career-chat

[pure kettle]

Or don't go to Mexico?

[frail scroll]

yeah I know, then I guess I'll just try to stick to this community while I do the tutorials

[glossy tulip]

You're hoping a team will give you motivation?

[frail scroll]

yep

[pure kettle]

Wrong team can demotivate you real bad

Working in-site full time with a company and team doesn't mean you have no chance to go wrong on your side

[frail scroll]

you are right

so you guys better recommend a good team (?

[pure kettle]

Whenever possible, yeah

[glossy tulip]

lol

[ashen lynx]

Searching for a team of lads just doing stuff around is different from pursuing career path. Use channels of this discord for this purpose. Searching for a team is not a career tbh.

[frail scroll]

I'm not pursuing a career path here... I probably came with the wrong attitude to be honest 😅

I just got this idea I want to develop, but my "career" is probably in math and quantum information

[delicate mesa]

I work for a start up that hires UE dev, and to us, a good UE should not be making less than 100k/ year

[woeful iron]

depends on location a lot of course

[gentle pewter]

there just aren't that many
This is the case. Even big studios with huge budgets have trouble finding VFX artists. There is way more work for them out there than there are artists to do it

salaries are shooting up proportionally, so if any of you think it might be a path you could be good in... there are worse choices you could make

friend of mine on the west coast/pnw recently started a new position paid at 225k/yr

[glossy tulip]

Has that always been the case?

[gentle pewter]

offers up to 250k

[glossy tulip]

Maybe VFX are more complex now with expectations of Houdini and such

[gentle pewter]

it's gotten worse recently, because film is starting to use realtime techniques and are trying to buy that expertise

meaning more opportunities/competition over the few vfx artists there are

probably other reasons too. But it's complex work

[woeful iron]

need to learn some VFX real quick, 250k would make me live like a king

[gentle pewter]

this is senior/lead level to be fair

[glossy tulip]

Is there much of a distinction between VFX artist and technical artist?

[gentle pewter]

yes, but the exact responsibilities of a tech artist strongly depend on the studio

[strong shale]

good to know that. what role are you in that company? can i have its website or linkedin page

[sage elm]

Hi, can someone please point me to good junior_programmer portfolio? Or at least tell me where is the line between "not hire" and "hire"?
Is simple "tetris | asteroids" game on unreal is enough? Or i had to have few gameJam projects ?

[craggy nacelle]

It's hard to give a specific answer but think of it from the perspective of the employer... they want to see that you can do the work that they need done

Of course the more impressive your projects are the better

[finite turtle]

How do I start a game dev team legally under 18?

[supple wadi]

like a registered company?

[finite turtle]

And how do I get members

[finite turtle]

No just a discord group to make games

[granite solar]

I don't think you can as a minor in the US. Well depends on what you mean by legally I guess. You can publish a game to a service like Itch or Steam and that's up to them to place age restrictions. But if you're looking for something like establishing a company, I'm pretty sure you have to be at least 18 in the US for that. (I've never started my own company so this is just hear say)

[supple wadi]

well you can dev anything you want legally over discord
im not lawyer though

as long as its not registered or published illegally

[finite turtle]

Ok

[supple wadi]

nobody is going thru discord groups looking for game devs under 18

[finite turtle]

Do y’all have any tips on how to get members

[supple wadi]

i dont think thats illegal

reddit, this discord, other gamedev discord

theres lots of people out there looking for new projects to work on

[finite turtle]

What channel do I go to

[plucky hatch]

how much does a c++ programmer make a year in the US? (average)

[woeful iron]

depends on location

and experience

just look on glassdoor or something

[plucky hatch]

thanks I will check it out

[covert gull]

hey y'aaaallllllll. We have a bunch of tech anim mentors at the Animation Diversity Foundation who are itching to mentor, but we've had almost no mentee applications for tech anim for this year's Mentor Program. If any of you fine humans know of any tech animators/riggers looking for a mentor, would you mind passing this along?

https://twitter.com/Anim8der/status/1541487466024054784

TimBorrelli TimBorrelli I Should Lift Again It's T (@Anim8der)

We've extended our deadline to apply to this year's Mentor Program. We've got some amazing mentors on the list, with more coming, so be sure to apply and/or spread the word!

Animators, Tech Animators, Animation designers are all welcome to apply!

https://t.co/46rIKB5o7d

Twitter · Jun 27, 2022, 6:23 PM

[wild ore]

Hey guys, I hope you are doing well, I'm currently thinking on creating a 3d game asset portfolio to apply in the game industry,
But I'm not sure what kind of concepts should I choose, I think they should be based on the studios I want to apply, although what pieces would be good independent of the studios?

[steady pewter]

Ones demonstrating your skills.

3d asset is so wide scope

[round radish]

Anything can be good or bad.

You can demonstrate exceptional skills on a cube or really bad ones on a very intricate design.

[wild ore]

Yeah I agree, but for example on archviz the most common is having one exterior and one interior render at least, so I don't if there's any similar logic like that I can apply

[brazen oxide]

Can anyone share with me reference material or resources for the normal wages for game developers. Specifically, for:

Intern/Entry Level
Game Dev
Senior Game Dev
Project Manager

Feel free to pm/dm me with info ^^

Thanks,
Wu Style Heals

[pure kettle]

https://www.glassdoor.com

[brazen oxide]

🙏

[velvet orchid]

Any affordable unreal 5 designers / devs in here? I'm not rich :p I have an ambitious idea for a hardcore city builder game, but for now I'd like to do a very tiny proof of concept (a few realistic looking trees, undergrowth and ground - like a real forest would look)... so a few square meters.

[chilly sundial]

#instructions

thats got the instructions for posting to the job board there

[velvet orchid]

Ah thank you, i'll review that

Hmm, not sure what to look at? I don't see any pinned post

[chilly sundial]

read the only post there

it tells you to dm the bot

[sullen canopy]

Hello guys, I have a question, where do you get ideas for the game. I'm making a horror runner, there are basic mechanics, but I don't know how to complete the project. I thought maybe I shouldn’t make full games at all, I mean only make demos, because my goal is to fill out a portfolio and find a job, and not make a complete game and put it on Steam. I have already abandoned so many projects because of the complexity and not knowing how to finish them. Please give me advice. Sorry for the mistakes in english

[modern relic]

There's no real single answer for this. It depends on tons of things. The first thing I would recommend is play games, watch people play games, research as much as you can (and yes playing games counts at research 😉). Second is that imposter syndrome is a very real and very debilitating thing. I'd recommend figuring out what you core mechanic/s are and implementing a very crap version in unreal (assuming you are using it since you are asking here). Once that's done, polish off some gameplay or a rough demo to pitch to people to either get them to join your team, or get them to fund you (probably crowd fund unless you have VC connections?). A complete game will eventually happen naturally as to build your project and polish off mechanics, audio, graphics, levels, etc.

[woeful iron]

some interesting things if it's just for a portfolio is that you can also just remake a game that you know

but maybe with a twist

like the first year I was developing I made games like flappy bird, cookie clicker, some dress up stuff, geometry dash...

but all with some silly twist to make it extra fun and personal for me

but it helps with learning skills and creativity

[modern relic]

You added micro transactions didn't you

[woeful iron]

no 🤢

I didn't release any of them either btw, just to be clear

that would be pretty much theft

[modern relic]

I find it kind shit that if a company makes a crap game, or the game is very old, and theres a fan remake which is better or more modern in the case of older games, that the fan remake can be sued. Like I understand why but I think it's shit that if I remake star wars KOTOR I could end up in a ton of debt just because I wanted to remake a great game and make it modern

[woeful iron]

well you are still stealing their IP and stuff

makes sense

and if they have a trademark they have to actively defend it or it can easily be contested in court and you lose it

[sullen canopy]

Wow, thanks for the detailed answer, maybe I have impostor syndrome, I'll read about it. I've always tried to come up with something of my own, or take for example several genres and mix them, and always failed. With each project, I tried to take the idea easier, in the end I came to the conclusion that even a simple runner could not be completed, now I understand that I am very bad at game design. I will try to find a game with interesting mechanics and implement them. Therefore, I do not think that creating my own team is for me at all. I'd rather work for a studio, especially with the current sanctions situation.

I posted some of my work on my YouTube channel, do you mind to look and tell me if my skill level is enough to call myself a junior, I just have big doubts about this and I think it’s even embarrassing to show someone

I forgot to ask, if I have my own game, and I want to insert it into my portfolio, then in what way is it better to do it, a YouTube channel or a ready-made build on github?

[woeful iron]

who puts builds on github?

make vids on youtube, preferably a short one and a long one

but code on github

put finished product on something like itch.io if you want

[sullen canopy]

Understood thanks. I just didn't know how it all works.

[woeful iron]

you asked Gambit to look at your youtube, but how are we supposed to find it?

[sullen canopy]

I mean i will send link in pm if you guys do not mind

I don't know if I can post links here.

It doesn't seem to be allowed in the rules, so here it is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWBZsZmlAZfxENJd_Q5xu8g

[sullen canopy]

@woeful iron @modern relic Just please tell me honestly whether it’s worth showing it to anyone at all or not, it just seems to me that it’s worth leaving only a couple of videos

[tulip wave]

May I ask here for people to create a team?

I can do most of stuff, but I'm quite bad at rigging/animation, so any help in that side of gamedev would be nice.
Anyone else is welcome too but story writing related artists.

[round radish]

Not really. You probably want #instructions or #game-jam-chat

[plain cave]

Hello! Can anyone recommend a course for learning Unreal Engine 5?

I'm looking for something to fill the next 4 months for an English/French speaker.

[pure kettle]

https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning

[plain cave]

Thank you!

[pastel estuary]

I followed along with Summer of Unreal last year, and its a great kickstarter for people who'd like to learn more about unreal engine!
I'd suggest to sign up if you have the time!

[pure kettle]

Shouldn't this be on #events?

[plucky hatch]

It makes sense 🤦🏻

[plucky hatch]

eh

kinda

[still nymph]

Why would that be on events if he's giving it as a resource to someone who is asking for advice here?

[mossy skiff]

if I wanted to get epic games to invest in my game is there way I should go about doing that?

they have some sort of program for funding developers right?

[shut token]

Apply for the Epic Mega Grant

Wait a year for a response - or get lucky and go viral and they'll notice you sooner.

[shut token]

Don't want to scare 'em away. Should still have some kind of optimism

[plucky hatch]

lol

[pure kettle]

Besides, indie game funding isn't just Epic MegaGrants, there are other firms like Kowloon Nights and others

[vale cosmos]

how lucky

[robust quest]

Hello guys do you think this course is good? https://www.udemy.com/course/unrealcourse/

[woeful iron]

this is free https://learn.unrealengine.com/home/library

this is good for c++ specifically https://learn.unrealengine.com/course/3441566

https://tackytortoise.github.io/2022/06/24/common-slacker-issues.html#learning-resources

[red stump]

Looks pretty good yeah

[robust quest]

ok I will take a look

[robust quest]

What is the thing with gamedev.tv?

[storm river]

Their Unity RPG series was my start in game Dev :(

Pretty good IMO, but dunno what their UE stuff is like

[mystic cloud]

They barely have understanding of how UE works

There are only specific parts of it good

And it's rare

[mystic cloud]

The problem is they code in Unreal like they are in Unity 🥲 They encourage usage of VSCode, they hot reload, abuse of auto everwhere etc.

