Its a really good idea to follow through with your degree and do the apprenticeship in France. You are lucky to have this system too. The best the NA has is interns and there is very little interest in the US companies to give them a chance unless they are free, even then it is extremely competitive. You can at least get your apprenticeship experience in France and try to get a job in Canada after that.
#career-chat
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Web dev sucks significantly less nowadays than it used to
All the talk about it sucking is just nonsense. It's understandable if you're not interested in the field, but tooling and development wise it's not bad
I'm in Indre myslef :p
Yep that's the current plan
Yeah definitly, that's why I said "for me personnaly", it just not my thing but I have nothing against ppl that like it !
Oh yeah at least back when I worked in web dev, I was specialised on the React.js framework for front end stuff, and it sure helped to find work
For some reason all that front/back end deving (js, servers, blah) around is more paid than say embedded C, system programming and etc.
Hello. I think this question may be asked a lot here but since everybody have a different situation, I’m gonna ask it myself.
I’ve had couple attempts at learning UE4 and I’m mostly interested in level design. As of now I am able to create something which could possibly be called a base for a level. In other words, I use BSP brushes and meshes both for a layout and “decoration”. I’m also quite happy with my lighting, although nobody with actual experience ever commented on it, so that’s not worth a lot. I also plan to redo Udemy course on basic scripting (stuff like opening/closing doors and setting triggers that allow doing it; basic animations – rotating, floating up and down, etc.) because I’ve completely forgotten how to do it. Besides that, I’ve played around with landscape creation (sculpting, foliage tool, and very basic material creation/modification).
Now, to the main point. Due to difficult personal situation and some mistakes in judgment, I can only learn stuff at home, attending university or anything similar is out of my reach. I have a degree in philology but I reckon it’s not worth much when it comes to gamedev. My current plan is to continue learning by myself, making a portfolio with couple different levels and try my luck getting a position as an intern/junior level designer anywhere they’d take me (my first level has a WIP status, I can show some screenshots if anyone wants). My friends encourage me to do that but I’m afraid it may be too late for me (27yo) or that it could prove too difficult without any professional support, as I’m not particularly talented. I’d like to know if my plan has any chance of success, or maybe I could approach this whole thing from a different direction, learn some other things etc. Or should I simply give up and continue interacting with games as a regular user?
Its never too late to start. I got my first real industry job at like 25, and I was the youngest person there
27 is far from being too old.
just keep practicing and pushing yourself forward.
find tutorials, guides, documentation and keep at it in a steady pace.
especially if you want to grow fast, ask for advanced critisicm, dont ask for opinions, ask for guidance.
Hey everyone. Does anyone have a good idea on what kind of money someone can make in this industry?
About three fiddy
anywhere from a dollar to six digits/year
too many variables to give you an answer
How long is a piece of string. IF you cut off a bit on both ends?
A high end animator/artist with strong unreal experience
I am thinking of mostly English speaking people. Maybe $40 an hour?
sounds low end for a high end animator
Are we talking freelance?
especially since they are rare
US, work from home.
isle of man
How long experience?
Well maybe I will explain the job more.
😉
i'd hire glad for three fiddy in a heartbeat :p
and that job would just be me stroking his beard
three fiddy Gladbucks though. they are 1000 usd/GB
I used to own a VFX studio but I left last year and I want to start something new. I also used to work in games a super long time ago and I want to do something that is not so crazy when it comes to stress and hours.
I am starting a YT channel that makes content for babies and toddlers. Something kinda like Cocomelon
If you owned a studio, you must have an idea of what you paid people?
i was about to say
I have a ton of experience in CG and animation and all that, but zero experience in unreal. I am looking for a "generalist" sort of speak that can help the whole project
Yea well I work in the NYC market
Wait, are you looking for a generalist or an animator?
a good CG artist here is like $65 an hour. But this is also for really high-end work
Generalists can animate. Not pixar stuff, but have you seen cocomelon? lol
Well, as a point of data, I'm an FX artist over in Sweden and my rate starts at 90 - 100. An animator would probably be cheaper and a generalist is hard to say as it's a vague term.
$65 an hour is usually someone working on a Marvel project, or a CG Supervisor
Houdini?
Houdini, Unreal, Embergen, Whatever is needed.
by now I think nick knows everyone
yea that sounds about right. In NYC some of the better FX guys were $1500 a day. INSANE
I'd go as low as 65 for long projects. But I'd probably bump that a bit now.
well I am looking for people to work on the next DR Strange
But like I said, Animators are probably cheaper than that.
depends, one company had such a hard time finding a new animator to replace the one who wanted to leave, they offered him a car. not an office car, but an actual car for him to have XD
ok so it sounds like $45 would be a good deal. Maybe if I found someone not in a city center.
@pastel estuary I am sure all they really wanted was more respect and no overtime haha
In the past I have moved people and housed them... but a car is insane
more like, deadline was sneaking up and hard to find them at the time in tiny little Netherlands
this was for a single project? I hope it was a cheap car
or just outsource to a studio in the states
cant remember, was a long time ago, and a brand new car.
Games aren't as projectbased as VFX.
I mean we're pretty much all games people in here 😄
yea. I guess I am looking more for a CG person that happens to know unreal real well
Do you guys think a character animator in maya could move to unreal without too much trouble?
I saw the rigs in UE5 looked pretty much like what I remember in maya
So far you have asked for a high end animator, an unreal generalist and a general cg person to work on animations for toddlers but also a new Dr Strange movie.
I'm not sure if you are just confused or a scam, so it's hard to help to be fair.
I think you misunderstood everything I said
I said I am NOT looking for a high end person. I am looking for someone that can animate at the level of cocomelon. Someone that understand the whole unreal pipline that could help me make animated content for children.
My old business I worked with the high-end stuff. I am not looking for that anymore. I don't know where to start with salary expectations so I am asking
Hello, I'm not sure if I'm supposed to ask this here, but I was trying to post something to unpaid gigs and Manny keeps asking me for a number. I looked over at the instructions, there's nothing there about numbers, same thing in faq-and-resources. What do I do?
Well, I can't offer anything that pays due to not owning the intellectual rights to the overall project, but if you're interested, we need a character modeler and wouldn't mind another programmer. If you have a Patreon or something alike, we'd be more than willing to allow you to post it on our Discord where our cult following is too. @junior nova
I can program well, but i'm horrible at 3d modeling
Programming is a little bit difficult to get in, job wise.
Darn
Majority of the legitimate job listing for game programmers were looking for senior and experienced ones, not entry levels.
Aye, I actually need help with two things at the moment. Integrating Python into the project and being able to make actors with it and we also need a new display system for widgets, so if that catches your eye then you can join the link for the server I'll send over to you in a DM @junior nova
I know some basic and advanced python, I don't really know how to integrate it with ue, and what do you mean by widgets, like what do you need me to make
Aye, it can be a pain without the proper portfolio, lol.
Well, do you know what the widget component is that you can apply onto actors? It allows you to make a hardware input for interaction with buttons?
I want to make a dynamic widget system that allows you to make buttons loaded into a scroll box dynamically and the way it would do it is it would read off of a variable.
Not really, I don't know much about unreal engine's actors and stuff, but if you give me the basics on how what does what I'll make you the most efficient code to get the task done. I'm obsessed with making code more efficient.
I've done something like that before, but i couldn't tell yah how to do it
I've mostly program on unity, but i saw the new ue5 and i wanted to get into it
I mostly know C#
I've already tried to program it, so I could just send you a copy of the files. It's dismantled right now, so it doesn't work at the moment upon startup. I'll DM the details to you though so we aren't hogging the Career chat with design stuff, lol.
Are you sure that is a good idea?
You don't really know me and you are sending me the files for your game?
Or are you sending me some of the game, that would probably be a safer idea
Some of them. Not all of them. I doubt you'd want all 16 gigs of it too. There's a lot of optimizing that needs to be done.
Mainly just that widget system I'm talking about.
I've had to resort to both.
I can't read C++ almost at all
I only know console based C++ and not much of that too
Aye, that's why I want to integrate Python. It'd just be smoother overall. C# has been dying off in the industry lately.
Yeah, I'll send it with the details of what I'm trying to make too.
Ue4 at the moment. We're trying to update safely to Ue5
I think it would be best to move this conversation to DMs
Aye, fair, sorry.
TBF Python in Unreal Engine isn't really practical for gameplay coding anyway.
I've posted here yesterday and now I see some people responded. I don't want to ping anybody and create a mess. In case any of you see this, thank you for the response, I appreciate it a lot.
hug
hug
try 2x that number
Not sure if that’s true .net core is huge in the desktop application field rn and its growing fast
hey I have a question
i hired a dev whos work quality isnt great at all and I found out he stole some source code. do I still have to pay him even though he did a horrible job and stole someones stuff?
im new to this freelancing stuff so im sorry if this sounds like a horrible question
@stark dust this is definitely lawyer territory but I do think i need to ask. was a contract ever signed or was it orally or written in emails detailing the job? is it a full time hourly tax paying job or was it a you do X and I pay Y once kind of thing?
again Not a lawyer but i do have some experience in the hiring and contracting out process. location also matters. if this person is in Canada and you are in Germany or something similar that also adds in details that will affect choice
@vagrant bluff no we didnt sign a contract. all I have is discord messages
I have no problem paying the amount, but am I obligated to pay them even though its someone elses work and they did a horrible job on top of it
was this any sort of business transaction or more of a can you do this thing and I'll pay you 50 bucks?
it was like, work on this game for 3 hours a day for $10/hr
remember I never got the game from him
and you paid him like an employee?
nope I didnt pay him yet
I would do payment once I got the game, but from the screenshots/video he sent us, one of my devs pointed out that the code was stolen from github
I mean I am not a lawyer and Not your lawyer and am not giving you legal advice but there are a few options
Did you tell him you wouldn’t pay him if he did bad or stole or upset you?
if he never delivered anything then you dont really need to pay him
yes
I warned him the first time to knock it off then he proceeded to call me a vulgar language
I fired him already
but hes been going off in my DM on the fourms saying hes going to sell my game and flag me for being a "dunce".
