Artist/Programmer Looking for Advice finding work
by Bobby Leighton · in Jobs · 03/13/2010 (12:07 pm) · 5 replies
Good Day to everyone, and thanks for reading my post. Some of you may have seen me around over the years trying to help here and there where I could, and I even once made a small resource once that I posted in the forums(8 Textures on Atlas Terrain) when TGEA was still hot. For the last four yeas I have been in College for Game and Simulation Programming, and after having made the Deans List multiple times I will be graduating this summer! So of course my need to finally find some work is coming, but I am really unsure where I should go first, but let me tell you of my plan so far...
My sister who is graduating in May is moving back to Washington state(not DC), and at the end on June I was going to go stay with her while I tried to get into a game studio somewhere on the west coast(Currently I live in Maine, thus the need to move!). I really don't have a LOT of experience in game design, although I did work with Dreamer(of the old MMOkit from MyDramRPG.com) on some concept art but his project fell apart, and I have done several projects creating demo levels in school. I have another project(senior Project) coming up that I plan to keep on disk to use within my portfolio, as well as some 2D concept art that I have been collecting all my life as that is what I did before I went to school. I was a Tattoo artist, but the industry really was for me, and I have been told that there is a better use for my skill as an artist so I moved on to this.
Please I would like to have some advice on if this is a reasonable move for me to make as I will be leaving my family behind until I can save enough money to come back and get them, so any advice would be helpful but I would also take words of encouragement. Regardless I am sure that I will at least be making the move as I KNOW there is no work around here for a game designer, from what I see online at various job posting sites, as well as game companies, most are on the West Coast with the exception of a few in New York, which is where my graduation Ceremony will be, so I will be at least checking that out when I go. I hope I have provided enough information for people to point me in the right direction, sorry if some of my thoughts seems a bit jumbled I am very nervous about the whole situation.
My sister who is graduating in May is moving back to Washington state(not DC), and at the end on June I was going to go stay with her while I tried to get into a game studio somewhere on the west coast(Currently I live in Maine, thus the need to move!). I really don't have a LOT of experience in game design, although I did work with Dreamer(of the old MMOkit from MyDramRPG.com) on some concept art but his project fell apart, and I have done several projects creating demo levels in school. I have another project(senior Project) coming up that I plan to keep on disk to use within my portfolio, as well as some 2D concept art that I have been collecting all my life as that is what I did before I went to school. I was a Tattoo artist, but the industry really was for me, and I have been told that there is a better use for my skill as an artist so I moved on to this.
Please I would like to have some advice on if this is a reasonable move for me to make as I will be leaving my family behind until I can save enough money to come back and get them, so any advice would be helpful but I would also take words of encouragement. Regardless I am sure that I will at least be making the move as I KNOW there is no work around here for a game designer, from what I see online at various job posting sites, as well as game companies, most are on the West Coast with the exception of a few in New York, which is where my graduation Ceremony will be, so I will be at least checking that out when I go. I hope I have provided enough information for people to point me in the right direction, sorry if some of my thoughts seems a bit jumbled I am very nervous about the whole situation.
#2
I went to college for game design and was faced with the same question. Should I move out of state to go get work when I graduate?
(I lived in Missouri. Not exactly the game design capital.)
Most of the guys that I went to college with gave up, went to the military, or are still searching.
A buddy in college was friends with Rocky, the lead animator at Midway. He invited me to Chicago to tour the facilities and do a meet and greet. I thought, man...this is a good opportunity I better prepare something. So, I put together a walk cycle and whatever crap I could find from projects from school.
Well, meeting all the guys up there was an eye opener. I asked almost everyone I met how they got into the industry and most of them said they sorta fell into it. Some went to college for a four year degree in traditional art, other didn't go at all. The theme that they were pushing was all based on portfolio. I showed some of the work I had done from school and had the animators critique it. They pointed out details I never thought of and was never tought how to do in school.
Then, I was shown some demo reels sent in from applicants. Presentation was everything. I was shown a very polished dvd reel with a graphic insert in the case like you would see in stores. The reel itself was like a promo movie with very nice transitions and lots of style. The skill of the artist was just further enhanced by the nice presentation. This particular reel showed a stretchy character rig that was technically difficult with wired parameters and a controller object setup. He said, "yeah we'll probably hire this guy. This is what a demo reel should look like". So, you have definately got to bring your game if you want to get their attention.
Make sure you have a VERY well polished portfolio or reel. Not only does the work you show have to be good, how you present it has to be good as well. Also, be sure to have this done before you go.
Shortly after going to midway I moved to dallas to look for work. I didn't have a portfolio. I took me 2 months to develop one I felt I could show. Even then, I didn't think it was good enough.
I sent that out to every local game studio big and small that I could find and a few comapnies that needed 3d skill sets. I ended up getting a position back in Missouri designing products in 3d. When I came back, I found there were 2 game studios here all along. I thought for sure there was no opportunity where I was, but I was wrong. There are also freelance opportunities no matter where you live.
So, don't think that getting into the game industry is the only way to go. When those loan payments start kicking in and the game industry isn't paying the bills you have got to rely on something other than a fast food job. Keep your options open.
