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DreadCthulhu posted:Couple of questions for yalls who might be in the know: You could work on the backend for service games roughly tomorrow. If you’re at the principal level, PM me if you’re at all interested in being in Boston. quote:* In the indie space, how do people find other people to work on projects with? I'm guessing, like with most other creative projects, it's all about meeting people in person through various means (conferences, personal connections, existing game gigs, rather than some kind of a "matchmewithindiedevs.com") and then deciding to give something a try? Twitter, conferences, this forum, other forums. For finding artists, also wherever they show their work. It’s relatively easy to connect with people who’s stuff you’re into. If you want to work with a specific artist, ask for a rate sheet or describe your project and ask whether they’d be interested in working on it at a given rate (or at all; to do this without a specific rate, specify “for pay” or “for hire”). If your rate is low, you’ll have a harder time finding collaborators. If they’re busy but think the project is cool, they may forward it to their network. It should not be surprising that people who have worked well together in the past will try to work with each other in the future. I know a bunch of people that started on a project working for someone then a few years later successfully reached out to pay that person for services on their own project.
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Sep 2, 2019 12:34
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DreadCthulhu posted:Thanks for the extensive tips, guys. Yes, I did forget that there's often these days a networked backend components to most games, so you don't even have to do any sort of technical career changes to be immediately useful. In my head "working on games" always associated more with working on the game client, but I realize it's very much of a mental thing. Yes this happens. quote:Re: indie projects, was there a secret sauce behind some of my favorite teams such as Thatgamecompany and Supergiant games? All industry veterans? Did dozens of indie projects before striking gold? Magical confluence of all the right talent at the right time? Survivor bias.
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Sep 2, 2019 21:24
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Cpt. Obvious posted:I'm not exactly sure what the best way to frame this question is so I guess I'll just get into it. Your corporate development history along with a mention of hobby game dev should get you in the door for programming. You may (or may not) get a title cut. You will probably get a pay cut; especially relative to FAANG or fintech.
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Sep 16, 2019 17:51
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Cpt. Obvious posted:So, when building a portfolio for the purpose of getting hired, would it make more sense to have one good demo that's polished to hell and back or a handful of smaller ideas to show a breadth of game play experiences? For engineering? Go deep on the skills needed to work in your target companies. But people may not even look at your reel. Know CS and machine fundamentals. Design is different, but I can’t speak to it as much. Be prepared to talk about why you made various decisions and how alterations would affect things downstream.
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Sep 18, 2019 00:56
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forkbucket posted:Just want to start this post by saying this thread was a fantastic read, and I appreciate the insight and anecdotes all you devs have posted! (Also, very much appreciated the link to the open sourced Star Ruler 2 posted earlier by one of the devs, that was a pretty cool move!) Most teachings from industry are available as conference talks. With few exceptions, game programming books are trash. ECS is hot right now, and it may be interesting to look into Sweeney’s work on transactional state. Avoid holding lots of global mutable state. Even if in industry there’s still loads of it for bad reasons. I came from a traditional CS background as an engineer, but it doesn’t really matter where you pick up data structures and algorithms. I find the more academic sources better for those. Doing stuff on your own it probably doesn’t matter, but games programming interviews aren’t dissimilar to normal tech interviews. Just start making stuff. Tetris using print statements in a loop with a timer. Then pick a game engine and make things that are actually interesting to you.
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Jan 8, 2020 13:51
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Shaocaholica posted:I used to work at a pretty big studio doing 360 and PS3 dev but that was forever ago. Now I work in a totally different but related industry. In mobile you’re still fighting it, yeah. It’s 1-2gb you’re complaining about rather than 512mb, but people want things to look real nice. And Apple will cut off your head for allocation velocity, not just size.
