career-chat

[ivory echo]

Duro talking to ghosts again?

[shut token]

lol - they DM'd me, asked why I reposted their message (when it wasn't their message, it was mine), and said I was snarky.

Then deleted their messages

[ivory echo]

🤦

[dusky fable]

For once I'm not the snarky one out of the 2 of us.

[rapid iron]

I have worked as a Gameplay Programmer (Unreal Engine) using both Blueprints and C++.

I had to quit my last job due to a lot of toxicity from my past employer (including multiple paycheck delays) back in 2023. Finding another job or even getting freelance gigs has been a major problem for me at the moment. Due to the issues in management, I still don't have a shipped title in my portfolio which makes matters messier.

I have been contemplating to temporarily switch to IT while building upon my portfolio on the side. I have worked in C++ with Unreal in the past and I believe it could help me in the long run to attempt engine programming in the future.

While I am willing to do this and might even look into what my options are, how can I increase my odds of being hired since I don't have a Computer Science major?

Also, what alternate professions would you suggest I could get into with my current skillset being as transferrable as possible?

[ashen lynx]

Doing things showing things will increase the odds. Except for the cases where things done are not great and would have reverse effect. As for alternative jobs, there are a lot of openings in industries beyond IT or entertainment. For example, a lot of gameplay programming skills are transferable to auv manufacturing and deployment. It also pays several times more than you can expect from a gamedev job, while at times being at the same time more fulfilling. Just harder to get into, as often it is based on know someone to enter. Bottomline, you just gotta be good. Mediocre and shallow knowledge will only get you as far in crowded market. Gotta pick what you like and become elitist in it and not choose path of least resistance.

[round radish]

No harm in going broader at the start to find that thing you want to do, though. Just don't expect a good job out of it.

[rapid iron]

I want to build games. I quit from healthcare simulation (VR) to work on a game project at a studio which did not go that well.

Unfortunately Unity is more in demand , mostly for VR (I have done it in Unreal) and I am very out of touch with the engine (unity) at the moment which complicates matters there.

I was planning to build my portfolio nad maybe even ship a game to steam while having a day job (which laid me off 3 days post joining). Currently, I have only been working on the game we hope to release (not much to reveal at the moment) but I do have my finances to take care of.

[ashen lynx]

Wanting to build games is not always fulfilled by working in gamedev. @rapid iron

Might never get a chance to work on your dream title.

[rapid iron]

My bad misread that

[rapid iron]

We folks want to build our own things

I'm fine working outside gamedev as a day job

[ashen lynx]

So keep it that way then ? No reason to be gameplay programmer to make it happen.

[rapid iron]

As in?

[ashen lynx]

As in, you asked about jobs and portfolio initially.

[rapid iron]

Unreal Engine is my primary skillset at the moment. All my full time jobs so far were in Unreal. I have learnt a lot from whatever sources I could find esp for C++ which is not well docmented in Unreal

That's whre the problem arises

Anything even so called entry level asks for experience even if I want to switch

[dusky fable]

You really need to be a programmer first instead of just an unreal dev. A good programmer should be able to pick up unity without a problem.

Shipping a game solo really isn't going to help much getting a job. The shipping requirement in job postings is about shipping a game professionally as part of a team.

The industry is really tough right now, especially for those without a lot of professional experience. Keep at it and get whatever job you can to pay the bills if need be.

[coarse pilot]

nice day today 👀

[chilly sundial]

https://tenor.com/view/jinn-kid-skyrim-tik-tok-must-have-been-the-wind-gif-16147100

[rapid iron]

I'm not working solo. 2 more devs and an artist are part of the team.

Just a little lost on where to start in Unity. Syntax is fresh in my mind but a lot of stuff was being deprecated the last I used it before switching to Unreal.

I get the need for a shipped game but there have been postings asking this from junior devs. Yeah, it is pretty tough.

[oblique ice]

no comment

[woeful iron]

you could have just not sent a chat message in that case too

[nova stag]

hello mister

?

where can i world on small project for learning as beginner...

[woeful iron]

what?

I don't think world is a verb

[ivory echo]

I think he means work.

[dusty shoal]

it is now.

[oblique ice]

can try unreal course material

[azure acorn]

Hi everyone, does anyone else here experience total radio silence from employers despite working themselves hard toward stellar portfolio quality?

It's a bad situation because now I can't tell if it's AI, myself (or folio), or general circumstances at play outside of myself

[mint skiff]

Bluntly, this usually means your portfolio is not good enough

That may not strictly be about the pieces themselves - could also be presentation, layout, etc.

[azure acorn]

Still not good enough, after years of fixing and retrying? @mint skiff that's dissappointing to see ofcourse

but now I wish to know what's wrong with it

where can I get it reviewed?

[mint skiff]

Here, artist forums like polycount, local meetups/industry events, conferences

Anywhere there are other artists.

Assuming this is for art - you didn't specify

[azure acorn]

it's art

where do I ask here for review?

[chilly sundial]

in this channel

[azure acorn]

Ok then here it is: https://www.artstation.com/fvportfolio

I wish to find work (in game industry) as a 3D prop/asset artist and environment art, I saw plenty of job positions merging these two, but either of the two would work just as well for me

Some additional context: I'm from Croatia, some people told me it may be the location that limits me

Others said it's the layoffs, etc.

[ivory echo]

@wary idol new friend for you

[mint skiff]

My thoughts:

Best pieces are probably the grenade & camera. You have a good sense of style and composition. You've taken care with presentation which is great.

Main issues with these I'm seeing are technical - bake errors, stretching on textures, bad joins between geometry. Can't let these slip through, recruiters will think you are sloppy (because it is). Give yourself more leeway wrt to optimisation stuff like polycounts, texturesets etc for portfolio pieces - focus more on really driving the detail and quality. Tone down the grain too. I would drop the older pieces, and maybe do one more complex hero piece to flex your modelling skills.

Hallway is technically good but boring, diner/motel is thematically interesting but lacks polish - sort of 80% there. Would drop these entirely and focus on props unless you're really interested in environment work.

[azure acorn]

I have optimized models too

When I had those though, people criticized me for them being too low poly

and kept going off on the fact UE now has Nanite etc. so it needs more geo

its like nothing ever works, and i ask myself seriously, for how much longer is it worth to keep wasting time on this without results

if I look at it "i dont look at it from employment view, but just as hobby and passion" then because its so demanding, i cant do other job to survive and this silmatoneously, and yet if i do this only its wrong to assume i only do this for finding job/money

I strongly think it's something else, and I don't mean to cowardly make excuses, but it may be nepotism that I lack that is causing fail, people dont like me perhaps (yeah, got banned from servers before), and lack of luck

anyways, thanks for your feedback

I'll consider it

[mint skiff]

Ok to clarify I mean more detail, 'less' optimisation

obviously don't be wasteful, but if e.g. a game would budget 10px/cm texel density for a prop, i'd be targeting 20 for a portfolio piece.

[mint skiff]

Meh your portfolio did not blow me away, which unfortunately you need to be doing. You are kind of on the far end of the 'mediocre valley', where it can be very difficult to get feedback because the mistakes are more subtle.

[azure acorn]

there are far worse portfolios that got people hired

Im tired of this same talk over and over, honestly

problem is realism bar is high

i shouldve focused on other styles

or not, as i wasnt really invested or interested in them

i dont know

either way, yeah its tough, i agree im not best

but hirable, i should be

theres no perfect portfolio

[mint skiff]

if these people were hired during covid i wouldn't read too much into that

It was all a bit nutty then

The other thing to do is to start building a network and hope someone thinks of you next time they need an artist.

[wary idol]

waves from Croatia

[azure acorn]

Hey 😁

[ivory echo]

Now ban him, there can be only one

Jk

[calm oar]

I guess I'll throw my hat into the grinder: https://www.artstation.com/paranoyd_j0

[fervent palm]

They look pretty good tbf

[calm oar]

Tell that to all my rejected applications lol

[woeful iron]

looks nice tbh

could use some improvement on lighting, but it's not like it's bad

would say biggest issue is maybe quantity of work?

how many times did you get rejected, and did you get any reasons?

[calm oar]

more than 25 times, basically every single application sent across U.S and Europe. No reason given, just the generic "while your skills are impressive we've decided to pursue other candidates." I even emailed back asking how I can improve but no answer. Yeah quantity could be better. Starting to feel like I'm blacklisted lol

[agile thicket]

most companies have a policy of not giving feedback when a candidate is rejected. it sucks but it doesn't reflect on you. its normal to get rejection after rejection until you get a hit

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, feedback gives room for a discrimination lawsuit if the interviewer accidentally says something that could be construed a certain way. Most companies just won't take the risk

In the ones I've seen it also depends if you're applying cross country. I've found very few places that would sponsor a visa for an entry level position

[mint skiff]

Drop the sketch. Pieces are good but I think composition is a bit whatever.

One of your pieces is just another hallway. Its also a bit busy, not really anywhere for the eyes to rest. The shot leads my eyes down the end of the alley but it's obscured by fog and grain, there's nothing to see there.

The waterfront piece is interesting. I actually missed the smoke & fire on the tower first time around, and the second time around I almost found it a bit funny, it's very jarring. Maybe this is good 🤷‍♂️ but you probably need to do more to lead the viewers eye there. Lighting is very flat, you've lost a lot of the contrast and drama in your reference (also I wouldn't post refs on your portfolio, but thats up to you).

Maybe one more piece would be good to have, but you should only have ~3 pieces on the portfolio anyway.

[spice dagger]

Please use the #1054845120236757103 forum.

[vast glade]

Not exactly career but free lancing related. I’m shopping around to see how much it would cold to have some one set up the procedural animation system for a cat. I am stuck and very much over it. I’ve got it mostly done but I don’t like how walking in the diagonal works and I don’t know how to make it switch from like hand done animations (like if the cat does a backflip. I will key that. ) and the procedural locomotion.

I’d also gladly pay some one hourly to tutor me in how to do this. I’d rather do that. But at this point I just want the animations to be DONE

[round radish]

That'd be for the job board...

[ivory echo]

https://tenor.com/view/cat-moon-walk-cute-blackand-white-funny-gif-11854290

[low crystal]

Mostly just reading over this stuff, im interested to see and hear what one considers a "good" portfolio or one that would blow them away or any examples.
I'm mostly doing this stuff for fun but it strikes my curiosity on what is the general consensus in the group of what constitutes a perfect portfolio?

[mint skiff]

https://youtu.be/93_6P-hXFGY?si=yygoYWA8wXsq-eT8

https://polycount.com/discussion/39516/your-portfolio-repels-jobs

Rest of the wiki is good reading too:

http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Portfolio

There isn't going to be a "perfect" portfolio, particularly when applying as a junior! The goal is to set yourself apart in the ~30 seconds recruiters have to review your work, and then maintain their interest over the next 2-3 minutes once you've grabbed them.

[oblique ice]

don't really seen what makes "good" or perfect portfolio, just make them 👍🏻

[lapis tangle]

Yo guys good morning i have some "career" question about myself currently i am working on MOBA game as a game developer we are using GAS and UE5 but only c++. In project my responsiblities are mainly on GAS. I have c++ knowledge not like inhouse engine level but i can use c++ in unreal engine with no problem. So my question is which way should i go learn first GAS, c++ , unreal c++, principles, algorthyms etc. Thank you.

[lilac walrus]

focus on doing your tasks and learn as you go - you'll inevitably find things you don't know along the way and have to do your reading

[jagged minnow]

Any unreal job

?

