[[Shizo]]

I decided to look for a game company job in the beginning of next year (or earlier) because 1. need money, 2. dont like my current job at casino too much, 3. i'd like to learn some 3d/film fx and design

So i need something around Gearbox level (but gearbox is excellent cause i hear they give you a place to live)
I'm signed up on gamasutra.com cause i heard it's a good place to find a job of this type.
I'm not ready now cause i need to pull some kind of portfolio together in a few months.

Have anybody been on my track before? If so, would you share with your mistakes or steps that you made to get a job someplace like that?

[[Shizo]]

Hmm, last attempt and thenim on my own :o

[Brain]

Hey Shiz! @:-)

Portfolio is definately numero uno on the list. Wowzer the pants off whoever's looking at it. Seeing you're targeting a games company, show that you can work in games. Show off models you done, textures you worked on, animations, levels, sketches, whatever you do that's game based. Show them. If you've worked on a mod for Quake 3 or something, put in that work.

That's another thing looked highly upon, is doing work in the industry already, be it a released game or a few Quake mods. If you haven't been involved in any, look around; there's definately plenty of teams out there looking for more members. And this'll be done in spare time. One of the joys of the game industry is working for no/low pay. Start from the bottom, as it were.

And speaking of bottom, Quality Assurance. The QA department is definately a way into companies. Find developers near you and get in contact with them and see if they have any projects coming up that require testers. If you get in testing, this is a foot in the door. You can get to know the people, learn some basic industry skills, and maybe even show off some art that'll raise you up a notch. Nice little tip before you contact companies though: Research them. Nothing impresses more than knowing what the company's done (liking their games also helps a bunch @;-)

That's all for now. Good luck!

[[Shizo]]

Hey Brain, baby!
Ok then i'll focus purely on portfolio then.
I beta tested for some games, but no getting close and personal with devs (cause thousands other testers.
Alright

[Brain]

Tis good to hear you've done testing already. If you do go to get cuddly with a company's QA department, previous experience is a definate bonus.

[jabber]

Im sorta in the same boat as you. However, I went to school for "Multimedia" training, and now im working as a line cook

So, I hate my job, and I cant cook. I then decide awhile ago to focus on my portfolio for commercial game based stuff.

I've also joined 2 "free" game production teams who are both making a recreationn of a game. Figured something like that would help.


I just wish I could fastforward time or something. My portfolio will never be done, and the game dev will probably be a year or more.

I guess the only thing to do is to keep pushing forward and listen to some curtis mayfield. OLE!!

[MadSamoan]

Your portfolio should show only what you're good at. Don't show art pieces in an area you're weak in. Show off you're traditional skills if you've got them. Traditional skills make you more adaptable to different tasks. Show work that demonstrates that you can create art from concept to finish and can export it into a game engine. This is why Quake/Unreal mods are so useful for getting a job. It demonstrates that you're technical enough to be able to get your artwork to work in a 3d engine. Also never underestimate the power of a good attitude. It can tip the balance in your favor over more qualified people if an employer thinks that you would be easier to work with. High maintenance employees don't last long no matter how good they are.

Good luck!

[jabber]

Thanks for the info. every bit helps.
For myself, Im doing a lot of concept art, and teaching myself 3dsmax and gmax. I love those programs but they can be a bit difficult to work with and sorta intimidating.

The process in a typical game dev environment, is the concept artist creates a concept in various positions or whatever and is then passed onto a 3d artist who does the model. A texture artist then creates the textures and passes them to the 3d guy. I would assume the animation sequence is created by the 3d guy, but i've seen it done before by the concept artist, or an animator.

In terms of portfolio, which wold be the best way of presenting it? Web portfolio would make the most sense cost wise and efficency wise. While a printed port would be much more expensive, and most companies wont return the portfolio, which is a double burn in the wallet i think.

suggestions welcomed

[ December 05, 2001: Message edited by: jabber ]

[[Shizo]]

Ya, website is one. But when you trying to get hired, i heard that both - website and printed/demo cd are better to have too. Of course i think website is the easiest way to show your portfolio, but what if web host is slow or their net at work is down and they will forget all abotu your portfolio
So it's better to also send them somethign like a CD or a printed booklet ..

[MadSamoan]

If all you're showing are images, you can do a website, CD, or printed media. The printed media doesn't have to be fancy at all. It can be something as simple as a single sheet or two of color copy with a collage of images and a resume stapled in the back.

For animation, you should learn how to put your work on VHS. I wouldn't put animation on a CD if possible, because there are too many variables to go wrong such as a bad CD, flaky CD drive, outdated video player software/video codecs, etc.. Video players are trickier to use than image viewers. If they have to devote any extra effort to viewing a CD portfolio, they'll just skip it and move onto another submission.

[Brain]

Good article I just found... Ken Hoekstra writing on how to get into the games industry

http://www.cgonline.com/features/011210-f1-f1.html