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[3phemeral]

Sigh. The really facking annoying thing about this thread is that I want to give advice, but it's an Ark-AMN thread so any advice you're given gets ignored.

You got a 6 month window of opportunity with one of the most powerful publishers amd developers in the world, which is great. However, let's be clear: During that 6 month period:

* You will not be moved on to be an artist.
* You will not have an influence on the game design.
* You will not become best friends will Will Wright.

Here's what you can (and should) do:

* Work your ass off
* No, seriously, work your ass off. If you want the 6 month contract extended, you need to prove your worth. Concentrate on the QA job as your primary focus in life.
* Refrain from telling everyone within a 30 foot radius about how you want to be an artist and how the whole world is against you and you didn't get the mythical training which will somehow magically turn you into an artist. It won't get you anywhere.
* Learn from everyone you meet there. Ask about how they do what they do. Not only will it give you an insight into the game development process at that company (everyone is different), it will make you a better QA person. Knowing how the game is made helps you know how the game is broken.
* Once again, work your ass off in QA. Make yourself an essential part of the team. They go through thousands of new recruits every year. Don't be anonymous, but DON'T be a known for being a pain.
* As tempting as it will be to tell everyone on GAF what goes on in your job, keep it to yourself. You'll sign a NDA when you go in. Don't break it.
* And from everyone here at GAF, congratulations on getting a job in the industry. However, if you blow this opportunity we will call for your banning and kick your ass the next time you turn up at GDC or whatever and start complaining.

It's possible to move onto other departments and opportunities from QA. But right now, keep your head down, get the work done and make the most of this.

Listen to this man.

I had a friend move up to managment at Activision after working their for only 3 months because her and I competed with each other. I work elsewhere now, though. She was damned good at what she did, and it worked out for her extremely well. I had another friend there on the same team who eventually got hired at Rockstar. He moved out from Kansas solely to get a job for that studio as a modelor and he got in within 1.5 years. His only experience was school and working at QA.

Network, though. It will save your ass.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Perhaps level design is NOT for you. Did you try getting work as an OBJECT modeler. To me it seems you are either going about it wrong, not applying to jobs that you ARE good at, or going for jobs where you are in over your head. So your level layouts might suck, but you can model objects, right? Maybe go in that direction.

Of course I tried applying as an object/environment modeler. But I never really found any job openings that I could get accepted into. I mainly see Senior level positions when it comes to artists nowadays, and those that aren't still always seem to have a "must have shipped titles" requirement.

The one time where I did manage to get an on-site interview for one of these kinds of jobs, they said I was a good candidate, but they went for someone with more experience. So, yeah, I'm being beaten by experience, rightfully so of course.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Ugh, that's the thing, i did go to school, but I guess I just didn't make enough of it and become talented as I needed to be, so this is what I'm going to have to settle for.

Unless you're specifically looking for junior level positions, it's going to be hard to break into the industry when there are several other artists candidates out there with real-world experience. Unless you have some absolutely killer stuff in your portfolio coming out of college, most companies are going to give the nod to artists with established track records and references for most of their mid-level and higher art positions.

Sigh. The really facking annoying thing about this thread is that I want to give advice, but it's an Ark-AMN thread so any advice you're given gets ignored.

You got a 6 month window of opportunity with one of the most powerful publishers amd developers in the world, which is great. However, let's be clear: During that 6 month period:

* You will not be moved on to be an artist.
* You will not have an influence on the game design.
* You will not become best friends will Will Wright.

Here's what you can (and should) do:

* Work your ass off
* No, seriously, work your ass off. If you want the 6 month contract extended, you need to prove your worth. Concentrate on the QA job as your primary focus in life.
* Refrain from telling everyone within a 30 foot radius about how you want to be an artist and how the whole world is against you and you didn't get the mythical training which will somehow magically turn you into an artist. It won't get you anywhere.
* Learn from everyone you meet there. Ask about how they do what they do. Not only will it give you an insight into the game development process at that company (everyone is different), it will make you a better QA person. Knowing how the game is made helps you know how the game is broken.
* Once again, work your ass off in QA. Make yourself an essential part of the team. They go through thousands of new recruits every year. Don't be anonymous, but DON'T be a known for being a pain.
* As tempting as it will be to tell everyone on GAF what goes on in your job, keep it to yourself. You'll sign a NDA when you go in. Don't break it.
* And from everyone here at GAF, congratulations on getting a job in the industry. However, if you blow this opportunity we will call for your banning and kick your ass the next time you turn up at GDC or whatever and start complaining.