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Jan 10, 2020 13:20
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I'm one of those people who has made the tremendously foolish step of trying to make their own indie videogame. I know I have blind spots, things I just don't know I should be aware of because I haven't worked in the industry (my background is software engineering, but, like, corporate/enterprise stuff). So, first off: if you have any particular advice to someone in this position, please do lay it on me. Second, what all am I missing from this list that you'd consider basically vital to the creation of a game? If you’re trying to make money, you shouldn’t start on projects without market research and a monetization plan you both understand and believe you can follow through on. You also need to understand your marketing plan. If you’re just taking a break year for an art project, that’s not a terrible list. Likely you’re going to have some contractors working on some art/translations/etc. So there’s still general business/negotiation stuff. Art direction is a separate skill from painting. You should probably preference learning that over learning modeling/drawing. I’m also an engineer though, and I don’t have a lot of lit on hand to give you. 
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Feb 27, 2020 16:57
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Yestermoment posted:This question is more game dev adjacent, but it's a curious question I've had on my mind for a while that I was never sure where to ask: Push a build to steam/apple/google and then press the release button. Getting onto consoles is slightly more involved but not really more complex. Though they also typically have certification requirements around quality that are harder to meet than mobile. The real problem with being completely independent is marketing costs and getting visibility.
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Apr 3, 2020 23:42
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chglcu posted:While I agree in general, it's probably worth mentioning that games specifically (since this is the "Ask A Game Dev" thread) do have some pretty math-heavy bits. You can often get by with looking up how to do that stuff as needed, but it is helpful to understand why things work. The level of maths knowledge needed for games is always incredibly overblown. If you can get through high school trig, collegiate linear algebra, introduction to discrete, and something with proofs you're good. If you've done significant research into cutting edge maths, it probably hurts more than it helps. No one in games cares that the axiom of choice leads to a coordinated solution to the hat problem. You'll cheat on the priors way before you need to involve complex math.
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Apr 5, 2020 12:54
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HerniaFlange posted:Hello! I was pointed here to ask a technical question about Unity. I need to build a new PC, and I'm interested in getting started in Unity development. I was hoping to make something that would be good for working with without any serious issues, and I wasn't sure if I needed something beyond mid-range (like a $1000 build basically) to deal with, for example, unoptimized builds. I asked about this in the PC Building thread, and they said that as far as CPU/Graphics go there shouldn't be an issue, but the question of RAM was brought up, and they pointed me to this thread (directly, because I am bad at searching). I did a Google search and got kind of conflicting answers, so should I need anything beyond 16 gigs or is that plenty? The first proper game idea, as in not stuff being made to learn how to make what I actually want, could potentially need a lot of RAM in initial versions (basically it'd be a gigantic building the player would be smashing through walls, floors and ceilings to explore, and while there's probably plenty of memory tricks to drop resource requirements I'd probably leave that for after I do the design work to make the game fun first). Basically I don't know if Unity is a memory hog and if I should build for that. Thanks for any advice you might have! 16 should be fine for just about anything you'll do as an individual, and even most things at a larger org. My machine has 32, fwiw. E: I'm a programmer; no idea what all the art software requires if that's your bag.
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Apr 15, 2020 20:59
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Xarn posted:It is also important to remember that while the Witcher3's world came from books, the story and writing itself did not... He also hates the games and wishes he never gave them rights. Possibly because he almost literally gave them away.
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Apr 25, 2020 11:55
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Tei posted:I need help. Sleep, good food, time with friends.
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Apr 30, 2020 12:11
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toiletbrush posted:This is more for mobile games, but what's the thread's opinion on a mobile game having it's own music? Assuming it's a little game, not something with an epic soundtrack, do you generally turn in-game music off and listen to your own? I'm asking because I've actually managed to finish a little iOS game during lockdown and want to get it released, but haven't done the music yet. I wouldn't break the bank on it, but people probably expect it even if they only listen to it twice for 10-20s.