Probably just pay him then and move on
again not a lawyer. not giving you legal advice. But if he didn't deliver anything and proceeded to try to rip me off I would not pay him. unfortunately he can say whatever he wants and there isnt much you can do. this is a civil issue not a criminal one so not much you can do
It’s a risk you take hiring people that you don’t trust
Saying hourly wouldn’t indicate deliverables
But your message log is gonna determine what your liable for
but if it was discussed that payment would be after delivery that changes things
Not any advice we could give you
exactly my stance. plus I dont even know where they live but I assume its on another continent because of the time difference, so I cant even sue them.
quick question. you in the US or Canada?
Im in the US
they would always message me at around 1 AM, so that puts it somewhere in Europe.
if he's in a different continent he cant sue you
not for the little money you owe
but it would be a dick move
He absolutely could
how so?
There’s no laws like that smh
I think he means it wouldnt be feasible
well. yes but he would need to file and pay possibly more money than its worth
Just because something might not make sense doesn’t mean you should count on it though
so if I were to pay him and get the game version from him, would I be liable for any code hes stolen or reused?
yes
so im screwed either way
sort of
i didnt promise anything
again its all up to did he deliver or not.
I told him straight up, get your act together or your fired with no payment.
he didnt, I didnt even get anything
in fact he took my building models
Fired!=unpaid work
you can get refused payment if you do a shit enough job
exactly
theres no criminal law about that. this would all be civil
But he’s paying hourly
next time I'm making a contract
You have a contract in place yeah
not in the paying taxes sense
You say that you have minimum goals
I dont have a contract
I mean next time
You have a message log
a contract is a difficult thing to prove you dont have
messages can be faked
Prove it then
i was reading up in here and someone said something similar when I searched for scammer
If i called you and said give me 10 dollars for a drawing and you said ok that is a form of a contract
Like if there’s a reason to think you saying 10/hr is fake
he could alter it to say $30/hr
or make a fake contract and make it seem like I sent it
you do have a form of a contract but again this is entirely civil
you wont face charges for this
ofc I wont
and he cant really sue realistically
it sucks that I'm in this situation but stuff happens
but it would be a dick move to not but this does seem sketchy
Next time a better contract yea
@stark dust dont mean to interrupt but was the username something along the lines of "HawaiiSurf"?
also do this in email form dont use discord for business discussions
yes actually. how did you know?
wowwww, he scammed me earlier this year
well this changes things
fuck them dont pay
but he can still do whatever he wants online
hired him to do a level design for my train sim and he ripped the models from an actual train simulator
Legally too
sucks because I found out after I paid him
wtf
again
dont use discord for buisness
once contact is made email eachother
use a buisness chat app
just not discord
Discord is fine but yeah actual agreements in place and agreements on what is acceptable work product and reasons for no payment to be made etc.
in all honestly, with the amount of money it would cost to fly here and hire a lawyer for $300 isnt worth it
Like that’s definitely not legal if he’s selling it as his own work, but it should be clear that that wasn’t what you were paying him to do
dont pay him @stark dust
Yes and people can drag you through the legal system for whatever sum
I can sue any one of you for no reason
im just going to leave it as is. if he does want to sue me (highly doubt it) then I'll pay him
and you sent him your stuff. if he does try to sell your game with your assets contact the store they are using
sure
Paying him wouldn’t really surely stop that. But I mean he would be telling people you said you’d pay for his time without any kind of restriction on what he produced and you didn’t pay
i mean so far I havent seen anything from him on discord or the fourms
so im not really sure where else he would red flag me LOL
report their username to the forums and to wherever you found them
say its a scammer selling stolen work
LMAO he deleted his discord
lol
@snow pendant dam your right, I was gonna screenshot the chat
but now it just says DELETED USER
looks like the problem solved itself
well, thanks all for your help
I will be asking 300 dollars for my non-lawyer legal advice
haha
better then some of the rates of the folks on here
im joking dont come at me
one dude told me $70/hr for a blueprint code of a traffic light
Im a bit more expensive than 10 bucks an hours
lol 70 an hour is like 2 full time TA's
@snow pendant wtf
@vagrant bluff what do you do
wait why are there two thors
WHOS WHO
im a she actually
your getting cancelled for assuming my gender
darn
LMAO im just messing with ya
can I get a refund on my cancel?
yall are to much lol
takes 3-5 business days for a refund
damn
what you think this is, Amazon???
I paid for prime on my Cancel order
Contracts protect you too tho Clifton, so if you hire people to do things make sure the signed agreement is in place that outlines your expectations and the rights you want to assume with the work they’ve done.
Paying someone doesn’t indicate any transfer of rights
yes I wont make that mistake again
im now charging 50 an hour for my services
isnt that a disorder
I will only accept Japanese Yen or Mexican Pesos
ETD
probably
they pay me the big bucks to infect their computers with my shitty code
As TA I can assure you that while my full-time rate might be <$70/h (though for a US job it wouldn't be), my freelance rate definitely isn't. Freelance rates are not the same as employment hourlies
@hybrid phoenix I am very much aware of the pay scales for TA's and TD's in the US
no TA is making more than $70 USD an hour
Strong doubt.
Depends wildly on the location in the US
I work in the best paying location for game devs
But it's very possible to make more than $70/h in employment as senior TA in an expensive location
ive also worked for places in NYC and Seattle
no you cant
that is 200 thousand dollars a year
Alright, then you can't. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
70/h is not 200k, it's <150k
150 k then. my quick math skills are bad
Also worth noting I see bonuses as part of the salary, not as separate thing
Im talking base pay
if there was a place paying 150k a year to a TA id quit my job and work there
That makes the discrepancy between US/EU comparisons even worse, because EU doesn't do bonuses, it's all just salary
So I'm looking at this as "total reliable renumeration"
Depending on the company and position, US bonuses literally double base pay
so for scale. A triple A game dev in LA makes roughly 80k- a year
That doesn't make for a sane grounds of comparison
also Ive never worked at a place where a bonus can double or gen anywhere close to doubling my base pay
you must know some special people. I dont know what to say either
Reading the unpaid job offers it's very depressing. I mean, some offers ask portfolio and require experienced programmers (some even require some AAA game published), for a 0 € salary. It's really so hard that it's required experience for no salary?? Even for an almost unknown studio? I'm not interested personally, just curious...
those guys are just choosingbeggars
Consider #volunteer-projects moreso of part time voluntary gig or entertainment than actual job vacancy.
id be sus of a collab unpaid that requires triple A
Though the latter is more common than the former.
game jams and small projects are a good way to pad the resume or CV
It's rare to see a genuine (open source) collab than ridiculous listings that can be read for entertainment purposes.
hey hoodie. wanna work on my RPG? you need to do everything because we have all the art done and just need someone to put it together. It wont be that hard but Im also not pyaing
I'm working on my own RPG tho 
No
damn. there go my business opportunities
TBH I feel bad on myself for not paying contributors, thus all of the contributors were under commission contracts.
@vagrant bluff I can understand that, maybe it's a great way to start and a way to show your skills to earn a well paid job, but most of the offers have a very long list of required experience or skills from unknown studios for literally nothing. Something like "I'll pay you with visibility if we have an unlikely success". Maybe because I'm working in software development for 20 years the idea of work for free it's so weird to me...
Those projects are either scams or extremely unexperienced teams. Neither will help your career. Give them a nice sensible chuckle, then move on by.
This.
Most sane people here took #volunteer-projects as entertainment. Otherwise #game-jam-chat and #game-jam-lfg is the more real deal.
I would be surprised to hell if one of those pro-looking #volunteer-projects listings actually get what they wanted.
It reminds me that job offers written by the wrong department that ask for an insane amount of tech knowledge for a minimum salary. It's clear that offers are just copy and paste from someone that doesn't really know what the tech department needs.
Hi, what if someone says they willing to work for free/ internship. All they wanna do is learning from the experience?
Internships are different.
Recently, the lead of Nvidia rendering research team on twitter put out a job posting for a rendering tech position. The job requirements were essentially to be the smartest human on earth. He then stated publicly if he himself were to apply to that job, and that job required even half of everything listed, then even he wouldn't get the job. He went on to explain most job listings are unreasonable because companies have very high expectations more to fend away the not-as-serious applicants, and people who aren't willing to do the hard work to expand their skills. But if you were to actually apply to them (assuming relevant skills and experience) you have a high chance of getting an interview and getting in, even if you meet just some of those requirements. Don't let that stuff bring you down at all
I don't think that's the line of thought behind the unpaid positions, but yeah, with corporate hiring, especially in technical positions, it's really common for 'requirements' to just be a list of "if you tick two or three of these boxes we want to talk to you"
Completely agreed. I just wanted to mention that because a huge part of the development journey is keeping yourself out of the slumps. Imagine just wanting to work on a project for fun to grow your skills, and seeing a even community unpaid "I'll pay you with visibility if we have an unlikely success" listing require knowledge of rocket science. One shouldn't let those listings deter them, at all
oh my goodness
i was following a tutorial but then i realised its only for controllers not keyboard
oh my fucking God
I just wasted 4 hours of my life
thank you for making my life easier mr. partikel
Are unpaid jobs bad for just raw experience gain?
:no_entry_sign: MadNess#5067 was banned.
@supple timber You should be getting some kind of financial compensation or credit compensation at university for taking the job. In the United States at least, it’s illegal (to my knowledge) to “work” for free. The company either provides college credits for the experience for at least the federal minimum wage for compensation. That being said, the goal or mindset shouldn’t be set around money as you are looking to use this experience as a stepping stone to something better or a foot in the door. The experience you gain / is it worth it is determined by the studio you end up taking the experience with. It absolutely can be worth it if they give you an ample amount of time to being mentored (at least a few months) and give you the opportunity to be part of the daily studio job routine. Better some amount of time than no amount of time when it comes to this. You should pick up team collaboration / communication skills in addition to whatever your job requires you to do. Be smart and do your research about the studio / person and what others have to say about what their experience with them has been like. To answer the question, yes and no, depends on the place and the duration 🙂
You can get that job at Netflix, DW, Nick, Disney, etc... But you have to have the actual skills.
yes
read the #instructions to learn how to use the job board :)
I’ve done that. It wasn’t 150k
I literally hire/work at those places. Its actually higher.