It's possible to move onto other departments and opportunities from QA. But right now, keep your head down, get the work done and make the most of this.

Great advice. One thing missing here though is networking. NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK! Keep in touch with any developers you build a good working relationship with, as well as with the guys you meet in QA - those testers may land positions in other companies later on, and in a couple of years they may be in a position where they can hook you up with an interview. Many developers use Linkedin as a way to stay in touch with former colleagues.

Lots of good advice on this thread...there's obviously several people in the industry on this board who just aren't very vocal about it.

 

[theBishop]

Not true, as there's always the designer or production route, neither of which necessarily requires programming or art skills (especially as more and more dev teams separate level design between environment artists that do the majority of the work building a scene and the level designers who just block out basic geometry, focusing more on marker and object placement as well as scripting).

And the production route isn't necessarily easier to break into either, considering you need to demonstrate good management skills (both for a project and personnel), the ability to work well with other groups such as marketing, PR, or localization, and a keen understanding of the development process in all areas - meaning if you can't even make it as a good lead tester, which practically already do assistant producer type work at many places, you're probably not going to make it into production.

i'm not saying its impossible. but a game needs a lot of testers and only a handful of designers/producers.

you have about as much chance landing a "real" job in game development through QA as you do going from army reserve to General. As with most jobs, networking and hardwork count for a hell of a lot. But QA is the of the lowest entry points to the "Games Industry", and hence, the least likely to bear fruit.

Of course you have a better chance getting into the industry through QA than just playing games and reading comic books at your house, but that doesn't mean QA gives you a "good" chance.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Unless you're specifically looking for junior level positions, it's going to be hard to break into the industry when there are several other artists candidates out there with real-world experience. Unless you have some absolutely killer stuff in your portfolio coming out of college, most companies are going to give the nod to artists with established track records and references for most of their mid-level and higher art positions.

I agree, but as I said, and maybe I just was blind, but I really couldn't find any Junior artist positions out there at any developer I searched, and yeah, I looked on places like gamedevmap and such to try and find any developer. But none seemed to have a listing.

 

[Kewk]

Fair enough. but anyone who thinks they are going to spin a QA position into a full time development gig without serious programming or art skills is in for a rude awakening.

I do agree with you to a point. It is very rare for it to happen and should never be expected. However it does happen. Over the last 2yrs I have seen two QA guys that came to test in house for us move on to artist positions. In that 2yrs I have seen one guy move on to a design position, two guys move to production coordinator positions, and one guy even move up to a modeler/associate producer position.

It does happen but it does take time and being in the right places but generally in the grand scheme of percentages it doesn't happen.. heh.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

i'm not saying its impossible. but a game needs a lot of testers and only a handful of designers/producers.

you have about as much chance landing a "real" job in game development through QA as you do going from army reserve to General. As with most jobs, networking and hardwork count for a hell of a lot. But QA is the of the lowest entry points to the "Games Industry", and hence, the least likely to bear fruit.

Of course you have a better chance getting into the industry through QA than just playing games and reading comic books at your house, but that doesn't mean QA gives you a "good" chance.

Production types coming from QA are usually pulled in from Lead Testers, which already limits the pool quite a bit. And while a Lead Tester may not be able to move up to production at their current company due to limited availability, they will at least be getting the proper experience so that they can apply for other entry-level production positions elsewhere.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I do agree with you to a point. It is very rare for it to happen and should never be expected. However it does happen. Over the last 2yrs I have seen two QA guys that came to test in house for us move on to artist positions. In that 2yrs I have seen one guy move on to a design position, two guys move to production coordinator positions, and one guy even move up to a modeler/associate producer position.

It does happen but it does take time and being in the right places but generally in the grand scheme of percentages it doesn't happen.. heh.

