Would you work for free? Jobs in the video game industry?

[fs5]

I recently graduated with a BS in CS and am working in a low level QA position.

My main goal is to work in the video game industry (as childish as it sounds, that's what I want).

Right now I'm getting a VERY low wage, I could make more money in retail!

Would you work for free if you got offered a software engineering position? Right now I'm just cold emailing companies around my area saying I'm going to work for free. Think I'll get any responses? Oh and anybody know any websites to find jobs in the video game industry? like careersforgamers.com?

 

[royaldank]

I have a mortgage payment so I wouldn't work for free. Just keep looking around and learning what you can. Get some experience and start building some games. In a couple years, with a resume and some portfolio work, you might be able to land something.

 

[Sundog]

no

 

[Lager]

Who the heck works for free?

There is no such thing as FREE LUNCH!!!

 

[Codewiz]

Keep in mind that yeah you are "working for free" but it isn't really free. The company has to spend time and resources to bring you on. They would rather find someone they think is qualified and pay them a salary to keep them.

 

[freebee]

In the porn industry only. Plus free food.

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: Codewiz
Keep in mind that yeah you are "working for free" but it isn't really free. The company has to spend time and resources to bring you on. They would rather find someone they think is qualified and pay them a salary to keep them.

that is true... I've emailed a couple of smaller companies and some large ones too. I just feel I'm stuck in a dead end job at the moment, not the mention this company is on it's way down.

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5

Originally posted by: Codewiz
Keep in mind that yeah you are "working for free" but it isn't really free. The company has to spend time and resources to bring you on. They would rather find someone they think is qualified and pay them a salary to keep them.

that is true... I've emailed a couple of smaller companies and some large ones too. I just feel I'm stuck in a dead end job at the moment, not the mention this company is on it's way down.

I would recommend trying to work with some open source games.

The is an open source MMORPG that I installed a few months back. Nothing really special but it would give you good experience. I will see if I can find a link to it.

 

[UNCjigga]

hmm...video game industry, there was this one company I interned for that handled all the business aspects of game publishing. Like, they would find a developer with a cool game idea/beta code...help them clean it up, help them present their business case, and then shop them around to game publishers. When I was there, they were actually handling publishing rights for 'Black & White' (it was a pretty popular game for awhile.)

Best of all, this company was located right in Chapel Hill, so it was easy for a student to work. Oh, and my job? Beta testing new games and new hardware before they went to market! It only paid like $5/hour though.

Linky to company

 

[Red Dawn]

If I had to work around a bunch of Kiddie Gamers I would want the Moon.

 

[Codewiz]

http://www.planeshift.it/main_01.html

Try and work on their game.....

 

[OOBradm]

http://www.gamedev.net - its a very good game development site. There might be some info on careers there. Good luck!

 

[DaveSimmons]

> Keep in mind that yeah you are "working for free" but it isn't really free. The company has to spend time and resources to bring you on. They would rather find someone they think is qualified and pay them a salary to keep them.

Exactly. We may be adding another developer or two at work in January, but since we're a small company, we can't afford the lost time (of current staff) to hire someone without enough experience to be useful from day one, even if they offered to work for "free."

Internships make sense in a small company as either a service to the community or as a recruiting tool (and test of potential employees), but the "free" labor doesn't really save the company any money.

Would I work for free? Nah, I have experience. Does it make sense for you to try it? It would make more sense if you phrased it as an internship in your cover letter.

Personally, I'd hesitate to take a job at any company that said "yes" to free work in a non-internship situation. Either they don't know what they are doing (poor business sense) or they are greedy and willing to mistreat employees for short-term gain (which also shows poor business sense).

 

[digitalsm]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn
If I had to work around a bunch of Kiddie Gamers I would want the Moon.

Most developers are in thier 30's.

Unless you have an example of working game code, game design, or animation, you will be working as a QA'er until you burn out(which seems whats happening) or until you work there for awhile and eventualy are given more responsibilites until the point you are working in an entry level programming/design job.

Theres not a game company out there that will just a hire a CS grad without a working game demo, as crud as some can be, and/or experiance from interning. Either a MOD, a total conversion, or something that shows you are qualified, a CS degree is not a qualification. What you should have done was intern when you were still in college, you would have/could have avoided the requirement of producing a working game demo(crud as it would be straight out of college without any real experiance).

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: Codewiz
http://www.planeshift.it/main_01.html

Try and work on their game.....

thanks, codewiz, will definitely look into it. Looks they have the source readily available...

 

[FeathersMcGraw]

If you're going to work for free, work on developing some sort of shareware game in the genre you're interested in working in. Game companies want proven experience and familiarity with implementation concepts more than anything else.

