Being a game programmer - The benefits and pitfalls

How is working as a game programmer? It is considered by many game-play for children for a dream job. It's really good as it seems? It's certainly an interesting life. However, like everything else on this planet, there are both positive and negative working as a video game programmer.

Over the past 7 years I worked as a game programmer at three development studios: Activision / Treyarch, Visual Concepts and DiscoPixel. I have published titles for Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo consoles. This article is a summary of some of the benefits and pitfalls that I experienced through my work in these businesses.

Perk # 1 - Make Games!

It 'pretty obvious, but the biggest advantage of working in a study of video game is that you'll be doing games. Will help you build the big game, then that potentially millions of people play and have fun. There is an enormous satisfaction that comes from knowing that you helped make something big.

Perk # 2 - Play Games!

As well as testing and improving your current game every day, you can also play the part of others. There are few jobs where you sit and play a new released console title is considered research. Company definitely wants to stay on top of technology and characteristics of new games, and the only way to do this is to play many games. In companies I've worked, I've never seen anyone get reprimanded for playing video games during the day.

Perk # 3 - Independence

One aspect of great work as a video game programmer is the independence it is given. It 'rare to have a manager breathing down your neck or double checking everything you do. To get hired into a development studio that you must have excellent programming skills already, if you are given great freedom to make the right decisions for you. It can be assigned a general task to complete, but how this should be done and how long it should take, are often.

Provided that you can do your work, business, I worked for the General seems to be very willing to let me work on my own terms. When I was tired or bored or lazy I could go play a game or relax somewhere without anyone complaining. Happy employees with improved morale make better games.

Perk # 4 - Fun Office Environment

Everyone who works in a video game studio has one thing in common: they love games. If you do not like playing games that were never made for their manufacture. For this reason, the Tax Office often funny or strange things, everywhere you look. Many people bring strange new objects to show off or play with during the day.

Most video game studios have lots of games and toys around to keep its employees have fun. A couple of things that I encountered in different studies: Arcades with free coin op games, table football, table tennis, razor scooters, board games, figurines, puzzles, daytime basketball games and giant stuffed animals.

Coming into office, which will still work, but there's no reason that can not also be fun.

Perk # 5 - Free Soda Snacks

Perk Is it not important to everyone, but it's nice to know that will not go hungry for work in a study of video game. I never met a video game company that has offered free soda and snacks as part of the benefits of working there. I suppose that is loaded on caffeine and sugar helps boost productivity. During the long days at the office, the companies typically provide free dinner as a thank you for staying late. One company I worked for served fully catered meals from assorted restaurants every night for several weeks.

Trick # 1 - long working hours

Making video games is a lot of work. The amount of time necessary to complete the last game seems to be growing exponentially. Development teams continue to grow and grow each year, yet somehow the amount of work a person does not seem very small. The games are very complicated. In addition, the nature of the game is that they must be fun, is not always so easy to pencil in a precise timetable. The experiment will require a great, especially with new game concepts.

Before a milestone and especially a few months before a game is released, the workday will be very intense. The work is a way to accumulate rapidly. New features and old bugs suck your time. Working long nights or weekends is not uncommon. Fortunately, employees generally care about the games they do, and their passion helps energize them through long journeys.

The stress can get overwhelming, too. In a society, I had a huge pile of reports waiting for me on my chair when I came into office. I work all day, scrambling to fix bugs as quickly as possible, working around the clock all day and night. I returned home for a few hours of sleep, but when I go back to work there would be a new, even larger stack of bug reports waiting for me.

Usually after a project has been shipped, there will be a period of inactivity in which employees may have the opportunity to relax and recover. Suddenly reduce the workload significantly. One company gave bonus vacation after a proposed plant and other employees put on call for about a month in which he had come only for the office if there was a problem. It 'nice to know that your long hours of work does not go unnoticed.

Trap # 2-Choose what to work

Working on your own video games in your free time is great fun. You can choose exactly what game and the activities you want to work, focusing only on fun things. Boring everything can be ignored, because the audience is you. Unfortunately, this is not the case for large video game studios. There are many tasks to complete, some are not too glamorous. Fixing console violations of rules or tools builder construction data is not very exciting, but still needs to be done by someone to ship the final product.

These tasks are usually given to people entering the video game industry, perhaps as a rite of passage, but probably only because nobody wants them.

In addition to the possibility of working on less glamorous tasks, you can be assigned to a project that you are not completely interested in general, the company will let you work projects that interest you, but it is not always possible. A particular project may be delayed and needs a few more employees to fix some bugs and adds some new features. However, the project got involved and have enough workers.

I think the passion of employees who work in a study of video game is critical to the success of this game. If you are not excited about what you are working, will appear in the game is created. To avoid misunderstandings and disappointments, before deciding to work in a particular society, it is important to find this game, you will work in addition to what tasks will be assigned.

Trap # 3-does not pay as good (maybe?)

I heard some people paying job as a game programmer is not as good as the reward of working in more traditional businesses. Business database programmers, for example, could earn more. This may be true. However, the choice of profession is not just the salary. We spend a large percentage of your life to your work. Money is not everything. Choose something you love is important, too.

I thought that the wages paid by the companies I worked for very reasonable. There is also a significant potential upside from royalty checks a game that sells well, which at times has proved to be significant. Surely not to live like a pauper, if you find a programmer to use a video game company.

Conclusion

I hope this article was helpful to learn a bit 'of work as a game programmer. Like everything in life there are advantages and disadvantages of this profession. If what you read sounds good to you, I hope you find your dream job making the game the next big best-seller.