I’ve worked at Disney as an engine TA and it wasn’t 150k
And that sucks, but, that is not what the normal is. I have done this for 15 years, specifically VFX.
overall I have worked in tech software and databases for 25+. If you want to make even more money, do banking and database work.
I’ve done this for some time too. I also made the switch to vfx work. I’ve talked to more than a few people working at different places and the 150k is not a number I’ve heard. Maybe this is in the Bay Area but in LA where I’m getting my numbers it’s not that high
I have only worked in LA.
What are these positions that are hiring at 150k?
From what I see of ppl who left LA for SF, they make more, but life is more costly there as well.
Not playing your game. You now moved the goal post to "starting positions"
reading is fundimental
What game? I’m saying TA just that job title
TA == technical artist. That implies no "starting" position or otherwise.
you can be a TA with 1 year or 14 years
You can. But it’s already implied you have the skills to work at the place for 150k of you are hired there
[11:27 PM] Thor: if there was a place paying 150k a year to a TA id quit my job and work there There are plenty
that was the entire point
And I’m saying the many people I talked to who work at the places you’ve said don’t make 150k as a TA
and you are wrong. I work in these places, freelance and fulltime. And hire for them. But go on I guess ¯_(ツ)_/¯
No I guess I’m done to. We both have conflicting first hand experience so we are obviously not going to just say the other is right
You do understand that you need actual skills. And places pay you based on that? If you have skills, as a TA, and can prove it, I can get you a job at Nike this week at 180k+
Go on keep giving more stats. Like I said earlier we won’t just say one is right or wrong
I literally offered you a 100% remote job, at Nike, 180k+, and your reply is.... to ignore it. kk
Hey, you dont even need me. They are taking direct applications. Go apply. Win big.
Im not even a TA anymore. Im a TD working for one of those big companies you mentioned
They are looking for all levels; even if you think you can be a pipeline supervisor at this point -- they want that too.
you miss 100% of the shots you dont take.
I don’t need to take any more shots but for 150k as a normal TA who knows?
I wont be getting paid at all and no i won't get any credit at uni it will be literally 100% free work just to learn
Why is it so hard to find a trustful freelancer???
You probably need a higher budget to hire people who actually know what they're doing as I think was discussed previously :P
Honestly, how do I know they're not dragging out the hours for more money
And this is with a studio? Small I assume? Not really worth it imo. Seems like they are taking advantage of free labor because they have nothing to lose. What is it that you hope to gain from the experience?
@serene lava just experience
Define experience
Is it their buisness practices you want to learn? How they build games?
how they build games
Have they built games before?
@snow pendant ask for a time estimate per task they have to stick through and double check if it's reasonable or dragged out
Experience. Paying for a skilled freelancer who doesn't need to pad hours because they factored their cost of living into the real rate.
What games have they shipped?
they havent build any games yet
Yeah avoid that 100%
So what do you expect to learn from them?
Would you learn how to build a house from a rando with no experience building houses?
There are soo many resources for learning on your own.
100% free and taught by people who know what they are doing.
@supple timber
Several categories and more material than most would need 😄
what will i exactly learn?
Whatever your heart desires
Literally 100s of courses
Go take a look and see if any are appealing.
My internet doesn't really want to lol
I got 100/80 kbit and stuff
If your internet is to slow to watch videos, you will struggle to work with a remote team as you would need to send files back and forth a lot.
^ yeah. Pushing files will be a significant problem. If internet is a serious issue, books, though old fashioned, get the job done 😄
ye like this image took a while to open @flat gazelle
Books may be the best option then for you for the sake of being productive in learning. @supple timber
Hey a friend of mine told me about this
Is it like one of those websites where someone shares a problem they have had coding and others help them solve it
Or is it courses or
Ok! Thanks! I’ll sign up now
Wrong channel. Read #rules and #instructions
I just had a game dev interview. He asked me how would I optimize a room full of bouncing balls ? I have no clue lol
the hint is : because you will need to check every balls collision against every other balls, the run time is n^2. Is there a way to make it faster ?
what would you guys do to optimize it ?
They were looking to see if you know about spatial hashing or partitioning (ie octree/quadtree type stuff). I suggest looking it up if you don't know what I'm talking about.
Just curious, what game dev position exactly were you applying for
Hey, I have been learning game dev for about 3 years now, firstly with unity and now unreal engine, the college that I study at doesn't really help too much in learning specifically about the unreal engine, only the basics and the rest is expected to be learned by yourself, I am planning to work in the work force and at my current stage I still am nowhere near competent as a game developer, I have looked online and wasn't able to find a roadmap for me to follow and I feel stagnated at my progress and I would like to know what skills I need to be a competent game designer using blueprints and c++ as I if I would apply for a job I would always have imposter syndrome as I am not sure if the things that they ask me on the job I am capable of, can someone suggest guidance or a direction so I can have the ability to have industry ready skills in game designing using UE, thank you for your time reading this.
The best thing to do is to have an online portfolio displaying your skills and interests.
any one know if github has a discord channel?
@steel creek Hi, I was reading up on this channel and saw you mentioned Nike looks for people. Any specifications what they look for? I am just intrigued and interested to hear more
if you're a "game designer", you probably won't be spending much time at all in C++, but there would be some use in Blueprint skills. The real question is if you're aiming to be a game designer, or if you're looking to be a game programmer and use those technical skills. They are different career paths and the advice you're looking for may vary.
hey I am currently studying civil engineering but I am interested in technology so I decide to make a gaming company I published 3 games in the play store but none of them showed traffic I don't know what to do next the thought of having a completely different background is scary as I don't want to do that but at the same time I don't know how will I be able to make a gaming studio fast as I need to earn money also I am all confused
Marketing is what you need to do, it's extremely difficult to stand out in mobile apps because they're so incredibly saturated
yes I also realized that but for that I need money
Yeah, unfortunately there's not much you can do unless you have something that really stands out by virtue of being so special or something that really hits the current trends
yupp
this helps a lot in clarifying what I should do next thanks
didnt think of this before will be doing this as the company will get what they see thank you
If I make a game on steam with multiplayer dedicated server etc of reasonable quality do ppl reach out to you regarding jobs or is it moreso something that you have to pursue yourself?
It is possible that it will happen
@runic grail I've had people contact me about applying for roles after seeing games I've made, and those games was made in a week for game jams etc. As long as its fun they will be interested, also if you don't LinkedIn helps a bit as well(hit or miss though cause sometimes I get offered jobs like 4 in one month then nothing for half a year etc)
Ok thanks for replies
@ivory prairie this is spam in this channel.
where should i post this
not here
the objective is to help people build a better demo reel
not really
did you watch it?
yep
please inform me how this will not help people make a better demo reel
because it wont? This is all about animation.
But good job on turning this into a convo so it cant be deleted
I dont need an explain, my dude. I have been doing this a long time.
I've been doing this for 20 years, so it sounds like we have something in commong.
No one is innovating how demo reels are done. I am creating a new method as to how we can share who we are and what were about. it is a preemptive and preliminary interview
Just change your title to "Animation Demo Reel" cause a lighting, vfx and modeler wont focus on animation.
The tips are fine for animation, but that is the focus
Are you a moderator
yea, youre not helping either. When you can help with solutions, hit me up otherwise youre just complaining. if its not your cup of tea, i get it
but no one has ever done this before.
so theres no reference as to how it should be done
Indeed, in the career seciton, my career advice is: Dont post spam in the career channel to get clicks
its not to get clicks, its to plant the seed for others to do better for me
this isnt the place to do that
thats my career advice to you
again, post it in general
kinda have to agree with ! here, video does nothing what your description and title promised. should not be here.
if anything it should not be posted anywhere on this discord since its not ue4/5 related.
Should this go in #industry-chat then?
i can see that is a better place for it
no, its not unreal engine related.
half of these animations are in the UE4, so if i can demostrate that more clearly, im good?
depends, video felt more like a "look how good I am" and had nothing to do with you showing how to set up better portfolios. dont think it added anything.
wow. i cant believe this. ill go back and do better then
Maybe I misheard, but in the video it did sound like you said you're not that good at animating, others do it much better? But it was hard to follow so I didn't pay that much attention.
I'm not an animator, but for the FX peeps out there, you should know that I review reels without audio.
What i said was that I manage Animation Departments and primarily, I'm a concept animator & Animation Director who isn't great at quality.
About the audio, I know. Thats why its also subtitled.
The idea about all of this is to be preemptive in the interview process
Oh, I didn't realize this was to be a part of an application process.
I thought this was talking to others about how to make reels.
look it, we havnt had innovation in demo reels since its inception
i recognize that half the industry mutes the reel. the other half doesnt.
i watch reels all the time and enjoy the audio
im not saying the words, "everyone, make an animation reel with your VO on it."
im demonstrating what can be done here
Gotcha! It sure can!
and i am trying to encourage others
again, I may not be your cup of tea, and thats fine! someone out there needs a guy like me and im damned sure that theres someone out there that needs each of you
so im saying, 'look at what im doing and emulate this for yoursellf.'
Be better than me
but there has to be a place that exists to discuss these things
tellign someone that their work holds no value is pretty crappy
the video did anything but made that clear though.
Video felt misleading, it was something like How to make a better demo reel or something like that but from actually watching the video it was about animating and animation advice
And the video was very difficult to follow and understand
when you were working under the hood of your car with your dad, did he make it clear, or did he ever happen to implement 'a learn by watching scenario?' Not everything in life has to be hand holding with bullet points
is that a better title then
its not a video, its an image
never had a dad, so iunno
so thats it, not going to use critical thinking some more on it? gotta be super obvious?
No one said that, you seem to read things that no one says.
