Journal #7024

Sorry to hear that. Better luck in the future, I guess.

Your scene looks like it's off to a good start and the concept looks pretty. What are the red things that will be sitting under the arches next to the fountain?

Edit: The grate+fountain combination doesn't really make a lot of sense. The grate makes it look like this is supposed to be some kind of drain/dump/sewer, but the fountain makes it look like it's supposed to be some kind of foyer. If it's a foyer, why is that grate there? If it's a drain, why is that fountain there?

Edit: I read the story for the scene. The fountain still doesn't make a lot of sense.

"Most of the studios didn't reply and the ones that did said they were only interested in professionals and not graduates. "

This fucking system is the fault. It is even hard to blame it, because if I were an organization it'd be natural that myself would request professionals.

I hope you the best.

The red things next to the fountain are crudely drawn valves. They manage the flow of water coming out of the shrine.

To be fair the world is fantasy and how often is there a shrine in a sewer in real life? I'm sort of blending real and fantasy. But you do pose an interesting point and perhaps I should reassess the drain. Maybe replace it with a collapsed ceiling. One more reason for the grate was the interesting shadows it'd create on the shrine itself.

Thank you Striker.

I have a rant that is perfectly suited to your position, but I'm afraid it would just be rubbing it in at this point, so I'll shut up.

If you still want to roll with the industry with a degree like yours, look for positions as an intern. Other than that, prepare for shitty game testing jobs until you can go up the ranks. Focus on improving one skill only and apply for positions solely for that skill. Don't be afraid to work for nothing (or almost nothing).

Precisely. And be as tenacious as you can be without being overbearing. It's the exact same thing for the industry I work in.

Why do you want the industry to grow? It's already bigger than music and movie industry combined, how big do you think it will grow?

P.S: that looks really good keep it up.

Oh I don't consider testing bad at all. I'd gladly do it for pennies if it got me some experience and meet some people.

The industry wants people who are good at their jobs (professionals) not people with degrees (graduates). The game dev industry is growing at an extremely rapid rate, and there are too many potential candidates and people that want to work in game development than there are positions available, so companies really can afford to pick and choose their potential hires, specifically with regards to experience. (and there are quite a few unemployed game developers out there!) There are a lot of people who get degrees in game development because they think that the degree alone will secure them a job (sometimes the schools even promise you a job/interview with the degree); which is not the case.

Job hunts are always difficult and sometimes frustrating, though. I don't envy you! If you really want to make games for a living, keep applying for jobs and developing your skills in your free time; if you have the drive to learn things yourself, better your skills and talents and remain persistent, then you'll do much better in the job hunt than the multitudes of people who are expecting jobs just because of their 'game design' degrees that they paid a lot of money for. A degree is a nice extra and can certainly make you stand out from many other candidates, but it's worthless if you don't have the skills to back it up that a specific company wants.

Every company will be looking for something different, too. Company A might want you to have a degree and several years of experience while Company B might not care about their hiring requirements if they like your work. Your sample materials and portfolio are really the most important thing in this line of work.

Yes can't agree more. That's essentially my plan anyway.

To work on my portfolio, my skills, get a game out on the Iphone platform and to just keep applying in the future. Tommorow is another day and new jobs may arise.

Other than that I'll just try to get another job. Perhaps even train for something else and carry on developing in my free time.

If I may offer more advice: spam your portfolio a bit. Get a LinkedIn account and a seperate, career orientated Facebook account. I've now been aware that a lot of companies, particularly those in the creative field, will use these sites. It's also a good idea to have a consistently updated blog and put that in your CV.

Basically, using these sites lets a potential employer know more about you. Obviously, it's entirely inappropriate to link to your personal Facebook account, but using a professional one to better your chances doesn't hurt at all. The next step in my career will be getting into television and then (hopefully) into film and this is stuff I've been told from people already working in the industry.

Interesting idea. But in regards to the Facebook one, is that for adding possible employers as friends? My personal facebook would indeed be inappropriate.

Oh and good luck with your career. Film industry sounds like a rewarding job to work in.

Edit: K, I took your advice and made a Linkedin account, added to portfolio CV and to my surprise a bunch of industry people I didn't know looked at it while I was asleep.

http://uk.linkedin.com/pub/william-nicholls/2a/a3b/4a9

Overall though I'm just gonna work on sewer above, Iphone game, keep applying for jobs and update the blog every so often.

To work on my portfolio, my skills, get a game out on the Iphone platform and to just keep applying in the future. Tommorow is another day and new jobs may arise.

Great way to look at it...I wish you the best of luck. Keep that attitude up and you'll be at your dream job sooner than you know it

Seriously.

LinkedIn is a good way to make connections, too; networking alone can put a job in your hands - I wouldn't say game dev is as reliant on networking as other industries like, say, aviation, but it's pretty close. All about who you know and being in the right place at the right time...