It happens a lot more often than people expect, but most of these guys who do move on have been in QA for quite a while and have been able to prove their capabilities and build good working relationships with other people in their company - 2-4 years at least if not longer, with at least half of that time in some sort of assistant lead/lead capacity.

 

[theBishop]

I do agree with you to a point. It is very rare for it to happen and should never be expected. However it does happen. Over the last 2yrs I have seen two QA guys that came to test in house for us move on to artist positions. In that 2yrs I have seen one guy move on to a design position, two guys move to production coordinator positions, and one guy even move up to a modeler/associate producer position.

It does happen but it does take time and being in the right places but generally in the grand scheme of percentages it doesn't happen.. heh.

Please answer this question:

Based on your experience which of the following activities is most likely to land you a meaningful job in game development (and which is least likely):

A) QA Testing

B) Creating mods and/or custom levels using mod tools

C) Creating your own small-scale game demos

D) Advanced (though possibly amateur) 3d modeling and animation

 

[XiaNaphryz]

I agree, but as I said, and maybe I just was blind, but I really couldn't find any Junior artist positions out there at any developer I searched, and yeah, I looked on places like gamedevmap and such to try and find any developer. But none seemed to have a listing.

It does seem that junior/entry-level postings in general are hard to come by, but that's usually because they're filled the easiest - someone on the dev team knows someone coming out of college, or someone in QA, etc, so HR has an easier time filling those spots.

You should extend your search beyond full-time positions and try to find intern opportunities as well.

 

[Chris_C]

I'll spoil it for you: they updated the roosters.

 

[beat]

I found the branch of EA that I tested at to have good training, and this was a few years ago -- I heard they got better since. Still, not everyone hired was a keeper, so:

A good tester finds bugs and then writes them up in a way that helps the dev team fix them. Don't spend too much of your time chasing a very rare bug; that's a waste of your time. Don't be vague or incomprehensible with your writeups, either the bug description or the reproduction steps; that's a waste of the devs' time. I understand these are sorta judgement calls, but that's partly what EA's training is for.

I found it never hurt to think about a bug for a moment in context -- if it happened in one way, thinking about the systems involved could help me isolate what was a factor and what was unrelated. It also helped me think about what related bugs might still be in the game or different manifestations of the same bug (which could even kick it up from a C bug to a B bug, say). Also, no one's fond of duplicate bug reports.

At EA, even if you're not the kind of gamer who loves EA's games, try not to act like a giant game snob... it won't help you get ahead.

The last bit of artistic feedback I got from someone in the industry was that my modelling was good but my texturing still needs work, so that's what I gotta work on.

I believe some companies -- not all -- have separate roles for modellers vs texturers. Maybe consider putting up some untextured models on your page?

And remove the "older stuff" unless you're actually still proud of it. I'm not much in the know about how it goes for artists, but have you ever entered those casual weekly competitions on CGTalk? I've just taken a look around in there now and some of the stuff there is really terrific.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Please answer this question:

Based on your experience which of the following activities is most likely to land you a meaningful job in game development (and which is least likely):

A) QA Testing

B) Creating mods and/or custom levels using mod tools

C) Creating your own small-scale game demos

D) Advanced (though possibly amateur) 3d modeling and animation

In my experience the order would go:

Programmer - C, B/D, A
Artist - B+D, C+D, A+D
Designer - C/B, A+B, D
Production - A, B/C/D

Being able to program your own game demo is an excellent way to get noticed for a programming position, provided that you can explain how you built the thing and why you implemented it the way you did. It also shows that you either have an understanding of multiple areas (if it's a full blown demo) or are especially good in a particular field (an AI demo). I put Creating Mods and Advanced 3D Art on the same level because it depends - a good programmer who can use art software well has a good chance to become an Art TD of some sort (i.e. character rigging, or VFX, etc), where as a programmer who's adept with working with mod tools may have a better chance as a tools developer. QA is last because there's no real way to demonstrate your skills, unless you can do QA for a PC title in some sort of technical capacity such as compatibility.

Similar situation for artists, but you MUST have D to have any shot (unless you're going for a concept artist spot). But in this case going the mod route is better because you demonstrate an understanding of how to use game tools and importing assets into run-time.