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May 7, 2020 20:38
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DreadCthulhu posted:How does someone land a first gig as a composer on a game, and then progress from there? Let's say not quite a AAA title, those seem to go to people who have already done a ton of proven work on other titles, which makes sense. Or they perhaps are already a successful composer outside of games, I'm thinking like Solar Fields, and they are given a shot on a big title. Know people who make games and be the first person they think of to do audio things. Know people that do audio stuff and be the first person they think of to forward work they don't have time for. The game audio community is tiny even by the standards of the rest of the industry. The solid portfolio/etc works for artists because they probably aren't already known and that isn't necessary to secure work. There are vanishingly few cases of open auditions/etc for audio. Everyone knows someone that they'll turn to, and if they don't have time that person will refer one of their friends. Best advice I can give is to be a cool person who isn't an rear end in a top hat and don't burn bridges. The relationships matter way more than the talent, at least until you're at the top and everyone is actively trying to work with you.
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Jun 24, 2020 13:34
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DreadCthulhu posted:So sounds like it's much less about being a star and more about being a congenial, reliable and trustworthy human being that others will want to work with and will be able to count on to deliver? Like in.. every other collaborative line of business, pretty much? Yeah; small teams usually just contract out their audio. Even large studios have maybe a couple audio people on staff and then hordes of programmers/artists.
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Jun 24, 2020 18:40
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Big K of Justice posted:Anyone here relocating to a different state/city due to the work from home situation? New job; currently remote. Going to move to SF whenever stay at home guidance is lifted. So maybe never. 
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Jun 28, 2020 02:17
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Gromit posted:Is game testing something you can get into as a remote working job? Australia doesn't have a lot of game companies, and it seems like something that would go well with remote working, especially given recent conditions around the world. With that level of credential and experience, it may be easier for you to get a job as a QA manager. A lot of QA is outsourced, so it's something that is done remote from the contracting organizations standpoint. Whether the job itself is offered remote is up to the given org; in today's climate it's probably an easier sell.
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Aug 1, 2020 00:39
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ChickenWing posted:Tangentally off the server question, how does game server communication actually work? My dev career so far has been exclusively RESTful CRUD servers with like 200ms response times and I've always wondered what the paradigms are when your job is to be responsive at the reflex level rather than at the "waiting for a web page to load" level. I know vaguely that you're sending the absolute minimal client deltas (at least that's how they explained it in the source engine video I saw), and I'd guess you're doing the absolute barest minimum serialization/deserialization at the communications layer, but beyond that it's one hundred percent black box. For lots of stuff (leaderboard results, shop info, etc) it's exactly web API. For real time, I like the quake 3 model. https://fabiensanglard.net/quake3/network.php It's a little different from GGPO or unreal's model, etc but it's not a bad jumping off point if you want to read up on them. As you said, track state for each client and ship deltas around. If you're thinking more about RTS/lots of units, the AoE2 article is pretty good. https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131503/1500_archers_on_a_288_network_.php?print=1
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Aug 11, 2020 14:02
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Xarn posted:Don't implement your game networking on top of TCP kids. Eh; disable nagle and you're mostly fine
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Aug 13, 2020 14:17
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djkillingspree posted:Hmm, what you're describing as peer to peer I've always heard described as a migrating host. Maybe this is talk from the olden days but I've always heard of peer-to-peer described as a system where no single client was authoritative, all peers run in deterministic lockstep, and basically only inputs are sent back and forth between peers. Not saying you're wrong, just that the terminology I've heard was a little different! p2p has nothing to do with how determinism does or doesn't work or what state you transmit. If there's no central authority, it's p2p. There are a lot of ways to get consensus, declaring a temporary leader is one. You'll need to deal with host migration/splits either way in peer systems.
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Nov 9, 2020 23:01
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Jack B Nimble posted:How much does Ubisoft care if I buy the new assassins creed now vs a year from now at half price? I mean as regards them considering the game a success or a faiure? I'm thinking that they care very much how many copies they sell week one and, and then while it's at full price, and then once it's discounted, in descending order? Anything outside the release window is usually bucketed as catalog sales. They probably can drill into it, but they probably don't very often? I dunno I'm not in product.