[round radish]

#instructions

[modern relic]

Sorry only real jobs

[quaint veldt]

Good day, everybody,

I am a relatively new unreal engine developer and have been working in a startup for around 7 months now. We are currently suffering from a problem where we don't have any tech artists which leads to a lot of time being wasted by trying to fix up stuff for the artists team (they are mainly architectural engineers). So I wanted to know whether there are any good trainings/courses for technical artists that can be offered to artists or new developers?

Thanks a lot in advance!

[serene nest]

Has anybody applied for an Epic Mega Grant previously? Curious whether it's worth the time

[ivory echo]

@mystic cloud did

[mystic cloud]

Worth to apply not worth to expect anything

[ivory echo]

Kinda like sending PRs 😀

[mystic cloud]

I asked multiple people at Epic to give me their email so providing them as reference would increase the speed of the review

Its been 6 months and no feedback, reply or anything else

[spice dagger]

Just imagine the volume of submissions they would get

Free money, any joe blow is going to make a submission.

They have to wade through all of that.

No wonder it takes forever.

[ivory echo]

Plus they probably laid off all of the approval people 😀

[mystic cloud]

Thats a fair point while indicating how inefficient they are with handling this

Megagrants was a funding source at beginning but these days its mostly a way to draw investors to your side because Epic approved your project

This gives confidence or publisher and other source of funding groups

So it should be treated as "gimme lowest money you can or even dont, i just need 'megagrant recipent' logo" thing

[brave forge]

I know their team was heavily affected during the layoffs last year, but I still see announcements here and there for them. I think it's just slow again

plus the hitrate on percentage accepted was always quite low, so wouldn't bank the business on it, but definitely worth applying as you said

[peak moon]

Hey by chance is anyone puting together a team to do demo reel shots at all??

[woeful iron]

read #instructions

[formal temple]

Thanks, pal. That'll be a start.

[round radish]

Also, have you tried smiling ?

[barren shadow]

smiling is overrated

[plucky hatch]

One message removed from a suspended account.

[modern relic]

I'd say that's pretty fair. Generally you want to showcase work relevant to the job you are after otherwise what's the point?

[trail gyro]

Hi currently iam developing a game in unreal engine 5 when I exported app into apk it's running very slow in mobile (10 fps only) I have done all optimizations and enabled nanite deleted complex 3d models but no result can you help me to resolve this issue

[round radish]

Turn off nanite and lumen?

Also #profiling...

[meager gull]

Hi everyone 👋

I just want to introduce myself

I'm an expert 3D Artist. Expert at Creating Characters for Game with Assets, Movies,Animation ect. I have experience in Textures, Rigging, Sculpting, Game Assets, Proops, Game Environment etc. and you can let me know if you have any project that i can help you with

[round radish]

#instructions

[chilly sundial]

So you were told by a mod that this was not the channel for this, so you post in the wrong channel again?

[round radish]

It's okay, some people can't read.

I mean, if you can't read the channel description, you obviously can't read instructions or contracts. And that's great!

[shut token]

Easy to weed out potential hires imo

[round radish]

Though I do make exception to my snark for anyone using mobile. The channel description is ridiculously hidden.

[chilly sundial]

One of my biggest pet peeves on mobile as well

My other one is sometimes the latency of people's profile's loading.

I've had it before where I try to scroll a profile and press something, then something loads, pops in, forces me to the top right as I press and boom, I've dm called a stranger 😆

[ivory echo]

What, you mean putting it in Settings is counter-intuitive? But some product manager got paid a lot of money to get this “improvement” implemented

[ivory echo]

Good way to meet people 😄

[viscid wraith]

New to Unreal Engine here.

Can anyone tell me where to start with blueprints learning ? I'm getting really confused whenever I watch different tutorials, they do the things really differently so I want to know where to learn and where to start exactly.

Like which function, which variable etc etc to call when and everything, I want to learn these things.

So from where to learn? Kindly help.

[oblique ice]

hope this help
https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/

[calm oar]

https://www.youtube.com/@MathewWadsteinTutorials

also this guys channel has great reference videos breaking down different blueprints and aspects, for when you need a quick reminder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8xYy39z4fI

https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/courses/LWv/unreal-engine-blueprint-communication/ypKl/unreal-engine-blueprint-communication-overview

https://dev.epicgames.com/community/learning/courses/QGD/unreal-engine-blueprint-essential-concepts/P7L/unreal-engine-introduction-to-blueprint-essential-concepts

[ivory echo]

And also by asking questions in the relevant channel

[viscid wraith]

Thank you. Will be looking into it.

[viscid wraith]

Got it

[modern relic]

But it might be related to their career. Tons of blueprint only jobs going around

[mint skiff]

Lot of pieces here, and unlike artstation you don't get to pick the ones that catch your eye to look at first. They tend to fight with each other, and I think many of the personal projects are not important.

Does the Ubisoft role actually have any pieces attached to it given it's NDA? Looks like page 2 is personal projects.

It's generally well designed, but too long and dense. I would think about splitting it off into a few different roles depending on what you're applying for. Leave the full timeline for a resume.

Generally if you're doing something fancy like this over artstation you really need to nail it, and spending time on designing & producing it doesnt necessarily get you anywhere with recruiters (since you're a 3D artist, not a designer)

[fervent palm]

Remove this ain’t the place for that @severe totem

Also don’t post it in multiple channels @severe totem

[viscid current]

Nope, nothing to show yet hehe
But thank youf or the feedbacks, much appreciated!

[mint skiff]

Yeah would drop it from a portfolio then, just have it on your resume.

[hardy jay]

Hey folks, joined this group as I am desperately looking for remote work in unreal engine. Are there any opportunities for someone with about a year of experience doing a bit of everything? Rigging, asset modeling, programming in both blueprints and C++, animations, motion warping. I've dabbled in a lot more but even with my project management experience I am struggling to find opportunities

[round radish]

#instructions

[hardy jay]

Thank you!

[gaunt zodiac]

Hi everyone. I'm pretty new to unreal and I was wondering if there are any good learning platforms for it (and also programming in general). I am willing to purchase a subscription of that platform if it is good as well

[chilly sundial]

Epic dev community has a ton of good official materials if you filter by Epic made.

For programming, look no further than learncpp.com

[gaunt zodiac]

Thank you. I'll check them out

[pallid palm]

Seconding Epic Dev Community. I think it's a little underrated because it's newer, but I'm seeing a clear trend where Epic wants to make this the hub for unreal knowledge going forward, and I'm seeing it grow pretty fast.

I've seen Epic staff I've messaged with put information in Epic Dev Community that doesn't make its way into the "official" documentation.

[lilac walrus]

the problem with Dev Community, is that anyone can submit material to it, which often means there's a lot of not great information, or worse, misinformation there and it can be hard to sift through and find specific, good answers

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, I tend to use it mainly for the epic made things.
Otherwise you run into the same problems as anywhere else :P

[finite knoll]

https://dev.epicgames.com/community/snippets/x1e/unreal-engine-singleton-object-c this is still there

[shut token]

https://tenor.com/gO3YjbDVo3X.gif

[round radish]

Jebus

[woeful iron]

it's not wrong I guess

in theory

[round radish]

Does it not shout at you for using new ?

[woeful iron]

your tech lead is gonna shout at you for sure

[modern relic]

I've been using subsystems as a sort of singleton 🤷

[chilly sundial]

I mean that's not wrong, making actual singletons when you have subsystems is

[royal lintel]

it's very wrong, not just in theory

[modern relic]

So should I move to singletons then? And use strong/weak ptr for uobjects?

[royal lintel]

clearly

[royal lintel]

but what i was actually referring to was this

you'll just end up crashing if you do new UObject

[modern relic]

Ah right. Well I mean I probably won't migrate immediately but I'll keep it in mind. I also like being able to slap UPROPERTY on my pointers and forget about it

[royal lintel]

no, what you did wasn't wrong

i was making a joke about the new UObject thing

subsystems are basically a form of singleton (relative to their owner) and should be used as such

[modern relic]

Ooohhhhhhhhhhhh

[ivory echo]

So basically singletons are for simpletons ? 🙃

[open ivy]

IS ANYONE FUCKING HIRI8NG?

i have no fucking luck and ill do anyting at this point

i have a decent portfilio but nobody wanbts to fucking hire me.

[ivory echo]

https://tenor.com/view/sam-rockwell-cecily-strong-not-with-that-attitude-attitude-no-gif-10799782

[open ivy]

https://tenor.com/view/smile-work-being-at-work-forced-to-be-happy-unhappy-gif-12599979

i sometimes forget there are servers I should be more professional in lol

[oblique ice]

interesting introduction

[calm oar]

https://tenor.com/view/will-smith-confused-gif-26388344

[woeful iron]

share if you like to be roasted

[nimble geyser]

My friend wants to get into game dev (junior programmer) no commercial experience in it but hell of a good programmer and amazing portfolio with games he build. But he cant land a single job all of them want 2 + years of experience what a sad situation

and there isnt much I can do to help him

[upper sparrow]

Do what everyone else does who wants into game development: start in a different branch to get some experience, then look for jobs in games and realize you'd get worse pay with a shit-ton of unpaid overtime, so you kind of just stay where you are

[woeful iron]

it's a bad junior market atm tbh

but there are some opportunities, so keep looking

also don't just apply to known studios

there's plenty of studios no one ever heard of but make great games and can be your foot in the door

[oblique ice]

no surprise, people will able to get career in game development, saw people who not have previous employment in game development get selected instead of people who have knowledge in game development

[dusky fable]

Getting a job isn't just about having experience. Soft skills play a bigger part of the interview process than most people expect.

[dusky fable]

They might ask for that much experience, but hire the best candidate they can find.

[dusky fable]

Lots of people work in the industry, so it's not everyone. Also not every studio crunches.

[upper sparrow]

I mean, of course. I'm just taking the piss because that's what happened to pretty much everyone in our game design class

[unreal finch]

If I wanna work in a (stylized) film studio that I learned uses maya with stuff like nhair but I use blender and substance painter do you think I could get a remote job there or do I need to learn their software (I want to have a chance to get an internship/apprenticeship there)

Btw these are the softwares they are using I having used any of them and I want to work as a modeler /texture artist for characters

[mint skiff]

Studios are much more willing to retrain you for their pipeline these days, but a remote internship is basically unheard of.

[chilly sundial]

This is not a place for hiring people

[dusky fable]

See #instructions

[plucky hatch]

Yes

Inbox me privately

[half tree]

@native whale if you'd be so kind as to check your dm

[storm pilot]

/strea]

[gaunt mica]

I know unreal with BPs but I want to switch to c++. I want directly to make specific features/projects for a junior c++ portfolio, so I need examples. Does anybody knows or have good junior c++ portfolios? I dont want just to code whatever I can imagine.

I have previous good base in web dev so I already “really coded”

[chilly sundial]

There's no switch. It will be both.

Make some things, paying attention to how they're used and set up in blueprints. You want to have a good reason as to why it's designed that way for a designer to use

[ivory echo]

But web dev is not real coding 🙃

[dusky fable]

Make systems that you can go deeper into the code. Instead of shallow systems for a hobbyist project, you want to aim for something more complex. Such as a quest system that design can make 1000 quests with.

GDC is also a good resource. A lot of talks cover the high level concept of a specific system. Pick something that interests you and recreate it.

[crude perch]

Not the right channel for this please see job board #instructions

[opaque aurora]

This is interesting. Would you say it's better to have two or three such systems in your portfolio without any games or would you say having one or two finished and playable games is better?

[modern relic]

My game is just three.js that runs inside electron

[granite solar]

Regarding filling out a resume section for experience at a previous studio: Do y'all create a specific section for each project you worked on while at that studio? Do you include work you did that didn't get make it to a live build? Do you list unannounced projects and what you worked on for them? Do you condense everything under that one job listing?