Designer is where it gets interesting. Either game demos or mods are a decent way of landing a spot, but I put QA next because some people will benefit from the QA process and become better designers - they learn how to think in different ways, how to better tune game systems (such as weapon balancing) through structured testplans and repetition, nuances in level design that relate to a wide range of things from spawn locations to difficulty adjustments to audio placement, etc. You have a lot better shot in QA, of course, if you have good working knowledge of at least one of the major level editors on the market. Knowing the 3D art stuff is extra frosting at this point, but ONLY knowing that won't cut it - level envrionment artists belong up with the art section.

As for Production, because the nature of the job is largely related to project management, I've seen all sorts of different entry paths. Programmers, QA, artists, business affairs, production in other fields, even managers from retail - ideally of course, you should be familiar with games and the development process, and with the choices I see above, QA is pretty much the best place to get the knowledge required if you can move beyond being a QA grunt and into a Lead spot or higher. Knowing how to use mod tools or create a demo or use Maya is fine and dandy, but if you can't manage a schedule, budget, or staff it's not going to matter.

 

[Kewk]

Please answer this question:

Based on your experience which of the following activities is most likely to land you a meaningful job in game development (and which is least likely):

A) QA Testing

B) Creating mods and/or custom levels using mod tools

C) Creating your own small-scale game demos

D) Advanced (though possibly amateur) 3d modeling and animation

Man that's a really tough question because I can think of a thousand ways each can be equal, except QA. There are many specific instances where any of the other three would get you a great job in the industry. But there are often times where you wouldn't be able to find any meaningful job with any of them.

If I had to pick one of them I would say C.

It takes a lot more than just one skill to put out a smalls scale game demo and these do not happen often (at least I have not seen full game demos come in).

 

[3phemeral]

Please answer this question:

Based on your experience which of the following activities is most likely to land you a meaningful job in game development (and which is least likely):

A) QA Testing

B) Creating mods and/or custom levels using mod tools

C) Creating your own small-scale game demos

D) Advanced (though possibly amateur) 3d modeling and animation

Somewhere in there, you forgot Video Game Journalist ...

 

[Kewk]

Somewhere in there, you forgot Video Game Journalist ...

Video game journalists don't develop games

 

[3phemeral]

Video game journalists don't develop games

You forgot about the highly publicized journalists of late who've moved on to game development, yes? Che, et al. It was meant tongue-in-cheek anyway ^_~

 

[Gazunta]

I actually have a question, what is the name of the job where what the guy does is layout the levels (placing, lighting, animating assets, particle system, etc.?)

I dunno how things work at other places, but at the place I hang out at during the day, you just described four completely different jobs

Spoiler

And wow at the Gazunta Defence Force that popped up in this thread

 

[tanasten]

Physical injuries?

Man, stay sitting in a rude chair, like 10 hours the days, all the week less sunday... you're going to get serious back hurts and your eyes will bleed. That's not usual, to do that many hours but sometimes you need to do it in order to get the game's release date.

Being in the gaming industry is like being on the medium industry. You may be relaxed 6 months, but the last three months are gona be like sexual castigation from a demon's hell.

The only hope for a tester is:

A) Participating on the game's design.
B) Learning about how game development works.
C) Having your name in a game.
D) If you learn the tools, participating in level design, giving ideas for the game concept, etc.

Again, whoever is looking to get into the industry, do it easy and get a QA job, and latter get improving.

 

[onadesertedisland]

From personal experience, expect to be around a slew of antisocial introverts who do not associate with one another.

I hated my experiment with QA and would never do it again.

 

[tanasten]

From personal experience, expect to be around a slew of antisocial introverts who do not associate with one another.

I hated my experiment with QA and would never do it again.

Well... I had been Lead QA for almost two years and never, in my group, has been a single person uncommunicative or having fun with the job. I think this is a matter of how the Lead QA takes the charge of the team. It's required that the QA testing team members to explain the kind of troubles they're finding out, to work in group and find more situations like that.

Of course, talking about shit during the QA sessions doesn't help, that was the biggest problem I had to face when taking charge of 20+ QA team. Very hard for them to concentrate on the job if they're talking about shit.

 

[theBishop]

I hear most publishers blast Ashlee Simpson CDs on repeat in the QA rooms just t rub it in.