@steel creek This statement is a value statement.
but to give an actual answer. your video also did not make it clear this was a "learn by watching scenario"
all it was, was a "i did some things trough X, some things trough Y, send me stuff, end"
Guys, stop. if this isnt working, its not working. im not trying to fight. i want to get this right.
ill rework it
ill start with that and do better in the next one.
@! @pastel estuary @flat gazelle @wary idol Thanks for being straight with me.
That doesnt say valueless. He said, it doesnt represent what you said it does, in the title. I said the same. If I though it was valueless, I would say that. No need to tell people what we can read.
^, there is merit to the video, but i think you'd need to write down what you want to convey, and find out what the best way to do so is.
this is 2 months worth of work. This above title is better for what this is. I will do better in the next one.
anyways, I have to go.
I do wanna suggest to read the #rules and check channel descriptions in the future to avoid a few situations in the future.
Good luck on the videos though, I honestly mean that!
thank you for your encouragement Mr. Luos. Sorry about the dad comment too. Was meant to be endearing, not depressing.
oh no worries, I can take it and can joke about it without any hard feels.
Kinda sad I don’t have the vid for context
Can I post a job here?
Take a look at the job boards, #instructions
hello,
I'm planning to do post grad in game art.
can anyone suggest me good universities in UK
Don't. Just go make art. Art degrees are worth very little in the industry, and most places teaching these subjects are far below industry standards in their teachings, meaning you're paying for a useless piece of paper while also not learning anything actually useful
The only reason to get a degree as game artist is in order to aid in relocation procedures (immigration etc.), but as you've already got a degree that's a moot point
ya i get it
but in my situation, I live in India and artists over here are paid less compare to other countries. so my plan was to do job directly in other country but that was impossible unless I have stunning portfolio.
so i decided to do masters and work there
Also thought of searching for Collages which has less fees and use it as portal to work there
later decided that anyway I'm taking risk so why not join better universities
artists might be paid less compared to other countries, but the cost of living is also way, way higher
since we're talking about the UK - have you actually seen what an entry-mid level artist salary looks like, compared to the cost of rent in a game dev hub like Guildford?
don't know the exact figures
i was just google searching about the facts
If you are aware can you please tell
so in Guildford the absolute cheapest 1 bedroom apartment you'll find will be around £800 per month for rent. Your annual salary will start at around £20,000 if you're lucky, on which you'll pay taxes of course, and take home about £17,000 (£1400 per month)
just rent alone is going to cost you more than half of your take home pay
Numbeo's cost of living calculator estimates you need £743.31 per month, not including rent, to survive - which does not sound unreasonable
( https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Guildford )
you will not be earning enough to pay for a 1 bedroom apartment, and for cost of living, basically
if you have a wife/partner and two children, then your rent is going to be around £1500 per month, and your living costs around £2500 - so you need a takehome pay of £48,000 in Guildford to meet those costs
spoiler - almost no game artists in Guildford are earning that much
The UK's cost of living is ridiculously high in most places when compared to its salaries
there are of course cheaper places to live, and locations that may pay better overall, but some perspective goes a long way
moving to the UK is not a magic bullet to have more money
if I were in your position, I'd work to become better at my target role, and work remotely where possible, and try to reach better pay as a freelancer
your cost of living is going to be relatively low, so if you can compete on an international freelance rate, you'll fare much better
thanks a ton mate
I'll take it into consideration 🍴
I would expect a programmer interview to be orientated around generic programming knowledge more than Unreal specific knowledge
the interview might talk about Unreal specific stuff though
if they send you an actual physics test, rather than questions, it's reasonable that it could be inside Unreal
Is there a place (or a mod to talk to) about a user doing freelance work on here that is basically just scamming people?
There's nothing slackers should/could do on either side.
I've had people try to say I've scammed them, and I've been legitimately scammed by others. Just a thing that happens. Be more diligent, adopt better policies.
you can inform one of us (generally pfist) about it, that way we can at least keep an eye out for weird activity and such
this is not the channel for that @lean heath
Trust me, it's not worth the headache.
I've been scammed 3 times on here, I give up.
@pine terrace lol.... did u do a proper technical interview make sure they know their shit? if they are actually good and still producing shit work, then fire them and move on?
:triangular_flag_on_post: razic#5639 received strike 1. As a result, they were muted for 10 minutes.
Hey guys, I've been working with unreal and living doing only that for few years, but only have made freelance jobs and always have something in my mind.
I learn and have learned everything by my own, I really love to write some codes and have fun doing that. I have started with Blueprints to learn the engine at same time, then now I am converting everything I did into C++ and trying always something new. But its complicated sometimes, I dont fall into the holes I get into. I always try to make the most efficient code I can, then I learn something new and change the whole code again to make it better or simple or faster.
But I want to know how do you guys know that stuff? How you have that easy way? How is to be into a industry and work on a team that is not only you? How artists deal with the programmers and that stuff. I would like to know that experience, that I hope to have someday. TIA.
I'm not a coder, far from it.
But if I had to learn one thing its that when you realize something can be better/optimized its not always (more like, almost never) worth it to go back and reiterate on everything you already made. time-wise its costly, your client/boss generally prefers to see you work on new additions instead of reworking stuff. (unless discussed during meetings/during post)
This also goes for private work, going over the same thing over and over again can be a burn-out trigger because you don't see global progress.
Its better to write down what could be improved and move on, and only if it really needs improvement/refactor spend time on it.
if you sail across the ocean one would not sail a day back just because the waves are better that day. better to make it across the ocean first, improve upon the boat/get better gear for the next voyage.
ships backlog
My general advice when it comes to refactoring or improving existing code is that if you see something that stinks and it's easy to fix, you should usually fix it. This is usually just for smaller simple things, larger changes are a bit of a different story. Those in turn aren't really needed unless the feature no longer works, or you need to update it to support some new logic required elsewhere, which is usually a good time to do other updates if they seem necessary (eg. in UE's case, moving BP logic into C++ or w/e) - at least I have found this a good workflow, because if you can clean small issues when you see them, it reduces the chances of them developing into bigger issues later
Do note that "if you see something that stinks" is not "go into your code and find stuff that stinks", but rather, if you're working on some code for some other purpose, and you notice a problem at that time
Cool tip but I can do that. The focus of the question wasnt that.... Missed the subject with a detail 😔
RekG: To answer your question, you get more efficient with experience. At some point if you practice programming enough, then the syntax and stuff isn't really an issue and you know enough common problems and patterns that you can generally apply them to any problem. Most programming at the AAA level is about figuring out new approaches to the challenges that come from innovation or practical delivery and process problems. So for instance you might have to deal with learning a new toolset or engine or middleware to solve a specific requirement for your game.
Rekg: So about the working with a team thing. It really depends a lot on the team. I've worked with some great people on games so I've had a great time with supporting and being supported. I often went to one of my colleagues for new maths approaches for instance as I wasn't trained in that. Helps having that other person to bounce ideas off for sure. That said, in some companies you're still essentially on your own in terms of learning and showing any sign of not being capable is a risk factor career wise.
Rekg: So my advice in general would be to continue to improve your skills, no matter what level of experience you are at. If you get bored of one area (I started as a network programmer), then look for opportunities to move into something new (I moved to gameplay and then ended up as an AI programmer for the last 20 years). But always try and stay alert to trends in the industry and if you want to get ahead, be proactive in learning new things. For instance, right now the industry is trending towards doing live-service stuff. So do you know how to do networking? They're also using more cloud-based service oriented architecture stuff, so learning how to do cloud dev is good. Personally, I'm doing a ton of machine learning in UE using cloud-friendly approaches because I'm seeing a potential industry shift coming (good example is Embark Studio's approach to this).
Rekg: Hope that answers your question. But don't feel alone in this, I'm sure most programmers write code they'd rather not recall 🙂 I've noticed myself falling into holes with my own code often enough, so I fix them on the next game. Or I just make the same mistake and regret it again 🙂
Tenacity is a programmers best friend 🙂
@polar crystal Thank you. I will keep head up and try to keep myself outside of the holes. I am a lot inside them recently lol. And no nothing about that&multiplayer. Always focused on player experience, mechanics and IA. Thanks for the tips
Does anyone have a cheat sheet of interview questions to ask someone for a multiplayer engineering role?
how do i get into the game industry when there isn't any jobs local to me? will i just have to wait?
wait, move, or work from home
@uncut perch I don't know about a cheat sheet. But as a novice and assuming you mean in an Unreal environment, I'd say make sure that anyone being hired for the role know at least most of the following.
Replication Vs RPC, provide a use case where each can be used properly.
Reliable versus Unreliable RPCs.
How to use the different Replication Conditions.
How to override replication and why you would override replication in a PreReplication manner.
Bitpacking and writing custom Net Serialization.
When it's better to use FastArrays versus a set sized normal TArray.
How to get the controller related to a playerstate.
How NetUpdateFequency works.
NetMode versus Authority.
Pretty sure there's more, but anyone who can solidly answer all of that has some good footing.
Thanks! These help a lot.
Marvg: I'd also ask them about experience with cloud-based services and REST apis. These days doing stuff in the cloud is the defacto approach to a lot of things, so having knowledge of how to integrate them is a key thing.
You might want to ask them about how they divide up game services to scale up to see if they have a grasp of the problems of games at different scales. Maybe ask them to outline how they'd do the services for Fortnite as an example?
Maybe ask them about containerization and if they've got experience creating them for UE usage.
@woeful gazelle If you're looking to hire people, you should use the job board. #instructions
:triangular_flag_on_post: Rob3D1on1#3258 received strike 1. As a result, they were muted for 10 minutes.
Hello! ✨Can I post jobs positions for Digital Village here?
See #instructions on how to post to the job listing channels.
Hi guys,
Is there any of you that went from GameDev job to Software?
I'm wondering about it and from what i imagine IT/Soft as a boring or soulless job where you make another bank app, with people that are not passionate about what they're doing and just a place that drain energy from you.