[pure kettle]

Inb4 someone started a new thread on #969360633386655744 for "prohibiting course war"

[mystic cloud]

I'll fight forever

[chilly sundial]

no way! never heard of them but a tutor promoting hot reload!!!

[storm river]

Ironic, because VS Code is dogshit while Rider is king for Unity too lol

Pretty much every tutorial or whatever I watch I will disagree with a thing or two deeply. Doesn't make the information less valuable though

[mystic cloud]

Their UE courses are really radically bad

Rather than just encouraging bad preferences

It's only useful if you have knowledge already

They teach some nice math and quite advanced multiplayer

But none of those are implemented in the way UE accepts

[craggy nacelle]

I find it hard to believe vscode is "dogshit" tbh...

It's probably not ideal for UE C++ but it's not dogshit :P

[pure kettle]

More like not up for the job

[storm river]

They have a standalone math course now that is meant to be quite good

[pure kettle]

VSCode is for all intents and purposes a fancy text editor

[storm river]

I have pretty high standards for code editing maybe, but absolutely would not use it for Unity. It would just give up and fail to parse vanilla C# parts quite often.

[pure kettle]

The workspace could work for projects like web stuff or Unity C#, but not Unreal C++

[storm river]

Nope even Unity C# has a lot tacked on to the language

[mystic cloud]

Works nice for python and lua, and useful for taking a quick look to Lyra or other example projects, but never bothered using it for actual development

[pure kettle]

Though granted I didn't code much for the time I used Unity (and using Atom that is)

[craggy nacelle]

I just use Vim (except for UE)

[pure kettle]

Go all the way using Borland C++ emulated in DOSBox

[craggy nacelle]

lol

[storm river]

Yeah it's a text editor with community "IDE-style" plugins

Find it funny when I switched a few people over to GoLand or whatever that had never used an IDE, and were surprised at refactoring automation and the likes lol

[craggy nacelle]

The codebase we have at work is such a garbagefire that none of those would work lol

It's JavaScript anyway where those kinds of tools don't tend to work so great to begin with :P

[storm river]

WebStorm at least tries, but you really need TypeScript to watch it do its magic. Fun part of (non-Node) JS is, APIs are specified clearly but implemented quite randomly at times.

[craggy nacelle]

Yeah, the issue is mostly that majority of our codebase uses AngularJS 1.x which is not friendly for any kind of automatic analysis and even less so TS lol

[modern relic]

If you follow tutorials from udemy or YouTube or whatever and end up with a full game at the end, do you bother putting those on your resume/portfolio? They aren't really your projects but you still did the work. Likewise would you bother listing that udemy course/YouTube Playlist as part of your education?

[storm river]

Don't list the course. You can be upfront and say it was a "course project" or something, but don't list the course

The best that can happen is they look past it. At worst they'll look into it and realise you did 0 things differently to what the course taught you

[modern relic]

OK so have it as part of my portfolio but probably don't list it as one of my projects?

Are the courses even worth doing? I bought some for cheap and if I don't list them, noone will know what they cover

[storm river]

I mean they won't make you un-learn things. Exposure to other ways of doing things is always good.

A long-winded personal project is probably better, but courses are less daunting if you're dedicated

[tight walrus]

Hi everyone. After game transfer to new dev account my game vanished from rankings and downloads drop substantially on Google Play. Did anyone know why it's happening?

[woeful iron]

I don't think this is the right channel for this

[tight walrus]

Tell me the right channel

[chilly sundial]

Not really on this server

It aint an unreal issue

[pure kettle]

40 people is quite large, but tbf not AAA large

[woeful iron]

would not call it small team though

especially if they're all managed under the same person

for a studio, not large, for a team, quite large

[still nymph]

Isn't this career chat for game dev/interactive/real-time media careers? Do we ask everyone if they're using Unreal before helping? An indie knowing how to manage dev accounts is probably important for their long-term (career) success.

[chilly sundial]

it is, but its a very specfic issue, so they would be better off asking google

the same reason we ask people using worldmachine or something to go to their communities

as this issue is less anecdotal, or job advice, but more a specific issue

[pastel estuary]

its like asking a florist why --in a forest 50 miles from here-- a specific tree is sick.

its somewhat related, but.. yea

[pure kettle]

#hardware

[hybrid rain]

microsoft teams

great application on adding timelines an assignments to however many individuals of your choice also has meeting notfication etc

[boreal falcon]

Hey guys i have a question. I'm slowly preparing for my first interview as a junior game programmer. And i'm very curious how it goes. Can you share some of your experience and helpful thoughts about this(especially for the technical part)?

[plucky hatch]

I don’t know much but try and make them feel like there losing something of great importance if they deny you that’s how all company’s work though

Also gl

Let us know how it goes

[woeful iron]

be confident

admit when you don't know something

they might give you hints that can lead you to the solution

problem solving is the important part

[round radish]

Brush up on your search and sort algorithm knowledge. It's quite common to be asked if you know how to do them or are able to write them from memory.

Utterly useless in actual work, but shows you know stuff.

[woeful iron]

it depends where you apply though

I have very rarely gotten algorithm questions

I hear this is very common in the US at least

[round radish]

When I went into my current job, I was asked to make a game purely in Slate. It all varies!

[woeful iron]

how did you still take that job lol

[round radish]

I actually really enjoyed it and am still really enjoying working for that company!

[woeful iron]

you're not making games in Slate still are you

[round radish]

No no.

I don't make games at all, actually.

Company I work for makes editor plugins for Epic.

Hence the Slate.

[pure kettle]

I make classic Doom source port manager in UE4. The job is to just manage and launch doom source ports, that's it.

I could've gone with wxWidgets or Imgui, but eh

[summer current]

Guys i want your opinion what is better so i currently am in middle school in a 4y subject programming and etc i am 2 years already in the school need to finish 2 more and i am thinking since the school is giving me nothing and when i work alone from home i learn way more about ue and programming is it better to just quit school and make my portfolio like as a employer would you rather take in someone who just finished middle school with no or little portfolio or someone with aprox 2-4y portfolio with no middle school ? Like i am thinking about finishing it just for the sake of it but i dont know really its a toxic enviroment that doesnt teach pretty much anything about programming what i learnt in 2y of being there is well i guess what a boolean is and that is pretty much it its quiet sad thinking about it

[steel creek]

please stay in school through the end of High School.

[summer current]

well but i am questioning it since they dont teach about programming and the community including the teachers are extremely toxic and just bad i dont know honestly

[steel creek]

School isnt just for programming. Honest, your grammar and broken English is proving why you should stay in school. You can always learn the other stuff, as you are now, on the side. There is no rush to things.

If you think working instead of school is better, you are wrong. It may be "more fun" but it is a time sink doing a lot of things you also do not want to do all day, but must do.

Stay in school.

[summer current]

Oh sorry i am running on low sleep and I am not a native English speaker so i apologize for my broken English the problem about school is that i just go there sleep and get all A grades its just nothing to do there really and currently i am under a lot of pressure since you know deciding to quit school to pursue more knowledge is well a difficult choice that will affect me currently and in the future so i also type really fast without pretty much reading what i write so yeah i am sorry again for all the grammar mistakes i have made

[steel creek]

Well, ESL aside, you still have a lot of years of developing things before you make choices like this.

[summer current]

thats true but i just think its more practical to expand my knowledge of a job i want to pursue and well fix my mental health than to keep doing something that brings no benefit except a worthless paper

[steel creek]

I mean, I hear you, I felt the same in school, but it is more than paper. It is experiences you cannot get back

[pure kettle]

You still have long way to go, kid.
Also more established companies don't hire underaged people

[boreal falcon]

Well now i have another question. Is there any site or thing for training game algorithms(to solve them)? Stupid question but i'm very curious.

[summer current]

Oh no worries I would expand my portfolio until i am 18 which is 2 more years and then well i would see depending on my skills

[steel creek]

"game" algorithms are just algorithms. Any CS logic course.

[chilly sundial]

I have a feeling you may struggle to get a job even with a portfolio if you dont finish high school

[pure kettle]

You might have some dev gig with small (and sometimes desperate) indie teams but that's not saying much as they often can't hold together their project

[summer current]

The experiences well i dont really know since the english they teach is just something i actually already learnt in primary school and the rest is well a question mark like math and physics is theoretically useful while making some game logic and equations but other than that i dont really like see an experience i could get i am thinking of this decision as a whole

[steel creek]

the experience of life and not having to work from the age of 16->death

[summer current]

Yes that is true i have already been in a few currently I am in one and i am just trying to make a portfolio of myself

[shut token]

As an employer, not being able to finish middle-school/high-school is a sign of not being able to complete something you don't want to do. Unless there are actual reasons for having to drop out - like providing for your family or taking care of someone, etc. But dropping out because you don't like it; hard pass for me personally. (Not saying people who drop out can't do a given task mind you)

[summer current]

Well eh- school here is well lets say complicated half of the time you get well beaten for existing by students and teachers dont really care about teaching we have a horrible outdate school system i would say i would rather well work than be in school and i already experienced a lot of life way too much i would rather just have no more surprises and do something "consistent"

[pure kettle]

Still, though, you have long way to go. I know how school can be grueling to get through

[summer current]

I have well many more reasons to drop out its not because i dont feel like to its because its well hindering me and destroying me quiet literally the toxic enviroment and etc so i dont really know but i see the point of not being able to finish something from start to finish

[summer current]

Well school itself is extremely easy its the people themselves that are the problem + doctors and my health in general

[shut token]

You'll encounter the same types of people in a place of employment.

[pure kettle]

With work, it can be worse.

[summer current]

Well working from home is different and well at least they wont send you to a hospital i would say at least they cant "physically" hurt you

[pure kettle]

And depending on where you work, it can be even worse (but seems like you're not living in Asia)

[shut token]

This sounds like a talk you should be having with your parents or active guardian.

[summer current]

My biggest problem is the pills i take have a side effect which drains me of energy combined with a few other pills i have to take i cannot really like go to school actively so when i worked from home i worked everyday whole day but when i had to go to school physically i just wasnt able to do it

[shut token]

Rando's on the internet can't be reliably relied upon for life decisions.

[summer current]

Well my parent cant say an employers perspective but as i see it i am surprised i guess i will have to survive 2 more years but i am glad to see an opinion of other people

[shut token]

Keep in mind, this stuff is highly region dependent.

[summer current]

That is true highly but since i want to work from home i take any randos opinion since its still a valid human opinion

[pure kettle]

I live in eastern Asia, so I can't speak for you if you live elsewhere.

[summer current]

honestly if i didnt have my own reasons or well things i would 100% finish the school only reason i am thinking of stepping out is well personal reasons but i wanted to see how much it would damage my career and stuff

[round radish]

Google!

[chilly sundial]

I feel without finishing high schopl you would be hard pressed to get a good WFH job in the industry

Hell, people with degrees have a hard enough time

[summer current]

that makes sense yeah thats why i asked i felt the same way but on the other hand i thought if i had a portfolio of all the things i can do it would well mean more than just a paper that theoretically i know something

[pure kettle]

Also if the school gives you trouble, talk about it to your parents, possibly even planning to move out. Just don't drop out that early

[eternal seal]

My second biggest regret in life is giving up on school and dropping out. Honestly it sounds like you don't take your schooling seriously and that's probably half of your problem (or at least, that's the vibe I'm getting). I was like that. I hated the toxic environment. I hated the other kids, and the teachers. So I didn't take it seriously. Then I dropped out.