Its like in Clockwork Orange where they get him to hate Beethoven through association with horrible atrocities.

 

[Duckhuntdog]

there's obviously several people in the industry on this board who just aren't very vocal about it.

Probably because you are under so many NDA's you would choke. Gaf loves info and gossip and we probably would come off as cock teases since we really can't say anything. Don't think the temptation isn't there, but you learn to keep the trap shut, plus when you aren't a known person like Jaffe, you are more apt to get canned for letting something slip.

 

[oldschoolpinball]

get use to the words NAB, WNF,and NMI....oh yeah,and rent the movie Grandmas Boy for practice

 

[Philthy]

Hey, it's experience if nothing else. Like any other job, just be proactive for any other opportunities they might toss on the table. If they ask for someone to do a little extra work here or there, be the one that takes it. Always look for the chance to branch out and possibly meet new people or other departments.

Edit: If they never ask for anything else from you, then you need to ask them yourself.

 

[The Bookerman]

I was in QA for a while, and I can tell you what i've learned about it.

1) if you want to get into games, and you work on a project that's done in-house, try to get close to the devs(depending of the studio this can be hard, but at Ubi Soft, the dev team was pretty open to QA). Ask them questions, show them you're interested.

2) I've made friends with a level designer and it always helps to learn about stuff(comprehend the developement cycles, stuff that gets cut).

3) Read GAF(seriously, some of the stuff you read here really happens ) I've learned a lot here.

4) You cannot change the course of a game; but you can damn sure find some people who can (If you find something that's really ruining the game, and you know somebody that listens to you(somebody part of the dev team) you can get things moving again).


So essentially: Do your job, get involve with the dev team if it's possible if you wanna go further.

Oh and if some people in QA tell you that you can't make it: do not believe them. Stick to your guns

 

[RepMovSB]

There are a lot of true things said in this thread, which I won't bother to repeat.

I only skimmed the last two pages so I'll get to my point...

Whatever happens, in six months time you will be better informed about the reality of the situation than you are at the moment, and that on it's own has a lot of value.

 

[poppin fresh]

Ahhhh just so you know level design is VERY different to being a lighting artist or a particle effects artist.

Edit: missed gaz's comment, sowwy.

 

[w0s]

Also expect to get the worst games since your new. When my cousin did it for THQ he made minimum wage and played their crappy handheld games. THat being said it was still playing games.

 

[MC Safety]

I doubt I could be a tester if I wanted to, I'm just not good enough at games.

I could probably test Nintendo games or something...

Well, see, the thing is, game companies don't necessarily want people who are great at video games. That's not what testing is about.

Testing is about trying everything in a game, discovering what's wrong in places that people haven't checked before, and being able to relay to the developers exactly how to reproduce the bugs so they can be fixed.

Sometimes, being great at games is a hindrance to being a tester. Because the majority of people who play the games when they're finally released won't be highly skilled or overly dextrous or whatever.

 

[eudaemonic]

I know networking has been stressed already... but also be careful of WHO you network with also. I'm not saying to be a snob - but there are some people out there that have bad a rep (for a reason) and hanging out with them too much may also influence what people think about you.

The old line "birds of a feather flock together" was created for a reason.

Spoiler

And wow at the Gazunta Defence Force that popped up in this thread

Spoiler

Defending someone who knows what he's talking about? Pfffft! *chuckles*

 

[Walshey]

Listen Ark-AMN it pains me to have to inform you how inappropriate this thread is and how detrimental it is to your future at EA.
When we offered you this opportunity it should have been made clear that all goings on relating to your work at EA are to be kept private within the company and are definitely not up for public discussion on games forums and all media related sites. By simply disclosing the fact that this studio is currently hiring you have already broken your contract, I know for someone not yet involved in the industry this may seem a trivial breach, however such an early slip up does not bode well for your future.
The reason I am telling you this now is so you are not shocked when human resources contact you on Monday and let you know that your services are no longer needed at EA.
By all means don't let this bother you as I am sure that if you have the commitment and talent then you will sooner or later find your niche in this industry, however you must surely understand due to events that EA has had to go through recently, i.e. the "EA Spouse" fiasco that the last thing we need is another 'insider' bad mouthing our image.

