
Love Stole the Day posted:So don't feel bad about what the publishers are doing -- they don't really care as long as one of them hits. Yeah unfortunately there have been dozens if not hundreds of studios who are the victims (and typically self-inflicted victims) of publishers pulling out when things don't "hit". It's not just gambling money, it's gambling people's livelihoods and families. I get your explanation but it doesn't make up for the fact that ultimately businesses like publishers and the studios who utilize them are not benefiting the communities or locations they open their companies up at, or the employees they move to those locales. Look at Amazon for an example, they don't give two shits about the employees they just care about growth and overtaking as many competitors as possible. And if they gently caress up it's not dozens or hundreds of people's lives on the line, it's thousands (and usually not local people, but people who were relocated to those locations). I'm over the bitter and jaded part of my time in the industry, and considering I'm outside of it now it just makes me realize how much of a clusterfuck the video game industry (and most of the tech/entertainment industry) and their markets are. Which is why anytime somebody asks me if it was fun or if they should do it, to not bother. People still blindly follow video game companies into inevitable implosion, they just don't care until it happens to them. The fanboys of studios are the worst, because they'll defend a studio until it fucks them, and even then it's more of a "d'aw well i saw it coming but here i am, unemployed with my wife and kids oh well lol" instead of being outraged by the idiotic decisions that were made by the company that employed them. They even make you sign poo poo saying not to badmouth a studio after they gently caress you in the rear end, for a smidgen of severance if you're lucky. I have no proposed solution to these awful things that happen in the industry, but I know it's only going to get worse, not better. Look at the VFX industry for example, try to keep a stable job in those environments or not have to move to a tech hub, it's borderline impossible unless you have a skill that you can work remotely (and have a company or clients that are willing to pay you remotely). And even then, because you're an independent contractor you lose tons of benefits of a full time salaried job. i really should not talk about how much i despise what goes on in that industry anymore, since i'm out of it, but eh...there's my insight/ramblings in case anybody is curious why I left the industry...I just don't want to be a part of that neverending cycle anymore
|
|
|
#
?
Nov 7, 2017 23:26
|
|
|
ceebee posted:Yeah unfortunately there have been dozens if not hundreds of studios who are the victims (and typically self-inflicted victims) of publishers pulling out when things don't "hit". Devil's Advocate here (I'm looking in from the outside): I'd argue that the blame lies the manager/owner first and the publisher second. The management either failed to recognize the work that needed to be done, failed to judge how much time they'd need, failed to appropriate the work load so they could meet deadlines, failed by hiring the wrong people who weren't able to work at the required pace, or failed by hiring too many people and depleting their budget too quickly. The only thing the publisher did wrong imo would just be failing to judge whether that owner/manager was good enough at their job before they threw money at them... but it's not as big of a deal for them because they can afford to lose the money like I explained in my previous post. You're right that the employees get the short end of the stick, though, but I'd argue that the blame for that entirely lies with the management that the product didn't get made in time and that they failed to work with the budget they agreed would be enough back when the whole thing got started. If the budget wasn't appropriate, a better manager would've just said "nah that budget won't work for what you're asking." This is probably what you meant when you said "self-inflicted" though. Love Stole the Day fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 00:59
|
|
|
for reference I'm totally in favor of blaming management. Telltale management sucks but that's a story for another day. also we're our own publisher so, uh, I suppose I can blame the publisher too. it just sucks what happened to the team.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 01:05
|
|
|
Right, when I say self inflicted it usually means due to management. But it's not always the case, it's entirely possible to have a studio of 300+ people with a ridiculous burn rate and 50% of them being highly inefficient employees. I saw it all too often, literally some people busting their rear end and some people not doing jack poo poo. But that's the fault of poor management and oversight as well, and it's a shame because the people busting their rear end ultimately are the ones who pay the price since they are the most noticeable. The slackers oftentimes move up because they either spent more time rubbing elbows or getting to know the right people. Failing up, etc. Which inevitably leads to even worse management (and yet those are the ones making the most money too). The one thing I think could help is if every studio participated in profit sharing maybe even based on performance, but for this to work effectively you really do need to have amazing oversight and be involved in "the pit" to see who is doing what and who is/isn't being a slacker. Most managers don't want to manage people, they want to manage numbers, especially in a borderline socially inept industry like games. Here's a small example: Company hired me to do character