[vocal aurora]

Resume shouldn’t be that specific. More just dates and positions worked. Specific titles of large projects if it will help. You can be more detailed in a cover letter or curriculum vitae if they ask for it

[lilac walrus]

I usually include the title and a quick couple of sentences describing responsibilities and projects

[woeful iron]

I listed all projects that were under NDA, with very short description, then had more about it on my website

although that could become a long list if you're in the industry for a while

[dusky fable]

Depends on the games. Solo games? Not really. Games made with a team? Depends on what you did. We don't have time to play your game.

[dusky fable]

Put everything for each studio under one section. List each project, including unannounced ones, with bullet points of your responsibilities.

[modern relic]

For unannounced titles in particular wouldn't that violate some kind of non-disclosure?

[granite solar]

I've only got professional experience at one studio, so it feels rather barren to have only one listing. I've worked on two engineering teams and three different projects while there, but it's still far from an extensive history. I was going in the direction of listing each project as it's own thing as a subsection of sorts under that studio. The NDA stuff regarding unannounced projects is a concern too, I don't need them knocking on my door for a NDA violation 😅. I also assume I ought to keep my education history on it as well since I've only had one job so far. Thanks for the input y'all.

[dusky fable]

You list it as Unannounced Project and keep it generic. Like you can say that you worked on the combat systems without violating the NDA.

[tame mulch]

is there like a new site that has all the job postings that im missing? upwork seems to be completely dead

[fervent palm]

Nope

[halcyon lily]

is there anyone here who would consider tutoring me in ue5(blueprints and possibly a little bit of c++ when its super necessary, for $x per hour? I live in San Francisco but I am also open to screen sharing.

[modern relic]

Maybe try putting a post in #instructions as this isn't the place for hiring/recruitment

[halcyon lily]

oh ok sorry about that

[vague oriole]

The industry is just in low demand rn. It was at its peak during covid and started to plummet last year.

[sacred flax]

the year of the idies

[round radish]

Just last year?! It's been going on for a while.

[oblique ice]

And this year also

[round radish]

Telegram. That beacon of integrity.

[keen sentinel]

or get laid off and try and finally release a game because the job market is pure ass right now for tech (not sure about other markets) 🤣

[oblique ice]

yup unfortunate cycle

[covert vortex]

Hi people, I will soon have the final interview for a game programmer position with will be about UI, gameplay and networking.
They told me they will ask me general question about c++, unreal and problem solving puzzles. I am a little bit worried for the Unreal part, do you know where I could find a good set of questions?

[round radish]

Except that he actually almost won. 😂

[modern relic]

Also a lot more of these tools would be used for Indies if they weren't subscription. Speaking for myself I could justify spending anywhere from $50 to several hundred on a one time purchase of a single piece of software of suite. The problem is that I might not use it all the time in which case a subscription means I'm burning money for no reason which I can justify significantly less

[upper sparrow]

... Substance my beloved 😔

Can't justify it under Adobe's subscription system anymore. Either buy every program separately for 500+ and only get support for a year, or bind yourself to a subscription service for 200 a year

[ivory echo]

It’s ok they’re getting sued by the government for their predatory shit

[plucky hatch]

Hey everyone! I'm currently following a Fasttrack Tutorials course on environment art that focuses on textures using Substance Designer and Substance Painter. Do you think it's necessary to learn both of these softwares for my journey as an environment artist? If I had to choose one to start with, which one would you recommend? Thanks!

[woeful iron]

they're quite different tbh

if I would only have to choose one I would think substance painter is more fundamental, but I'm also not really an artist so idk

[upper sparrow]

Practically speaking, in the context of traditional environment art, you can substitute most of Designer's functions through Unreal's own material editor, with the help of the quixel library and some photoshop. Painter on the other hand is mostly irreplaceable in its role

[plucky hatch]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts! It sounds like Substance Painter is a solid choice for getting started.

[plucky hatch]

great point!
It sounds like Painter really holds a unique place in the workflow
btw thanks for the tip

[flat yarrow]

Hi there what do you think about my resume? Thanks a lot !

[dusky fable]

What type of jobs are you looking for? Most studios hire specialists, not generalists.

Work experience should only be professional experience. Where you were paid a standard wage. The first item on your resume looks a bit suspicious.

Work experience should also have the dates you worked at each job.

Do you have a portfolio? I don't see a link to one on your CV.

[flat yarrow]

Yeah my bad i should have be more precise im actually not looking for a job in the industry but more as a ue5 generalist freelancer like ive been doing for 2 3 years now
I was paid a standard wage for all those but you are right the first one was just two weeks of teaching in a famous video game school in france.
Ill get the right dates
The portfolio is on top where artstation is written but yeah i need to make it more clear! Thansk a lot again!

[vagrant raft]

hey is the manny bot not working? I'm trying to post a salaried job and it's unresponsive so far

[hard frost]

@vagrant raft yes it does take some time before you can do much of the things on the server which also includes sharing your screen

[barren shadow]

this is not the place

use the job board https://discord.com/channels/187217643009212416/780559951663857724

[vagrant raft]

deal

[south lantern]

Hello! Do I need to have a portfolio to ask about job offers?

I ask because I've never had a job in this field. I'm almost finished with a degree in audio production and I really want to work in sound design for games. The best I could do right now is show a demo reel of the unpaid work I've done.

[lilac walrus]

a portfolio goes a very long way in this industry, especially in audio

a portfolio of unpaid work is fine

[south lantern]

oh okay. I can definitely procure a portfolio of unpaid work, including projects from school as well as projects I've done for game jams. I thought they had to be things I was paid to do

thanks you

[grave cove]

I wouldn't say it's a red flag. I've worked with plenty of people from Fullsail who were great.
But if the application has a weird vibe to it, that could be a red flag regardless of the school.

[ivory echo]

Fullfail™ 🙂

[rigid bluff]

I graduated from Full Sail in 2011, it's a tough school... if they can graduate they're at least a hard worker IMO, it's a Bachelor's degree in 2 years. It's not the best school obviously, but definitely wouldn't call it a red flag

[ivory echo]

A red sail? ⛵️

Someone once told me “education is never wasted”

So even someone from a less desirable program might be worth hiring

[modern relic]

thanks. when do i start?

[dusky fable]

Full Sail is definitely a red flag for me. It's not an immediate no, but it's definitely proceed with caution.

[round radish]

That's massively misleading, though.

Education can be wrong or not applicable to the job in question.

Not to say to say anything about Full Sail there. Just a general comment.

[finite knoll]

When looking at applicants before, I never really rated education on its own that highly, it's what they've done beyond the minimum of getting their degree

But yeah, a CV that ChatGPT shat out is one way to speedrun being in the rejected column

[silver birch]

Hey, when would I know that I'm ready to work on a team as a unreal programmer

[plucky hatch]

I don't care school, no school, if the portfolio looks good. can hold a normal conversation in an interview. I'll hire.

[nova crag]

Question about working in industry. I notice that I cannot seem to find even volunteer opportunities for music composing for game development to at least grow my portfolio. Are there other composers feeling the same way, or am I just unlucky?

[round radish]

Volunteer work for a studio?

[cloud mauve]

Guys I'm a video editor
How can I post so I get hired
Or
Where can i promote myself on this server?

[ivory echo]

#instructions

[cloud mauve]

Thx

[nova crag]

Not sure what your question is. I said that I can’t find anything, not even volunteer freelance work to grow portfolio

[round radish]

I mean, are you limiting yourself to "professional" volunteer positions? Or just anything? I'm sure there are thousands of games being made right now by the people on this discord that could use some free music.

[oblique ice]

can also create yur own mini games 🙂

[nova crag]

I like to imagine that. I’m open to just about any opportunity but alas

[buoyant ridge]

Hey guys i’m kind of new here, anyways I was wondering if it’s against the rules to look into hiring individuals for small commission tasks in this server, or perhaps there’s another community that is OK with that type of thing

I’m looking for somebody that could do some small blueprint jobs every now and then.

[chilly sundial]

It's against the rules if it's outside the job board. The #instructions tell you how to post there

[buoyant ridge]

OK, thank you very much

[formal igloo]

Hello, I have read the instruction channel but I am a little bit confused about something. Where would be the most suitable place to post a resume? I am currently looking for a job as an Unreal Engine game developer. A freelancing collaboration works too.

[round radish]

#hire-a-freelancer?

[vital bane]

I need work

[fervent pike]

Hello,
Does anyone here was in Vertex bootcamp before? share you experience with me if you can.

[cunning marsh]

My brother is planning to learn Unreal Engine and wants to focus on an area that is in high demand. He was thinking about VFX and/or HUD programming.

Which area would you guys recommend him to study/focus on more based on the market demand?

[chilly sundial]

Give the #rules on crossposting a quick glance

[dense burrow]

What are the chances of getting a job via Unreal Fest? Does anybody know if that's a place to look for that sort of thing?

It seems like it is, but price to go to Unreal Fest Seattle would be like $1500 for me - trying to figure out if it's worthwhile...

[chilly sundial]

I'd doubt it, it's essentially a dev conference

[ivory echo]

Maybe good place to network but those people aren’t there to hire you

[hardy jay]

Anybody here think the job market will turn around at some point or should I just blow my brains out now? Is there any hope?

[spice dagger]

History rhymes, things will improve eventually.

[spark patio]

I looove submitting a bunch of app and getting no replies because the bots prolly yeeted mine into the reject pile

i'm this close to cyberstalking these job poster

[rigid stream]

You could always bring CV's with you there with QR code to the PDF stored online maybe on GDrive where there are clicable links too, even if you will find people that are not hiring/don't have a business it's always good to put yourself on another company's map, two things I learned:

1- They can't hire you if they don't know that you exist;

2- A shot not taken misses 100% of the time, yes, apply even to more experienced roles, you never know if for budgetary reasons they will settle for you, also you cannot know internal companies dynamics

Although 1500 seems a bit of a steep price, maybe you could do all of that online, but of course getting to know the people in person otherwise inaccessible is another thing

[ivory echo]

Totally misread who that was addressed to 😅

[ivory echo]

Sadly that’s the same in every industry. You get maybe 2 responses out of 40 applications, if lucky

[oblique ice]

hope things does change at least, a programmer who used to be here also told me they get let go just recently 😩

[spark patio]

Why not. Why shouldn't I just send a personal email to the founder

[ivory echo]

By all means..

[barren shadow]

Please us the job board #instructions @naive pebble

[hasty sierra]

Any volunteer 2d artist???
I need a artist who can make a HD game poster

[ivory echo]

#instructions

[dusky fable]

You can post your resume and portfolio here and we can give you advice.

[round radish]

I would remove your contact details first, though, just in case...

[spark patio]

Yeah I most likely need to scrub the contact and identifying detail first

[modern relic]

What if we want to reach out and hire them though?

[round radish]

Then this is the wrong channel to post that.

[vital bane]

Is this group for all unreal developers?

Can we use it as part of our linkedin

[ivory echo]

Random group made by a random?

Def put that under achievements 🙂

[sacred flax]

hes gonna use you as a reference

[dusky fable]

The key is making 20 friends/acquaintances. You need to focus on making personal connections and don't jump to asking for a job. It makes people feel used.

[plucky hatch]

I've done some work in the industry, and am just beginning my Unreal journey. My skillset for the last 5 years has been Jira and Confluence administration. I might be looking for work soon. Could I still post here?

[ivory echo]

No.

Read the #instructions

[granite brook]

@plucky hatch @hasty sierra The other two are right, you are only allowed to advertise on the Job Board.

[hasty sierra]

Where is the job board

[granite brook]

You were already linked the #instructions channel.

I mean I guess I deleted the message, but you should have had a good amount of time to read the original reply from Dieter.

[plucky hatch]

I meant here as in the server.