 

[john tv]

Gazunta provides great advice of what you can realistically expect from the job. Also take a look at this article. It's a couple years old, but it totally holds true (at least, for a localization company).

Just read this. Interesting article but it's filled with inaccuracies. Sounds like the writer had some bad experiences, but a lot of the problems he refers to are the result of communication issues, not cranky or unwilling Japanese developers.

 

[john tv]

Listen Ark-AMN it pains me to have to inform you how inappropriate this thread is and how detrimental it is to your future at EA.
When we offered you this opportunity it should have been made clear that all goings on relating to your work at EA are to be kept private within the company and are definitely not up for public discussion on games forums and all media related sites. By simply disclosing the fact that this studio is currently hiring you have already broken your contract, I know for someone not yet involved in the industry this may seem a trivial breach, however such an early slip up does not bode well for your future.
The reason I am telling you this now is so you are not shocked when human resources contact you on Monday and let you know that your services are no longer needed at EA.
By all means don't let this bother you as I am sure that if you have the commitment and talent then you will sooner or later find your niche in this industry, however you must surely understand due to events that EA has had to go through recently, i.e. the "EA Spouse" fiasco that the last thing we need is another 'insider' bad mouthing our image.

Not funny...

 

[Walshey]

Not funny...

That's exactly what I said when I first read this thread.

 

[Bert]

Firstly contgratulations ARK_AMN, unless that post above me isn't a joke post, in which case, commiserations...

As there's lots of helpful people in this thread can someone answer a question for me:

I gave up on the dream of getting into the game development business while at university as it looked like only the best of the best were hired and I wasn't 100% sure I could put the effort required in to become a good enough programmer.

If I wanted to aim for some kind of level design, or other non-programming/non-artist job (if such a job exists) what would I need to do? I have a computer science degree, and have messed around making PacMan clones and the like but not much more.

TIA

 

[{Mike}]

Listen Ark-AMN it pains me to have to inform you how inappropriate this thread is and how detrimental it is to your future at EA.
When we offered you this opportunity it should have been made clear that all goings on relating to your work at EA are to be kept private within the company and are definitely not up for public discussion on games forums and all media related sites. By simply disclosing the fact that this studio is currently hiring you have already broken your contract, I know for someone not yet involved in the industry this may seem a trivial breach, however such an early slip up does not bode well for your future.
The reason I am telling you this now is so you are not shocked when human resources contact you on Monday and let you know that your services are no longer needed at EA.
By all means don't let this bother you as I am sure that if you have the commitment and talent then you will sooner or later find your niche in this industry, however you must surely understand due to events that EA has had to go through recently, i.e. the "EA Spouse" fiasco that the last thing we need is another 'insider' bad mouthing our image.

Wow, if this is true, Ark just got owned like there is no tomorrow. The only thing I find suspicious in this post his how talking about landing a QA job @ EA Maxis is breaking an NDA and can't be discussed. It's not like there are confidential info. in Ark's posts.

 

[john tv]

Wow, if this is true, Ark just got owned like there is no tomorrow. The only thing I find suspicious in this post his how talking about landing a QA job @ EA Maxis is breaking an NDA and can't be discussed. It's not like there are confidential info. in Ark's posts.

Of course it's not true. You think an employee of a company like EA would notify a potential applicant of his untimely demise on a message board forum? Come on, use your head.

 

[poppin fresh]

Of course it's not true. You think an employee of a company like EA would notify a potential applicant of his untimely demise on a message board forum? Come on, use your head.

But hey john tv EA is just like any other company, a mass of individual employees, who is to say that one would not take it upon themselves to warn another?

I don't know it all seems very confusing.

 

[BuddyC]

But hey john tv EA is just like any other company, a mass of individual employees, who is to say that one would not take it upon themselves to warn another?

I don't know it all seems very confusing.

For reasons I won't disclose publicly, I'm also confident it's not true. Besides, uh, read the text. No one from EA would publicly scold another person on company policy and company image. That's the sort of thing reserved for PMs, IMs, angry phone calls and scary office meetings.

However, Walshey does make a valid point about the dangers of message boards.