But I'm thinking about getting into Software to check if maybe I'ts not as bat as i was thinking, maybe software projects can be as fun or fulfilling as game projects, maybe even more aaaand the pay is mostly 50-100% more in my country.
Soo anyway is there anyone here that went from GameDev To Software? Or maybe the other way but still has some interesting inside on how it looks like?
I'll be thankfull for any replies(and i dont really know if I'ts the right channel for such topic)
Depends who you work with, work for and what the nature of the project is. And who you are, what you need to feel fulfilled.
I had a blast working on some console apps to sync an old to a new database. I had a blast making internal tools for a company as web apps. Just like I had a blast making games.
But everytime, I was surrounded with excellent teammates or leads (mentors).
In games, it isn't the same to work on a next big AAA Intellectual Property compared to working on a random game by a random company.
does anyone here have experience filing for unemployment? 😦 is it worth it?
obviously there are going to be 200+ different answers to that question depending on where you actually live
is it a good idea to get a job remotely if you have no experience in the game industry?
If you can, sure, why not? You'll likely have quite a difficult time finding remote employment at a reputable place as a junior, though
yeah, how far do you think is too far to commute? most game developers are over an hour away from me
That's a very personal thing. For me, half an hour is as far as I'm willing to go, but I come from a place where commutes are generally quite short
At the same time, there are no game studios where I'm from, so I moved abroad for my first industry job and found a place twenty minutes by bike from the office I was being hired for
Hey everyone, I hope you're doing well :D
I have a (stupid) question..
I don't need a degree to get a job at epic right? Take this for example: https://epicgames.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Epic_Games/job/Cary-NC/Engine-Programmer_R4976-1
I can't find anything like a degree in cs or something like that in the requirements. I would love it if someone could help 😄
(A bit of background story:)
I have started learning C++ a year ago and I have made some simple stuff in UE4.. I also have lots of experience in Unity, for example. In the last months I were interested in software engineering and I was busy writing a game engine.. I think if I keep it up, I could eventually get a job there, right? Or is there something else I should know?
You don't need a degree for most gamedev places, Epic included. If you do not have right to work in the US (i.e. no visa/work permit/residence) and need to go through immigration however, that might prove difficult without degree. Not impossible, but difficult
oh okay thank you for your response, that actually made me really happy! Yeah the point you mentioned is important, I was thinking of eventually getting a greencard, for example.
Your best bet for getting into the US is likely to get a company to sponsor a visa so they can hire you, but again, a degree will massively aid in that
yep this is true
even if i don't have a degree, is a certificate at least sufficient? I guess that's better than nothing.. i have found this recently https://youtu.be/fqNswT0jNDE
Are there any junior c++ game programmers who can share their experience at getting 1'st job? I know its probably quite subjective, because every studio requires different set of skills, but still it would be cool to have at least a vague idea at "What Am I expected to know on my first job".
That what i was wondering, sometimes i feel overhelmed when i read software jobs reqirements with a whole lot of words i dont even know existed, and mostly there are a list of them, where in GameDev It's mostly simple Unity/Unreal split maybe sometimes Godot or some In House engine but Its simpler.
Glad to hear that it mostly doesnt matter and that it can be fulfilling 😛
Work visa requirements are still pretty old-fashioned and rigid in many countries. Having a university degree in a relevant field can help a lot with the work permit process when a company wants to hire you, but the degree alone won't make them want to hire you. Conversely, having a great portfolio/track record of cool projects that makes you a desirable candidate will make a company go out of their way to help you immigrate. But: not all companies have the means and resources to do this, and someone being easier to get on-site/in-country might be preferable to someone who is perhaps slightly better but harder to get a visa for.
That's the primary use of degrees in gamedev: to make it easier to work internationally.
IIRC for visa purposes the equivalent of a bachelor's degree was 6 years of work experience or something like that?
Also, when hiring internationally and sponsoring a visa, companies usually need to make an argument why they can't fill the same position domestically. Meaning the more specialized/top of your field you are, and the smaller the field, the more likely that is to succeed.
Thank you very much for your response. Yeah, I think I will be focusing on open source projects from now on to build a solid portfolio. And yes, because I am not living in the U.S. currently, I actually might attend university and get a degree, that would help a lot I think..
The equivalent of a bs computer science does actually depend on the company. Usually it's between 4 and 7 years of experience.
hmm I actually don't know
But do you think that working on OS-projects counts as work experience? Or perhaps freelancing?
I would look up the visa requirements for the country you're interested in moving to, that's all publicly available information
Yeah, but the work experience equivalent of a bachelors is 12 years. So it's not really an option to most people who ask this question.
12 WHAT
If you have 12 years in the industry, you can probably swing an O2 visa instead
3 years work = 1 year of study
It's completely backwards.
okay no i'm def going for a degree
otherwise it would take way too long
thanks for the information partikel 😄
Oof that's even worse than I remembered
But yeah, told you it was something ridiculous ;)
@alpine robin that kind of questions is only allowed in the job-section. read the #instructions on how to do so.
also: #rules
Is making a solid prototype/vertical slice to get people on board ur project a good idea?
if its a good prototype, yes
I'd read the #instructions quick before the mods find you.
... then read the #instructions ... <@&213101288538374145> 🙃
@hybrid phoenix must be missing some context here or im late to the party 😛
There are missing recruitement messages. Nothing more than that
Might be a bit trigger-happy on the mod ping, but I think this is pretty poor behaviour; come into the server, post in the wrong place, remove message upon being corrected but put zero effort into figuring it out yourself
Particularly because he already went through the exact same process with his previous messages
:triangular_flag_on_post: igalencar#4328 received strike 1. As a result, they were muted for 10 minutes.
Hi. Im fresh out of uni, and i am just full of questions on how to proceed into the industry, how to determine rates for contractual work, etc. Can anyone recommend some good resources to look at for that?
Figure out how much you need a month. Rent, food, insurances, leisure spend. Figure out your locale's taxes for a 1099. That should inform your minimum.
Estimate how infrequent your contract/client work will be. You'll have to increase your rates to compensate for the dry spells.
Once you get a good portfolio of work/work history, you can start to figure out the sort of work you like/don't and what sort of clients you dislike working under. You can bump your rates for these, if you like. Some do.
Anyway, after you get a nice comfortable/safe "minimum" rate, you can do a bit of market research to see how your peers charge. Maybe you're over, or maybe you can afford to come up a bit. I wouldn't engage in the race to the bottom, but you'll have to convince clients that you're worth the difference.
Unfortunately I don't know of any resources for this. Hopefully I've given you something useful
Definitely, thank you
I would usually suggest that most people fresh out of university try to get work employed in a studio before considering freelance contracts, mostly to build up production experience and soft skills that are much harder to pick up elsewhere. It's also unlikely to walk straight out of education into employment - so expect to have to do some other job for a while whilst doing portfolio work on the side.
Yes, I was looking through the small time gig channel and I saw some ask for rates, thought they would be a good time-filler/portfolio builder
So I am moving for my wife's work and am potentially going to need a new job. I figured now might be as good a time as any to look at getting into a different career. Currently I have 6 years under my belt working as a Software Developer/Engineer and I am wondering if anyone who has successfully made the transition from IT to game dev might have any advice for me. A lot of jobs I am seeing are saying that they want multiple years of Unity or Unreal and while I have dabbled in both a bit I hesitate to put that on my resume, so how do I get my resume seen?
if you already have some decent software development skills, build up a little portfolio geared towards your games interests - it may not even take you that long given that you've done stuff before. Point the recruiter towards your portfolio in your covering letter, and talk about why you want to make the transition.
If your wife is able to support you whilst you make this transition, then it's not a terrible time to be doing it - just be aware that you'll be coming into games fairly entry level despite prior experience in other industries, and your initial income is probably going to be pretty poor compared to what you may be used to
Participating in jams like Unreal MegaJam is a great way to build up your portfolio
I would strongly disagree. I do like to see people doing game jams, but it is an additional thing that adds flavour to a CV, not something that looks good as a portfolio piece. For engineers I want to see well considered, complete features, algorithms, or solutions to problems. For entry level, I would like to see examples of gameplay AI or pathfinding systems, or inventory management systems, character locomotion systems, simple tools or rendering tricks - whatever is orientated towards that particular engineer's interests. I don't need to see examples of things botched together in a weekend because they (hopefully) aren't going to be a good reflection on that person's real work.
@lilac walrus what do you think would be the best way for i.e. an unreal engineer to showcase features that he's built? A youtube video that goes over how an AI system has been made?
github?
I would probably use something like a webpage; you can describe things better with text, as well as embed code snippets, and animated gifs or short videos demonstrating the features you are discusccing
I see
Youtube is shite for letting people read information, Github is just a repository and doesn't let you explain anything
Tom Looman has a good example of an Unreal Engine orientated blog and portfolio;
https://www.tomlooman.com/
I'm a Technical Designer, so I'm kind way out there in niche territory
that's actually a term i don't recall hearing
I am to Game Design, what Technical Artists are to Game Art
I bridge the two disciplines and specialise in something somewhere inbetween (in my case it's rapid prototyping and gameplay systems)
That sounds like a super interesting field.. do you have a portfolio by any chance?
I actually don't unfortunately
alright
I keep meaning to set up some kind of blog, but I'm always too busy to actually properly write anything up
heh also not that much need for a portfolio if you have a lot of work already
By the way, if i'm also an a dev with 7+ years in software, how important do you think it's for me to get a job in games industry vs going straight to freelancing?
when you've been around for a while, your shipped games are your portfolio
Can I ask what titles were you in?
I wouldn't go straight into freelancing without actual production experience - games production environments are pretty unique in the software field and it's valuable to actually have some understanding of how they work (and to accept the general chaos of it all)
alright
I've worked on a lot of stuff, but the most recent stuff would include Vigor and Man of Medan
but I did stuff on the Fable franchise back in the day, some work directly on UE4 and Epic's UE4 titles, and a whole load of smaller stuff
Well wouldnt gamejams fit perfectly for you then ?