Per the instructions

[brazen drift]

i have 50k in the bank, 3k monthly expense, got laid off 2 weeks ago and never done game dev before but am a software engineer (js/node). do i try the 1 year to game dev transition challenge? guessing the answer is an emphatic no

[round radish]

If you want to get into game dev to make money, I wouldn't.

With no game dev experience and no c++ knowledge, you'll find it hard to get a job as a game developer, I feel. And you definitely won't make much as a solo developer.

[brazen drift]

i agree, though a year is probably enough time to gain some solid C++ knowledge with no day job taking up my time

but still not a smart idea

and yea the solo game dev journey is akin to buying a lottery ticket i guess

[round radish]

If you're already a capable coder, c++ shouldn't be a hard transition.

Take a few months and see. And look for jobs. Even if you become a pro coder, but there's no jobs in your area / can't find a suitable remote one, it won't matter.

And looks for things game-adjacent, too. Things using UE or related to games.

I don't work on games myself, I work on UE tools.

[brazen drift]

i'm in the bay area, san francisco specifically so there should be some

[round radish]

Oh yeah. Plenty.

[chilly sundial]

not really. not with prior software dev experience

you can pick up what you'd need fairly quickly once you grasp C++

1 year should be plenty

[spice dagger]

Programming is only half the story, whats he going to do about generating art and other assets?

[brazen drift]

i have a lot of sound design / ableton experience from a past life

store assets, shaders to make them unique, doing my own assets if needed

[oblique ice]

That's great, am sure you will make great game ☺️

[restive pike]

Is there really no way to set foot in the industry rn

Everyone wants like 3 years of experience but how does one get that without anyone accepting

Also getting rejected by a auto reply doesn't really tell what to improve

[pallid palm]

Unfortunately film/TV was the main games adjacent space for me (i.e. using Unreal for virtual production), but that's in flames right now.
It looks like the games industry is starting to recover though, and might recover faster than film/TV since film/TV has deeper issues to solve than the games industry.

[finite osprey]

Would any engineers be willing to give me a mock interview? I need to polish my skills and get some feedback.

[ivory echo]

That’s pretty much every industry

[next jasper]

do a game developer have job in india?

[ivory echo]

Yes’nt

[kindred rivet]

Zyngas usually hiring there https://www.zynga.com/jobs/job-openings/

[restive pike]

Problem is for other industries I see people showing like massive leetcode profiles and getting job.

I don't even see people getting jobs in gamedev

[oblique ice]

yes, game dev jobs have been in mess lately, can see some of the AAA or ❌ AAA let go alot of people, or they apply but can't really get the position

[next jasper]

Such a huge industry but no jobs

For creators and developers

[restive pike]

Zynga has been having layoffs I think, will be hard for starting jobs tbh

Only option I see is joining like indies who have got publishers/investors so you can get a salary instead of rev share

[brazen drift]

when lay offs happen, that doesn't mean they freeze hiring.

they lay off higher salaried workers to hire people at lower cost

[kindred rivet]

it has? Idk i worked there for 7 years , think they had the least amount of layoffs . But since t2 took over im not sure how things are now

[alpine acorn]

That's just life right now lol.

[alpine acorn]

In my case they just gave contract work to the recently retired. Now they work 20 hours a week and get all the main work, so us full time workers are stuck waiting for them and getting abysmal reviews because we're not being "productive"

[oblique ice]

now there seems to have small independant group appearing alot

[dusky fable]

Job postings are wishlists, not hard requirements. Studios hire the best candidates they can find. If you are only looking at well known AAA studios, you should look at smaller/lesser known studios as that's how people generally get into the industry.

[somber crystal]

Is their any good alternatives to trello that are free?

[round radish]

Clickup isn't bad?

Though not too much experience with it.

[grave cove]

For personal work I looked around and settled on codecks.io. Hacknplan also seemed like it could work.

[modern relic]

Could look into github projects. I haven't tried it much but I'm pretty sure it's fully featured in the free plan

[restive pike]

I'm not even looking at aaa man, it's hard to get any kind of job rn

• from where I'm from the pay from small studios isn't even enough to pay rent

[restive pike]

I heard it from a senior of mine, he said to apply but not to get any high hopes for selection or even interview

https://youtu.be/ga-i89smPjY?feature=shared

I might follow this to change my portfolio cuz the current one isn't helping me

Any reviews or tips

[kindred rivet]

it's IP to IP, i knew people who were also overworked or underworked , shortstaffed or overstaffed on different products. Just apply anyway if you think you qualify. Even if theres a layoff in a year better to be employed than unemployed, no?

[round radish]

If you're employed for 3 months and then let go, that looks kinda bad, though.

[restive pike]

I did apply last year for a position but got rejected so yeah

[oblique ice]

if can interview, thats great

[ivory echo]

#instructions

[barren shadow]

@alpine mesa #instructions please read the rules #rules

[alpine mesa]

Ok sorry about that.

[solemn shore]

Hi guys! I've been passionately programming games for the past seven years, first on Unity and then on Unreal Engine. The Unity and C# times have been resting a long time in the fogs now, so I can only tell I'm a good game developer in Unreal Engine using C++. All parts about the making of a game take my breath away, but the development of the main character is the area that I love the most along with the creation and design of the world. I've been wondering if there's a possibility to work for free for a game development company, to help them get extra hands on a project in development or to help with anything else in the coding to acquire experience, like a kind of internship, but online only. Do you guys know anything about this way of acquiring experience in a company? I would be delighted if you could help me!

[mild estuary]

Okay, seems like i cant delete my post

[woeful iron]

#volunteer-projects

internships are also a thing, but I doubt you'll find one online only tbh

Keep in mind that those volunteer project don't necessarily have any credebility, anyone can post there, so you might be working on a shit game with bad practices. Not saying that's the case, but keep in mind.

[thick parcel]

Hi, can someone suggest what should i put in my portfolio as a programmer. I am a complete fresher

[woeful iron]

projects I guess

reflecting the skills that you want to work with

[solemn shore]

Thank you very much!

[pallid palm]

I don't have an answer, but given the state of the industry right now, this is something I've thought about as well. Not volunteering for any random project, but asking established studios (either indie or AAA) about internship opportunities, even if not posted on their website.

My thought is it's a good way to build a resume while the industry is in a rough state, but it's something I'm only starting to think more about.

I feel like years ago I saw more internships posted when the industry was better, but now it seems really nearly exclusively mid/senior 5+ years of experience only. I almost got my first freelance role this year, but was then told their clients funding them ran out of money.

PS - just noticed "Online only". I would say pretty confidently that isn't possible most of the time, especially in the job climate now I'm seeing of returning to work/hybrid being a thing.

[thick parcel]

umm... what kind of projects? which one will actually make me standout

[woeful iron]

depends what kind of programmer you wanna be

[hollow flume]

When started with a game mod, the game crashes, but the game can be played normally and the mod also runs normally. There is just a problem with showing the dmp file,
Does anyone know what the problem is?

[finite knoll]

???

[chilly sundial]

My favourite career and industry problem

Read the #rules on crossposting and using proper channels.

We also don't provide support for other people's game mods, we also couldn't provide any information about your problem without any information given to us.

@hollow flume

[jaunty sphinx]

What type of interview question we can expect from unreal engine/ c++ developer role in startups

[woeful iron]

Would you like to work for 2$/hour?

[jaunty sphinx]

Even better , just want experience and want to enter in industry

[pallid palm]

If it's a startup I would imagine it's more informal and more of a culture fit, to see if you click with the team and how they work.

[woeful iron]

if you fit the culture but have 0 skills, no one is gonna hire you

[pallid palm]

Oh yeah, to clarify I'm assuming they have already reviewed this person's website/resume and are interested enough to have an interview.

I mean in contrast to what I hear in bigger tech companies that have long, formal processes, potential live coding tests, etc.

[woeful iron]

I worked for 2 indie studios

the first gave me a small game project to make in the span of a week before the interview

the second asked me to code up something live like a homing missile

[pallid palm]

oof, yeah, I have worked as a dev in non-gaming spaces with Unreal, so that's a difference.

I was talking to a senior level designer in AAA who said he still has to do long elaborate level design tests for new jobs, and how awful it is.

[woeful iron]

if at this point I get a coding test for an upcoming job I just cancel the application process lol

but as a junior looking for you first job you don't have that luxury

[pallid palm]

ha, good for you! The tests really should be paid - other industries do paid tests, and that's fine.
But very true about a junior role.

[cerulean pivot]

Hello, i just finished the 4th exam of my school and im looking for practice on Unreal Engine , i sent my CV to some companies and i keep sending when i see a new one, they dont seem to replay even when i tell them that i have a portfolio ,
So is pretty hard to get into the things ,
What's the best to do ?

[oblique ice]

do courses at epic developer, continue learning, or keep apply 👍🏻

[vague oriole]

Not getting a reply is normal. It happens to most people trying to break into the industry Best thing to do is keep working on yourself and enhancing your skills, but it takes a whole lot of luck as well. It's also important to be commited and don't give up. I applied to like 50+ companies after I graduated and only one of them replied back which is where I work now.

[wary idol]

why does that sound like an LLM wrote it
*also this is not the place for this, take a look at job boards #instructions *

[vague oriole]

because it's got all the buzz words

[vague oriole]

Controversial opinion: Cover letters are completely useless. It's just a verbose version of what's already on your resume but in essay format.

[mint skiff]

that isn't what a cover letter is 👍

[ivory echo]

Your opinion is irrelevant though, what matters is what the potential employer expects from you, not what you want.

Not that I don’t also abhor them but it’s the world we live in

[oblique ice]

Hm I don't even have the cover letter or whatever is it 😅

[ivory echo]

Maybe it’s not a thing in your country

[steel creek]

It's supposed to be why you're applying for the job not a reiteration of your existing skills.

It's also supposed to inform them of how you would use your vast experience to improve their business.

[round radish]

I've heard of people just sending art station links or whatever when they apply for jobs. No resume. No cover letter. What do these people expect?!

[autumn prairie]

a job?

[feral lily]

It's totally wrong, not agreeing to that, that wasn't what Cover Letter is

[feral lily]

Can you send me a DM?

[feral lily]

Can you just send me a DM on this? @granite solar

[lilac walrus]

Cover letters are useful for explaining your interest in a given company or role, information which would not be present in your CV. You can also include other useful information.

[fervent palm]

Honestly you don’t know what the f*uck you’re on about cover letters are definitely not similar to you’re cv at all they just show the employer you’re interest into the role @vague oriole

[ivory echo]

just realized a bunch of us fell for that obvious troll trap, I mean just look at the dude's username lol

[oblique ice]

ouh haha

[south lantern]

Hey all, sorry for this very inexperienced question. Please don't 💩 on me for having zero prior project management or hiring experience. I'm just looking for advice.

For the past couple weeks I've been planning and mapping out an rpg style game. Due to the size of the game and my inexperience in areas like animation, 3d modelling, coding, etc (my main skill is audio and sound design), it's not realistic for me to try and do everything on my own. I'd like to hire some professionals so that we can create a breath taking game that is full of time and care. I don't exactly have a large pile of cash laying around (I do gig work just to scrape by).

So finally to my question...
I've heard of developers turning to the community and starting a Kickstart fundraiser. Is this a reasonable way to raise funds in order to hire a small development team? Am I an A-hole for thinking anyone would want to work for someone with no experience managing a project?

[upper sparrow]

Sorry to tell you, but your story is extremely common and success is so unlikely that I cannot even think of a single success story that you could aspire to. That's just not how it works.

