what about modelling jobs? How difficult is it to get a modelling job in such a place as Lionhead? I am using maya for animation but prefers max for modelling. Is there a package that is most used in video games? I think that Lionhead uses XSI any idea? Here is something I am working on at the moment As you can see I like cartoony characters but I am also found of anatomy. Olive

Thank you, I enjoyed the second link greatly.

Okay, so late reply in a long dead topic, but I'm hoping for a response anyway. I'm looking to get into the games industry, preferably programming. I'm going to start leaning Lua, but no amount of knowledge in that will help, unless I have he grades. So can anyone tell me what sorts of grades are needed to get into the programming side? It’s obviously a-levels, etc. But which ones exactly? Internet searches yielded little results. Any help will be great thanks, and please say if you think I have no chance at all. =[

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http://automission.deviantart.com/

You may want to look what kind of requirements you need to meet in order to study CompSci. Check university (or your local equivalent, whatever offers bachelor/master degrees) websites and stuff. Why wouldn't you have any chance at all? One of my coworkers doesn't have any degree at all. (Having a degree in CompSci or something similar is preferable, but not always necessary).

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Programmer at Triumph Studios

Okay, so are you recommending learning compsci over lua? And I just meant no chance as I got bad grades from GCSE's, so I'd have to excel in A-levels to get some good grades.

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http://automission.deviantart.com/

I'd think that for any job, experience and the ability to learn are more important than high school grades.

True, but then thats like dating. People say personality match, you don't have to be good looking, yet its the first thing they look for, and they base their opinion on that. Eh, I'l just learn and see.

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http://automission.deviantart.com/

Having a compsci degree makes you much less of a risk to hire, when doing interviews the guy with the degree will usually get the job over someone without it if they're otherwise equal. That said, coders do get hired without degrees, but they have to be able to prove that they're good enough. That's going to mean you'd have to provide examples of your work, getting involved with game modding will be a good way to get that. Lua on it's own won't really get you a coders job. I use Lua as part of my curent project, but it's only about 50% of it, there's still a lot of traditional C++ coding that goes into games (although the balance is shifting). But a good Lua scripter could still get a job as a gameplay scripter instead, and thats a role that generally has a lower academic entrance level. And once you're in as a scripter there's plenty of scope to train up as a coder proper. But whichever path you take, without that strong academic background you're going to have to get proactive and get involved with modding projects to build relevant experience.

Right, so I'l learn lua for now, get into coding games for website clans, etc. Then once i master that i'l move into C++ hopefully.

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http://automission.deviantart.com/

 Quoting: Glen Watts1

Lua on it's own won't really get you a coders job. I use Lua as part of my curent project, but it's only about 50% of it, there's still a lot of traditional C++ coding that goes into games (although the balance is shifting).

The game programming courswork that I'm taking now is heavily C++ based. I'm just now starting to get away from the basic programming fundamentals, next term I start a game engine design course (yay!). If I want to make myself more marketable in the industry should I start looking at other languages in my off time? If so what do you recommend?

You should look at other languages regardless of its use for getting a job. Learning multiple languages is good fun.

 Quoting: RAVEK

You should look at other languages regardless of its use for getting a job. Learning multiple languages is good fun.

I know pig latin does that count? I'm feeling comfortable enough now with the concepts of programming that I think I'm ready to start looking at other languages. I'm between C# and Java at the moment.

 Quoting: myshinator

If I want to make myself more marketable in the industry should I start looking at other languages in my off time? If so what do you recommend?

Tough one to call really. C++ is definitely still the main language used in games development, but others are starting to make inroads. A lot of developers use C# for tools and prototyping work, and it's probably not that long before some of the game code is done in it too. The nice thing with C# is that it's what the free version of XNA uses, so you can learn the language whilst writing games. Lua is used by lots of developers for scripting and UI work, it's pretty easy to learn if you already have a coding background. Python is seeing a lot of use in tools work, but less for actual game code. I've heard of places using Ruby as well.

I know Russel Shaw composes for Lionhead, but what about sound effects, recording dialog? Is that in-house?

re-stickied.

