Any modders that has a job/hopes to get a job in software/game development

[woodenstick]

If you're serious about getting a job at a game company you'd better get a compsci/software engineering degree. Being passionate about something's always a plus, but with the competition out there today (especially in game dev) you'd better have a fucking cake under that icing. Most employers won't even take a peek at a resume without a decent education background, for major gaming companies like bethesda you should probably have a respectable university degree. I guess it'd be a little different if you're going to work for a small time/indy developer. But I can't imagine how difficult that would be with the heavy workload/low wages.

[astymma]

In the 80's and early 90's I worked in the gaming industry as a core developer. I designed 3d pipelines and was responsible for writing Assembly/MachineLanguage replacements for C/C++ code as inline assembler. Basically if a C/C++ loop got called too often, we'd replace it with inline assembly code to speed it up. I can tell you from experience that working in the game industry is this:

 

10% of the best fun you'll ever have

90% of the worst employment conditions you'll ever see

 

Seriously, look for work in a field that has stability and will view an employee as more than a 6 month asset. The game industry is a horrible employer... from everyone I've talked to in the industry, nothing has changed since the 80's. Producers make the money, everyone else works like a dog for way too many hours a week...

 

As for what you need to get INTO the gaming field?

 

You need an attractive resume. You can make it attractive in various ways:

Have enough education to make it attractive...degrees and certs.

Have enough artistic examples of your work to make it attractive...portfolio.

Know somebody... start networking via blogs/conferences/conventions.

Blow somebody... get knee pads...

 

 

In my case... it was "know somebody"... I grew up in Las Vegas and I had played tabletop wargames with one of the employees at Westwood Studios.

[lollol]

I'd love to get one(and keep one), but I don't think it's realistic to expect to be able to get one(like joining the NBA). Not willing to do testing for years at minimum wage and low chance/no chance of moving up either. I will consider computer science but only as a second degree so I have something else to fall back on

[GMac2021]

All you have to do is make a mod on par with CounterStrike. Then people and companies will come a-knockin' at your door with endless offers of wealth and fame.

 

Putting big-titty clothes in a chest in the IC Market District does not count. Sorry.

[lollol]

I'd prefer programming in game design, rather then art. Because of engine/scripting/animating limitations/difficulties, we usually can't change TES games' gameplay too much. Such as adding aerial combat like in Kingdom Hearts or DMC, additional Command Menu system for like in KH, Limits, Summons from KH/Final Fantasy. I'd like to make the gameplay into a mash-up of elements from a ton of different games. 

Play as Noctis or Cloud Strife with all the abilities they have in their original games. Enemies and bosses that work entirely differently then vanilla monsters/bandits with far more variety. I wish we could make Organization XIII style boss battles. I'd like to make a pitch dark dungeon with FF style enemies, FF Bombs flying around being the only light sources and using fire spells. I'd really love to add in Chrono Trigger characters that could do team attacks with the Dragonborn but sadly it's probably for the most part not possible.

Art doesn't have the same arbitrary limits but it's difficult to learn(probably far less after becoming a professional)especially if I don't always have time to commit to it.

[Meerkat01]

Hi guys. New to the boards and the site. I work in IT, and I do some contract moonlighting in the game industry. First thing really, you need the background. Doesn't have to be gaming specifically, but you need to be able to prove your ability to learn quickly, and to produce results on short notice. You also need to be able to deal with @hole project managers (usually from india) who do not understand the fact that you had to go without sleep for 36 hours to meet the last deadline.

 

Getting in isn't that hard, its kind lf like writing. You do contract stuff until your proven then maybe you get a real job offer. I work for one of the larger IT service providers and still do only contract as the company I work for pays me considerably more than a certain gaming company you all know and love was willing to pay me to join the team.

 

The best way to get in I guess, if you don't  yet have your pedigree is to volunteer for beta testing stuff, and get you name in. That's kind of like whoring for free, but hell, if you enjoy it...