I missed out on a lot of learning and personal development, and I hate myself for not putting in real effort. I hate that I had to get my GED and that it doesn't hold any real value.

Not taking school seriously bled into other aspects of life, and it really held me back for a long, long time. The biggest lesson you'll learn from school is how to tough it out through the grind. And learning anything is going to have grind. If you want to learn game dev or programming, there will be times when you have to work through stuff that isn't fun at all, but you have to do it. You're better off learning that in school, in my opinion.

[summer current]

I actually care about school way too much honestly way more than anyone else in my class except a few other people i seriously do not want to drop out but it would be the best thing for my own physical,mental health but as i heard it i am more thinking about my future than my health people said that its better to have the school so i will finish it no matter the cost

[pure kettle]

Also exemplars like Bill Gates dropping out college is rare instance.

[summer current]

i just dont feel comfortable talking about the reasons i have to drop out since they are just dramatic/dark/deep idk just dont feel like causing drama or anything here sorry i am horrible at expressing words currently

[violet glacier]

fwiw there are alternate ways of getting a highschool GED equivalent in some places, aren't there?

[pure kettle]

I assume you still have good terms with your parents, so I suggest talk to them about it.
We're just random strangers on the net, and with that kind of personal conflict, taking wrong approach can be fatal

[violet glacier]

depends on locale I suppose

[eternal seal]

Getting a GED is easy as pie, but from everything I know, they're basically worthless.

[summer current]

Well i have only one parent and she doesnt know much like programming as a general and stuff i could give arguments that make it seem like i am right it is better to drop out but from hearing your arguments it seems highly subjective person to person she said its up to me pretty much

[pure kettle]

I believe you can go through this, and able to complete your school. 2 years to go, survive that and you have more opportunities unlocked

(I also assume you're somewhere in the US, so I skip the hassle of cross country visa this time)

[summer current]

Well Thats the thing if i knew i would survive it i would go for it but its just in general my ilnesses and pills not sure if they will allow it in school i have a high absence since my doctor told me i can stay home 1-2 days a week to rest i managed school kinda ish but now the school said i dont care what doctor said you need to have really low absence or you are getting kicked out so the next 2 years will be hell even bigger than the last years

[summer current]

czech republic middle of europe

[eternal seal]

I can't speak for your situation, obviously, and I'm not going to pry you for personal details, but maybe it would be worth re-evaluating what you're dealing with by talking to some different health professionals. Therapist, counsellor (maybe not a school counsellor), that sort of thing. Maybe try a different treatment for your physical condition or even get an opinion from a different doctor.

You might be able to make some improvements in your quality of life that will help you get through all of this more easily.

[pure kettle]

Okay, that narrows it down then.
I'm far away from that, so I can only speak in general terms.
Other Europeans could fill in the details

[summer current]

i already have all of that they said i should take 1-2 days a week break but school is like no i cant its my problem i have to deal with it myself

[pure kettle]

I don't know how thriving Czech game dev scene is

[summer current]

I would be working from home most likely not in any czech studio

[eternal seal]

That's why I suggested re-evaluating and maybe getting a second opinion from another doctor, see if there are alternative options 🙂

[summer current]

but there are a few big studios that made big titles

[summer current]

i have already been to many doctors to be honest like many many its complicated

but thank you all for your opinions it means a lot to me i will try to survive the 2 years since it seems like the "worthless paper" is worth more than i thought in comparison to working experience and i just want to secure some kind of a future for myself

[eternal seal]

I thought it was worthless, too, but I learned that hard way that it's worth a lot, even if the value is just in the perception of potential employees. 🙂

Good luck with school!

[summer current]

Thank you well not with school but with me going there since like i mentioned problem isnt the school but me actually going there but thank you thank you

[pure kettle]

Good luck, kid, you can go through it.

[past cradle]

would you guys recommend a internship in the game industry?

like, if i wanted to change to software industry, will it still apply?

[plucky hatch]

all games are is software

so some of it would apply

anything on a computer digitaly is software while compute parts like ram sticks and cpus are hardware

[plucky hatch]

did it go good?

[boreal falcon]

I have the interview for 4 days actually but i'm preparing for it because you know it's my first one and i'm little bit scared

[plucky hatch]

dont be youll do fine

[hard zephyr]

Good luck for your interview! One big thing I'd recommend for juniors is to try to show that you've thought about why you're doing what you're doing. When I interview I often find people will know how to do something in Unreal but when asked why they do it that way can't answer beyond "that's how it was in the tutorial" or "that's how my teacher did it". I don't expect any particularly deep knowledge for a junior but I do want to see that you've thought about what you're doing even on a basic level because then you're more likely going to be able to apply that knowledge in other situations.

A simple example is that you'll often hear people say "Tick is bad and you should avoid it" but can you explain why Tick is bad? Can you think of a situation where you would still want to use Tick?

[boreal falcon]

Good point. Thanks🙂

[boreal plaza]

want to make UE portfolio

to do that what should I do?

or atleast what should I do to make a CV for that?

[pastel estuary]

check the pinned messages in this channel.

[silk vigil]

hello guys i wanted to take ur advise about my carrier, i am working now in a new small studio for 4 months and i self study because most of the people here are fresh like me and game dev in my country is new so there are few studios and they do not hire anyone fresh. so i do not get good experience because i have no seniors + low salary. so should i stop following my dream or should i study another field like back end dev and find small part time freelancing jobs opportunities to gain more money and keep working in my studio until i find a better opportunity ?
Note: i have CS degree so i did not learn specific thing in university.

[pure kettle]

You should stop following your dream, for now.

[silk vigil]

and ?

[pure kettle]

Do other better paying job to make a full time living

Though having CS degree might grant you easier access for working on other country

[silk vigil]

suggest fields that has good future and self learning contents

[pure kettle]

Look up on sites like Glassdoor. I can't go into detail about your circumstances at this point.

[silk vigil]

okay thanks

[main abyss]

This is a personal choice. Is it a passion you want to keep pursuing or do you want a more stable income? No one else should decide that for you.

[silk vigil]

i am just not comfortable, because the work is not stable so i am scared if all of this end with nothing, if u understand what i mean

so i am asking u because most of the people here have experience on the carrier

[round radish]

You can always apply for an overseas work-from-home job.

[pure kettle]

And considering you do have CS degree, that could be your easy card for moving out for working overseas in situ.

[woeful iron]

If you are very passionate about games, stay in games, just find a new job in games. If you're just about programming in general, nothing wrong with tanking a more general SWE job.

this is a question only you an answer tbh

but if your current situation is making you unhappy, best to leave it either way

[opaque aurora]

So, talking about remote work overseas, anyone know how that works? I mean like, I guess you pay the taxes of the overseas country and also have to consider currency fluctuations, right?

[woeful iron]

afaik you pay taxes where you live

but this can depend on both where you live and where you work

in really fucked situations where countries hate eachother you could be taxed in both

[opaque aurora]

Interesting. what about working hours? Of course it depends on the company, but I wouldn't want to work from 3pm to 10pm, just as an example.

[woeful iron]

like you say it depends on the company

for my company, people can choose what hours, but they have to align with one of our offices for like core hours, but we have offices all over the world

[opaque aurora]

I see

[pure kettle]

Also timezones are a thing. If you live somewhere in Far East but you worked for a company somewhere in Far West remotely, being a nocturnal might be a necessity as to not miss out meetings and stuff

[surreal turtle]

Does anyone have experience with this? https://www.reddit.com/r/unrealengine/comments/vnb5wv/what_do_you_think_about_classroom_learning_for/

Actual traditional UE education in a classroom.

Would love to hear of different experiences.

[pastel estuary]

they do that in Breda. (netherlands)

[surreal turtle]

Nice, will check that out! Thanks.

[main abyss]

Well, here is the thing... I don't know your skill level or ability. Your pay needs, your income, your savings threshold if there is any.

My experiences are going to be very different. I've always done really well at my work and jobs, rising through the ranks and worked many different jobs. But I started IT consulting at 14, was a chef, medic, sales guy. Eventually I was at an oil company as a project manager overseeing 100m+ projects. At that point I had launched over 250 mobile apps and games and wanted to make a proper company of it.

So I left my job to join a startup as a 3D developer overseeing medical software. I worked at various startups to learn about the ecosystem. And eventually reached a point where I was either going to work in education making interactive 3D content OR put trust in myself and finally start a proper company. We only had 20K in the bank. We knew doing it would put is 90K in debt.

My wife and I sat in a coffee shop and decided to put that time into ourselves. Now we are here, one of the first and only game and VR studios in our city. We now have dozens of other companies where we are, and we have a team handling 15 or so VR projects a month. 6 or 7 years later, and we have a decent team, our own mocap, our own volumetric space, and folks working full time that have been with us from the start. We have software helping people walk again at hospitals, police stations teach youth, fire departments. Games. A half dozen post secondaries relying on our simulations. Etc.etc.

So yes - you CAN do it in a town that pushes against technology. You might be able to do it with little money. But it is hard, it will not be easy. And it depends on your motivation, drive and skillset.

Anyway, if you have talent, a business plan with traction, and faith in your success - keep going. If you need to switch careers for a while to stabilize and regroup, that is OK too. My path is going to be extremely different than yours, and only you can decide if the risk is worth it.

I think you need to ask yourself: what do you need, what do you want, and what can you do. Do you even enjoy software? Do you enjoy games? Do people like your games? Do you want to work for yourself, others?

My advice is always to stay in 3s. Get 3 sources of revenue for your company. Get 3 people including you supporting your company (i.e. cofounders). When it is a handful of you ensure you always have 3 or 6 projects on the books. Etc etc.

I used to believe the safest route was working for large companies. But every company I worked at eventually did some massive layoffs. And my company has now outlived many mid sized companies I worked for at some point. Risk is a perception, and constant reassessment. Go with what will let you sleep at night, you can always change things at any time.

I don't know if that helps, but hopefully it does.

[vocal birch]

so Ive been doing 3d modeling and programming at the same time and while and its been quite well know the fundamentals and such but would it be more useful to spend more time in programming than the other/ learn one skill instead of 2?

[forest wren]

Depends on a lot of things. Are you looking to get hired at a studio somewhere? Are you making your own indie game solo? Are you making an animated movie?

At the end of the day, its really just personal preference. Both 3d modeling and programming are useful skills to know and have lots of depth and lots of opportunity with them. As for myself I'm a solo indie dev working on all aspects of UE because I have the time, patience and financial situation to do so at my own pace.

[vocal birch]

have free time with work being in the middle takes about 1-2hours from monday to friday but only 4 hours in sat and 7 in sunday

[forest wren]

okay, but that's not what I asked

[vocal birch]

im planning to make a indie game

[chilly sundial]

Then divide equally imo

You need to be proficient in both

[forest wren]

ahh cool, then the more you learn the better off you'll be able to complete your game.

If you're going down the solo indie dev game path, then there's no escaping all aspects of game design and development. So you can either spend your own time learning the skills or your own money paying someone else to help out or paying for assets.

But also there's more things to study like animations, UI, shaders materials and textures, and audio.