 

[{Mike}]

Anyway Welshey, you sure are full of lies

Location:Australia

So how could you know about this? :lol

I thought it may be real because many folks from the gaming industry browse these forums, and some of them are actually inside small studios and they could be in touch with the guys responsible for the interviews.

 

[Walshey]

Anyway Welshey, you sure are full of lies



So how could you know about this? :lol

I thought it may be real because many folks from the gaming industry browse these forums, and some of them are actually inside small studios and they could be in touch with the guys responsible for the interviews.

Yes thats right Australia is not home to any video games let alone any publishers or development teams. Gee I hope the guys I work for don't find this out otherwise I could be out on the street just like Ark-AMN.

 

[MC Safety]

Yes thats right Australia is not home to any video games let alone any publishers or development teams. Gee I hope the guys I work for don't find this out otherwise I could be out on the street just like Ark-AMN.

Boo-urns.

I don't think there was any sensitive information in what the original poster said. And I don't think game testers have to count either their employers or their status as employees as confidential information.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Listen Ark-AMN it pains me to have to inform you how inappropriate this thread is and how detrimental it is to your future at EA.
When we offered you this opportunity it should have been made clear that all goings on relating to your work at EA are to be kept private within the company and are definitely not up for public discussion on games forums and all media related sites. By simply disclosing the fact that this studio is currently hiring you have already broken your contract, I know for someone not yet involved in the industry this may seem a trivial breach, however such an early slip up does not bode well for your future.
The reason I am telling you this now is so you are not shocked when human resources contact you on Monday and let you know that your services are no longer needed at EA.
By all means don't let this bother you as I am sure that if you have the commitment and talent then you will sooner or later find your niche in this industry, however you must surely understand due to events that EA has had to go through recently, i.e. the "EA Spouse" fiasco that the last thing we need is another 'insider' bad mouthing our image.

You know, the funny thing about this is that I haven't signed any contracts yet. This was offered to me over the phone and such. But, oh well, it'll be a shame if I get canned just for saying I got hired.

For reasons I won't disclose publicly, I'm also confident it's not true. Besides, uh, read the text. No one from EA would publicly scold another person on company policy and company image. That's the sort of thing reserved for PMs, IMs, angry phone calls and scary office meetings.

However, Walshey does make a valid point about the dangers of message boards.

None of which I've yet to receive, which I'd imagine I would if something really bad did happen.

 

[Ark-AMN]

Oh yeah, I don't know what you all think about this but I actually am involved in an indie project for XBLA. It's sort of my free time at the moment.

I was actually this close to becoming a part of the Black Mesa team as well. They were happy with the test I did and loved my modeling, but then they remembered they already had enough moddlers. Oh well.

 

[Ranger X]

Oh yeah, I don't know what you all think about this but I actually am involved in an indie project for XBLA. It's already been worked out that I'll be doing that in my free time.

I was actually this close to becoming a part of the Black Mesa team as well. They were happy with the test I did and loved my modeling, but then they remembered they already had enough moddlers. Oh well.

^^^ This post. As an employer this will strikes me as a nono. I'd put your CV in the bin right there. Talk too much.

 

[Eggo]

^^^ This post. As an employer this will strikes me as a nono. I'd put your CV in the bin right there. Talk too much.

Agreed. You don't want to call attention to red flags such as conflicts of interest. I'd assume there's going to be something in the paperwork you sign about that.

 

[Rayven]

The job is insanely tedious (esp. for someone with an artistic background/creative mind). Make sure you continue to work on your stuff in your spare time and try to set goals for yourself (ie. I will finish a new reel in x weeks).

Crank out some good work (at home) and try to meet as many devs as possible at work...make sure everyone knows that you are an artist, but don't come off even a little desperate. Have business cards ready and it helps to have samples up on a site so if the chance to step up arises, you will be ready to show them something on the spot.

I started as a tester. Keep your head (and bug count) up, but keep your eyes on the prize, which is getting the hell out of QA and into Dev.

Good luck (that's part of it too).

 

[2DMention]

Use your experience with the game you test to write a strategy guide. You'll know the game inside and out.

 

[Kimi]

Well, that is interesting. I remember when they used to be here in my city of Walnut Creek. For some reason I thought they went all the way to Redwood City. Guess not.

You live in WC? I used to live there! I miss it now.