work, 4-5 months into the job and I had completed about 35-40 characters for the project (MMO characters, quick poo poo, some kitbashing, still a ton of work I did in a really small amount of time). Manager who only gives a poo poo about how many hours you're sitting in your chair pulls me into an office and tells me I haven't accomplished anything yet. I flipped my poo poo, it happened a few more times, and I told the guy to gently caress off and I bounced from that company. He only cared about his excel sheet and poking his head up to see who was sitting in their chairs. And when he needed your attention he would sneak up behind you and poke you uncomfortably in the back or shoulder. Pieces of poo poo like him are who fail up, because he's a high level executive at a company now. I refuse to work for companies that employ people like that, and even worse promote them. And you'd be surprised how many of those people are in charge of games studios. They don't give a poo poo about the developers, only their jealousy driven self interests. And often times their poo poo decision making skills affect a large portion of people under them. Also I honestly believe that most games should be made with teams under 100 people. 60 at most. Even if it takes an extra year or two of development at least it's a team that's more manageable and predictable. Studios like Riot and Activision run places scare the poo poo out of me because I can fuckin see in the future when they lay off hundreds if not thousands of people when they gently caress up because they chase the million dollar lottery. Why do you think Riot hasn't released jack poo poo other than LoL stuff? Because they are trying desperately to create another golden goose (which I doubt they will considering they stole the first one lol). I still hope they don't gently caress completely up because I know a lot of amazingly skilled gullible friends who work there. Suspicious Dish posted:for reference I'm totally in favor of blaming management. Telltale management sucks but that's a story for another day. also we're our own publisher so, uh, I suppose I can blame the publisher too. We had quite a few applicants from Telltale apply to GBX when I was there. They did not have nice things to say. But Gearbox has it's own fair share of fuckups too. ceebee fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 01:12
|
|
|
I'm getting layed off too. If anyone needs a Canadian with Js/Unity/ActionScript(hahah) Steam/Vr/Mobile/web experience, hit me up.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 02:38
|
|
|
ceebee posted:Look at Amazon for an example, they don't give two shits about the employees they just care about growth and overtaking as many competitors as possible. Hello, Amazon Games Studio employee here. Can't speak for all of Amazon, but the games org doesn't feel like this. We've had multiple canceled projects and not a single person laid off. My team is diverse and supportive and working on a product that most of us believe in very strongly. Again, I don't know anything about the parts of Amazon that aren't games so maybe those parts are like that, but I just wanted to put in my 2c that the parts I'm familiar with are cool. Speaking of which, hey Telltale/Motiga/Visceral folks come join my team it's super beeeeeeest https://www.amazon.jobs/en/search?b...region=&county= we got Colin Johanson! vvvvvvv they are amazing and you can never have them back bwah ha ha vvvvvvv Vino fucked around with this message at 06:36 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 04:31
|
|
|
But you stole Alex and Nick from my team I also don't want to work on magicka soccer
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 05:18
|
|
|
ceebee posted:The one thing I think could help is if every studio participated in profit sharing ... We have a great and generous profit sharing policy! But we've never been really profitable 
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 16:32
|
|
devilmouse posted:We have a great and generous profit sharing policy! But we've never been really profitable Yeah unfortunately Motiga was in the same position. The management was actually pretty decent (sans Microsoft deal), and the CEO was in the pit with everybody else, there was a profit sharing program but I never heard a word about it after I actually signed the paperwork. It's a drat shame they made that Windows 10 deal with Microsoft because I think that was ultimately the nail in the coffin. Even Perfect World throwing money and some support at Motiga wasn't enough though because they had already laid off like half the studio and there were people leaving voluntarily almost every week. Absolutely amazing art team, I'm glad I got to be a part of it but I am a bit bitter that I was laid off with a fraction of severance that other people got and I had just signed a 12 month lease and they laid me off 1st month of that (which sucked away what little severence I got). Due to that and somebody breaking into my house in West Seattle 2 weeks before I moved into my new apartment I left there with barely any money and couldn't get unemployment for 2 months. I can only imagine if I had a wife and/or kids...would've been a lot worse. I am fortunate however that it was my first layoff, as I know people here like Worth have been laid off multiple times and he has a family to support. Before that I switched companies every 1-2 years because I wanted to get exposure to not just how one studio works but how a variety of different ones work. And after my time, I decided it was just not worth the stress, the moving, the financial strain, and knowing that some idiot is making millions off the art that I busted rear end on while I'm getting a measly salary in comparison. You can pat me on the back for my artwork all you want, but I won't be pleased if the profit goes into the pockets of people who I respect the least at a company. Oh also witnessing other studios intentionally bury a competitor's game even though they already own the majority of the market...there's some insidious poo poo that goes on that nobody talks about too. Amazon won't lay off people because they have a surplus of income and their bargaining chip (even though they don't need one because there are so many idiots who love Amazon blindly) with opening up a HQ in another state is "WE BRING DA JOBS". Yeah, not an aspiring monopoly at all 