[kindred rivet]

I think for kickstarters you need a prior fan base if you want it to succeed .
Otherwise make small goals I think and only hire freelancers if you def know somethings going into the final version . So like generic models and animation for filler.
But I don’t think you can find many cheap engineers , might have to bite the bullet and do that part yourself or offer a rev share .
Idk it’s complicated , but If you have a definite scope , goal , and it’s not overly ambitious it shouldn’t be that expensive imo

[tight gazelle]

i'm pretty new to all this and sometimes it can get pretty overwhelming and from time to time i wanna give it up, does anyone have any advice for not being so overwhelmed so much?

[mint skiff]

Think less do more

Break stuff down into very small, manageable tasks

[tight gazelle]

that ultra-realistic game bodycam where the POV looks like a camera was made by 2 people

[wary idol]

not to dismiss the work but 90% of the content in that game is marketplace assets

[tight gazelle]

that's fair, but to me there's kind of a beauty in that like doing a lot with a little unless they spent like a ton of money on it then idk there 😂 😂

like even if they did spend like $400 or like $1000 on it though the amount of money they made from it is nutty (idk if its accurate)

[chilly sundial]

While it is cool, note they are viral and newsworthy for a reason:
It's exceedingly rare to make a living off indie, let alone a fortune

[chilly sundial]

Yeah they definitely had a lot

Pretty sure the controversy worked in their favour too, brought a lot of eyes on their side

[ivory echo]

Uh yes, it was impressive considering, but you should prly read the reviews on Steam. Pretty sure a bunch of people refunded the game because as cool as it looked, their obvious lack of gamedev experience made for a shitty, broken game. But I’m sure a lot of people were past the refund period so I guess profit is profit

Ideas are like a-holes, everyone has one. Actually making a decent game that may or may not actually turn a profit takes years of hard work and dedication. Making yourself stick to it is hard enough as it is, getting a team to do this for potential revshare is likely even harder

[modern relic]

also not getting fucked over from revshare is pretty hard. you need solid contracts which cost money to get lawyers to vet.

[uncut pilot]

Do random people on the internet collaborate to make games? How can I join?

[chilly sundial]

Go look around any game jams.
Some people do it in #rev-share-jobs too, but if you want to go into that don't expect the game to release or make money, or for you to get any if it does.

[daring sleet]

I am on a similar pursuit. I have 3+ years of experience as a Games Programmer and planning to pursue a Masters in the US with the hopes of getting better job opportunities that unfortunately I don't find in my country.

Did you mean to say they won't sponsor H1B unless you're on a senior level even if you have job experience including a degree ?

[tiny carbon]

What kind of courses, schools or other educational outlets (acredited internet sites or w/e) should I look into to learn C++

I'm looking for actual courses ( I know there's a lot of free available resources, I'd be utilizing those while taking my classes)

I'm just looking for a better direction so that say if i go to a college I'm not filling my thing up with filler courses that take me on and off the path i want to pursue

[open ivy]

Does anyone do portfolio reviews?

I’ve been rejected from a couple jobs so far and I want to know what I’m doing wrong

[oblique ice]

If you want try the voicechat, maybe some in there are happy to look at what you make, hope that help

[rancid rune]

Hello Everyone, does anyone know of a good place to hire an unreal tutor? I want help walking through how to setup my animation caches for creating an animation blueprint that can utilize some of the procedural aspects of unreal. I don't think I need that much help but it would be nice bouncing my plan off of an expert.

[fervent palm]

I don’t an “unreal tutor” is an actual thing

[rancid rune]

As long as the person has successfully implemented what I'm looking to do, I believe they should be able to help. I'm also willing to pay for their time so it would be more legitimate like a tutor session

[ivory echo]

Try #hire-a-freelancer using #instructions

[vague oriole]

Keep in mind that just because you got rejected from a couple jobs doesn't necessarily mean you're doing something wrong. That being said, it's always good to get feedback on your resume/portfolio.

[restive pike]

how many project would you like to see on a resume for a entry/jnr and what kind of projects would you like to see

so far the people I have seen getting placed have been doing some low level development stuff and not much game stuff per say

[mint estuary]

hi , I want to apply to some game dev companies but most of them say that the required qualification is "graduation in Computer science , game design or a related field". But I am from ECE(Electronics and communication Engineering) background . So if I apply to such companies , will my resume get automatically filtered out?

And currently my portfolio consists of just 2 itch io game projects besides some udemy courses on game dev, so I doubt whether it is that much of a portfolio to apply for the game dev companies ? Any advice?

[round radish]

You might want to work you way into an adjacent field.

[mint estuary]

And what are those adjacent fields? Can't I directly apply for the game dev roles?

[fervent palm]

Not with you’re background qualifications you need games design, game art, or programming qualifications for games work if the employer asks for it

[vague oriole]

I wouldn't reccomend listing Udemy courses on your portfolio or resume/CV.

[gritty hinge]

Hello friends, I have a question, which section does employers hire in this sector blueprint or c++ ?

[spice dagger]

Please refer to the Job Board. It explains everything #instructions

Look through #salary-jobs #freelance-jobs to see how our Job Listings are formatted.

[chilly sundial]

I took that to mean "do people get hired to use bp or c++", in which case, it depends on the role you're going for. BP won't be hired by itself, it's always with a supplementary skill like Game Design.

If you're looking for a programming role, it willbe C++

[dusky fable]

Yes I did mean to say that studios don't sponsor visas for anything below senior level. Especially now with the layoffs and studio closures.

A Masters degree doesn't actually make you a better candidate, especially if it's a games degree. The only benefit you get is a short term visa, which might cross you into senior level, but it's a very expensive thing to try for an unknown benefit.

[dusky fable]

Depends entirely on the role you are applying for. A programmer portfolio has different requirements than a designer portfolio.

[ivory echo]

<@&213101288538374145> scammer ⬆️

[fluid kindle]

do solo devs have any chance in maket noe ?

now*

[round radish]

Sure. There's always a chance.

If you expect and rely on success, game dev isn't for you, though.

[autumn prairie]

If you expect and rely on success, entrepreneurship is not for you.

[woeful iron]

If you expect and rely on success, life is not for you.

[round radish]

This is also true. 😛

[zinc raven]

That statement is idiotic.

[woeful iron]

how so

[woeful iron]

can you elaborate

cause it's just a fact that most indie devs won't make a living of it, let alone make lots of money

[round radish]

Indeed. Don't quit your day job to become a solo dev and expect to pay off your mortgage in a couple of years.

It could happen. Chances are you will never make any money ever, though.

[zinc raven]

Because when you do anything rather its constructing a game or producing an idea physically you except and rely on a successful project otherwise you wouldn't even participate in such actions. Unless you're doing it for a hobby then most of the time you are not trying to make a career out of it or an outcome.

[round radish]

Solo game dev is an extremely unlikely proposition, though.

Most small businesses have far better odds.

[woeful iron]

I think it's more hoping to be successful

you can't expect it

well you can but expectations can be wrong

[round radish]

There are people who literally sell lion poop on the internet as a cat repellent.

Game dev's chances of success are miniscule compared to even that.

[zinc raven]

I completely agree with you on this.

[round radish]

That's why I say don't expect it to succeed.

You can hope and give it a go, sure, but have a backup plan.

[zinc raven]

You should though otherwise why would you create a project and have the mindset that it will fail?

[woeful iron]

all he's trying to say it, don't go in it for the money

cause chances are high you won't make any

[round radish]

Positive mindset will definitely help, sure. Like I'm sure all gamblers really expect their lucky tips will pay off. But then they lose their house.

Sure 1-2 of them make it big. 👍

[woeful iron]

bold of you to assume they could afford a house in the first place

[round radish]

Maybe they convinced their parents to put up the house as collateral.

😛

[zinc raven]

Our interpretation of such seems to be a lot different.

[chilly sundial]

Not to mention the people that tend to enter specifically for money, tend to make subpar products, rather than going in to make the best thing they can.
Money normally follows the latter, not the former, unless you have some big investment bucks behind it

You open a bakery, for instance, because you're good at, and want to make really good cakes. That tends to bring the money better than someone who just wants to get as much money as possible

[round radish]

Even if they do have big investment bucks behind it, it can still fail horribly due to money grabbing.

[chilly sundial]

Absolutely

[round radish]

See: 90% of the products HiRez/Prophecy have ever made.

[chilly sundial]

Concord

[woeful iron]

I love offline 2d platformers

because I like them?

why not

challenge of traversing levels and new mechanics

what do you find fun about any game lol

weird question to pose

not everyone can be fornite brained

well happy for you

people can have preferences

a 2d platformer can innovate

have you seen mario wonder for example

[round radish]

1 dimension of function?

2d platformers are 2d at least 😛

And there are plenty of other mechanics they can have.

There are pvp 2d platformers.

I'm confused by this honestly.

If you say so.

Mario is super competitive and streamed a lot.

[grave cove]

I think Super Smash Bros would disagree with you here

[zinc raven]

It seems like you're trying argue an opinion and that isn't going to go anywhere.

[round radish]

Says the person who's been arguing that 2d games aren't worth playing.

[grave cove]

what does it matter if it's number 1 or not??

[round radish]

The fighting game scene as a whole (which is mostly 2d) is pretty competitive, too.

[chilly sundial]

Well no, but it doesn't have to be

He can like the genre and it's challenges and new mechanics

If I like new mechanics in platformer games, an MMO isn't going to appeal to me

[zinc raven]

Sorry if it seemed negative. Its just debating subjective statements seems irrelevant since 2D and 3D games both succeed and have their own audience.

Tetris, Super Smash Bros, Mario, Flappy Bird and etc have been successful outcomes of 2D games. They also have competition forums so that's why I made the statement I did.

[chilly sundial]

I always liked the challenge of Cat Mario, but the challenge of Rust has never appealed to me

[round radish]

Rust was fun back in the day.

[chilly sundial]

Loved the PvE servers, never liked the PvP.
The whole "must join on wipe day otherwise some clan will wipe you out", and the whole grinding during the day, just to get screwed while you sleep, as well as it's toxicity never appealed to me

Joined on wipe day once, found somewhere in the middle of nowhere, got set up with some basic gear and a little stoen honeycomb base. Logged off for the night, woke up and had been rocket raided by a clan of 10 :P

[round radish]

Those were the best bits, though.

[chilly sundial]

For people that enjoy that, sure

For me, no

[round radish]

Clearly you did play Rust back in the day.

Before it had rockets.

[chilly sundial]

Yeah never played it that long ago

I wouldn't call getting destroyed by 12 people while you physically can't fight back, "high skill cap", but sure

I wouldn't say joining a team is a skill.

It's just a playstyle choice. It's not hard to form a team or to join one

[round radish]

It's not "emergent behaviour" that people group up to kill others.

[chilly sundial]

working professionally is a lot different to playing a game with other people

Doesn't make them as complex as one, or one

Working in a large team professionally is a skill. It's a lot more complicated than "lets all go shoot these rockets we all made at this team of 2 and then we can split the loot"

It's not much more complex either

It's really not that deep, especially not in the majority of servers

It's like saying you need to be an esports pro to play pvp shooters. Obviously you're going to do better if you are, but you can still thrash people 99% of times without it.

If you're best teams V best teams, then obviously it's got a higher skill cap, but that's not the average server, nor the average experience

You can reach the end game though without being part of the best teams

[round radish]

Clearly you haven't seen the ridiculous Asian platformers which are far harder than beating anyone in Rust.

Or even the last Tetris level which is invisible.

[chilly sundial]

the end of the actual game, not being the best group in it's entirety. Given that's less about the actual game and more just a competition of skills

The fact remains most Rust gameplay is not some Jedi Mind Tricks, espionage mission. It's about who wants to gather more people, and raid smaller teams overnight. That's how most rust servers are.

