Re: The entry competence level for graphics programmers

One option you may have, with 5 years as a Flash developer, is to gain
industry experience with a Flash games developer. Since you mentioned that
you can't afford a salary decrease, then you probably can't afford an
unstable situation either (which is what most small independent studios will
be, and the ones most likely to hire anyone who sounds like they might know
something about games). 

 

So have you looked at Zynga? 

 

http://www.zynga.com/jobs/

 

A surprising number of people I have worked with in the past in various
studios have landed there, and it's quite stable. Spend some time at Zynga,
get some industry experience on your resume, and work on your "areas for
improvement" in your spare time like you are now. 

 

One thing to bear in mind, is that any studio who is looking for a graphics
programmer above junior/entry level, is likely doing so because their
current graphics programmer, who is almost certainly rather senior, is
leaving, and they need someone to replace him/her. Therefore, you may need
to set your sights either a bit lower, or on a different target.or choose a
different strategy. It's much easier to get into a games studio as a
gameplay programmer than it is a graphics programmer, and working somewhere
like Zynga can get you demonstrable industry gameplay experience. The
hardest part about getting into games, is actually getting into games; once
in, you're in.

 

Greg

 

From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Tommy
Brett
Sent: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 7:33 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Sweng-Gamedev] The entry competence level for graphics programmers

 

Hello ladies and gents,

 

I graduated 5 years ago with the intention of becoming a game developer, my
career got sidetracked and although this sidetrack led to an ultimately
comfortable existence and a lot of life lessons learned, I'm now at the
point where my career as a Flash / Flex developer is stagnating. It may also
be coming to a forced end as more and more of my employer's clients move
away from Flash each month. I've been keeping up with the times, and doing a
lot of graphics programming on the side using nVidia's CG shader programming
language and OpenGL. 

 

I'm looking for a little insight into what skill level you expect entry
level, and reasonably competent graphics programmers (i.e. qualifying as
something above 'junior' in their job title, even if that's just the
omission of the word) to be at, and the difference between the two. By skill
level, I mean knowledge base, for example implementing certain shader
routines (e.g. normal mapping) and grasp of mathematics. Before I enter the
job search proper, I want to make absolutely sure that my skills are in fact
up to par as I understand that graphics programming positions in particular
are highly competitive. For example, I know that one area I lack skill in is
using shader functions built for DirectX 10 and above - by virtue of me
still using an XP machine (GPU is DX10 capable though, reeeally need to
upgrade), and I suspect that not being knowledgeable about, say,
tessellation using the GPU would swiftly kill any application I would make
for a graphics programmer role that paid more than free lunches. 

 

On the other hand, this may not be the case, which is why I'm sending this
out to you better informed guys for a little feedback.

 

- Tommy

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