|
[In this article, originally published in Game Developer magazine, pseudonymous developers of all levels share their honest, sometimes cutting thoughts on what it takes to truly succeed in each game industry discipline.]
Success in game development takes a careful balance of hard
work, timing, and company politics, whether we like it or not. And yet,
getting ahead in your specific discipline doesn't always mean doing what
you're told or following advice to the letter.
A few successful developers with some strong, honest opinions have
agreed to share their thoughts on what it actually takes to get ahead in
the industry.
Every level of employee is represented, from the most junior
to the executive level. Pseudonyms have been used to allow the authors
to speak their minds unconditionally.
Each company is different, of course, so some of the advice that
follows may feel like it doesn't pertain to you -- or maybe you disagree
entirely. But chances are, what these developers have to say will resonate,
even when it comes from a discipline other than your own.
To that end,
different positions are represented as well, from the "learn the rules of
the game" approach of the production entry, to the "do it your own way"
approach by the design author.
Don't like what you read? Send your alternate approaches to
bsheffield@gdmag.com. The most convincing (or contentious) responses
may be published on Gamasutra.com.
- Brandon Sheffield
Programming
Just Do It! Constructive Disobedience
By Larry Hacker
There are many things you can do to advance your career as
a game programmer. You can excel at the tasks you are given,
you can learn new skills, you can research current techniques, you can
document your code, you can stay late nailing down a tricky bug, you can
follow coding conventions, and you can help others solve problems.
But all these things are simply doing what is expected of you. Let's
step outside the box. How can you advance your career by doing things
that are not expected of you, or even things that you've specifically been
told not to do?
As a programmer, it's not uncommon to see problems that you think
should be fixed, or to see an opportunity to improve some piece of code,
or speed up a process that takes a lot of time. It's also not uncommon for
your suggestion to be ignored, or dismissed with an "it's not broke, so let's
not fix it" response.
Say your code uses a lot of hard-wired checksums as identifiers.
Every time a new identifier is added, the programmers use a command
line utility to calculate the checksum, and then copy and paste it into the
code. Now, it would be vastly quicker if they could do this inside the editor
with some hot key. You suggest this to the lead, and he says, "We don't
have time for things like that."
What should you do? You should just do it -- on your own time. Figure
out the macro system in the editor, hook in the checksum generator,
and link it to a hotkey. Then quietly show everyone what you've done.
The other programmers will be grateful that you've saved them work and
will be impressed with your coding. And the lead will hopefully admire
your initiative.
I say "hopefully" because the "just do it" approach is a potential
minefield. While it's a great opportunity, you do need to be careful that
you know what you're doing. Before taking the initiative (or rather, before
telling people that you did), make sure it's really something worth doing.
If possible, try it covertly first so that if it's not actually worth doing,
nobody will need to know you wasted your time -- and make sure that
"your time" is actually that. People have different opinions of what your
own time is and might think any time you spend coding should have
been company time.
"Oh, that? It only took 10 minutes!" That line usually absolves you of
the time-wasting label, and makes you look even more impressive.
Art
A Political Party
By Mr. Confidence
For all you game artists looking to level up in your careers, here is
a compendium of suggestions that might help you do just that.
Ask for forgiveness. There comes a time on every project when you
know the solution to a problem, but you haven't asked permission from your
lead to implement it. Sometimes, it's better to just do it and apologize than to request permission. You could do worse than getting a warning about going
over your boss' head, but solving the problem will likely diffuse her anger.
Be the single point of failure. This sounds contrary to what you'd want
to be, but it suggests increased accountability and ownership. This is
exactly what you want! Make the team dependent on your skills. If you
"own" part of the production process, then they can't live without you.
Introduce first. Well before the end of your project, you should spend
time investigating other projects at your studio. Take time to meet people on
the project that you want to be on and carve your own destiny. Don't wait for
your lead or HR representative to tell you where you're going next. If there's
one thing makes an impact on a team, it's passion for their project.
Be the hero. During production or even prototyping, always be on
the lookout for opportunities to make a big impact. Finish early. Create a
process. Solve an art issue. Whatever it is, nothing beats the kudos that
come from being the person who saved the day.
Meet the world. Too many talented artists are content to sit at their
desks and work hard as great employees, but you are doing a disservice
to yourself and to your studio if you aren't making an impact outside the
office as well. Opportunities to speak at the Game Developers Conference
and other venues offer an opportunity to network and communicate with
the industry as a whole, and the potential opportunities this leads to can
be plentiful. One good art talk generally leads to more.
Circumvent the boss. This is the sneaky, dark secret. Honestly, if
your boss is not helping you advance your career, or if he's making bad
decisions that you think will adversely affect the project, communicate
that knowledge upward. Most of upper management is insulated from
knowing what's happening on the project on the team level. You may do
more than just help the project -- you could also be helping your
career in the process. Just make sure you express yourself in a
professional manner, and don't sound like a complainer.
|
Printer-Friendly Version
I personally look for my engineers to be steady and get the job done. The guys that can collaborate well, prove to be open minded and knowledgeable, are the ones that catch my attention. I see through most politics and it often reflects negative on that person when they try to "play the game".
My advice is simple; if you are vocal about wanting to advance and nothing happens (given some time), then it won't happen until your employer has exploited your skills enough to offset the additional cost of your promotion for at least the next year. That means that they need to feel that you've paid it forward enough to justify your new salary. That is why I say it is sometimes easier to move on. As a new employee the company is taking a gamble on you, while a promotion means that you've already paid for that extra money. The disadvantage of being the new guy however; last one in, first one out if times get tough for your new employer.