But I just meant mainly how they are a great way to get started with a project
I do do game jams, and yeah, they fit me personally quite well
but my position isn't a generalist engineering position, and it's not entry level
Ofc seeing shipped work is great and all, but personally projects like that DO add value
Does knowledge with game engine count as work experience?
Though for me its kinda weird, I dont work in gamedev and the projects I work on are under NDA as client projects
so its kind of hard for me to describe my experience without doing something on my own
@sour harbor not really
well that is a portfolio alright..
could I ask what kind price ranges can UE freelancers get? I'm wondering about the financial viability of aiming to be an freelance UE engineer one day
that's a "how long is a piece of string" question really
I'm making 55-65€ as SW engineer and it's cushy but boy do I feel like i'm wasting my life
there's no real answer other than 'whatever you can agree with a client'
Expect to get a salary drop as you go to gamedev 😄
yup
Though if you want a mix of both worlds, try to get into stuff like enterprise VR etc
you still get to work with UE4 etc but the pay is usually better
you'd be entering at the 'ground floor' (though likely progressing upwards more quickly due to prior experience) - so you may find a fairly huge drop in pay initially
in terms of salary for FTEs, it's not unusual for a low-mid tier engineer to be getting about 30,000 euros per year
Someone else said not to go below 30$, and seniors might make something like 65$ as freelancers
but obviously that varies a lot based on locale and employer
I think a reasonable rate is 20-200usd/ph DOE
but then scoping the work and setting realistic estimates is difficult
that all comes down the employer
200usd is quite the rate
maybe if you have a very niche skill and you come for a short time to do that one special thing?
yeah, maybe, I am thinking about a senior UE generalsit refactoring a bunch of systems into cpp or something
more likely a director-level consultant or firefighter
even then it still seems unlikely
or someone famous
absolute top-end engineering salaries tend to cap out at not more than around $250k, and that's only because they're in specific locations like the Bay Area or Seattle
true, but if you do contract work the hours are unstable
there's quite a difference between $250k per year and $200 per hour, though
but youre right, few people will be paid at that rate
as an engineer in games, in Europe I would not necessarily expect to receive a salary greater than around 60,000 euros across one's career
it is definitely possible to achieve more, but that will come with experience and in-demand skills
yeah, I have been working in China, and I was paid significantly under what was quoted on the job descriptions
but I've met other people who are saying big companies are poaching lead artists for upwards of 150k USD because they have more projects than teams, and its hard to find quality artists/devs
for a medium size studio I think the number you quoted is about right
I mean, that's a Lead Artist, and these companies are probably in specific locations
the vast majority of employees will never reach, or necessarily want, to become lead
probably, but there was a time artists were paid a lot less than engineers/gameplay programmers
I expect the UE job market to become a lot more competitive when metaverse stuff goes mainstream and every company needs to make flavour of the month marketing product in VR/AR
artists still are paid a lot less, generally
"metaverse" is never going to be mainstream - mostly because it's a marketing buzzword with no actual fixed definition
but also because there isn't enough space for it to exist and many people reject being marketed to 24/7
btw, Toku do you know if there's some sort of niche use for knowing chinese language for engineers in game industry?
well, when there is a critical mass of users for VR, similar to when the iPhone reached a critical mass of app users
or not just for engineers but in general
Exception confirming the rule, checking in.
haha
@buoyant girder inside China, its basically a requirement to know chinese to do almost any job, unless they need you to do something someone who speaks chinese can't
outside China its adventageous for localization and business development I guess
and yeah, my first industry job had a pitiful wage, something like 12k GBP, the kicker was a couple of friends got hired at rockstar and were making twice as much with portfolios worse than mine, but a lot of that involves luck of the draw I guess
that was environment art in 2012
alrighty.. just thinking about if I'm leveling up in duolingo just for fun or if I might use it some day = )
I mean Tencent are expanding their international games departement, and have opened studios in california, london, netherlands etc, not sure if some basic chinese proficiency would increase your chances, but possibly
Don’t sleep on adjacent industries that use gaming and related technologies. If it’s specifically games you’re looking for then ok but if it’s the tech that’s interesting and you’re interested in applying it to other problems then there is opportunity out there.
Why do I so rarely meet level designers and their work lol
Not rarely, but never at all.
Can confirm that both becoming a lead and wanting to become a lead is uncommon, at least among engineers
It's an entirely different skillset to actual engineering
It's all people and resource management and planning
The problems you solve are completely different
Talking to my team they would rather be all star technical experts than managers
i have interview today c++ dev role in simulation and multiplayer
any advice or topics i need to look before
You'll either already know the relevant things, or you won't. Reading up on them last-minute won't change your competencies
okay thanks for advise
is this where you can get your portfolio reviewed?
sure
<@&213101288538374145>
:triangular_flag_on_post: George Macelaruwu#6666 received strike 1. As a result, they were muted for 10 minutes.
@lone stratus
"Talk about working in the industry, getting a job, and anything else career-related. Hiring or looking for work? See #instructions for posting on the job board."
Thank you 🙂
Yo, thanks for having me. Im a Composer and Sound Designer looking to work on some games. Getting super familiar with Wwise and having alot of fun messing with Unreal Blueprints. At the moment I am taking on anything that can help me get some exp. pro bono
Any advice on how to beef up my reel?
Some people like to redo the audio on game trailers as a starting point, but to be honest there's no substitute for actually working on projects. Working on mods or small indie projects can be a decent stepping point - just don't necessarily expect that work to ever really see the light of day outside of your demo reel (and make sure the work you do can be used on the reel of course).
I would encourage audio folks to work with both common middleware and the engine's native audio solution. A very large number of professional audio folks work almost exclusively in the middleware and the resulting final implementation often suffers as a result.
hi everyone. I would love to find a remote job working with UE 4. I know my ways around the engine, a bit of everything. I've made games with the engine but i could work on anything related to it.. I just love spending my time working on it.
I am also a film maker with more than 5 years working on professional projects.. I am very creative and dedicated.
Any idea if this project is viable ? Is this type of work even imaginable for someone that is not a specialist of anything ?
Thanks a lot
thats great advice thank you!
no problem - UE4 has some surprisingly nice beta audio plugins that are worth playing with, which I believe are also closely related to UE5's 'Metasounds'
anyone here a freelancer that had issues with paypal?
If you have a verified business account it's fairly good in my experience
how do IP rights (as an software engineer) usually distribute when you're an on-call employee-owner?
You'll probably need to ask a lawyer about this, I don't think anyone will touch your question. It sounds very specific and a bit complicated from the wording.
Typically as a work for hire software engineer you have no IP rights.
As a software engineer employee you have to carefully review your contract to make sure your not agreeing your employer owns ALL the code you write while employed. However it sounds like you are asking about a different situation.
yeah, I won't be an employee with full benefits, more like a contractor
Well it depends on the contract then?
Is there some good portfolio site like ArtStation or behance, but with less focus on a specific industry?
How do you mean? Artstation isn't for a specific industry
could you expand on this? i've used PP for years without that issue. In fact, my only 'issue' I had was when I made a $200 purchase, paypal said there was an issue and it didn't go through on PP side, yet my order was placed and I received it, getting close to 6 months later haven't had to pay it yet. That was 1 'issue' I had out of what feels like thousands of transactions I've paid and received. Also I've never heard anyone else have this issue, I dont think facebook would have hired paypal to create their money transfer system in messenger, without putting PP name in it, if PP was doing questionable business practices
There are a lot of posts on /r/entrepreneur about PayPal holding on small businesses's money
Most of those posts are by people who are using the paypal account as the bank account, storing all their money there. When searching the sub, all I can find are stories about people who both store all their money in their paypal business account (if your running a business you should know better then to store your money in a non FDIC insured account), and who are shipping items to customers. All of these stories I'm finding come from dropshippers and other goods traders who have had their orders delayed, so of course the customer is going to complain. Enough complaints will cause a very lengthy holding process to occur (most of which on reddit seem to get resolved), which wouldn't have been a problem if they were using PP as an extra layer for transactions only so you don't need to expose your business bank account to your customer. In the context of unreal, if there are numerous reported issues with using paypal to receive payment (but not store it) i'd definitely like to know
Hi people, I'm in a situation where I've got two job offers for a programmer role. I'm deciding to go for the second offer even though I've signed the contract for the first. Now I'm trying to find a way to let down the first company. Any suggestions?
This is what I have so far: "Hi…….
I would like to thank you again for your generous offer and for considering me for the position with………..
Unfortunately, after reviewing all of my options, I am going to have to decline your offer. I have received another offer which I believe will be more beneficial at this stage in my career, the position with yourselves is very attractive and I enjoyed our conversations which made this a very difficult decision to make.
Again, I would like to thank you for consideration and would be happy to keep in touch regarding other roles down the line ……………… is a great company and I could see myself work there at a later stage in my career."
That seems suitably diplomatic. If you already signed, and they want to be bastards about it, they could probably start arguing with you about it since technically you did sign a contract with them and are bound by it... but I'd say it's somewhat unlikely as they would get literally nothing out of it except bad reputation
Hey fellas,
Got a question regarding a career choice. I'm a final year uni student with 2 good job offers in hand. One's an established company and the other a startup. The latter was founded by an already pretty successful entrepreneur, the pay is better and it requires me to relocate (which I want as I wanna experience living alone). The only thing I get with the former is job security. Also it's a pretty big company so it'll look good on my LinkedIn/resume.
I'm just wondering - Is it okay to go with an early stage startup as your first company? Or am I making a mistake 👀
It's a lot easier to take jobs with more unknowns earlier in your career, so if you want to get that experience I'd say go for it. Even if the company goes bust in say 6-12 months for whatever reason, it's still work experience
experiencing jobs going bust is almost part of the job sadly
go with your gut, and see if you can find reviews of people working at the "stable" studio.
I see. I've seen the reviews. They were in the lines of - good people but too lenient with failures at times.
So the final point being, even if it does go bust it won't look bad on my experience would it?
Not unless you write into your resume "I destroyed this company" lol
try to go with something you feel will ship, a shipped project really opens doors
Thanks a lot!