[modern relic]

how do you guys deal with challenges that you either cant solve, or that would take a large but indeterminate amount of time to solve? im currently in this situation

[spice dagger]

These are kind of 2 different problems.

how do you guys deal with challenges that you either cant solve

Persistence - You may think you cant solve it immediately but keep hammering at it, trying different approaches you may think will work, scrapping and starting again if necessary.
Assistance - Ask a colleague for help, there is no shame in asking for help, no body can know everything. You never want to be the smartest person in the room anyway, because it means you wont learn anything.

take a large but indeterminate amount of time to solve

If you have determined this, stop immediately. Initiate a conversation with your customer/boss/whoever is above you, discussing the problem and scope. Honesty is the best policy, formulate a solution in conjunction with stakeholders so that everyone is on the same page and aware of the situation such that they understand the time concern.

During discussions an easier solution or a compromise that is less time consuming may arise.

[pastel estuary]

so much this.

[modern relic]

this is a great answer, thanks. ive told my "boss" about it and mentioned by insight and possible solutions. i made it clear that these are guesses based on some debugging/troubleshooting ive done but also mentioned that my solutions might just move the problem to a different area. it sucks and i feel like a bit of a failure but they are pretty cool with it

[glad ocean]

I think you did great. You didn't just go to your boss and dump the problem on them. You tried finding for the source of the problem and fixing it and you've given them your thoughts about it. It shows you've done due diligence and that is not a failure; that is a win.

[half shale]

Junior dev moment is realizing that some problems are simply not solvable, and that's not a failure on your part that's just the game.

Senior dev moment is realizing that some problems are solvable, but solving them isn't worth the investment it would take, and that's just math.

[pastel estuary]

yea, you did good @modern relic

[main tapir]

any 3d animators over here?

[proud spear]

https://dontasktoask.com/

[main tapir]

bruh 3d animators be using any software

i need an animator for a job

too long to make an ad for it

[pure kettle]

See #instructions

[main tapir]

thank you Makoto

[round radish]

This isn't the place to look for jobs

There's a job section.

<@&213101288538374145>

[vagrant bramble]

:triangular_flag_on_post: Bloød#3910 received strike 1. As a result, they were muted for 10 minutes.

[heavy cradle]

_>

[pastel estuary]

#rules so unhot right now

[heavy cradle]

i was doing the pretending to type thing

[pastel estuary]

I know :p

[round radish]

That cat reminds me of Anya.

[pastel estuary]

lol

[supple timber]

Are these UE courses helpful to have in the portfolio?

[brave forge]

I'd guess it'd depend on experience level. For a newer person in the industry it's probably helpful, in addition to everything else that makes a good portfolio. It shows a desire to learn, some of the things you learned about etc. For someone with a decade of experience, self paced courses probably aren't looked at too closely over actual hands on experience in the industry. It'd never hurt though.

[steel creek]

It actually would hurt. If your experience amounts to coursework I don't want to see that as actual experience.

Mentioning haven taken the course is fine but putting the actual materials from the course as actual portfolio materials is not okay.

You should put synthesized materials from the material that you learned in the course.

[wintry forum]

Yes

[supple timber]

ye i meant just mentioning

[granite solar]

I just broke into the industry a month ago and when I was having my resume reviewed by others in the industry, every single one told me to take courses off my resume, even college course work (save for my capstones). Mentioning them may help yeah, because when you're first starting out they know you have a lot to learn and there is a shit ton you don't know. However, showing that you go beyond just "course work" (which is just 'watch a series of vids' most of the time) really proves you're wanting to learn and apply what you have learned. Actual self-done projects speak way more than courses. That's just my experience though.

[craggy nacelle]

Honestly if you've got nothing else to put there... then I think it could be ok, at least if you went at least a little above and beyond with the work. But if you have anything else to put there (and you really should), then don't put them in. Point being - they're better than nothing, but that's about it (same as if you have no relevant work experience, putting in non-relevant xp is ok, but as soon as you have relevant xp, take them out)

[surreal turtle]

We're happy to announce that we've signed the Provisional Unreal Authorized Training Center agreement with Epic! 🥳

https://fullcycle.gamecan.eu/

21 spots left.

[dark kestrel]

Ok game design/ games programming degree

Is it worth it

[woeful iron]

Depends on the school I guess

[dark kestrel]

u mean uni

[woeful iron]

again still depends on where you go, some schools teach shit for game dev, others are really good
Whether higher education is worth it kinda depends on you as a person, if you already have made a lot of games in your free time and feel like you're ready for a job, you can try applying without a degree.
However, if you're still starting out and don't know the ins and outs or have no kind of portfolio, it could for sure be valuable.
Especially when thinking of working abroad, having a degree makes it a lot easier.

[plucky hatch]

https://sites.google.com/view/leveldesigner/english-version/case-studies?authuser=0 this is my first step into building a portofolio. I began to criticise my own work and apply what I read about level design.

[supple timber]

hmmmmm ok so would just past work be good?

[plucky hatch]

I have a similar opinion. I dropped out of college and began to write about level design. I already got a few critics saying that by writing about something that I have zero professional experience can very well appear pretentious. I reached a point with my site that I said "enough!!", time to do something real and stop writing without ever working on something. To start with something I'm looking back at my own work and looking where I went wrong, what can I learn from past work when I didn't care about really getting into the industry?

[bold kettle]

Guys I have this question, is there any specific forum or place so I can find job offers for outsource studios?

any other discord channels as well? because they mostly look for individuals they don't work with studios for the most part, even if their prices are more indie-friendly

[woeful iron]

are you a studio looking for work, or you are looking for a job at a studio that does outsourcing?

[gentle pewter]

...or are you a studio looking for outsourcers? 🙂

there's #hire-a-studio

(see #instructions for how to use it)

[delicate mesa]

I understand what you meant. Like us, we prefer a full-time programmer in house, outsourcing is mostly for art production, we dont outsource the game development pieces

on the other side, not easy to find an individual as well 😂

[delicate mesa]

wondering...what do you think about working in Asia or for an asia game company and be paid as much as in Europe? will it be satisfying enough? or you rather working in small EU UK studios paying ~80k/ year?

[steady pewter]

In which cases company location matters? e.g. if you have to move there, if the language is a barrier, if there are legal work that needs to be done (taxes), etc.

[proud spear]

I’m seriously thinking of changing jobs to work for an American company living in Japan. The yen is pretty horrible at the moment and pay is meh. Paying for family trips to America is financially brutal!

[bold kettle]

probabely in asia.

[bold kettle]

I have an outsource studio looking for good projects. I already have my studio on #hire-a-studio but I'm looking for other channels as well

[shrewd geyser]

As long as the company has some flexibility and takes the time difference into account, meaning do not expect you to overlap 100% of the time, would be totally ok. I live in Europe and I am used to work with companies as far as California, which is a 9 hours difference. Everybody being on the same page about that, works great.

[woeful iron]

in se it doesn't matter, but if I had the same offer in UK vs in Asia and if the cost of living was the same ,probably would personally still pick the UK, cause it's closer to my own culture already, so I'd feel more comfortable and it's physically closer to family for me. At least for a permanent position, if I would be looking for something of only a year for example, Asia might be interesting for the worldly experience.
If the position are fully remote and account for time difference, I don't think it would matter that much, although probably the UK one would have a slight advantage again with cultural alignment and maybe easier communication in english.

depends on what you want from life really

[plucky hatch]

If you can work remote and want to live on a beach with the sun then Bali has a digital nomad visa now so you can stay there and work. Internet is good, most people speak English and is very cheap, lot's to see and do @delicate mesa Its also easy to fly out to the Asian hub as its quite centrally located. Problem with lots of Asian studios is that they are a lot of the time for the domestic markets so language will be an issue in that case.

[brazen oxide]

Can anyone give me a rough estimate for how long it would take and how much it would cost for a team of 10 ppl to develop a single player, story driven action RPG?

[steady pewter]

#rules don't post more than once the same question. Wait a bit.

crosspost

[brazen oxide]

ah, noted. My bad🥲

[round radish]

What does that have to do with career chat? You certainly can't make a career out of remaking games and violating copyright.

[wraith knoll]

Is this the wrong place to say it? Sorry, should this be in the ue5-general?

[pastel estuary]

good practice though, but yea, besides #work-in-progress I dont see a place for it.

[wraith knoll]

I always get lost in this place.

[pastel estuary]

not sure what your goals are with the post

[round radish]

I was going to ask that.

[wraith knoll]

Merely to chat about it with others and maybe gain some attention cause I've been solo and it's been so hard on me and quite dedicated to it. Again, sorry that I may have posted in the wrong area.

[pastel estuary]

yea, #work-in-progress probably. I'd post it on the ue forums/reddit. just so you get some reactions to help with the burn.

[wraith knoll]

I'll look into it. I do have at least two people with me but sadly no successful sort out has been done. I tend to get lost and if anybody who's help answer questions about my work to me, thank you.

[plucky hatch]

I think I realised an important lesson. When I think about level design, AI, combat, etc. I think in terms of making everything myself. But I have no experience and the games with modding tools are all out there. I realised that trying to be original and doing ground breaking work is to aim too much high. I need to start lower, using already existing scripts, AI, combat, before venturing in doing everything from scratch.

[delicate mesa]

I worked in an outsource studio with ~400 people, IP rights was an issue for AAA developers not to consider smaller studio thou we charged very high prices

[delicate mesa]

thanks mate, this is very useful

[still nymph]

You definitely can. Chinese developers do it regularly. Big part of why Blizzard partnered with Chinese studio to make Immortal was because they were going to rip the assets and make a game anyways, but the studio offered to work with Blizzard.

[steady pewter]

"we will screw you, so better work with us"

[still nymph]

Blizzard is huge in China and it wouldn't be the first time a commercial game was made with their assets. At least this way they benefitted lol

[pure kettle]

What do you mean modders and fangame programmers can make a career? NO, IT CANNOT BE!
||/s||

||Ignoring the fact that many modders and fangame developers managed to get footing in the industry, time and time again||

[round radish]

Never mind then!

[copper onyx]

Hi Guys! I have a career question for people working in TechArt.

I'm a software engineer that have pivoted to gamedev after spending 10 years in webdev (I'm pretty happy with the transition so far :)).

My current position is "Unreal C++ gameplay programmer", in my free time I also work with modeling, environment building, procedural content creation, shaders, VFX, etc. Ultimately I'd like to move to TechArt position, as it seems like the best place to be for a person with a diverse range of interest. However! I've found that most people working in TechArt started as artists, then learned scripting and gradually moved towards more technical work. They script and program prototypes, but usually leave the final implementation to programmers.

So here are my dobts: will I waste my extensive software dev knowledge if I transition to TechArt role? Is this unusual for programmers to end up in TechArt? 🤔

[ashen lynx]

@copper onyxUltimately I'd like to move to TechArt position Why? TechArt started as artists, then learned scripting and gradually moved towards more technical work. They script and program prototypes, but usually leave the final implementation to programmers. It is true that most have art background. But tasks they perform have huge variance. will I waste my extensive software dev knowledge if I transition to TechArt role? Can't waste knowledge but can waste a bit of potential. Is this unusual for programmers to end up in TechArt? Uncommon. But not exceptional. It all boils down why you brought this into consideration.

[woeful iron]

most of the time tech artists will be artists with some scripting yeah, but it can definitely work the other way around, it's not a hard defined role. If you enjoy the complexity of programming as you do in normal c++ game development, you will certainly miss it as technical artist though.
But the exact contents of the job can vary quite a lot depending on the studio you work at

[copper onyx]

@ashen lynx Thanks for the response!