Speaking of that, can you tell me why "design" always mean "Game Designers"? How about Level Designers - you know, the ones who create the maps? You can't put GD and LD in the same bag, it's really not the same thing: GD are making the rules, LD are playing with them.
If you're a small fish in a big pond, transition to being a big fish in a small pond. So, if you're a senior developer for a big company you may be able to become a dev lead at a smaller company.
If you're a big fish in a small pond, look for a position that is in your area of expertise but with a larger team/set of responsibilities.
If you've asked for a raise and didn't get it, or didn't get enough (assuming you deserved it), look elsewhere, but when that offer comes do not, absolutely do not, take it back to your boss and use it as a bargaining chip. Your boss may match it or even better it, but will then likely fire you at the earliest opportunity. He/she will want to make sure they lose you on their terms, not yours. Meanwhile you will have burned a bridge with the company that made you the offer you declined.
At the same time, keep in mind that if your resume is full of short term jobs as a result of you leapfrogging your way to the top, a prospective employer may think you’re a flake and won’t want to risk investing in you.
Does it work? Of course it works. It always works.
...but is THIS the way you want the industry to operate? Is THIS the way YOU want to operate? How does working outside of work hours, going over management's head, or being disingenuous for the sake of networking do any of us good? If you succeed, then you're bound to become the victim. It's like leap-frogging on a treadmill.
I agree with Benjamin. The best way to get ahead is to get out.
I also love the advice. QA is a foot in the door, but don’t keep that foot in the door too long or it will swing close. My personal experience has been skill+luck+knowing that guy=new and better job. The more popular phrase is it's not what you know but who you know. There are tons of people that know what you know or more. There is only one person, however, that can offer you that promotion.
Whilst I agree with your overall point, the idea that "management don't understand" is a lot more valid than you make out. For example, production management don't generally understand the concept of a 'code debt'; they understand the trade-off between time spent fixing bugs and time spent adding features, but not between adding features/fixing bugs (both of which have visible results) and improving the codebase.
@ Mark Venturelli : If you've never experienced politics like this, consider yourself lucky and your current work environment favorable. Try to engender that attitude everywhere you go.
Although some of the political tactics mentioned are simply things creative people would do anyway in the course of their creative and collaborative efforts ('just do it', etc.), several of these ideas are about subverting the environment one has found themselves in. Those political tactics are what I want to talk about.
These politics are identical to those found in my previous career (feature animation industry). The suggestions are the same, the struggles are the same, the characters types alluded to are the same. And yes, the depression-factor is the same. Politics like this are horribly distracting to the creative process, to the extent that some will flatly reject to engage in them on principle. These political tactics are those used when the talent pool becomes saturated and the value of consistent talent resources is taken for granted. You're brilliant and talented, but you have some compensation issues or you've butted heads with higher ups before? Well, there's a line of entry-level applicants starting at your management's door and stretching as far as the eye can see; applicants who demand only ramen, pizza and a chance to be politically amicable. Oh, and what have you done for us lately? (the business, management individuals, etc.)
I completely agree with Benjamin, Robert and JR. The idea of moving up by moving out is not obvious in general, and it is to a large extent antithetical to common beliefs about careers in free market economies. After all, this is not the mid-century business environment where companies take care of their own like family, from entry level to retirement. (and really, was it *ever* like that?) In general, successful people I've encountered used this tactic, those who didn't eventually struggled.
All that said, in my studies of organizing creative teams, one thing is clear: these politics are not necessary. And so I believe there is a balance between these points raised between the main article and comments. If you're encountering these politics in a way that is distracting to your effort, get out. If you've found a place that is free of these distractions, ride that wave and take the strength from that experience with you.
(In the meantime, Colin Anderson and I will do our best to champion the 'Great Groups' philosophy and make it ubiquitous in our industry. Right, Colin?) :)
A few of the ideas raised by the contributors of the main article remind me of The 48 Laws Of Power:
http://www2.tech.purdue.edu/cg/Courses/cgt411/covey/48_laws_of_power.htm
Now, unless you're specifically tasked to do something like "Prototype three alternate puzzle concepts so that we can choose the best one," you would probably want to adhere to the 15-minute rule (don't spend more than 15 minutes on some wild idea) or do it on your own time. Some of the coolest things I put into Fallout 3 were done pretty much completely on my own time.
a) Most of the time your superior does in fact know better than you, and your attempt to 'fix' things will lead to disciplinary action, ostracizing, or worse.
b) Your superior doesn't know better than you, but has a good relationship with management - which is how he/she got to where they are. End result - the same as a) above.
There are plenty of opportunities in games to work with talented, supportive people who are happy to promote excellence.
nasite/
Art isnt politic, primary must be art vision, managers are only people which must save time of art talented people, do process more smoothly, dont be in the way of progress . Quality is created everytime in down of pyramid, in slaves chambers :), managers dont create real quality.
I just jam in Max or Photoshop, go for the wow from my clients (which are the players, the team, the supervision, and yes .. even the politic players).
I've been labeled an 'egotist' when I told one suit-dweeb wannabe artist that as a 3d artist he made a great technical director. He asked what I thought of some of his 3d work. Don't ask if you don't want to know the answer. He was awesome at keepin us up to date on all the latest toys and tools. -shrug- ..he sucked as a 3d artist. That's ok ..people will find the area they shine in and blow you away ..he ended up doin some awesome FX work.
My advice .. pursue what you are good at and learn all you can to shine at it.
IF you are in a position to hire- hire those who are better at it than you are or at least have the passion to excel at what they do.
Oh, and never ask a guy who is a lead artist on a project and has created *worlds* if he can make a damn table .. one of the most idiotic things I was ever asked by a junior artist.. courtesty and respect go both ways, use it to get it.
-Frank P. 'Gray Eagle' Williamson