How many 6'3" and 300lb sub 5% body fat New Yorkers with a PHD in physics can there be?
Are Unreal Game devs in demand ?
Can you land a job for an established company with:
Good knowledge of c++ (maybe not expert), blueprints, unreal basics / API, workflows, networking, etc.
So basically an efficient generalist (game developer) With good problem solving skills.
And specifically as a remote work from home dev
Yeah especially if you know c++ afaik there's a demand for that in some cases
I am trying to find something being good 😛 but just find to experts. Where are the junior and mid level jobs?? D:
in limited supply - lots of people trying to break into the industry, meaning vacancies get filled fast
just have to keep looking and applying
feel you man looking around too atm while beefing up my portfolio.
What typically separates the senior UE devs from the juniors or intermediate UE devs? I know it all comes down to experience but I'm looking for specifics.
it's not the UE part that makes the difference
it's the experience; being able to assist more junior developers readily, being able to operate fairly independently without support from other devs, etc
things like being able to predict problems and tackle them before they arise, as well as dealing with both minutia and the 'big picture' simultaneously
I don't get what a ue dev is. Someone who uses unreal? People at epic working on the engine?
I dont know if the e in ue stands for editor or engine
User Experience perhaps? But that's normally denoted UX.
'Unreal Engine', innit, but you don't see that as a position very often
To clarify I'm talking about someone who works with unreal engine, not the C++ code behind the editor itself. I guess what I'm after is more like a list of topics or common problems that a junior or intermediate might not know how to do, but a senior knows the solution or can come up with one without much difficulty. I'm still learning but from what I can tell animations seem like the most difficult.
then I'm not sure what you mean at all
'Developer' implies engineering, if any discipline, and those people will be working with the source code
someone who contributes content/time/effort to create games.
Right, so something to keep in mind then is that at places where there is a seniority ladder, UE Dev isn't a title so it's probably not going to be easy to find feedback on.
Like, I'm a FX artist. I make games using Unreal, but since you are more interested in programming I doubt my experience will help you much.
Are you talking gameplay programming? Rendering? AI?
All these paths look different.
But in general, the more senior you get the more you get involved with planning. Be it schedule, tech or features.
Hmm maybe an example would help. My personal list of UE tasks ranked from most difficult to least difficult would look something like this.
- Animating
- Setting up physics to work "properly"
- Having a general understanding of networking and multiplayer
- World building
But after spending a few mins thinking about it, maybe they're all just different aspects of the same great tool that each can be a specialty.
You also take up a bigger mentoring role.
So you are looking at a generalist role it seems.
Unfortunately, they pretty much only exist at indies or hobbydevs. Neither tend to have that much of an established career ladder.
It happens, but I wouldn't count on it.
Larger studios where there are more clearly defined seniority roles woul expect an animator to handle 1. A tech artist would likely do 2. A network programmer would do nr 3 and world building would be divided between environment art and level design.
Remember, Unreal is just a tool. You don't see people looking for jobs as hammer wielder. They'd probably market themselves as carpenters, blacksmiths or I don't know... rock breakers 😛
Yea but I'm pretty sure on almost every job post they'd mention which game engine they're using.
So? They would probably also ask for blacksmithing experience.
Just having hammer knowledge is not particularly valuable.
But again. Generalists exist.
They just tend to stay, generalists.
So to circle back to my original question, I'll rephrase it once more. Which parts of working with the Unreal Editor are typically used to determine if oneself is still a "beginner", an "intermediate" or an "expert" user.
So if someone who's not a game dev were to ask you how good are you with Unreal? You'd say?
Okay, great! and you know this because?
he is VFX
I know this because I can make some pretty good FX.
I am also reasonably senior, despite this being the first game I build in UE4.
This is because I have made games in 10 or so engines before. I made FX for all of them. So my title stays, even if the tools change.
I've never been hired because I know Engine X. I've been hired because I know FX well enough to apply it in any engine.
But it depends on whether that person is primarily a character artist, engineer, .... etc
There is no one area more "expert" than others. I could be the best at Niagara but still fail to provide meaningful contributions to your game project. I could be terrible at Persona and be the reason your game ships.
The distinction between seniority is not tool specific. The broad strokes senior callouts apply to all disciplines and do not map to whether somebody can properly use the material graph.
Now, if you are actually looking for a UE Senior Generalist, then you won't find them but you need advanced familiarity with all tools and eagerness to be on the cutting edge.
The feck is persona? 😛
phat
Yea I get that, I come from a web developer background so it sounds familiar.
But that person will also have all the hallmarks of a senior, so you could tell that they're the right fit because of passing those criteria and then being capable of discussion of all tools
Anyway, somebody who knows the game framework, BP/C++ (and writing C++ API for BP consumption), UMG (and the C++ base for it)/Slate, and is familiar with the basics of the material graph, anim BP, and the audio cue system.... is probably not a beginner
That's pretty engineering heavy.
It's starting to sound like perhaps the original question should be split by specialty. IE: What's the difference between a jr, inter, and senior VFX, Engineer, ... etc
Yes. But in general you can picture it like how much they need supervision
Well as a solo dev I'm by default a generalist lol so that's why I approached it like that.
Be a multi-specialist, better than being a generalist
So maybe for me to make my game even better I should probably learn how to *blank__ if I haven't yet already.
Here's my list of things I've tried doing with UE ranked from most difficult to least difficult so far.
- Animating
- Setting up physics to work "properly"
- Having a general understanding of networking and multiplayer and implementing it.
- World building
- UMG
Don't be a jack of all trades, master of none
And I'm mostly talking while having actual doing stuff part in mind, it's good to explore all different areas so you have at least a basic rudimentary understanding of tasks across many parts of the process (but focus on a narrow set of things to learn in-depth at first, even one thing probably)
All with blueprints so far but I have compiled from source ue5 a few times too but haven't any studied c++
A junior I expect to be able to perform tasks with supervision and much feedback.
Intermediate should be a bit more self sufficient and able to predict some of the feedback.
A senior has been there, seen that and can work self sufficiently as well as coach less experienced people.
After senior it tends to split into lead or expert/principal.
A lead is a step towards manager and has as main task to make sure the team has everything they need to be efficient.
An expert is a keystone in the project and will make decisions about major things like what tech to invest in, what pipe to develop. As well as being a top performer in the field.
So you want steps to becoming a good "unrealer"?
Pick a speciality and dive deeper and deeper, unless your goal is to stay solo/hobby and then just do things that you need to ship the game.
The latter yes
you could also do this
If you intend to stay solo, it doesn't matter what a senior is expected to do.
Just learn what the project needs.
I'm in the process of employed as a contractor for a company doing ue4. Few discussions come up during the negotiation regarding IP rights.
<>
Looking for your opinions on a response if you have done any contracting work before.
(Obviously, I understand that your opinions should not be considered as any legal advice)
@plucky hatch appreciated any pointers 🙂 (you mentioned doing lots of contracting works before is why I pinged)
IP rights are part of the negotiation. The more freedom you give them (i.e. right of redistribution, or right to use in other products without separate agreement or fees) and the less freedom you keep (i.e. you give up the right to use the work for other purposes), the more expensive the fees
That's fair, it very strongly depends on the kind of work being done
☝️
@plucky hatch Please only ping the Moderators role if something is wrong, i.e. you think someone is breaking the rules.
lol
@steady pewter lol
so what's the consensus? (what what I'm reading, it's highly depends and I should get a professional)
What do you want? Keep the IP or not?
yes, I do want to keep the IP
Then you still can decide down the line what you actually want, example:
- Say you want it to be a project-specific, discounts for further projects as-is
- Nothing. For a fee, you can agree to not resell it in the span of 1 year.
- They can can include it down the line only in non-source, compiled binary form (if I understood correctly).
I mean, it is up to you what you actually want, the variety in contracts is so wide.
got it, thanks
How much might it cost to hire a freelancer to convert a 1km^2 graybox map into a low-poly environment using asset packs that I already own?
depends on how much time he has, what you want, what you require, etc.
I figured there would be a lot of variables 😦 but I'm afraid of reaching out to someone and not having nearly enough money haha
Make a list of things you want done.
If it's a simple environment, could I reasonably assume < $500 USD?
Or is that still too vague to estimate from?
Or maybe I should be asking "What kind of result could I buy for $500USD?"
The devil is always in the details. Make a detailed list of things you want, be specific. It will help.
Here? Sorry haha
Or just when I reach out to a freelancer
Well, I'm working on a graybox for an environment with:
- 16 houses, medium-sized
- a high school
- a small forest, no real details, just trees
- a grocery store
- a gas station
All with pre-made assets that I already have.
depending on the level of fidelity and polish you're expecting, you could expect to have as little as maybe one room for $500
if you don't need any interiors and it's all very low fidelity, you might be able to get something for $500 - but at that point is it not just better to do it yourself?
Hey what job title does drawings like this?
An option would be Concept Artist
character concept art
Has anyone done an interview at amazon games? Wondering how hard their tech interview is
For game programmer position
I feel like I should outsource literally anything that someone else can do. That's what all of the entrepreneur blogs say to do.
Is there a way to target really cheap freelancers?
Entrepreneur blogs are usually full of shite
and when it comes to these things, you get what you pay for - if your pay is poor, then the work you get in return is usually also poor
the smarter thing to be doing if you have limited funds, is to employ it to do the things you can't do
i.e. block out the world to the point where you are severely limited.
and only let the person handle only the things you really cant do yourself.
Yes, you need to find someone who can speak the local language and seek them out in Eastern Europe, India, similar areas
If you have lots of money and no time, it's a great solution. If you have time but no money, you do whatever you can yourself.
I'd check out the rules and maybe remove that message before the mods wake up.
Yeah, it ain't a #career-chat that, but read the #instructions for job boards
yes, please do read the #rules @pastel dragon and you can also check the channel descriptions for more info about topics/what is/is not allowed.
how's unreal career
It's not
lmao
Hi,
I'm an Interior design student at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, this survey is aimed to collect information regarding video game production studio and it will help me in my graduation research, so please fill it.