Why?
Well, this is my grand idea behind this whole career pivot, to have my personal interests in 3d graphics/VJ stuff/procedural etc. aligned with my professional work, so they can work in synergy and bear great fruit (hopefully 😄 )

While working as a gameplay programmer I was longing to be more involved into bulilding the actual game experiece. What interests me the most on the art side is building the atmosphere with lights, materials, VFX and pushing boundaries of what is possible with those, so it sounds pretty much like what TechArt does from what I've read.

[woeful iron]

I think those things are closer to just artist than technical artist

like what would you want to do in detail on a daily basis

[copper onyx]

Yeah, not everything cool has to be done with hardcore c++ programming :)

[woeful iron]

But what would you expect to do in the role you describe as technical artist

[ashen lynx]

@copper onyxWhat interests me the most on the art side is building the atmosphere with lights, materials, VFX and pushing boundaries of what is possible with those, so it sounds pretty much like what TechArt does from what I've read. I think your expectations about tech art can be compared to wanting a job as a keeper in a zoo, expecting to hug and play with fluffy little cuties all day long but reality is that most of the time you will be shoveling what these cuties leave behind.

[pastel estuary]

so true

[plucky hatch]

You should also look at Enterprise Unreal stuff then too, not just games (studio's). We tend to push things a bit further with the technology due to having less constraints and higher budgets. Motion capture, VFX, virtual production etc.

More common too in one of my teams, or my peers, you will get to do more than one thing since the jobs are so varied rather than the established production of something like a game studio. Food for thought 👍

Just right now on my plate I have:
-1 Netflix Pilot with Unreal VP
-1 VFX movie job with Unreal VP
-MetaHuman/Motion Capture VFX for two fashion labels
-An Ocean simulator for a boat company (lots of cool storm VFX)
-5+ automotive companies doing everything from render on demand, real time animation both ray traced and photo realistic path traced and VP
-A number of VR and AR vehicle simulators that are very high end

I make sure my team members are quite flexible and able to do at least three or four things in a pinch. When I hire people out of studios, something quite common here, they have usually been constrained to a much smaller focus, mainly due to how studios are setup and the ways of working are generally the same.

[copper onyx]

Haha, yeah, I understand that work is work, and no role is as fun as doing creative explorations on whatever topic interests me the current week.

I'm trying to pick an Unreal specialisation that's right for me, so I won't need to pivot my career (again) in a few years :)

[copper onyx]

This sounds really cool! I've just joined a creative studio this month to help them with VP they are doing for a large film studio. The VP is only picking up here in Poland, those are experimental shots mostly, but they have all the hardware so I can gain some experience and see if this kind of work is more exciting than developing games.

[craggy nacelle]

Kinda curious do companies that do this sorta stuff generally hire folks remotely? 🤔 I've been considering what I'd wanna do next and after almost 20 years of doing heavy web dev stuff I haven't been finding a lot of stuff that interests me in that field anymore lol

Seems game studios at least don't usually do remote and if they do they don't pay particularly well :P

[tribal pine]

I always wondered, how people started their careers in this area, like what steps they took or what they did, would love if the discord had a "Experiences" section on how people started, you know so others also get an idea where to start on different areas.

[pastel estuary]

brother purchased unreal 1, it had an editor. I used the editor, it sucked.
when unreal tournament came out, I played it, and happened to 1v1 a person who wanted to show his own map to me.
He gave me some links to a forum and one of the three-or-so written tutorials available at the time.
I took it from there.
que 23 years-ish later and im writing this XD

[valid valley]

Hey, I'm hoping to get a job as a game programmer without going to college, and I found this list of recommended books to read: https://github.com/miloyip/game-programmer

Would it be beneficial to read like 20 of em as a beginner, or would that be unnecessary?

[proud spear]

that's uh, quite the list there! a really good list I might add. i've browsed through just a fraction of some of those books and they are very good. if it was me, I'd start with whatever seems the most interesting for you, that would lead you to the greatest gains i think

[plucky hatch]

Does publishing level designs in art station help to get noticed?

[plucky hatch]

Generally at least in my case we hire locally given there is so much talent in the area, although happy for remote in Scandinavia. We only allow remote out-of-country for very talented people, so Senior or above, otherwise it doesn't make much sense since there is an abundance here in town.
A lot of our Unreal work is physical too, it demands we are with the client or on set so thats not possible to do remotely.

[plucky hatch]

Depends on how good they are, but in general probably not, if you want to get 'noticed' then you have to be very active on some sort of social channel, instagram, youtube etc. Art Station is great for displaying work but unless you get featured or gain a lot of traction no one is really finding you from organic search.

[copper onyx]

If you have something exceptional to show you will get organic traffic and people reaching you to you. It's always worth having your works presented, it will help you in many situations, e.g. to stand out of the crowd when you apply for a job.

[plucky hatch]

If I want to focus on level design, specially mechanics, scripts, do I have to show levels with very high quality art? or can it be blockouts?

[steady pewter]

uuh... ld has nothing to do with art

Do something basic as long it is functional.

In fact, maybe watch some ld videos, might help you get an idea what is ld.

[pure kettle]

So I'm curious, how's the chance for remote work from overseas to provide expenses for equipment and WFH logistics like internet connections?

[woeful iron]

probably low

[plucky hatch]

Depends on who you are working for, its very common at least for companies in Sweden to provide that facility to remote foreign (full time) employees.

It depends on what job you are doing, how much they want you too. I have not heard of internet being provided much, but if it's an essential part to your function to have high speed access its not unheard of. You can also negotiate for these things during the hiring process. I would imagine this only applies to Senior and above (for the internet thing).
But things like a computer, chair, desk etc are pretty normal in my circles at least.

[violet escarp]

hey guys . I have a question. Are game server programmers usually on-call a lot?

hehe ok. Lemme rephrase. Is it common for them to be on call?

[plucky hatch]

I have to decide on some project to work on for a portfolio. SP mission inspired by Jedi Knight games. MP level for Halo or Prodeus. A pure Env Art level with no gameplay.

the Evnt Art wouldn't aim for AAA quality, something A+ would suffice

[stuck holly]

It can certainly be beneficial but only if you do it the right way. There's bottom-up learning and top-down learning. In bottom-up you first learn the basics in top-down you dive in head-first.
In college bottom-up is the norm. However, if you're going to self-study I would strongly advise top-down.
Reading a book isn't going to help with anything if you can't apply the knowledge. Therefore, reading 20 books from that list is risky because you might end up with just a jumbled mess of knowledge pieces and no way to apply or connect it. College solves this because of teachers that make the connection and exams so you can somewhat apply the knowledge.
I'd recommend top-down learning, producing small projects and pieces you can add to a portfolio and mix in books where it makes sense.

[valid valley]

That's good to know. Thanks!

[plucky hatch]

this applies to me as well. I once thought that I'd need to read a lot before doing something. No. When ppl make those flow charts about programming or math, you aren't going to read all those books. In college each semester covers some part of some books, never the whole book and even the whole course won't cover everything from many books.

I made a list of many many books to read from certain themes related to psychology but reading those 20 books won't qualify me as a clinician or anything.

[woeful iron]

<@&213101288538374145> shady af

[gentle pewter]

yeeeah

[craggy nacelle]

Who wants to DM him to find out what kinda scam it is? lol

[vagrant bramble]

:no_entry_sign: 0x0#1701 was banned.

[gentle pewter]

no other contributions to the server, don't think anyone will miss them

[shut token]

But I wanted to watch my money grow 😢

[gentle pewter]

have you tried watering it

[pastel estuary]

he's not kidding. investing in drinkable water is smart

also: stay hydrated peeps!

[steady pewter]

r/HydroHomies 🤘

[jagged leaf]

Afternoon all. So I've been in the IT industry for.....way too long, and have been kicking around the idea of getting into the whole gamedev aspect. If you were hiring someone, at what level of experieince would you say "ok they would be ready for a position at our shop?". Asking more to see what I should focus on over the the next few months.

[gentle pewter]

That's not a question that can be answered in generic terms. What are your skills? What kind of positions are you looking at? Do you have a portfolio or past projects you can show?

In general, in gamedev, certifications or degrees don't count for all that much compared to having projects and past work to show that demonstrate your competence

for programmers that's probably less the case

[gentle pewter]

...so I'd probably focus on that - build small projects to demonstrate what you can do and what value you add to a team

[viral sandal]

Creed I'm in the same boat as you, except I'm a SWE (mostly in UI). I'm excited to maybe make the jump into gaming now! Thanks @gentle pewter for those tidbits of knowledge, it helps me!

[gentle pewter]

the game industry can be very informal in this way, especially at smaller studios. Having the arguments (in the form of previous work samples you can show) is the best way to convince folks that you'd be a valuable addition to a team. For some disciplines, Art especially, it's even absolutely required to have a good portfolio

[jagged leaf]

Good point, and what I was looking for. My main skills are backend coding, devops/SRE, and management. I'd probably be looking at backend work and/or management gigs, so any graphic work would probably be a poor fit for me. It's one reason why I wouldn't have a portfolio, which might be a hinderance.

[balmy dagger]

Hey guys, I don’t particularly know if this is the place to ask but how do all of you deal with work related stress? I’ve found myself into a c-suite position and have been experiencing a lot of stress, honestly

[pure kettle]

Personally I vented by playing games or watching anime stuff, or doing side projects for fun after I'm done with it for the day. If in the middle of the work, listening to music or having decorations on the desk like action figures could help.

That being said, your mileage may vary.

[gentle pewter]

Ah, nice! In that case, you probably don't even have to worry that much about building up a portfolio, especially if you have past non-game experience in that area. DevOps are always in demand, I'd just look around for what open jobs there are and honestly just give it a shot with a few applications!

[vernal wolf]

Do you know kubernetes?

[plucky hatch]

Walk to and from work if possible and if not try and cycle, it does wonders to clear your brain before and after the work day.

[vagrant siren]

for me personally having a semi structured routine helps, ( hard times to start/stop working specially since WFH is a thing ), and playing games, having family time etc. for me it came down to time management it helps alleviate it, also take 2 mental health days every 3 months or so, makes a huge difference ( for me )

[jagged leaf]

oh ok nice! Here I was worried for nothing 😄 I'll keep an eye on the thread here then

[jagged leaf]

I know yes. I'm a bit rusty as my current job doesn't use it as muhc as my last one does, but I'm working on that on my own time

[gentle pewter]

I don't know what your situation is, but... Start by identifying stressors and put a focus on addressing them. Simply continuing to bear an untenable environment and venting elsewhere, when you actually have the power and agency to change it, is not a sustainable approach. For example, often in management positions we hang on to responsibilities we should be delegating. Align your team on the same vision and give them context so that they can do much of your work for you. Being a good leader involves a lot of learning to let go... If you carry your stress into your work interactions, it will echo back at you from your coworkers and subordinates. Instead, project the things you want them to reflect back at you: kindness, collaboration, humility, and a good dose of having fun

[balmy dagger]

Thanks for your kind answers guys, for some of these I already do (Except really play games lol, I kind of outgrew this atm and find it boring) But I’ve got to definitely get a Hobby or something

But alas, specifically there’s not really something that I should be really “Stressing” About, I’m actually on a fairly good position, and finally found stability within the company

In this career / Industry I’ve found it really hard to maintain years-long positions though, I’ve got friends around all places in the industry and lately more than ever everyone’s just being laid down… No matter the seniority or position, much less knowledge

Also I spent years in the military and now working from home for about 8/9 Years and damn is it boring in comparison lmao

[strong shale]

Does gaming industry jobs are not stable? I mean not all can join big companies, can small company or start-up accomodate their small team members, also the salary stuffs.:)

[pure kettle]

Depends on where you live, really. Some countries have far less developed game industry, if not barely have any development.

