Game programmers are hard to find
A new survey by TIGA has found that gamer programmers are very hard to find and that most game developers think the industry needs tax incentives.
The industry is still going "You need 2 or 3 years on a major A title" as an experience requirement before coming to work for us, which is all well and good for them as it's means lots of programmers say "how the shuddering fuck am I meant to get experience doing the job if I can't get the bloody job in the first place?", so go get programming jobs outside of the games industry.
Most of the adverts I keep seeing make it look like the HR teams and management are living in the 90's, when it was possible to solo make a big release, or have an entire development team running at around 5 people for a AA release, so there was a glut of programmers around who fit the requirements.
Now games are bigger and harder it's much more difficult, and there's only a few companies who are fosting talent outside the work place in the form of mods, Valve being the biggest who go on to pick and choose the best from the pot.
Well, not on a major A, but something that looks shiny. And while it's a cruel requirement, it's quite fair, during that you can learn teamwork (and techniques for that) and you'll get fairly comfortable with using an API like DirectX.
I suspect we will see a drop in graphics and stuff (either that or there will rarely be new engines) once all the old arses retire, since it takes far more to catch up with today's technology.
For some reason I have the urge to bend the title into a song, as "A good heart these days is hard to find" just popped into my head upon reentering the newsforum.
Problem here is that there's pretty much only valve who see raw talent and nurture it. Most giants want the proven track record and wonder why (when no-one is given chances unless they take risks with their livelihood) no one seems to have the experience they want.
Take people on as trainees, show them team skills, let them become the next generation of kick ass game maker and retire on the money they make you. If they're shit, bin them and get some other hopefuls. Simple really.
HereComesPete wrote:Take people on as trainees, show them team skills, let them become the next generation of kick ass game maker and retire on the money they make you. If they're shit, bin them and get some other hopefuls. Simple really.
Or work as a manwhore to get some starting funds and create an indie team.
Game programmers are hard to find