ceebee fucked around with this message at 17:05 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 16:53
|
|
|
Vino posted:Hello, Amazon Games Studio employee here. Can't speak for all of Amazon, but the games org doesn't feel like this. We've had multiple canceled projects and not a single person laid off. My team is diverse and supportive and working on a product that most of us believe in very strongly. Please don't take offense to this but Amazon Games Studio is only this way right now because Amazon executives really really desperately want to be in this space for some unknown reason so they are willingly taking the risk hoping it will pay off eventually. Shareholders have given them a bunch of leeway here because Amazon is very successful in other areas and is generating a ton of revenue. They are playing a long game but I wouldn't expect the train ride to last forever. xgalaxy fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 17:46
|
|
|
I just learned that you guys apparently cancelled Magicka soccer. Bummer.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 18:07
|
|
|
Lumberyard was also was the least intuitive (and unstable) engine I've ever used as an artist. But Amazon owns and develops it now so I'm sure there's a heavy reliance on it and probably too much resources being used on developing it so they can actually make a finished title. Is there even a finished game that uses Lumberyard that isn't being funded/developed by Amazon? lol ceebee fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 18:43
|
|
|
Anybody able to do a quick resume review? A local studio is hiring for entry-level devs and, given my negatives*, I want to put the best shine on things that I can. I can either email or just post it on imgur or something. *No degree. No professional software/game experience. No permanent job since July of last year (spent the last year freelancing for a different studio). EDIT: Also, how important is a cover letter in these types of situations? For reference, it's prolly a 50+ studio with an HR manager listed on LinkedIn. BirdOfPlay fucked around with this message at 19:54 on Nov 8, 2017 |
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 19:51
|
|
|
ceebee posted:Is there even a finished game that uses Lumberyard that isn't being funded/developed by Amazon? lol Star Citizen. e: whoops I skipped over the word finished so no
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 20:00
|
|
|
Finished game. e: beat by the edit
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 20:01
|
|
|
ceebee posted:Is there even a finished game that uses Lumberyard Genunienly curious, are there any Lumberyard games yet? I know that Amazon launched Sev Zero with the Fire TV but that was before Lumberyard. I know Amazon announced an esports game, but has anything been released on Lumberyard?
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 21:42
|
|
|
Star Citizen, a finished and complete game, is using Lumberyard.
|
|
#
?
Nov 8, 2017 22:06
|
|
|
I highly doubt Star Citizen is actually using lumberyard. They'll share code that was common before each respective fork from CryEngine, but otherwise I think it's just a branding deal. Maybe with some tangential code for AWS or other BS integrated in.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 00:28
|
|
Cryengine was an absolute pain in the dick to work with and it crashed so often on me, and I had to work on an Amazon project for a few months and Lumberyard wasn't much different. Some of the stuff got mainstreamed but by far it still feels like an engine made for programmers not artists or designers. I honestly have no idea why anybody would use anything other than UE4 or Unity these days, considering the massive amount of support for both without having to invest in a large engine programming team.Beast of Bourbon posted:Star Citizen, a finished and complete game, is using Lumberyard. I have a friend on their art team and the one thing he reminded me is that as long as that project has funding from some insane people it'll be a steady job for him. I don't blame him for milking it, plus he's a huge sci-fi dork. ceebee fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Nov 9, 2017 |
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 01:34
|
|
|
baldurk posted:I highly doubt Star Citizen is actually using lumberyard. They'll share code that was common before each respective fork from CryEngine, but otherwise I think it's just a branding deal. Maybe with some tangential code for AWS or other BS integrated in. I am pretty sure they switched over to get out of paying Crytek license fees.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 02:09
|
|
|
Perhaps a long shot, but it's games and it's near Seattle! I just applied to a game designer position at Wizards of the Coast for (pen and paper) Dungeons and Dragons. If anyone is able to chat with me about that, please PM me here or email me at CSLewin@gmail.com! I'd love to hear more about what it's like working there, how the game design interviews there might go, or maybe even get a good word put in for me via the Secret Goon Game Jobs Megathread Cosa Nostra Hiring Network (SGGJMCNHN).