I don't knwo if any one already posted thins link but it can help you too:

http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html

 

I plan to become a game designer, or a level designer on day. Hopfuly I'll have the money or luck to become a student at a game design school, else I have to hope that the stuff I currently write with XNA (for more info, read my blog).

I actually think that game design would be the right department for me, I'm that kind of freaky guy that always got this great ideas that every body likes and no one ever thought of.

I also got a lot of additional skills that could be usefull, including that rare skill of being pleased with working as designer for a little studio, ... man ... I would be happy if I could be the keyboard cleaner ...

 

 

Greg the Mad

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My Blog

My new Gametag:
Greg the Mad

Cheers guys, this thread has helped me a lot.

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i'd  of thought living in guildford (where lionheads hq is) would make it easier trying to get a job in the industry, what with EA UK, Criterion and Media molecule being based here. but when your as uneducated as i am, having a university on your doorstep does hinder your chances of employment in most places. It doesnt help that the gaming industry is an extremely desirable field of work, its near impossible competing against so maybe uni-graduates i feel.

i'd only want a not to technically challanging job in QA

 

P.S.

anyone know what happened to muckyfoot productions?

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i support local bussiness by buying lionhead games

I think Muckyfoot disappeared after startopia.. thats a while back now.  Kuju also have 2 studios in Guildford, Nik Nak and DoubleSix... if you are looking for Guildford based companies...

I recently had a few unsuccessful interviews I thought I would add a point or two. 

If you are applying for coding roles you should be prepared for exam style written based papers.  I know it seems obvious... but each studio I have been to has a very different approach to the questions they are asking.  My advice is to find a decent  set of C++ and Object orientated training courses and sit them as a refresher before going to an interview.

Some companies may test your maths, others your knowledge of inheritance, or maybe memory management.  In five separate interviews I was questioned heavily in 5 different areas, so theres no one topic you should brush up on.

I was never any at exams... I have a decent set of qualifications thanks to coursework... I like to be able to reference things, and I consider my strengths to be in the application of rather than retention of knowledge... as such I think I am always going to struggle in this kind of interview. 

To anyone else attempting to get into the industry, I wish you luck.

Glen Watts1:

Tough one to call really. C++ is definitely still the main language used in games development, but others are starting to make inroads. A lot of developers use C# for tools and prototyping work, and it's probably not that long before some of the game code is done in it too.

Is knowledge of CLR/ general .NET stuff useful as well as C# etc.?  I'm pretty decent at both native C++ and C++ w/CLR, but I've never been sure whether to make a big point of saying so, since most of the .NET stuff seems to be aimed at C#

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DR

If you know something add it to your CV, there's no downside in knowing stuff.

The place where I go to school for Game Design does not currently have a graduate program.  When I intially enrolled in school, I was planning on getting a PhD in Computer Science and then going into the gaming industry.  However, at this point, that seems self-defeating; by the time I get a Doctorate, everything I learned in Undergrad would be fairly useless!

Does anyone who is currently IN the field have any advice on how to approach longterm schooling?  I don't want to skip grad school now if I am going to have to do it later, but I want to start planning for it NOW before it is any issue.  Many people have told me that after I get my B.S. in game design I should just immerse myself into the field. 

What should I do?  Or, at least, what should I consider?

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Calo

I work in the industry and much like yourself I did a degree in game design, so hopefully i'll have some advice that might help.

First of all, i'd ask yourself why you want to do your PhD. There are many reasons to do it, and other reasons where i'd suggest you skip it.

If you're doing it because you think the qualifications will help you get a job then i'd say skip it. The games industry judges people's skills based largely on portfolio work, so even if you didn't have a degree, let alone a PhD, you'd still get hired if your portfolio was great. The flip side of that is you could have 3 PhD's and 10 years experience but if your portfolio is rubbish then most places won't hire you.

On the other hand, if you're doing it for other reasons; like maybe you like being in the education system and you like that lifestyle, or maybe you feel you owe it to yourself to push your education as far as it will go, then there's nothing to stop you from doing a PhD.

If you're worried that the knowledge you gained from your degree will have no value by the time you finish your PhD then that all depends on how you were taught on your degree. If your university or college taught you the basic skills of your chosen craft then you should be able to adapt yourself to whatever the state of the industry, but if they just taught you what they felt were the latest techniques, then you may struggle either way. To give an example, an artist who has a skilled grasp of observation, attention to detail, form, color, proportion, and so on, will be able to adapt. An artist who was taught where all the buttons are in Maya 2008, is going to find it tough anyway.