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Nov 11, 2020 00:46
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chglcu posted:My experience as a programmer at medium to large studios: To echo: In the past five years I've lived in LA, boston, and I'll be moving to Austin in a couple months (was going to move to SF, but just transferred to a new team). I've been working for 10 years and held 8 jobs. Several of those ended because the company blew up. This experience isn't uncommon, though it's on the higher end of variance in employment. Thankfully I've been able to steadily increase my capability and responsibility despite the path I've taken. I also know people who effectively failed to progress their careers while the industry continuously blew up their lives for the privilege. Only with my most recent position am I making very close to what I could make outside the industry. I'm probably going to buy instead of rent in Austin. But that's more because my SO wants that and we can afford it. Given my personal history, it certainly doesn't make sense to assume I'll (be able to) stick to that region for a long period of time. The only time I've felt the company had a handle on project management was when I was at a publisher working on tools and integrations for new games. That was also my first games job -- it's entirely possible I just couldn't see where everything was on fire. To me the best thing about working in games is that I have a common shared interest with everyone I work with, from temp QA staff to the exec team. I also enjoy the energy of working in creative fields. Those aren't things you can eat though.
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Jan 23, 2021 12:05
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shame on an IGA posted:Now that you've been told to be listening for them, you will hear at least two Goldeneye 64 SFX in some form of media or other every single day until you die. The one that always gets me is the sonic ring pickup sound at convenience stores.
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Jan 24, 2021 00:05
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Tricky Ed posted:Get thee to the negotiation thread. Your best practice will be to say "We can discuss that once we've determined whether I'm a good fit for the position and I can see total compensation" or something like that, but super duper read that thread. It's crazy what can happen to you when you start in a lower paid region and just out your salary to people. If you don't know exactly what your position commands, let them say the first number. If you do, start 10-15% over and let them work you down. Also to all UK goons, your pay scales are unbelievably low across the board. Recently transferred teams, they originally wanted me in the UK. Offer for gross pay was less than my current net savings. They moved the role to one of the US offices which magically fixed that issue.
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Feb 2, 2021 08:43
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giogadi posted:I considering applying for programmer openings. Is it worth it to wait until I have some cooler stuff to show off in a portfolio/resume before applying or should I start sending stuff out ASAP? Like, if a place turns me down tomorrow because my resume isn’t interesting, will they give it another look if I apply again in a few months with more stuff on it? You won't get turned down because your resume doesn't have cool stuff. But HR may drop you in the bin if they can't pattern match your resume to the role. I have a languages/tools section that's basically just there so I can get keyword matched through filters. I strongly recommend crafting your resume to pass keyword filters or getting referrals.
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Feb 11, 2021 18:55
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So I know there's a lot of doom/gloom in this thread, but it's really a wonderful time to try to make it in games. Any random person is able to release their game on the dominant storefronts. It used to be you literally needed to know a guy to have any shot at making money. Writing a game used to require a lot of specialized programming knowledge. Today the leading game engines solve a crazy number of problems for you for free. The barriers to entry are very low for small teams of artists/creators to bring their games to market. These are incredibly powerful forces for small teams in the marketplace. It's just that they both mean that while execution is still important, sales/marketing matters more. And most of the people who understand the craft of making games haven't spent a lot of time understanding the craft of how to sell them. And the easiest way around this problem is to have an astronomical budget. Turns out having lots of money makes a lot of things easier and always has.
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Mar 14, 2021 15:59
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Diablo immortal is going to make insane amounts of money from exactly the people that lambasted it when they announced it. In addition to the insane amount of money from asian markets. I'm holding both ATVI and NTES on that conviction. I'd bet that immortal makes over a billion in revenue in the first 5 years. I doubt diablo 2 remake will perform as well. Or for as long.
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Mar 17, 2021 00:49
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Number of hours worked per person per week is not a metric that has a linear correlation with the quality of the final work.