I have no personal interest in being a larger team, not my playstyle. I can hold my own while I'm online just fine, but going offline pretty much seals your doom, which is not a high skill cap. Beating an enemy that's asleep is about as easy as it gets. And getting randos to join you for loot and free gear isn't skilled either, because any rando would.

And that's just not something that interests me

[round radish]

That's only the start of it. Then you get speed runs. Finding new tricks and exploits, etc.

Just "finishing" a platformer doesn't even get you near the competitive side of it.

[chilly sundial]

It doesn't matter how much me and my friend collect and build before we log off, because it can never beat the small clan of randos that always have someone online farming stuff. You don't physically stand a chance

Yes, because that's unhealthy, and not something that interests me. Therefore the game doesn't interest me

The whole point has been "I don't like the game because it doesn't suit my playstyle lol"

Yeah, Rust.

Like I said, I really enjoyed the Pv£ servers, and the smaller pvp servers where clans were disallowed, and it was just duos and such. Those were much more fun. My whole problem with rust was clans, they just suck the soul out of the game for me.

That would be interesting

Not sure how you'd pull it off though

Would be hard to make each mode good for it's respective players

[red stump]

elder scrolls kinda tried it

They have a full featured TCG inside the game lol

Well sorta

[chilly sundial]

I still have another problem with the smaller PvE servers, but it's one I can get past a bit easier, but still one of the reasons I don't like Extraction shooters.
That is, working a while to build up gear, then losing nearly everything in a split second due to a mistake, a cheater, or a better player. Really kills the motivation to start again for me, losing hours of work in the blink of an eye.

PvP in general I'm less of a fan of in general, though there's still a lot of it I enjoy, but I trend towards the ones that aren't a complete reset

[round radish]

Tarkov is great for that. Literally mostly cheaters.

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, by no means am I saying to change the game. I don't think I'd ever do that. I recognize that plenty of people enjoy that, I'm just one of the few that doesn't, so I go to find alternate means of scratching the itch.

Other thing I liked about the PvE scene on rust was the custom gameplay and the community. Absolutely 0 toxicity, made some good friends playing that. Everyone was so friendly.
It's quite refreshing to team up with people to tackle something together and not be in constant competition.

[chilly sundial]

I've heard. It's not great.

An example? I don't think I've ever heard of it before

[round radish]

The same is probably true for Rust.

[chilly sundial]

Never came across cheaters personally in Rust, but I know they're there for sure

[round radish]

What was the game with the predictable recoil and ridiculous aim assist for controllers? Finals?

[chilly sundial]

Back when I used to play CS, the amount of people that had AHK scripts for the AK and M4 recoil was insane

[round radish]

If your cheats can't compensate for random recoil and still headshot everyone 30v1, it's a pretty poor cheat.

[chilly sundial]

I always liked the idea of a semi roguelite.
Like run a dungeon, collect gear, if you die you lose everything you collected, if you beat it, you keep it all

Unfortunately I don't see how you could without fundamentally changing the game

[round radish]

Lots of games are like this.

Ultima Online is like this.

[woeful iron]

I never said it's only in 2d platformers though, I said it's an enjoyable thing in 2d platformers

if you can only enjoy unique things in a genre, you won't enjoy many genres

cause they all blend into eachother in some way

[static shale]

hey, quick question, does anyone know where i could get a portfolio review? i have had no luck getting back into the games industry or even getting invited for an interview and i really wonder if my work is just not up to par or if it could be another reason

[chilly sundial]

Post it here and people will look 🙂

[mint skiff]

Polycount.com, here, community events/meetups near you

[feral wasp]

I remember when I was talking to a company that made "video games" to train military personnel, they said that when they looked at a portfolio they were looking for game assets that looked really good, but also that had good documentation about the process of creating that asset. They were looking for proficiency in the whole pipeline of asset creation, not just what your finished product looked like.

Also I would recommend keeping your portfolio clean, don't clutter it with everything you've ever done. Pick a few personal projects, or projects you've done for money (if allowed), and flesh those out.

[mint estuary]

But why though? Currently my resume already looks a bit less in length.

If I remove them , I am left with only 2 itch io games that I did.

And I have no work experience. I am looking to apply for fresher jobs if there are any.

[woeful iron]

make more stuff 🤔

doesn't all need to be finished games btw

[oblique ice]

have developer diary 🙂

[woeful iron]

idk if anyone cares about that tbh

for recruiting

[static shale]

How throughly do you think a breakdown should be? For instance should i share complete breakdowns of material graphs or a wide screenshot with paramater breakdowns and previews?

[vague oriole]

Udemy has a pretty bad reputation and their certificates aren't something of value. It's like the same as listing YouTube tutorials you've watched on your resume.

[feral wasp]

I think this is a good example: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xDDNg4

Things like showing the wireframe and UV breakdown are things that I would be looking for if I was hiring. Also the detailed close-up shots show modeling/texturing proficiency. Although, you don't want every asset on your portfolio to be as in-depth as that. Do that for your BEST thing in your portfolio, then just do a few shots and perhaps a wireframe for others pieces you want to include.

If you create a material that you think is complicated or very specific for the project, including some information about it could be interesting.

At the end of the day, it's about showcasing your asset/game in the most informative and least bloated way possible. These people are having to look over tons and tons of portfolios all the time. You need to have pieces in your portfolio that will make you stand out from others. Something to keep in mind is tailoring your portfolio for the type of work you want to do.

Do you want to be an environment designer? Showcase that and the process. Want to be an asset modeler/creator? Show your best assets and showcase them similar to the link above.

This is also just my personal experience in the industry. Others might have different experiences and perspectives.

[small marsh]

is 4$ per hour good?

[vague oriole]

No, but it depends where you live and what work you're doing

[scarlet bane]

not at all. Compare it to, what you normally get paid on your daily job. Is "your time" worth 4$ for what youre doing? If not, increase it to what you think is a fair price. I make around 6k$ a month on my daily job, working 8 hours a day. thats around 34$ an hour. If what you do, is good work, and if you get the job done quick, and normally get good feedback and satisfied customers, then i would say a normal 20$ an hour is a fair prise. But again, not knowing what you do, and just taking this as an "all around".

you might also consider thinking about the "started hour". Do you get 4$ pr started hour, or only 2$ if youre done in 30min..

[fervent palm]

No it ain’t and I got no idea why you would think that it’s good either

[mint estuary]

But how can I list a game on the resume that has not even succeeded in prototyping and still is a buggy mess?

[mint estuary]

Can you explain more about that Developer diary? Any examples of how to put those things on a resume?

[chilly sundial]

The point is that it is a good prototype and isn't a buggy mess

It doesn't have to be a released project, but it does have to show skill and thought and some level of polish

Tech demos are also great, normally a single feature, with careful consideration, planning and execution

[mint estuary]

But where and how do I showcase it?

[chilly sundial]

Videos on your portfolio website, code on github, talking about challenges faced during development and how you overcame them. Talk about the reasons why you made certain choices etc.

[oblique ice]

is actually like history and record of your game, except have show abit more on how game really started or sharing early stage of your game, hope that help 🙂

[mint estuary]

Thanks guys!

By the way , is youtube mandatory to showcase the projects in video format? If yes , can I create separate youtube channels for the same email account?

[finite knoll]

Is this bait

[ivory echo]

Idk about mandatory but at least the domain is trusted by most. Yes, you can create multiple channels from the same email account

[mint estuary]

Thanks

[grave sail]

Does anyone know any other servers with a Job board similar to this where I can look for work? or any website besides fiverr and upwork

[round radish]

LinkedIn?

[mint estuary]

Did you try "Work with Indies" discord server? It is all about the career and finding jobs in game dev industry. They do resume/portfolio reviews too. They have a separate channel for job postings as well.

[grave sail]

I'll try that, thank you so much

[grave sail]

We're mostly looking for freelance work and linkedin seems to have only jobs

or contract work

[mint estuary]

my pleasure 🙂

[round radish]

He did say other than here 😛

[ivory echo]

Oops 😅

[grave sail]

I appreciate the thought though^^

[small marsh]

is there a difference between backend dev and network programmer (idk whats the name)?

[chilly sundial]

If you read the rules and the description of this channel, it mentions this is not the place for getting work.

Post to the job board instead. #instructions tells you what you need.

[ivory echo]

Also this is an Unreal server lol

[woeful iron]

https://tenor.com/view/vsauce-michael-or-is-it-gif-19808095

[silver birch]

are most of game dev work handled remotely

like what if i wanna do this stuff full time can i do it from my home or do i have to go to the company or smthing

[ivory tundra]

Depends on the company. Some allow full remote, some have a hybrid model, some require you to be in the office.

[silver birch]

can i even work from other country if the job is remote ?

[ivory tundra]

tricky question - depends on the contries involved (tax stuff etc.) out of my scope of knowledge -> but will also depend on the company

[woeful iron]

again depends on the company and regulations

[silver birch]

so like are there companies who permit that ?

[woeful iron]

yes

[silver birch]

and what would you choose free lancing or full time , like which one is better ?

[woeful iron]

often times when you're completely in another country, they prefer for you to work as freelancer instead of employee though to make their life easier

but still, depends on situation

[silver birch]

pay remains the same ?

[woeful iron]

who am I to say

[silver birch]

i mean not some drastic change ....

[woeful iron]

depends

[chilly sundial]

Also good luck freelancing reliably and profitably out of the gate

The chances of finding a good fully remote gig out of the gate are slim

[woeful iron]

there is not a universal ruleset on how companies work in these kinds of things

indeed, if you have no experience at all, it will not be easy to find fully remote work

[silver birch]

i thought i could get some rough idea ...

do companies ofter hire free lancers and if they do are they paid standardly ?

like in us dollars

[woeful iron]

well if the company is in US it will probably be in USD

if not, not so likely

[chilly sundial]

The most I've found coming into it mostly was Hybrid. I kind of lucked out and got a hybrid contract on a remote contract, so some terms I didn't have to stick to. But it's pretty normal to have to go in like 3 days a week and do the other 2 remotely.

Freelancers are super common. They tend to be paid a bit better than a salaried employee, because of the short contract and the lack of benefits the freelancer gets. However, you won't be getting good freelancing until you've got an already established career. Freelancing tends to be more "shit, we need this done quickly, lets contract someone who's been doing it for a while for a short time"

[silver birch]

i thought us dollars take care of currency imbalance so eveyone get equally paid regardless of their currency

[chilly sundial]

No

Because if you live somewhere else, you get paid less dollars. Or sometimes more. Or if the company is somewhere else.

Your US dollar pay for a company in Zimbabwe is going to be less than an American company on average

[woeful iron]

freelancers are paid more in general, because you would have to pay the taxes inside your own company before you pay yourself. Instead of the company employing you paying the taxes, so you will receive more money in your company vs if they were paying you as employee, but after taxes and other social contributions it might be the same or worse. Like everything you ask here, it heavily depends on the situation

[chilly sundial]

Yup, there's some insanely profitable freelancing. There's also some really shit freelancing.

It Depends™️

Much like the salaried jobs

[silver birch]

no no i meant to say that if any company is established in any random country and they are hiring someone not from their country their gotta be some universally accepted currency for which they can agree on for the pay because other while a more devloped country like usa can easily cheat someone from some not so devloped country like say bangladesh by paying them less than avg

[chilly sundial]

And that's exactly what they do

[woeful iron]

yes, they do that

[chilly sundial]

Companies hire people from lower cost of living areas, and less developed countries, so they have to pay them less

[woeful iron]

that's why outsourcing to india is so common for example

people from there will work for less than someone living in USA cause cost of living is a lot lower too

[silver birch]

understood , so what do people from those countries do ? cant they just ask for enough pay like they are giving them quality work

[chilly sundial]

Sure they can ask. And then the company says no

[silver birch]

😭

thats so wrong

[ivory tundra]

welcome on this planet

[chilly sundial]

The people from those countries either find a better paying job, or those people move to a different country.