[strong shale]

I am considering USA one

[pure kettle]

Do you have what it takes to move to the US? Work visa, passports, all the logistics to work overseas, backup plan?

[strong shale]

I do live in the US already. I was just asking about the gaming industry job market in general etc:)

[gusty ice]

What about Australia, what are my chances of finding a job here (I live in Australia)?

[spice dagger]

It is becoming more common for people to work remotely.

I live in Australia, I work for a Studio in the US.

Infact, I have never worked for a Company/Studio in Australia in the games industry lol.

Thats not to say that I couldnt. I have just always worked for overseas Companies/Studios.

It has its Pros and Cons.

For me, the Pros far outweigh the Cons.

[pure kettle]

Though I think remote work isn't advised for those who are just getting started and don't have equipments and logistics that can hold up to the job at home.

Working in-situ has an advantage where you can just use company's hardware and not to worry about your own logistics for working at home.
Same can't be said with remote overseas, especially entry level.

[gusty ice]

Oh cool, what uni did you go to (if you went to uni)?

[spice dagger]

I went to Uni at CSU for 1 year before quickly realizing it was a waste of time and money. I had already been working in the industry and had already outgrown what they were teaching.

Waste of $16k....

[gusty ice]

So essentially no uni lol?

[spice dagger]

No uni.

[gusty ice]

I want to get into game development and I'm considering a course at QUT

Do companies usually look for university qualifications?

[spice dagger]

Depends on the Company, depends on your prior experience.

I started small. Taking odd jobs here and there while building up my skillset.

I had the added benefit of a fulltime job while working on my skills.

So I was easily supporting myself while learning and building my skills.

[gusty ice]

Wow that's cool

[spice dagger]

So entering the Industry without formal qualifications is do-able.

Most Companies/Studios will care more about what you can do than what pieces of paper you have.

[vapid scaffold]

what would a general remuneration package look like? i.e. what does a US studio pay an Aus developer (as a ballpark range)?

[spice dagger]

Thats really on you to negotiate. Im a contractor, I charge in USD what I feel my time is worth.

Likely your compensation will be that which you could expect from being a US citizen. Just because you are foreign does not mean you would be paid less or more.

Working outside of your native country could potentially cause you more grief depending on the situation. Being a contractor and invoicing directly, I can avoid having to also pay tax in the US, this would not be true if I was a direct employee of the Company/Studio.

There is more than just how much to be paid that you should consider when working remotely.

[silk vigil]

i really appreciate ur help and i am really sorry for replaying late i were out of the country and i have not access for this discord so i could not replay. i am a junior i started to work at this start up 4 months ago.

[main abyss]

We do not. Portfolio, resume, paid sample challenge are all important. Fit with the company is the deciding factor. Education may help in some cases, as it may be something we could run them through a hiring program. But most people fail interviews at Red Iron for not being in alignment with our values.

[silk vigil]

i really appreciate ur help and i am really sorry for replaying late i were out of the country and i have not access for this discord so i could not replay. yes i am into programming in general but i am close to gamming more because it is the most thing i studied well at university we had a good instructor that taught us even after university time for free. and sure i like gamming dev and programming in general but i do not want to waste years in something that will not give me a good future because of my passion.

[gusty ice]

I'm very new and still exploring this industry, when you talk about paid sample challenges, what exactly are they. Also, what should a portfolio contain, is it just projects that you have made?

[main abyss]

In that case, I'd say don't do it. The moment you assessed it as a waste of years for not bringing you enough money - it isn't a passion for you and would be the wrong reason to stay in game development.

[main abyss]

Yes, the last time we did hiring, we were looking for 1 person. We ended up hiring 3 as I was impressed with their sample games, and their fit within the team.

We give paid programming challenges, as there are some systemic issues to provide unpaid challenges. The challenges depend on the role. But a game developer would get a zip file with sample assets and a small brief of a game to make from it. They get a week, paid, and send back the sample with their code.

[silk vigil]

so in ur opinion should i learn backend dev or mobile. i have a good knowledge in C# so i can study .net and i have studied for a while flutter but i did not complete because it was new and i could not find a job at this time.

[main abyss]

I can't help with that. I don't have any interest in backend work, web work, or mobile work. I made +200 mobile apps prior to what I'm doing now, and have no interest in it anymore. You'd need to pull job stats and decide if that's worth it for you I think...

I did maybe a dozen large web platforms front and back. Money is OK if you have contacts. But I don't ever want to do that again.

[silk vigil]

okay thank you very much 🙏

[silk vigil]

me too i did not like web, but backend dev is more challenging than mobile dev i think, mobile dev i will be forced to focus on the design and i hate to resize things, it piss me off actually thats why i thought about backend not full stack

[gusty ice]

Ok thanks so much! I'm still in highschool at the moment, but it is definitely good to know how the process will go in the future!

[woeful iron]

how is this career chat? @plucky hatch

and posting it in #work-in-progress as well???

what about it

this is completely irrelevant

if you wanna shitpost go to #lounge

this is not the place

<@&213101288538374145> ?

lol deleting all messages

pretty sure they can see deleted messages but ok

[steady pewter]

No thanks.

[small wraith]

hi, is this a good place to get feedback on my portfolio?

[serene crystal]

yep

[steady pewter]

Isn't #work-in-progress for that? If UE.

[serene crystal]

We've looked at portfolios in here before

Not individual pieces I guess

[modern relic]

What's the best way to embed/link videos if I have a portfolio website? Do I just do YouTube embeds?

I had this idea of having a dev blog as part of it where I could have videos on it

[pure kettle]

Yes.

[serene crystal]

I used imgur video embeds

Youtube is probably better for more high quality stuff

I was just showing programmer art flying around

[shrewd geyser]

Just record it with a nice resolution and upload it to Youtube.

[carmine oar]

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone has recommended projects to get a first job in game programming. I am not sure if I should niche down into graphics, game engine, gameplay or have a bit of everything. Any advice would be appreciated

[pure kettle]

At least from my attempt way back when (I was a total dunce), the project will be whatever the HRD gave to you during technical test

[gentle pewter]

I will always recommend to follow your curiosity. Make stuff, and post it online!

Graphics seem cool? Make a new cool graphical thing that you find interesting.

Gameplay programming? Build a prototype of some cool mechanics you saw in other games and wondered how they were made

You'll always be happier and more successful if you spend energy getting better at the thing you enjoy, rather than trying to figure out what people might want and catering to them

Because in games, we need high quality skilled people in every discipline. And it's way easier to get awesome at something when it is something you enjoy doing

If you don't know yet what you'll enjoy? Try a bit of everything and see what sticks

[carmine oar]

I have tinkered with almost all aspects, but I have recently decided I want to transition from working on servers to working in games even if it pays less. I think programming graphics is super fun, gameplay too. So I wouldn’t mind going either route. But do you thinks it’s just better to niche down or show it all in your portfolio.

[gentle pewter]

As a general rule, the bigger the team, the more specialized the roles they're going to be looking for. I'd probably concentrate on one area, but don't hesitate to show what experience you've got in others

Versatility is valuable too

[pseudo veldt]

alright, i have been looking at schools and am interested in a bachelors degree in game design or game development, with a minor in computer science and/or business, and the name i have seen popping up EVERYWHERE is Full Sail University, looking more at it the students have mixed opinions, does anyone know anything about the school or have any opinions on it?

[late glade]

Any good books on game development?

Can be a how to, advice, books on the whole process etc

[shrewd geyser]

It really depends on what you are looking for... But here are some that come to mind...
https://www.amazon.nl/Game-Programming-Patterns-Robert-Nystrom/dp/0990582906/
https://www.amazon.nl/Level-Guide-Great-Video-Design/dp/1118877160
https://www.amazon.nl/Theory-Game-Design-Raph-Koster/dp/1449363210
https://www.amazon.nl/-/en/dp/B008CG8E8Y/

[late glade]

Anything helps as i have very little knowledge. Thanks!!

[plucky hatch]

A degree is kind of irrelevant in this field, I only recommend a BA/MA to people who are not really self motivated, or who can study for free (like in my country BA and MA are free) otherwise you can learn at home cheaper and quicker.
A degree is very helpful however if you plan to move country and need a visa.
Its always good to weigh up what the costs will be, versus your predicted salary, and if its worth taking on such a large debt.
Often it can be more worthwhile to take some intensive short courses (3-6-12 month) and receive the same amount of knowledge you get on a BA, for a fraction of the price.
Everyone is different however so you should do what suits you, but so you know its really not what will make the difference in a domestic employment situation.

[plucky hatch]

Indeed, but not in the US or in the majority of Western Europe. (OP seems to be in the US if they are looking at schools in Florida).

[plucky hatch]

I'm beginning to realize that if I do 2 or 3 scenes with no gameplay and call that level design I'm going to fail.

the thing that made me drop out of college is that it was free, but the cost x benefit of it was kinda negative. Not literally a waste of time, but I wasn't performing good, having good grades and the amount of theoretical studies made me rethink it.

[real rock]

Hi,
I used to freelance for work in (got 2-4 Customers a month) made some money.
I mostly made fps games and some other mechanics. I recently got recruited as a junior programmer in a sports-board type company.Its been 3 days and I am starting feel like it's boring af, Some conversations here and there and I mostly wait around waiting for the other guys to finish and if I am given work I am finishing in like 3 hrs max then waiting around for some meeting and all. I am starting to think to quit the company, it's my first stable job as programmer. What should I do? should I just hold it for sometime or quit it?

there are 4 programmer, 1 senior , me junior and 2 intern under me. it's a new company.

[steady pewter]

You may have arrived at company which have not much work to offer you. However, for juniors is normal to waste time. If you are bored, use your time to learn or be proactive.

[woeful iron]

give it some time for them to get to know you and properly plan you in

if it's still like this after a few months, then you can consider quitting

[real rock]

okay, I'll wait some time and work on my skills

[woeful iron]

but you always first get some simple things to get worked into the team and the code

do mention to your superior if you have nothing to do

they can keep that in mind when planning work

[plucky hatch]

Count it as a blessing perhaps and spend some time doing some courses and up-skilling on the companies dime.

[woeful iron]

mabye they have a backlog of stuff you can just pick some random stuff of?

[plucky hatch]

I'd like to comment on that but without experience, I'd rather not.

isn't the company putting a person to waste by having them standing with no work to do?

[plucky hatch]

Not always, there are busy times and quiet times, thats just how it goes. New companies struggle with resource management too.
Sometimes its counter-prodcutive for me to find things for my team to do in the downtime since i have my own tasks, finding jobs for the sake of it.

I usually set a training curriculum for the year, when people have downtime they know to just work their way through it. If an employee is doing training its usually a benefit as an employer.