 

[DaveSimmons]

The open-source links above are a good idea, as is joining a well-run mod project for the scripting / ai or tools programming.

Something else to consider is doing a small game or two completely on your own for your portfolio , or if engines are your interest then coming up with some extension to the GPL'd Quake2 engine. Windows CE is still a little lacking in games so you could do something traditional (solitaire, yachts, ...) just be careful about copyrights and trademarks. "free" != "safe from lawyering."

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: digitalsmTheres not a game company out there that will just a hire a CS grad without a working game demo, as crud as some can be. Either a MOD, a total conversion, or something that shows you are qualified, a CS degree is not a qualification. What you should have done was intern when you were still in college, you would have/could have avoided the requirement of producing a working game demo(crud as it would be straight out of college without any real experiance).

I have a couple of game demo's... very small, done over breaks from college (tetris, space invader's type clone, some ball game). Perhaps it's time to get off my a$$ and do a full blown game.

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The open-source links above are a good idea, as is joining a well-run mod project for the scripting / ai or tools programming.

Something else to consider is doing a small game or two completely on your own for your portfolio , or if engines are your interest then coming up with some extension to the GPL'd Quake2 engine. Windows CE is still a little lacking in games so you could do something traditional (solitaire, yachts, ...) just be careful about copyrights and trademarks. "free" != "safe from lawyering."

I was looking into developing for PocketPC but wouldn't my time be better spent on doing something in the Windows environment? The two platforms have similarites but if I were to put in the time wouldn't it be wiser to do it in plain windows?

 

[00Jones]

Originally posted by: freebee
In the porn industry only. Plus free food.

That's only for the ladies

 

[digitalsm]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5

Originally posted by: Codewiz
http://www.planeshift.it/main_01.html

Try and work on their game.....

thanks, codewiz, will definitely look into it. Looks they have the source readily available...

If you have/could get the money, and wouldnt mind moving to Dallas/Plano TX, I would consider the GuildHall @ SMU, its truely a crash course in game design, designed by the game industry(unlike DigiPen and FullSail), its also tied to a major University and in the process of trying to make it into a full blown Masters and Phd program(which will take awhile). In 2 years you will have more than enough experiance to get hired, you'll complete 4-5 projects, 1-2 solo, and 3 group. The 3 group projects will be two small groups, working on a mod and then a total conversion, then a large group creating a game from scratch(no engine, no tools, etc).

Downside, its $37,000, and its currently "only" a certificate program.

 

[digitalsm]

Gamasutra

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: fivespeed5

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
The open-source links above are a good idea, as is joining a well-run mod project for the scripting / ai or tools programming.

Something else to consider is doing a small game or two completely on your own for your portfolio , or if engines are your interest then coming up with some extension to the GPL'd Quake2 engine. Windows CE is still a little lacking in games so you could do something traditional (solitaire, yachts, ...) just be careful about copyrights and trademarks. "free" != "safe from lawyering."

I was looking into developing for PocketPC but wouldn't my time be better spent on doing something in the Windows environment? The two platforms have similarites but if I were to put in the time wouldn't it be wiser to do it in plain windows?

Quite possibly -- in big windows you can learn / practice the DirectX (2D, 3D, sound, net) APIs, debugging is much easier, and the end result could be more impressive. CE would be useful more for app development skills and because your finished game is more likely to actually be played by someone since there is less competition.

 

[fs5]

Originally posted by: digitalsm

Originally posted by: fivespeed5

Originally posted by: Codewiz
http://www.planeshift.it/main_01.html

Try and work on their game.....

thanks, codewiz, will definitely look into it. Looks they have the source readily available...

If you have/could get the money, and wouldnt mind moving to Dallas/Plano TX, I would consider the GuildHall @ SMU, its truely a crash course in game design, designed by the game industry(unlike DigiPen and FullSail), its also tied to a major University and in the process of trying to make it into a full blown Masters and Phd program(which will take awhile). In 2 years you will have more than enough experiance to get hired, you'll complete 4-5 projects, 1-2 solo, and 3 group. The 3 group projects will be two small groups, working on a mod and then a total conversion, then a large group creating a game from scratch(no engine, no tools, etc).

Downside, its $37,000, and its currently "only" a certificate program.

I was contemplating moving to seattle and going to digipen but they do not offer a 2 year program for people with a BS in CS. You have to go the full 4 years. Moving to Texas is out of the question unfortunately.

 

[DaveSimmons]

This is one example of a good portfolio project Quake 1 redone thread if the programmers do a good enough job of upgrading the Q1 engine it will certainly look good on their resumes, plus they'll have the satisfaction of having their work used by thousands (or even tens of thousands) of quake fans.