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Mar 17, 2021 10:18
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thebardyspoon posted:So a bit of a whine or unload here, apologies. I just kind of feel like I'm failing at my new job at a relatively small indie place. It's been a month now and there's still some amount of stuff I don't know because nobody has shown me and when I've asked "hey, how do I do this thing" when whatever the specific thing is has come up, the answer is "ooooh, I don't have time to show you that right now, sorry" and now it's turning to a bit of "wow, you don't know how to do that still?" when I can't google how to use the custom tools for this small game or really just figure it out by doing it since I'm also trying to do the stuff the majority of the job is like documenting bugs and stuff so I don't look like a complete waste of money. Trying to avoid specifics I guess so I won't get super detailed. Schedule an hour of time with whoever owns that process. Include an agenda, the points should be something like: 1. Explanation of <thing> and motivations, directed by <person> 2. Walkthrough of process using <thing>, directed by <person> 3. Open Q/A on <thing> After they confirm the time, ask if you can forward the invite to other recent hires if any. Record the presentation and/or take notes. Document that poo poo and put it on a wiki or something. If it's some sort of runbook process enumerate everything step-step and clearly enough you could follow it drunk.
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Apr 9, 2021 19:03
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leper khan posted:Schedule an hour of time with whoever owns that process. Include an agenda, the points should be something like: If they cancel the meeting, tell your boss (if it's your boss, tell the CEO/CTO/director/whatever-i-dont-know-how-big-you-are). If they reschedule, great you still get your meeting.
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Apr 9, 2021 19:06
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Sylink posted:I've seen godot mentioned in this thread before has anyone used it and have an opinion on it? Most of the people I know first/second-hand that deal with it professionally depict it sort of like a tire fire, and have described the engine code as 'unoptimizable'. I haven't personally looked at it in years, but their node system seemed like a worse version of unity's behaviors where you couldn't have more than one thing per object. Their renderer's output seems fine based on videos I've seen from their announcements/etc recently. I also work for a competitor, so be sure to check out the salt lick.
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Apr 28, 2021 23:35
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OneEightHundred posted:The way you're supposed to have multiple scripts/behaviors/etc. per object is by using subobjects that apply whatever it is they do to their parent object. Yeah, but you have to pay the full object overhead and transform overhead etc for each child. For most games it almost certainly doesn't matter. Just feels like a weird omission for the engine when it would have been trivial for them to use a list or array on an object for scripts.
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Apr 30, 2021 11:03
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Janitor Ludwich IV posted:can i make a game and get rich or are asset flip indies dead now Sure, it's possible. But it's far more likely you'll not recover costs.
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Jun 7, 2021 14:56
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That's a great talk and my business side friends still talk about it.
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Jun 9, 2021 10:48
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Play posted:Also as time goes on it stands to figure that free / cheap assets will increase in quality and number and be easier to use and still look decent. Most of the successes have some sort of budget behind them. Bespoke art requires a budget, the same way bespoke code does.
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Jun 10, 2021 16:42
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Hughlander posted:I'd assume the first party would go to the police / FBI and come down on the person like the fist of an angry god? All sorts of things about Industrial Espionage and Trade Secrets... Don't forget theft. Pretty sure the kits are still owned by first party and licensed for use?
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Aug 30, 2021 13:10
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It's pretty amazing watching game studios try to come to terms with levels.fyi being accurate for comp.  No, I'm not surprised I'm the fifth person you've talked to that doesn't want to take a role for 30-40% of current comp.
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Sep 1, 2021 18:45
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Agoat posted:How do people get into community management roles? I know it's not just funny social media posting in these positions and it's very stressful, but I've always wanted to help build communities and be a resource to them. It probably helps to have some sort of experience managing communities in other contexts. Do you run a discord/etc for whatever other hobby you have? Probably relevant to running a discord/etc for X corp's new games. Not that I'm in that lane or involved in hiring for community people.
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Nov 10, 2021 22:26
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MJBuddy posted:My own take here is a lot of value is probably seen if you keep your communities productive/constructive and non-toxic. More likely to get the medal than the paycheck IME.
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Nov 27, 2021 17:04
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VelociBacon posted:Do you think people go into postsecondary education for those technical positions with the idea to work in games but end up finding some other passion in that field so you get fewer game-centric technical people? Vs just someone daydreaming about games all day with Great Ideas and taking some one year design program or something? It's the money OP. Games typically underpays big tech and startups.
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Dec 4, 2021 06:15
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