[copper onyx]

I've went this road last year, transitioned from webdev backend programming to Unreal. My first position was C++ Gameplay Programmer. If you don't yet have a clear idea about what to specialize on, I think it's good starting position for two reasons:

1. you get to use a lot of different engine features like: sounds, graphics, vfx, delegates, blueprints, etc. to combine them into complete gameplay features, so you get a good high-level understanding of the engine.

2. It's relatively easy to get Gameplay Programmer job compared to more specialized roles like VFX or Network Programming which usually require a portfolio or deep understanding of some engine system (like above mentioned networking).

[shrewd geyser]

bro, 3 days ... lol... that is absolutely nothing. Hold on for a while. Maybe give yourself a deadline to evaluate it. But give it enough time to actually be able to gather information to make an evaluation.. Which is more than 3 days.

My advice to you is, use the free paid time to learn something every day.

[real rock]

yeah, I am going to do that now.

[craggy nacelle]

It raises a question... why are they storing that information?

If they use it to verify the user isn't just making shit up, sure, but delete it after you did that

[shut token]

So they can sell the aggregated data. Just like pretty much any other website.

[carmine oar]

Do you have suggestions where to look for entry level jobs? Most I see are senior

[craggy nacelle]

I mean I guess they would at the very least want to verify they were actually employed

the rest of the review of course can't really be verified

[solid lance]

Hey, if any of you guys want a scriptrwiter for your games.
Or if you want to program in my games, I would really appreciate

I'm looking for a job as a scriptwriter.
But I also have certain games in mind that need programming

[woeful iron]

check #instructions if you're looking for people or a job

[mystic cloud]

Some people won't like what I'm going to say but for "game development" itself I rarely found books useful at all

Many industry professionals dont even dare to write books, some attend to GDCs, some just write blogs and some roam around communities and share knowledge there

So unless it's something like a "project book" (game ai pro 360 would be a good example) I wouldnt even waste money on them

I also think game development is a very tacit knowledge unlike how it looks like so best way would be being friends with people who already participated in professional game development projects and willing to teach you their understandings

[woeful iron]

being friends 🥲

[mystic cloud]

dieter pls 🥲

[steady pewter]

pls

[craggy nacelle]

I think books can be great for learning the more specific areas of gamedev, such as programming, and how to write code that doesn't suck. That's kind of universal imo. But on the other hand, I think there may be challenges especially for beginners in being able to distinguish what is good advice to follow and what is good advice to just be aware of and not necessarily follow

[mystic cloud]

I can confirm game design or level design books completely waste of time

[craggy nacelle]

20% seems like a decent value tbh

lol

[mystic cloud]

I think for programming, more the subject becomes specific more you're not able to get benefit from books or web

[woeful iron]

3d game programming with directx 11 is actually my monitor stand rn

but also good book though

easy, remove dx6 support

[mystic cloud]

damn

half life 2 era

[shrewd geyser]

My monitor stand is a Visual Basic 5 book.

[brave thorn]

Hey guys in the job board category are these jobs only unreal specific?

[chilly sundial]

welp looks like thats a book imma need to pickup next year. as my entire year of uni is dedicated to 3D stuff with directX

is it a helpful read?

[woeful iron]

Yes very interesting and useful, but do get the one that matches the version of directx you’re gonna use

[woeful iron]

I think a bit like this https://www.amazon.nl/Introduction-3D-Game-Programming-DirectX/dp/1942270062

[copper onyx]

Look for mid level job offers. If you can have a talk about Unreal architecture basics and make a good impression as a solid software engineer, there is a good chance that the company will want to hire you, even if you don't tick all requirements from the job posting.

[gusty ice]

What uni degree's should I be looking at if I want to become a video game dev?

[plucky hatch]

None really, I already replied to this above:

*A degree is kind of irrelevant in this field, I only recommend a BA/MA to people who are not really self motivated, or who can study for free (like in my country BA and MA are free) otherwise you can learn at home cheaper and quicker.

A degree is very helpful however if you plan to move country and need a visa.
Its always good to weigh up what the costs will be, versus your predicted salary, and if its worth taking on such a large debt.

Often it can be more worthwhile to take some intensive short courses (3-6-12 month) and receive the same amount of knowledge you get on a BA, for a fraction of the price and time.

Everyone is different however so you should do what suits you, but so you know, its really not what will make the difference in a domestic employment situation.*

Its why vocational schools are so popular now versus the traditional 3-5 year University route. In my city there are two vocational schools for this type of thing and they have a much higher success rate at placing graduates in employment vs the Universities who are seen my many employers as old fashioned.

[brave forge]

Depends on discipline too. I'd always recommend a regular comp sci degree over a game programming one

[woeful iron]

I made the jump with a game dev degree 😎

[shrewd geyser]

I dont think working less for more money has anything to do with a comp sci degree. It has a lot more to do with the years of experience you have to offer enabling you to actually justify a high hourly rate.

When you get to the point of being able to actually charge some good money for your hourly rate, your comp sci degree is the last thing people will be looking at.

[chilly sundial]

Good to know, thankyou

[shrewd geyser]

yeah, true... if we are talking about the god damn HR bots yeah... 🙂

[brave forge]

That was my point too. CompSci degree is equally applicable in games and other areas. Where as if you get a degree in game programming it can pigeon hole you. There's no downside to getting a normal CompSci degree

[woeful iron]

well except if it crushes your soul though

[brave forge]

Why would a CompSci degree crush your soul but a games programming degree wouldn't? The math, algorithms, theory are all pretty similar to what you should be learning anyway? If you don't want to learn that, I'm not sure a game programming course is going to be significantly better.

Your electives you can also steer towards graphics etc

It just keeps options open in the future

But also, depends on discipline as I said. My advice is only if you are wanting to focus on the programming side

[pure kettle]

Probably the homeworks and thesis but I guess that goes with college in general

[brave forge]

My degree didn't have a thesis, but rather a final project. Thesis was for PhD at my uni. But realistically, any course is going to have sucky parts, as will all jobs. If a course, games programming, or CompSci, isn't pushing you, it's probably not worth the time or money

[woeful iron]

my college was pushing me but didn't really have sucky parts tbh

also unpopular opinion, the maths required for games is overrated unless you do engine programming

[brave forge]

At the very least you should be very familiar with linear algebra, or enjoy your time in rotation hell. Graph theory etc is amazing for doing random tasks that pop up like navigation, inventory dependency management etc

You CAN get by without it, but life is sure as hell a lot easier when you have that foundation

I went to uni in my late 20s after having worked in the industry a while. I don't regret doing it in that order, but i definitely recognise the benefits of what I learned

[topaz cosmos]

Hey so I tried asking somewhere else but I wanted to ask here. Do you think when I'm following tutorials I should do some note taking? I've kinda given up on trying to make a game and just learn how to do certain things better in unreal engine. Ans what do you think I should do to take notes, use like a visual style? I think note taking will have it written and have me remember it better

But yeah do you think its better to take notes on a good tutorial?

@brave forge what math would you suggest knowing very well for things you see in games like diablo or borderlands

[round radish]

Trigonometry/vector math is a big one.

[woeful iron]

vectors definitely most important

[topaz cosmos]

I'll be sure to take that in community thrn

I think I just focus on skills not projects. I'm tired of trying to make a game only for it to not go anywhere. I think it would be better if I showed other things like the ability to make mechanics.

[brave forge]

Vectors, matrices etc fall under linear algebra. Trig and geometry. These are daily bread and butter. Quaternions are exceedingly useful for rotations, but imo you need to know what they do, not how, so you can treat them like a black box for the most part. Graph theory (this falls under discrete mathematics) can be helpful for many different tasks, but it’s not something you need day one.

[plucky hatch]

Bit of a strange question!

Everyone is different but its pretty common to take notes and record things as you go through training, be that in school, University, online courses or self learning. Taking notes is just a part of learning for the majority of people.

[brave forge]

https://gamemath.com/ this book is a fantastic resource imo

[round radish]

It's not good enough to simply know the formulas, you have to know how to apply them. When to apply them.

[granite solar]

I think note taking is a great idea, whether it's tutorials, seminars, books, or just bits of knowledge you pick up anywhere. Just a great way of learning and reinforcing the knowledge, on top of creating your own documentation to quickly reference when you forget something.

[steel creek]

I feel this is exactly why many have problems these days. They try to use only topical knowledge learned from a YT or a Game Course and only know how to find the formula they need, not actually what it says, or why it says it.

[round radish]

To be honest, you don't need to know the how, as long as you know the when.

[steel creek]

Why helps as well really

[round radish]

You need to see a problem and know that using x will give you the answer you want.

You don't need to know how x works (see quaternions)

[steel creek]

yes, but sometimes using X is not the best answer.

[round radish]

I agree, it can help, absolutely!

[steel creek]

HOW, no. Why and When

[round radish]

Yeah.

I've come up against this a lot with vector math in the engine doing procedural geometry and stuff.

And custom camera modes.

Knowing how transforms work is absolutely essential.

And by that I mean, not knowing the math behind them (which I do anyway,) but what happens when they are applied and how they work together.

[steel creek]

That is why people doing this need to learn Algebra and Trigonometry. All other math is icing.

[round radish]

Yeah.

[topaz cosmos]

I've never thought of doing note taking but I feel I should try doing that when teaching myself something. I mean if I was doing the same thing in a class I would be doing note taking

[plucky hatch]

Indeed, thats why I wondered why you needed to ask here if you should take notes, since its a pretty obvious 'yes you should' 🤣

[topaz cosmos]

For the longest time it wasnt

I thought i should just watch the video and follow it like a sheep

[topaz cosmos]

I'm going to buy this book idk if it will have everything I want to know but sounds interesting

I guess what I want to ask is how do people or how do you recommend people gain experience solo. I feel like aiming to make a game doesn't end up well. Even making a test demo ends up sometimes not having a working test game.

I feel like if I take another step down from test demo. Aka just making smaller mechanics and show you can do them would be good. I've left game development for a few years bc of issues in personal life and the fact im bad at self learning. But how do you learn by yourself the right way

I feel like maybe I'm misunderstanding how to learn by yourself and I'm self learning wrong.

Maybe I need to change my mindset on what self taught means

Anyone want to help explain what it means to try to teach yourself these things?

[plucky hatch]

As you have said, if you are bad at self learning, why not sign up to a more structured course, in your area or online?

Self learning requires a lot of focus, patience and perseverance and it certainly not for everyone.

But its not the only path.

[snow kiln]

Hi. I’d like to know from bit more experienced people, if possible.. I’ve been learning UE5 and 3d stuff in general (mostly environments) quite hard for months now and started getting not bad at it. I believe I’m at the level to be able to handle basic jobs/projects

From your experience what are the first steps for a somewhat beginner in the field to step in the industry

Plus I can’t seem to find many “environment artist” postings, mostly it’s modeling, animations, coding uknow

[plucky hatch]

Step 1 : Make a portfolio

But on a more serious note, I rarely see a junior make it as an artist into serious employment with less than 2 years of practice. Most of the juniors I hire have 2-4 years under their belt at least before getting a first job.

[snow kiln]

Well… the was a punch in the gut

I started working on my portfolio (seriously) quite recently all whilst learning

Thus everything might need to be taken down, Don’t know yet ofc

[plucky hatch]

Well I am just telling you from my experience, doesn't mean it will be so, but I would be very surprised otherwise.