It's not uncommon to find people in countries where opportunities for a career are slim, end up moving to a different country.

Or ultimately, if they can live off what they do, they just put up with it.

[woeful iron]

it's the free market

why would you hire someone halfway across the world if you could have someone next door for the same pay

with a bunch of extra complications

[silver birch]

imagine going to a diffrenct country so you get paid enough and then you find out oh wow expenses are out of the charts

[chilly sundial]

Companies are always going to go for the cheapest route, at the sacrifice of their people.
It's a balance betweeen keeping things as cheap as possible, and keeping people just happy enough to not leave

[chilly sundial]

Another incredibly real situation

[woeful iron]

maybe do research before moving though

[chilly sundial]

It doesn't stop some though :P

[silver birch]

well even for people from those underdevloped nations might prefer that because well even less pay compared to us is high pay compared to their own country

[chilly sundial]

I've heard of people moving to London and being like "wow it's expensive I can't afford anything".

Like yeah you used to live 2 hours away from London, a google search if not word of mouth could have told you that :P

[woeful iron]

that's what I'm saying

it makes sense for the company to pay people in underdeveloped countries less

cause they will accept less, cause it could still be a lot to them

[silver birch]

XD

[silver birch]

• there is not much expense you dont have to pay your rent ( assuming they live in their own house )

[chilly sundial]

The reverse is also true in tourism. In a lot of countries tourists get charged more for the same things, because they can afford it, and the money is a lot more valuable to the seller.

[silver birch]

very common

[woeful iron]

this is why I don't leave my house

the only person scamming me is my wife

[silver birch]

thats why lot of poor countries soly rely on tourism as their source of income

[chilly sundial]

Why go see real trees, when I modded trees into Fallout 🧠

[silver birch]

how do i even earn if im not experienced enough ? any ideas ?

[woeful iron]

work?

[silver birch]

do they accept new comers ?

[woeful iron]

junior roles exist, although less of them are open these days

but full remote junior is gonna be rare

[silver birch]

are their remote interships as well ?

[chilly sundial]

Again, rare

[woeful iron]

even rarer probably

[silver birch]

can i apply for one of those ?

[chilly sundial]

I'd stop hoping for those personally. The likelihood is it isn't going to happen

Companies are keen on getting newcomers into the office. Remote is normally a luxury you're afforded as you climb the ranks

[woeful iron]

especially full remote

[silver birch]

what about free lancing i doubt newbies get a lot of free lancing jobs

[chilly sundial]

Hybrid is more likely, with roughly a 50/50 split of office and remote

[woeful iron]

correct

that's what we already said

freelancing as a junior is an uphill battle

[silver birch]

feeling the wind rn

[woeful iron]

maybe if you're a 3d artist and work for one of those asset outsourcing companies

I mean, no one is holding you back to start looking

[silver birch]

what about programmers are they in demand ?

[chilly sundial]

I mean you can freelance. It'll just be something like Fiverr, in which case you'd better get used to the idea of living in a tent and eating tins of beans over a campfire. :P

[woeful iron]

but don't get your hopes up

[chilly sundial]

Programmers are always in demand, but junior roles can be scarce atm. Industry isn't in a great state.

Your best bet is to keep browsing, applying, and accept that having to go into the office is an almost certainty

[woeful iron]

tbh it's likely to be beneficial for you too

especially in the start of your career

you can learn a lot by being around people that know more than you

[silver birch]

again one big question , when would i know im ready

[chilly sundial]

Though I'm shocked that more people don't try to do this. When I started mine, it was frequently expressed that it was refreshing to have a placement student that can absorb knowledge and take criticism

Why would you start a job as the bottom rung on the ladder and not try to learn

it baffles me

[woeful iron]

some people think they already know everything I guess

[chilly sundial]

How much knowledge of the engine do you have? What job are you going for?

[silver birch]

well i am familiar with blue print of course not all of it , thing is i dont wanna go ahead as a unreal programmer without knowing lot of c++ api so i started working on that

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, you won't get a programming job without C++

You won't use BP much if at all, outside of quick tests and demos

[silver birch]

you see i know c++ real well because i have been into competetive programming and also from cs back ground but unreal cpi gives me night mare because there is not much material avlaible online for me to go through

[chilly sundial]

You'll want a good grasp of the language as a whole, outside of unreal.
You'll also want a good grasp of it's usage in unreal.

You'll also want a portfolio of things you've made. A common one I've seen is to make various bits of tooling/game framework, paying specific attention to why and how a designer would use it.

[chilly sundial]

The source code is your friend

[woeful iron]

if you really know c++ that well, unreal is not that hard tbh

read pins in #cpp

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, it's pretty easy if you have a good grasp of the language

[woeful iron]

I had been learning/doing c++ for 4 years before ever using unreal, I got rolling in about a day and a half and then just learn things when you need them

it's not that hard tbh imo

[silver birch]

wow

didnt you had issues with all the predefined classes and templates

well i guess i should be working hard
also as a devloper in a studios or company am i responsible for only the game optimization and debugging , devlopment or am i expected to do more

[woeful iron]

what do you mean by more

development is a broad term that can cover pretty much everything lol

[silver birch]

I meant network optimization and stuff

[woeful iron]

can again depend on the company

if you work in a small indie studio, you will probably be expected to do pretty much anything

if you work in a big studio, profiles are usually more specialized

[silver birch]

Hmm understandable

[chilly sundial]

Yeah, again, this can depend too :P
Some roles have considerable overlap

It's so nice and easy when there's no definitive answer for anything 🥰

[strange plinth]

how does this sounds ?

being honest there
i find it hard (and somehow useless) to give example of systems i made and explaining it in a few words

but like someone said here #programmer-hangout message, the skills list is kinda average, giving more details with the right column is probably what gives more interesting info for real dev recruiters

[woeful iron]

by IA I guess you mean AI, but you're french?

or is that something else?

[strange plinth]

a fuck

there is so many stuff like this between french and english its annoying

i need to corect that, thanks Dieter

[strange plinth]

no you are right i miss spelled

here IA only means Input Action (as far as i know UE)

[modern relic]

wouldnt Enhanced Input System make more sense though

[strange plinth]

the goal was to talk about artificial inteligence, not the input system

so i renamed to AI

[ivory tundra]

I'd wonder, what is the goal of this list?
(also, your last "Skill" for me is not really saying anything, I personally would remove it)

[strange plinth]

its there on my about page, i wanted to display my skills/knowledge on UE somewhere else than a CV (because the CV is only sent on a job offer, not displayed on a website, at least i dont want to)

for the last list item i know its not a "skill", but i added it so people dont think (even if its kinda dumb) that i am not limited to what i put in the list

[ivory tundra]

I see, if it's not for CV or application that's fine indeed, thought it was for some more formal.

[strange plinth]

all good,
i dont put cool neon aqua boxs on CV xD

[ivory tundra]

[strange plinth]

but i could

you gave me an idea

[ivory tundra]

I'd say depends^^ where you apply etc.

[strange plinth]

yeah

[oblique ice]

and what yur idea?

[gray spoke]

I run the job board on Reddit and assist with r/gamedev. I'd like to spread awareness of an issue.

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/1ff64wp/communitywide_alert_do_not_engage_with_p1_games/

[round gorge]

What do you guys think about this new Certificate course? https://www.coursera.org/professional-certificates/epic-games-game-design-professional-certificate?action=enroll

Would it hold any weight in getting into a game dev career? Think it'll be worth the cash from a learning pov?

[lilac walrus]

it wouldn't mean much to any prospective employer, but it is probably a decent place to get started if you haven't worked with the engine much before

[gray spoke]

it's a free course, no one will give a rats ass

That's for people wanting to learn on their own and not have it be part of their resume.

[ivory echo]

Aye, dev certificates are pointless for resumes but good for learning

[round gorge]

its deff not free. Coursera has a free trial thats all

[gray spoke]

Ah, my bad. It's still not a certified course.

[strange plinth]

Its 40€ per month

[round gorge]

I you guys dont think a perspective employer will care then maybe I'll pass

[strange plinth]

imo the employer wont care what courses you followed, but what you did in projects

[oblique ice]

yes, most them don't care

[tough cloud]

Esport player or game developer which career is best?

[fervent palm]

It don’t really matter which one is best all that matter is whether you’re really passionate about either one otherwise games ain’t for you

Plus show skills / experience relevant to that position

[round radish]

Both of them take the fun out of it when done professionally.

(in most cases)

Professional esports players play their games like 12 hours a day, every day, with very little breaks.

You will hate the games you play.

[strange plinth]

be like me, play ranked games a lot and dev games 😎

[plucky hatch]

Where could I find classes that teaches you to be proficient, efficient and effective with Unreal? Tried youtube for awhile but I found that most of that stuff is showing, not teaching and doesnt give you the reasoning behind the decisions they made or the effects it has down the road. I have learned from it but its very disjointed and obviously lacking. I saw the Epic class on Coursera, will probably try that but I'm looking for a much more in depth course. Any suggestions?

[grave cove]

I would expect better results for that sort of thing from a more general CS educational resource (there are a number of free ones).
You need to be able to evaluate those sorts of trade off on your own for your specific case as there are too many “what ifs” regarding the context that a tutorial can’t possible start covering.

[chilly sundial]

Not to mention you can't be taught those things really. No one can teach you to be proficient, or effective.

They can give you the groundwork, but to build the skill and find your flow that takes practice, and isn't something a course can teach you. Months to years of practice and work gets you those things

[hearty wing]

why won t it move left right works

up down also XD

[round radish]

Perhaps because you've added the nodes to the wrong BP? Like that question to the wrong channel.

[fervent palm]

Also wrong channel it’s supposed to be in ue5 channel

[restive pike]

Btw do we have any sort of interview experience archive or something?

[oblique ice]

interview experience archive?

[round radish]

An archive of the experiences people have had during interviews?

I suspect not.

[strange plinth]

i've seen some youtubers saying they are UE authorized instructor, does this means they used they youtube channel as the "teaching method", or do they do teaching in real life ?

i thought thats this would limit to being a teacher in a academic institution
but i guess that youtube can be counted in the third condition

[mortal bridge]

They need to teach in reach life or a verified online source, not on Udemy or YT.

[round radish]

Epic does have officially recognised training partners. We used to have one at our company.

Whether a random YTer who claims to be one is or not is another question.

[strange plinth]

i was just wondering how hard it would be to get it, if you 100% have to be registered somewhere as a physical professor then i guess its not possible for me

even if you could, idk how much knowledge they ask for

[woeful iron]

and why do you want to be an authorized instructor

[strange plinth]

mostly curiosity, from a external perspective people will more think you are experienced if you are a official UE mark

but making projects is still better IMO

[woeful iron]

but do you actually want to teach though

[strange plinth]

maybe, idk what the futur offers

i like helping others, but i prefer working on a game

im still curious of whats needed to be elligible

[woeful iron]

seems strange to me to want to get an authorized instructor badge if you're not an instructor

[strange plinth]

imo its more than just being a instructor, its a way to say "i know UE enough"

[woeful iron]

but it's not really

[strange plinth]

showing to a none-programmer how good you know UE is hard if they dont understand your game code and workflow

they just see the frontend

[woeful iron]

either way, you need to be an actual teacher to get it I think

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/authorized-instructor-apply

like either at a school or a training program

[strange plinth]

yeah thats what i was wondering since i saw youtubers having the badge, but they didnt look like doing a external job (maybe they just dont talk about it)

like Ryanlaley is, code like me to

[woeful iron]

I have no idea who that is

but I think trying to get that if you're not a teacher is a strange thing to do

and also probably not so feasible

[strange plinth]

two youtubers with fine UE video content

but yeah it was more curiosity

[woeful iron]

if you wanna show your unreal skills, just make good projects

[ivory echo]

“Code like me” is the most ass backwards UE YouTuber I’ve ever watched. The dude takes 2 trains and 3 buses to arrive at his destination 200m in front of him

So if anyone authorizes him to be a UE teacher, then the bar is 6ft underground

[oblique ice]

wow

[finite knoll]

Never heard of "Code Like Me"

but that's quite the criticism lol

[fervent palm]

Me neither

[finite knoll]

I also don't want to poison my YT recommended with UE youtuber slop

[ivory echo]

he's by far the worst I've seen when it comes to shitorials lol (or at least top 3)

[strange plinth]

yeah i remember looking some of his vids and i couldnt understand shit

but imo its better than most UE content you can find

[oblique ice]

me either

[quick loom]

Do you guys have a recommendation for good videos for an old crusty C++ developer to watch to get really familiar with the inner workings of the UE engine? I've been following a few different youtube tutorial guys to familiarize myself but most seem oriented towards making simple games as quickly as possible.