About the project:
It’s a center that provide a learning space for people who interested in making games to improve their talent in game making from the main element of designing the game to coding, and a space to try their game and entertainment.
Google Docs
Hi,
I'm an Interior design student at Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, this survey is aimed to collect information regarding video game production studio and it will help me in my graduation research, so please fill it.
About the project:
It’s a center that provide a learning space for people who interested in making games to improve ...
:triangular_flag_on_post: Cool#5882 received strike 2. As a result, they were muted for 1 hour.
what is the requirements for become full stack unreal programmer?
there are multiple things, for example AI, networking stuff, can anyone please guide what are the skills required
you don't become a "full stack" unreal programmer
the engine is colossal, it wouldn't be reasonable to expect one person to know the entire thing inside and out
Normal route to becoming a software developer
University education around software engineering/computer science would be my basic recommendation, and then personal development in the various aspects of unreal engine
It doesn't matter. If you wanna become an X developer, develop stuff in X. If X is UE4, use UE4 and make increasingly complex projects as your skills improve
C++ is a natural progression once you're decent with BP programming.
Very informative, thanks everyone
Started finally applying for ue4 jobs today boys and girls
I’m all done working in finance
whoo good luck
I’ll take any dev job tbh though I just wanna program I can’t do my current job anymore lol
Got a portfolio ?
Eh, I haven’t really taken the time to make things look nice for an employer but all of my time has been spent on my game in ue4 for the past 2 years. I assume I can’t post my site link here but it’s basically my game, my site, game database, forum database, and my Steam page
Started finally applying for ue4 jobs today and I haven’t really taken the time to make things look nice for an employe
dont go hand to hand
Yeah you really want something almost-instantly digestable by Recruiters/HR/Hiring Managers
If it takes them more than 15 seconds to know that they will understand if you're a good fit within the next few minutes, you might find yourself passed over
👋 Hello everybody.
So by some miracle I managed to get a job. Specifically as a c++ debug programmer (technical QA). Meaning my job is to try and find the source of in game bugs and either fix them or forward them to the proper people.
The problem is that I have very little Unreal engine experience. I am quite knowledgeable in Unity with more than 4 years of experience. I have gone through this course https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/onlinelearning-courses/making-the-switch-from-unity-to-unreal-engine (which in my opinion is quite terrible), I have also seen this video https://youtu.be/rAVPEGnyatk (which was a bit better) and of course I completed some entrance tests. Overall I feel like there are things which I'm still missing. What I would like is for someone to point out a good comprehensive guide on the whole unreal engine tech stack. I do not mind if the course is paid or something but I need to quickly catch up on my unreal knowledge as I'm starting this job in less than two weeks. Thank you all.
There is no guide to "the entire tech stack" - the engine is colossal. You will need to read up on various parts of the engine as you go / as necessary.
check this out
http://www.tomlooman.com/ue4-gameplay-framework/
Arvuti, when I say nice I mean up to the quality I want it to be at eventually. To build a website, database, multiplayer moba game, forum, and integrating all of them along with Steam API should stick out, even If the visuals aren’t where I want them to be yet.
Hey folks, just flagging this here as it seems to be the most relevant channel.
Twitter recently released a "Communities" feature that they're currently testing with a small handful of 11 communities, where we've been able to be approved to run one for the games industry.
Main purpose of this community will be to offer a space to network with other industry professionals to give you a leg up in your next career move!
Currently Twitter Communities operate on an invite-only basis, if you'd like to join, just fill in this form below:
https://forms.gle/R2KxoaeVB9Tmu1cSA
Any luck so far ?
Hi all, I'm just getting reacquainted with UE after decades of not touching it.
Looking at the "learn Unrealengine" portal and trying to decide what learning path is best for me now. I have a couple hours after work each night to use. Which learning path is worthy of your recommendation for a starter like me?
whichever one takes your interest, really
there is no right or wrong answer
you can also dabble with the beginnings of more than one, and follow whichever you were enjoying more
I suppose that's a fair answer, @lilac walrus -- I was hoping to maximize my time since I'm not in front of a terminal throughout the day.
I suppose I'll start with "getting started" - I'll check back in, in a month, when that's done.
<@&213101288538374145> - every channel
of course, the one time i dont check they spam every channel
hehe
How long does the process of landing a programming job at a studio usually take? Specifically from application to first day? I know it's going to vary A LOT from studio to studio and job to job, but just looking for some personal experience time frames or rough estimates. Is it typically something takes weeks, or something that takes months? If you can even put an estimate on it.
95% of seekers get a job within 5 years.
Within 5 years of their first application? 🤔
Yes
What about the time frame from application to a studio, and then first day at that same studio? That's more of what I was getting at.
Interesting.
From hour to infinity
How my company does software dev hires(not a game studio but it should be similarish, even though every company has their own process)
1: Applications reviewed within a week, this is a perpetual thing
2: Good ones get contacted, have a quick initial chat to see if it's worth everyone's time to proceed
3: First interview scheduled, this is team and culture fit questions
4: If first interview goes well, second interview is scheduled asap, this is the technical interview where I am usually brought in, though it might be a week or more before everyone has an open time slot
5: If the second interview goes well, an offer is sent shortly after
6: Negotiations/Start times are arranged if everything works out, it can be almost immediate if the new hire wants but usually they take a few weeks vacation in between
Sometimes the whole process can take a month(2 weeks to find a slot for the team fit + 2 weeks to find a slot for the technical interview), sometimes it can take a few days
the more promising the applicant the more special attention they get as well
I am not sure exactly how to say this but what kind of skill level should you or were you guys at when you got a job in UE4 programming (if relevant). Like were you competent at C++, networking, GAS, etc???
Currently looking for a job as a gameplay programmer but not sure if I have the right credentials yet
If your looking to start as a freelancer, start small. Look at job offerings such as those that might show up in #volunteer-projects. Usually they will have a list of requirements. Find ones you think you can accomplish and aim at those.
Choosing to do a few unpaid jobs is a good way to get experience with projects that aren't of your own request.
Use these as opportunities to find your boundaries. This will give you a good benchmark for what to look at when taking paid jobs. Unpaid jobs inherently carry less risk for both parties, so if you find that you promised more than you could deliver your only wasting time and not money as well.
Being honest and upfront about your skills is super important. Leaving no room for misinterpretation of what your capabilities are means everyone is on the same page for what to expect.
This does not mean that you should not push your limits, as that is also very important for growing and learning new skills.
Alright. I will probably do that. All the jobs I have applied for thus far have essentially turned me down because I have no experience so I am assuming that this will also go towards that "experience" as well
Creating a portfolio of work you have done in the past is essential as it provides would be employers with evidence of your prior experience. This gives them confidence (along with references etc) that you can do what you claim you have the skills to perform.
If your targeting a programming position for example, its also a good idea to focus solely on that position in the types of material you present in your portfolio. Employers wont care about your shitty programmer art, as long as your demonstrating competence in the gameplay/programming aspect of whats being presented.
In fact, adding unnecessary bloat to reference material that isn't directly related to the position your applying for can be a hindrance in your potential for employment. Make it clear what exactly it is your trying to present.
What is a good medium to use as the portfolio. I have a Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5Iy1hMsPggYi55kCjPGW7A and that is currently the extent of my portfolio for now
A blog might also be a good idea, as that gives you a more text based space to produce code snippets. Github can also be useful as you can easily share code projects you may have developed in the past.
Oh yeah, I have a GitHub as well
Do the people hiring really care to see all my code that much?
I just assumed they would like to see the result
Depends on who it is I suppose, it would be rare that an employer looking to hire you as a programmer would not want example code you have written before. The final product is only 1 part of the process, especially with programming.
The code you write is just as important as the result it bears on screen.
When we hire new programers at our software company, I like to get to know the applicant’s programming experience. This way when they are hired, I can know how best to apply their skills to our projects.
Here's an odd question, which might not belong here. But where are all the UE4 hobby teams? Like... why is everyone so focused on the $$$ and deadlines? I work full time in a completely different career, which I love (conservation ecology). But I make 3D models and game environments as a hobby. The entire job board is based around actual employment (duh), but even the postings in unpaid gigs are based around financial incentives and the Hustle ™️ (or it's just a weird crypto-game...). I just want to relax and contribute some art to a cool project at my own leisure. Not quit my job so I can make some 20 year old his dream MMORPG for below the minimum wage.
I don’t believe everyone here is about the money. I too have a full-time job unrelated to game dev, but I’m here more for the adventure.
Nice. I definitely see a lot of solo-game devs taking it more chill (especially on reddit).
#volunteer-projects also, they just pretend
Hi, I was wondering what role in game dev this would be called:
• animating, cleaning mo-cap and adapting it to fit the game
• remodeling objects, characters to fit the desired game play ( sometimes entire re-rig has to be done )
• creating VFX for environments including BP
• creating cinematics
• creating BP to connect things (often remodeled things)
Any help much appreciated...
Sry to interrupt you guys chatting,i have been learning UE4 C++ Programming from youtube tutorials and some series of tutorial from Tom Looman And Ben Tristem on udemy,And Currently Learning some function on finished project on marketplace now. But i still feel like newbie in unreal.
Recently i try to make a simular recoil pattern system like CS:GO and ApexLegends, i cant find any tutorials like that on youtube,only some simple recoil system. Even though i have making my own recoil pattern system and is hard to modify a pattern for each gun,
And also i have trying make a game like assassin's creed: valhalla ,i have make a simple combat system but no idea how to make it that playable and advanced.
In Short, How you guys learning unreal engine and way to a pro game developper,i having problem on learning unreal engine now,the tutorials i found is just simple for me or too hard for me.
Please give me some advice of advanced tutorial or what should i learn now in order for future become a unreal game developer in a game company.
Step 1 towards becoming a pro: stop relying on tutorials. They can be helpful for specific steps, but only pursuing projects where there are appropriate tutorials, is not really something you do after learning the basics.
thx but what should i really learn in order to become pro,im done basic and kinda lost the path