[snow kiln]

I’m just trying to get into somewhere thinking it would enhance my knowledge and skills further what do you think? Is that how it works in reality? 😄

[plucky hatch]

It will be a struggle, sounds like you still have a way to go.

[snow kiln]

I’m sure not stopping any time soon but uknow… would love to earn doing what I love

[plucky hatch]

I mean if you look at it like this, why would people study for 2-3 years spending a lot of money on a design education to become a (junior) environment artist, if it were possible to self learn in just a few months?
Of course self-learning is possible, I did it myself, but it took me about 3 years to be ready for my first job and I am a fast learner.

But yes keep doing what you do, just set some realistic expectations and miliestones. The first is getting a portfolio people can give feedback on.

[snow kiln]

Would u be kindly willing to judge my portfolio? Tho I have like 3 posts only yet

Maybe to give me some tips and “guide me”

[plucky hatch]

Well dont worry about that, I have been working for almost 15 years and only keep about six things in my portfolio. Quantity doesn't equals quantity.

I would just post it here for everyone to see, its important to get many opinions.

[snow kiln]

https://www.artstation.com/forsakenecho

Well then.. anyone who’s willing critique the **** out of me please🖤

Curious about your works too, may I see it?

[plucky hatch]

I don't have my portoflio online unfortunately due to NDA's etc

[snow kiln]

Oh okay

Don’t hesitate to be harsh, I appreciate all the criticism

[plucky hatch]

Yes it looks like you have a long way to go with your portfolio:

-The work is not really showing anything off, its also hard to understand what you have done. Have you modelled everything, are they downloaded assets?

-Show breakdowns of your scenes, lighting, maps, setup, blueprints etc, not just final renders.

-Don't be self critical in your own posts '***Though I can tell there are places I could apply some fixes, but let's have this for now.' ***your portfolio is supposed to be your best work, if you cant even make some 'fixes' in your own words then its not showing your best side. It comes across as lazy.

-The work in general needs improvement, its not the level of a studio junior.

-I'm an environment artist, working in Unreal Engine 5.
I haven't had much of an experience per se. I've been learning environment and unreal engine 5 for couple of months now, trying out stuff and trying to understand the fundementals of creating a beautiful environments.
Hope you like it - this is not a summary that is going to make me want to hire you

-Its a good tip to study photography to get some better ideas of lighting and composition in general, all these shots are quite generic.

Not bad for a few months from nothing, but still a year away of something that will probably get you an actual job. I would keep up with the practice and before you know it all that time will have passed

[round radish]

I would say the third one, the stone bridge thing, looks more like a painted image than an environment render somehow.

Something a little surreal about it.

They're all fantastic, though.

[snow kiln]

Man thanks a lot🖤 can’t describe how much I appreciate this, and this was a great insight ^^

Well let’s go. First goal would be to make YOU want to hire me

Seeya whenever I guess

[plucky hatch]

👍

[snow kiln]

Thanks a lot 🖤

[topaz cosmos]

I am just as bad at online learning as I am with self learning. Maybe one day I'll be focused enough and disciplined enough to do online. For now I only have a collage course and I would like to make progress without college as well.

Especially as everyone says college bad sometimes

[plucky hatch]

I mean online with an actual tutor, not just watching videos.

[topaz cosmos]

I know

Even with online courses or college online I'm pretty bad at it. Not only that but I don't like most of those game programming courses they usually don't show anything that useful imo

I should also read the other conversation you just had with that guy about stepping into the scene. I'm still learning and I'm not completely blind to unreal but I couldn't make anything you asked me to.

If I wanted to build a portfolio based around gameplay blueprint and stuff what would it take to get a good portfolio together? I think trying to make a mechanic from a tutorial is a good start and show how far you can do more. But how do you actually get a portfolio going that says. I know what I'm doing.

[plucky hatch]

No idea sorry i'm on the creative side of things not development.

[snow kiln]

I don’t think it’s even possible to achieve anything in UE5 and in any software if you don’t invest enough time in it and if it’s not something you genuinely wish to do, like, wholeheartedly. I’ve been giving like 10+ hours daily since I started and tbh haven’t felt tired from it even when it would (physically overwhelm me). And yet, can’t say I’m quite happy with my results still think I should have tried more, investigated, researched more.

Just something to reconsider I think so you don’t just “waste” your time later on

[topaz cosmos]

Its complicated. So recently there's been a lot of mental issues I've been going through so I haven't done a lot of game dev recently. I have made a game before and worked on things in the past and I've been very happy doing it. I've felt that spark.

I did my first game not in unreal but in c++ command line in a game jam. It ended up winning and I felt really good about that.

I've done some unreal classes in college and that was good too. I dropped from the second game programming class from my community because of other issues.

I think I keep going into any game development stuff wrong. I keep wanting to go in trying to do something I'm not capable of. I barely understood how I made that game jam project. But I keep trying to make something rather than build skills like I should

I think this time if when I start trying to do unreal or other game development. I shouldn't try to make a game. I should learn tools and follow tutorials to learn skills

[snow kiln]

So maybe just lower your expectations and “bar” a bit for now so you don’t overhear yourself?

[craggy nacelle]

Eh. Trying to make stuff is learning skills

That's how I learned to do everything I know, just by trying to make a bunch of shit

:P

[topaz cosmos]

I have a very high bar its been a struggle to lower it

[snow kiln]

Just keep your bar low and follow the path of development

[topaz cosmos]

Idk if UE5 can run on my laptop I didn't check in the other chat back

[snow kiln]

Well you’ll need to, cause I think it will just exhaust u, the unrealistic heights you’re trying to achieve before developing skillsets and obtaining knowledge for them

[topaz cosmos]

Thats exactly whats been going on through my head when considering opening unreal engine again

[pure kettle]

You can lower down the scalability

[snow kiln]

I’ve had that moment when starting out and at some point I just cursed myself and got a grip of reality that I DONT KNOW ANYTHING YET and kept watching tutorials for idk.. couple of hours each everyday

And just trying out stuff just to develop step by step without anybexpectations

I dont know how good it is but definitely made me go down the road of evolving without pain

[pure kettle]

Disable Nanite, Lumen, VSM, TSR, and other fancy new rendering features, and you could have UE5 running in low end hardware

[topaz cosmos]

I guess my biggest enemy is my emotions and not get down if i am struggling with stuff

[topaz cosmos]

ok ill try doing that

[snow kiln]

Lol why would he disable nanite?

It actually rly helps the performance

[topaz cosmos]

o

[pure kettle]

Doubt he's going to put film assets in a low end laptop

[barren lotus]

I don't work for Epic and the positions aren't listed yet so this seems like a better channel than #salary-jobs as a heads up for anyone looking to get their start in the industry to keep an eye out in the coming weeks

[Epic Games] internship / early career positions will start being posted on our careers site in August.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/rachel-graham_join-epic-games-today-see-our-latest-career-activity-6954816548960100352-Pn4w

[shut token]

🤔

[plucky hatch]

is there any benefit in buying photoshop, 3d studio, etc for learning at home? It's expensive. If ppl cannot buy them, is it a barrier to build the necessary skills to get into the industry?

[plucky hatch]

There is always a free or cheap alternative for learning, that also includes modeling, materials, UV's, painting, sculpting animating and rendering too.

[barren lotus]

Photoshop is available for $10 USD per month which isn't too bad if you'll be using it often, unlimited machine installs too incase you have a desktop and laptop or any other combo

[solid agate]

Are there any tutorials out there that cater more to motion design in Unreal? at least as a starting point. The only course I found was Creating The Unreal on mograph.com. Epic did a presentation with Maxon a few months ago about using C4D and Unreal for a motion graphics intro. I primarily use Cinema 4D and I mainly do motion design and 3D stuff but I want to get into unreal and it feels all the basic stuff is game oriented and the non-game oriented stuff seems very advanced

[pure kettle]

Did you meant Photopea?

[woeful iron]

if you're a student still, whole adobe suite is cheaper as well

[steady pewter]

Aww... a tempting adobe sub, take one

[spare mantle]

alright hello there I'm a solo gamedev and I was using before the UPBGE engine and ppl keep telling me that i sohuld witch to the unreal engine if i want to make a half life game like i want i can show you some screenshots, so other ppl keep telling me i should switch to unreal and others tell me to stay what should i do

i need an advice from you guys

[woeful iron]

unreal will definitely be more useful if you ever wanna do something in a professional capacity

I never used UPBGE myself, so idk what features and stuff it has

but unreal is way more used and has larger community of people that can help you and actual studios use it

[spare mantle]

good point

even the person who got me in UPBGE told me that i should switch to either unreal or godot for something like this

[spare mantle]

like this

[woeful iron]

how is an unreal game crashing career chat?

or relevant to this server at all?

[shrewd geyser]

Maybe he wants to make a career as a Crash test dummy... 😛

[woeful iron]

this is a server for developing unreal games, not playing them

rip gone

[spare mantle]

what ?

[woeful iron]

the guy deleted their message so context is ruined

[pastel estuary]

there is actually someone who occasionally joins voice-chat that is working on a half-life fan-game in unreal-engine, and it looks just as good as HL Alyx.

[shut token]

I have a full-time job and I do part-time contracting to fund my games.

[pure kettle]

Project Borealis?

[pastel estuary]

iunno

[plucky hatch]

this is bothering me to some extend. Large companies are the ones where the competition is more fierce to get in and also the companies that would have more resources to spend on somebody if they are reallocating from another country.

[green oyster]

Selling asset packs from those games on the UE marketplace. Even if my projects are abandoned they made some profit 😅

[woeful iron]

What is bothering you about this?

[shrewd geyser]

you are bothered because more people want to work for large companies or because they have more money?

[spare mantle]

Alright i'l switch to UE4

[plucky hatch]

On the other side, many large companies (or companies of any size really) are not going to relocate a newbie or junior from another country since there is already such an abundance of talent locally.
I had to relocate myself twice before I was Senior enough that those things would be offered for me.

[brave forge]

Do a weekend game jam or something first. I wouldn't make an engine decision on something like that. I'm not saying it's not a good choice, but you should probably investigate a bit more before making such a decision

[spare mantle]

yeah true, the thing is in UPBGE it has logic bricks and in UE4 it has blueprint so if i have enough knowledge about the properties of UE4 i can do what i want

adn I'm used to logic bricks for 3 years now

i just need to transfer to ue4 since I'm just 16 years old so when i grow up I'm not gonna face any problems

[brave forge]

Makes sense. Have at it then! Heaps of good resources around now for it

[spare mantle]

plus what's the best version to download when i clicked download engine the 5.0.0 engine showed up does that mean that's UE5 ?

should i go lower ?

[brave forge]

No reason not to start on UE5

all the tutorials etc mostly apply to UE5

[spare mantle]

you sure ?

[brave forge]

theres a few buttons moved around. But all the same stuff is there

[spare mantle]

oh

[brave forge]

Lumen, nanite etc is all optional

[spare mantle]

yeah i need to watch the basics first

so i can understand how to navigate and the problem is i wanted to transfer to unreal becuz it has some features that i've wanted

like a ready sky or smth

ready templates also

unlike upbge you have to do everything from scratch

[brave forge]

epic has some great courses here, as well as community ones:

https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning?application=unreal_engine

[spare mantle]

alright thanks, it doesn't include paying right ?

because i don't have money at the moment

[brave forge]

Your First Hours In Unreal is probably your best bet

nope, that's all free

[spare mantle]

alright