[gaunt mica]

ey, here is my take about learning C++ for Unreal:
My background is +10 years 3D generalist and Teacher, last 2 into Blueprints for Unreal as freelancer and Web Dev with Javascript in some companies.
I wanted to learn c++ for Unreal because all job positions don´t like only BPs. I downloaded some courses, started with some youtube tutorials,... The problem is for me is that you don´t think, you just follow steps.

But I wondered "what if I can improve performance of a project I just started in Blueprints ?". I was having 50 fps when using a main feature and normally it was 80 fps.

Some weeks ago I started to convert the project to c++ only, feature by feature (first I just replaced the GameMode, then the GameState, etc), to the current level of development without changing the approach: now the performance is around 110-120 fps always.

To learn I made use of the "cpp" channel here, unreal engine forums through google (using the prefix "site:" + the web addres of unrealforums) and ChatGPT pro. Using chatgpt lead me to some unnecessary workarounds at the beginning, but with the help of this server and the experience I gained I started to detect the flaws and correct chatgpt answers, and finally not using chatgpt or just for automatic approaches (declare 10 variables of this X names for example).

So, long story short: learn by doing. Take a little project in BPs that you did and start to replace everything by c++ classes (and its BPs child classes) . Use chatgpt as a "boost-teacher" (with Pro you can even send it screenshots of BPs and ask for a c++ conversion) but confirm here the approach. Eventually you wont need chatgpt and you will just pass this difficult first steps of c++ in Unreal.

[strange plinth]

IMO videos arent what holds the best ressources

[ivory echo]

GDC and Unreal Fest ones do

The rest are just useful for specific answers to stuff

[quick loom]

Pretty much was my plan actually, minus chatgpt lol. I find that quite fascinating that re-writing in C++ 1 to 1 gave you an FPS boost though. I imagined those blueprint things were so optimized that it would make no difference. I wasn't planning on using them in my own project much anyway.

[mint skiff]

Blueprints are undeniably slow

Just doesn't matter most of the time 😁

[ivory echo]

Yeah chatGPT is more likely to hallucinate stuff that is specifically tied to UE, probably better at actually analyzing cpp code tho.

[gaunt mica]

it doesnt so much really, at least the chatgpt 4 (the paid pro version). and the last one the o1-preview is even better. I dont mean that is perfect code as I dont have the knowledge to compare, but I was able to compare my BP project to C++ and it works even better now, without any previous experience in c++ (some with javascript, react and BPs)

between not having any idea and going berserk mode with youtube tutorials, forums and asking here
and
all that + chatgpt
better the 2nd option
of course having in mind chatgpt can hallucinate

[ivory echo]

The free one was upgraded to 4 and yet today it hallucinated 3 different solutions to a fairly simple question

None of them were right, obviously

[gaunt mica]

I dont know, I learned to prompt it. and I dont just copy paste, for example it can miss variables (another type of hallucination)

[ivory echo]

But hey if you had a good experience good for you

[gaunt mica]

yes, for a beginner in c++ I am very happy how much I learned with this workflow, I didnt know anything weeks ago

[carmine cloak]

hey
can I DM you for some advice on how to prompt GPT4 correctly? I don't want to flood this channel as it's not carrer related

[gaunt mica]

sure

[gaunt mica]

i dm u

[chilly sundial]

Don't bother for anything remotely complex. I wouldn't bother for anything basic either, because it's gonna lull you into a falss sense of security for more complex things

It cannot do complex tasks

And by complex I mean things outside of basics like "how do I find a header file" or "what does a lambda look like in c++"

[magic scroll]

I looked up Code like me. Indeed his teaching is by far the worst I ever encountered. I know some people are incredibly good in UE and C++ but really suck at teaching, Tom Looman for example. This "Code like me" guy for beginners with no skills might look like "fine UE tutor". They don't know anything better.

[finite knoll]

I think that's how newbies end up in tutorial hell, they only end up finding someone who knows slightly more

[round radish]

That's the problem with tutorials in general. It's "oh, hey, I figured out how to do something so I'll make a video for likes."

Not "I researched the best way to do something to educate people."

[quick loom]

Heh, I looked up codelikeme. This is one of the ones I immediately closed tab on when I was browsing youtube.

[ivory echo]

Hell, I'll even take a decent enough solution over the best way. But this is something else entirely.

[round radish]

They are rarely "decent enough" 😛

[finite knoll]

"it sorta works"

[ivory echo]

decent enough as in, not this taking 50 actions instead of the actual one or two required to get to the intended result, like the guy is playing 4D chess with himself or something

[round radish]

Lol

[finite knoll]

Morbid curiosity is almost getting the better of me

But I shouldn't, it'll ruin my recommendations

[round radish]

Lol

Anonymous browsing? 🙂

[shut token]

Don't. I don't know how they have as many subs as they do, but they literally just hit record and start doing things. There is like zero planning before hand.

[finite knoll]

damn there's a Patreon for his project files?

I didn't search directly btw, just searched "unreal engine" sorted by upload date to see if he'd show up

I guess this badge doesn't mean squat then

[shut token]

It really doesn't.

It's a nice boost for the instructor though.

[finite knoll]

An upload a day too

So I guess it's just attrition

[round radish]

What's so bad about them btw?

Not seen them.

[finite knoll]

The context clues here seem to be that he does everything in the most convoluted, least intuitive way possible

Which is almost an achievement if true

[round radish]

Hehe. Sounds pretty typical to me.

I bet it's full of "get all actors of class" -> "get index 0"

[shut token]

It is just a video of him making mistake after mistake, being confused, and then eventually doing what he is trying to do.

[round radish]

Lol

[shut token]

He presses record - does w/e the topic is, and then ends record

[finite knoll]

Maybe it's inspirational in a way to newbies

[shut token]

Probably

[round radish]

I guess it's not all bad if you can learn a bit of the process of trying things out and seeing what works and what doesn't. It shouldn't be labelled as a tutorial if that's the case, though.

[shut token]

get all actors of class is fine 😭

[round radish]

It is, in 1 specific instance... if you actually want all the actors of a specific class in a level. Like all lights or something.

[shut token]

Oh - I read your statement wrong

You were saying they would just get index 0 of w/e is returned

[ivory echo]

at this point I think he might even be trying to confuse us on purpose lol

[ivory echo]

yeah I've seen other creators say let's do get actors of class for each loop when it's only one actor of that class in the world ever lol

but anyways, ig this is all O/T. Unless you want to put Unreal Authorized Instructor on your resume 😄

[quick loom]

Yeah sorry just saw people discussing tutorials in here

[round radish]

Yeah!

[shut token]

I was thinking of the "GetPlayerController(0)" method when you said that lol

I was way off

[round radish]

Ah lol

That's bad too, but not as bad as what I said!

[finite knoll]

Though when I was considering freelance, I was curious in how you get into their authorised partner program or whatever it's called

You even get paid to answer UDN tickets from what I heard

[shut token]

That's kind of neat honestly

[ivory echo]

I mean if that codelikeme guy answered tickets on UDN, it’d be hilarious, but yeah otherwise that would be pretty neat

[quick loom]

Lötwig Fusel's videos on UE are pretty informative

[quick loom]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaU2Hue-ApI this is probably the best video on UE I've found so far

[woeful iron]

is my guy coding in sublime?

[random hedge]

There is an anonymous game dev salary survey for those who are interested:
https://form.typeform.com/to/c5sBxmiN

[mystic oracle]

Hello ! Quick Question regarding rev Share. I am devloping a game with a friend and we have agreed on percentages. Is there some sort of generic document that is legally binding that we should sign ? just curious what devs here have done if you have rev shared. thanks !

[chilly sundial]

You can have legally binding contracts sure, but they're only worth the means of enforcement.

The chances of you being able to afford to fight it are low, if you're already in a revshare position.

If the friend is in another country it gets infinitely more complex too

The entire basis of revshare is trust, if that isn't there, it's doomed

[mystic oracle]

Thanks for the info ! Yeah hes in an asian country so i guess its even more impossible to enforce xD

But Thats actually preferrable tbh , maybe i will write up a simple contract at the very least with some guidance. We trust one another but i do want to be careful. Doesnt matter how much you trust someone, when the money starts flowing in that is

[warped sierra]

How's the demand of ue5 C++ dev? I see the game industry job market crumbling

Also.. Know any legit person providing mentorship for that?

[ivory echo]

Probably depends entirely on the country

[magic scroll]

*for views

[round radish]

For ego and money. 😛

[woven geode]

Guys unreal says mega scans r no longer free is it time to switch to blender

[strange plinth]

you have until 2025

and you can download them rn for free

also, i dont see the link with blender

[void gust]

Switch to Blender for what?

[wary idol]

This isn't the right channel for self advertisement, check out the job boards #instructions and server #rules

[ivory echo]

To make your own megascans 😁

[cyan heath]

oh sorry!

[tough reef]

did anyone tried writing book for unreal engine game ?
like story telling rather then GDD?

[round radish]

I think somebody came in here a year or two ago and said he was writing a book and wanted to make a companion game.

Not sure if that ever went anywhere.

[grave cove]

You mean just a regular novel/book that has the same IP as an Unreal Engine based game?

[ivory echo]

Just a story about Tim’s adventures

[tough reef]

Yee, just a regular novel for a game where it would tell a story and devs would use it as a road map.

[strange plinth]

what you'll see in UI/UX can be applied almost anywhere, but each domain will have its little plus
so if you learn "general" UI/UX, its like 70/80% of UI/UX you would learn in a specific domain

UX is very abstract anyways

[cold hull]

thanks

I’ve been working with Unreal's UMG for 2-3 years, and I’ve now decided to expand my skills by learning UI design as well

[oblique ice]

thats great,. keep learning

[grave cove]

Oh. I don’t think that is a thing. The narrative requirements for a novel and game are very different.
XCom 2 and Marvel’s Midnight Suns both had companion novels, but those were written based on the story already planned for the games. Not that other way around.

[tough reef]

but if one would write a novel with game in mind, like all components and art and everything ?

[grave cove]

You’re writing a GDD at that point, not a novel. No one wants to read a specification document that way. I’m not entirely sure you can successfully do it for a game over a certain size. Art also usually has its own design bible. And those things are developed by the people involved at the beginning. Not given from the outside.

[tough reef]

so you dont think that can work that way ?

[grave cove]

Maybe for a small enough game, but in general no (IMO). Game development needs to be approached more iteratively and adjust as you figure out the game you’re making. I don’t think you can develop an idea up front and execute exactly that and succeed.
But that’s just me and my experience.