There are alot of real estate agents looking to get out of the same industry they tried so hard to get into.
03/14/2010 (10:34 pm)
Man, your story is all too common.I went to college for game design and was faced with the same question. Should I move out of state to go get work when I graduate?
(I lived in Missouri. Not exactly the game design capital.)
Most of the guys that I went to college with gave up, went to the military, or are still searching.
A buddy in college was friends with Rocky, the lead animator at Midway. He invited me to Chicago to tour the facilities and do a meet and greet. I thought, man...this is a good opportunity I better prepare something. So, I put together a walk cycle and whatever crap I could find from projects from school.
Well, meeting all the guys up there was an eye opener. I asked almost everyone I met how they got into the industry and most of them said they sorta fell into it. Some went to college for a four year degree in traditional art, other didn't go at all. The theme that they were pushing was all based on portfolio. I showed some of the work I had done from school and had the animators critique it. They pointed out details I never thought of and was never tought how to do in school.
Then, I was shown some demo reels sent in from applicants. Presentation was everything. I was shown a very polished dvd reel with a graphic insert in the case like you would see in stores. The reel itself was like a promo movie with very nice transitions and lots of style. The skill of the artist was just further enhanced by the nice presentation. This particular reel showed a stretchy character rig that was technically difficult with wired parameters and a controller object setup. He said, "yeah we'll probably hire this guy. This is what a demo reel should look like". So, you have definately got to bring your game if you want to get their attention.
Make sure you have a VERY well polished portfolio or reel. Not only does the work you show have to be good, how you present it has to be good as well. Also, be sure to have this done before you go.
Shortly after going to midway I moved to dallas to look for work. I didn't have a portfolio. I took me 2 months to develop one I felt I could show. Even then, I didn't think it was good enough.
I sent that out to every local game studio big and small that I could find and a few comapnies that needed 3d skill sets. I ended up getting a position back in Missouri designing products in 3d. When I came back, I found there were 2 game studios here all along. I thought for sure there was no opportunity where I was, but I was wrong. There are also freelance opportunities no matter where you live.
So, don't think that getting into the game industry is the only way to go. When those loan payments start kicking in and the game industry isn't paying the bills you have got to rely on something other than a fast food job. Keep your options open.
There are alot of real estate agents looking to get out of the same industry they tried so hard to get into.
#3
03/15/2010 (11:15 am)
Thank you all for the replies. I do plan on moving, I will actually move anywhere(if they will have me in another country I will go, I bought the full version of Rosetta Stone), as Maine has no place really on the forefront of video game design. Honestly I will be applying at all the bigger game studios, as well as Microsoft, which has headquarters in Washington, and they have a partnership with my school, so I am hoping that the degree and my grades will have to most value there with them. I do have the start of a portfolio, I have been working on it for quite a while. I plan on making a binder with printed photos of works that is a paper resume/portfolio, and then a really dressed up one on a DVD with menus and some very pretty stuff. Really good advice in there! I hope others read this too:O) 
#4
03/19/2010 (11:20 am)
Do you have any experience in creating models in dif and dts format for TGE?
#5
03/19/2010 (11:52 am)
yes, I have been working with Torque in ALL its incarnations since its inception into the market. I am very familiar with Binary Space partitioning, or BSP modeling, which is what Dif is, with some customization on the Torque side once in engine, and depending on which version of the engine you have(although i cannot remember all the differences atm). I am also familiar with dts models, and I am in the process of making some models now. i thought that I might do what other artist/programmers around here are doing and make some content packs to help the "no-work" situation. I am currently working on making some Dragons, for hopefully an upcoming Dragon Pack(more detail later on that), thats for the reply and giving me a reason to post:O) 
Torque Owner Christopher Lee
Now is a horrible horrible time in general for any skilled industry. In the wake of depression senior level employees are competing with recent graduates for entry level work. This is super bad for anyone entering the industry as you can imagine. Waiting it out is advised, perhaps getting a masters or another degree. Maybe starting up your own side project while working some crap job to beef up the resume.
Onto the next part: actually getting a job. You sorta just missed the GDC which ended today, one of the best places to find a job in the industry. It was sort of sparse this year as you can imagine.
As for family, you gotta ask yourself. What is worth it? I could've had a job in the games industry by now if I was willing to go to Ireland, Scotland, China, or Singapore. "Reasonable" is very relative. I've wanted to be a game programmer/designer since I picked up a controller, but I drew the line at leaving my wife behind. Perhaps a better solution would be to find the job on the west coast FIRST. There are plenty of places that are okay with citizens that are willing to relocate.
As for hot spots:
West coast: About 70% of the jobs are out here.
Texas: They got a booming little tax break haven.
China, Germany, Singapore, Ireland: A lot of other countries got quite a boom going on. If you're willing, it's not a bad place to start.
As for listening to my own advice, I was just recently laid off from EA. Since then I've just been making little games to pad the resume and applying to other places, but I guess some people have more drive or are willing to leave their families behind for a while.
Good luck.