You see, I know nothing about your course, or your lecturers, or the syllabus, but chances are you're already behind the curve. The industry moves incredibly fast, and most lecturers are ex-industry professionals. If they've been running their course for say, two years, that means they've not been working in the industry for two years which means their knowledge is two years out of date. Most courses I know of are like this. In fact here in the UK it takes so long to approve a new syllabus that by the time one has gone through the approval process it's already out of date. The best a uni can do is teach you core skills, and the best you can do beyond that it work in the industry. If you want to do a PhD then those core skills will still be relevant by the time you're done.

So really it's up to you. If it were me i'd skip the PhD and go into the industry. The PhD won't help your job prospects and you'll learn more in the industry than you will on the PhD. On the other hand, if you have other, more personal reasons as to why you want to do a PhD then you might as well go for it.

I just noticed this thread, and I read the main article link on the first post, so thanks for putting all that up.  It was about what I've heard before, which is a sign (since it shows that the advice for getting a job is coming from more than one mouth).  Right now I'm about to enter my third year at university in a Computer Science undergrad degree, which means that I'm starting to put thought into what to do after University (two years can go by pretty quickly.)  It's a difficult decision to choose whether I want to go into more of the business world, gaming industry, do web programming, etc etc.  I got my first programming-related internship this summer, which I highly recommend to anyone studying programming/computer science, since I guarantee what you learn in school is not the same as "real world" application. 

 

What I've come to see is that in school you learn many important concepts (programming language basics/syntax/ coding style/modularity/algorithms/data structures), the real world is much more hands on and puts what you're learning to real use.  For instance, my experience is that in school you may learn a new concept: let's say, programming priority queues in C++.  A few days later you get a week long assignment to implement  this in some simple contrived program.  Of course this exact contrived situation won't come up in the real world, which is why getting some basic hands on experience has been important to me.

Another thing to think about is that in school, in my first two years at least, I've only been instructed in C++, assembly language, perl, and some basic java and scheme.  In my internship I'm doing more web programming and database manipulation, and am already having to learn "on-the-fly" (though with help from experienced coworkers) javascript, jquery, SQL, C#, AJAX, html, and some VBScript.  Although I haven't learned any of these from school, my higher education has taught me the basic concepts that many of these languages use, and therefore let me learn and adapt faster to new situations and languages.

If I were to get a job in the games industry, I would like to apply at Lionhead.  I live in the states now, but am one of those people who would feel comfortable living anywhere so the thought of moving for a job doesn't bother me much.  As far as "why LH?", I've been a member of these forums since 2001 and have been really active in this community and find it to be a unique and engaging place to be around (as anyone reading this forum and post will probably agree with), so I have a lot of loyalty to LH and believe in what they're doing.

Now, just to finish my last two years of school and see where life takes me.

-Giff

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Hi,

I'm answering myself about place of the 2D sprites in the vg industry. I don't absolutly need to found a job one day in this industry, but as i'm a gamer (well... i was...), the "background" of v.g intrest me a lot.

I know that 3D take a huge part of the work, and sometimes I answer myself about learn 3D or not.. For me the question is realy on the esthetism side. I prefere 2D.

When I see N. DS, flash games, sometimes it let me hope that 2D will continue to bring jobs.. Personaly, I keep wonderfull memories of fallouts, Baldur's gate.. or well ... Theme Park/Hospital.. Dk 1 is a mix between prefabs (? creatures) and 3d of the map.

What people here feels about jobs opportunity for 2D sprites ?
Also, before be applied on polygones, textures are just typicals 2D canvas ..
Considering this, Arn't traditionals 2D tiles a argument in a portefolio ?

Originaly, I've study drawing, traditionals to .. layouts, packaging.. So i can make my little way in it. But... I'm realy answering myself about check what can i hope about Game Industry

Sorry for my english Hope it's not to boring to read

regards (isn't what says english peoples ? )

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I love FPS like Battlefield 2.
But I only do Friendly-Fire. I'm only Love !