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 06:54
|
|
|
You cant always use unity, and unity on web browsers is trash so... edit: plus unity isnt free
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 18:43
|
|
|
tyrelhill posted:You cant always use unity, and unity on web browsers is trash so... I'm not sure it's fair to say Unity on web browsers is trash. Of course the Unity plugin is dead now but that thing seemed great when we had it. I've made some decent things using the HTML5/WebGL and that was years ago. I believe it's gotten much better. Of course it's massively bloated and inefficient but that's also going to be true for almost anything that isn't HTML only. Even those libraries/techniques are going to go out of date quickly since everything is changing so fast between threading and new WebGL. Unity is free until you make 100k in a year. After that it's cheap. Of course it's not "free" in that you have to accept a license but for hobbyists it is without cost.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 20:13
|
|
|
It doesnt compete with canvas, and its not free *except for hobbyists and one person companies
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 20:21
|
|
|
Unity and Unreal on web using WebAssembly will be pretty drat sweet. It will still be bloated because your running in a browser.. but it will be fast.
|
|
#
?
Nov 9, 2017 20:25
|
|
|
Diaghilev posted:Perhaps a long shot, but it's games and it's near Seattle! Good luck! It's worth noting that there's been quite a few reports of there being a crappy culture there.
|
|
#
?
Nov 10, 2017 11:21
|
|
|
I'm trying really hard to get a playtest/demo build out on December 22nd. Here's some footage that I captured today: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPGHXgDlUWA I am not sure how to do good video capture. This has a bunch of hitches and things in it. I'm getting close to needing to actually.. like.. promote my game. I almost posted this on reddit, but I think I need to figure out how to capture video better, first.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2017 04:53
|
|
|
baby puzzle posted:I'm trying really hard to get a playtest/demo build out on December 22nd. I have no idea how to do any of that but this looks very much like my jam. Hybrid Rhythm Action games are always interesting to me!!
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2017 05:12
|
|
|
The mobile games studio I work for here in Boulder, CO is going to be looking for UI/UX folks (UI Artists and UX Designers, but folks who can wear multiple hats are appreciated) and possibly other positions I don't know as much about (QA, production? maybe?). Job posting's not up yet, but if anyone is interested, PM me and I can get you some information. Headcount will open up in the beginning of the year. I'm a Senior UI Artist responsible for making DragonVale's UI and occasionally some dragons/environment assets. Things are great here! (We went through two rounds of layoffs/restructuring but I actually think we're for the better after them) Here's our site: http://www.backflipstudios.com/ We're owned by Hasbro now, and it gives us the ability to use a lot of cool IP. I've been here for 4.5 years, 5 years in April, and think it was the best decision of my life to move out here post Zynga East explosions. Some ups and downs, but mostly ups. We have very good benefits and this is honestly the best group of humans I've had the pleasure to work with.
|
|
#
?
Dec 7, 2017 18:53
|
|
|
Anybody here working in Bangkok? Would love to ask some questions to know what it's like, I got PMs. I've got an offer on the table for a developer role at a small mobile game development place over there and seriously considering it to break into the games industry (coming from a background of app development at work and game development in my spare time)
|
|
#
?
Dec 25, 2017 00:02
|
|
|
Jobs are posted http://www.backflipstudios.com/jobs/ more will be coming eventually UI Artist role is in there. If anyone has questions about it, PM me. We'll be looking for a Sr UX/UI type person later on. Other jobs I know a lot less about : Director Digital Marketing, UA Engineering Manager Game Design Manager QA Analyst but if you have questions about them I can get you answers.
|
|
#
?
Jan 10, 2018 00:45
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 25, 2024 10:25 |
|
|
If I have to chose between a GDC summit or conference pass, which is more worthwhile?
|
|
#
?
Jan 12, 2018 17:54
|
|
