It's been a long time, need some industry advice

Striff

It's been FOREVER since I have posted here. I just need some advice about getting back into the industry and how it has changed since I left.

So back in late 2006 and into 2007 (when I used to post here a ton) out of high school I scored an internship working at Sony for a year and a half. I worked mostly on a game that has been super successful for them called Free Realms. I really wanted to jump into the industry then as an environmental/prop artist (that's still my passion) but I also wanted to go to school. A couple people there said that I should look into computer science because I was good with scripts and (of course) it pays more.

So I changed my major from art to computer science and I transferred to UC San Diego about a year ago. It's probably been about a good year and a half since I have touched a 3d modeling programing, however I still use Photoshop every day because I have taken up a job as a wedding photographer. Well, I am starting to figure out that I REALLY miss the art side of things and computer science really is not for me...I don't enjoy doing it at all. I am looking to see if I can change my major to a computing in the arts major and minor in computer science.

Anyways, how are the job prospects out there? I'm assuming the economy has affected the video game market somewaht hard (especially the artists).

Mark Dygert

Well the hardware hasn't changed much the consoles still push the same amount of pixels and polygons as they did back then.

360, everyone seems to have hit the 360's cap and is constantly riding that line without much new or amazing to do outside of changing visual style.

PS3 being so crazy complex (on purpose) is still enjoying some minor graphical improvements from game to game as people figure out new tricks.

PC hardware has progressed but no one is developing for that, still it helps to pay attention to it because that is what we'll be working with when the next set of consoles falls off the assembly line in 2-3 years.

i-phone an mobile have exploded and imploded, not much money to make in there, the market is pretty much flooded. If you're living in a cardboard box that has wi-fi you can probably scrape by. Most games seem to be made in peoples spare time while they hold down a full time job. It's probably not a very stable place to look for employment.

Games are still being made, studios are hiring here and there but they definitely enjoy being able to cherry pick candidates. Most of the seasonal layoffs should either be hitting the fan about now or already happened as studios wrap up their holiday titles. The economic down turn layoffs seem to have more or less stopped and now we're looking at a slow steady climb. If you can land a job there's a good chance you can hang onto it, if it isn't for a place that typically does mass hiring then mass firing...

As always portfolio, portfolio portfolio...

Justin Meisse

well, as far as I've seen the economy hasn't effected the game industry too badly. I could be wrong but it really feels like there's alot of MMO work out there. The fact that you have MMO dev experience is a real plus.

Striff

Thanks for the update on the platforms Vig.

I would think that having some MMO Experience would help, but since it was so long ago (2007) that 3 1/2 years between now and then seems like an eternity in the video game industry.

Striff

Also, I learned pretty much everything in Maya and it seems like most studios use Maya. It seems like most environmental/prop people turn towards 3Ds Max and most character/animation people use Maya. I'm thinking about making the switch to Max. Any thoughts?

nullfed

To be honest, I would concentrate on making some good stuff, rather than worrying about what software to use. If you have examples of work that make people want you, acclimatising yourself on the job, or in the run-up to your start date wouldn't be that much of an issue.

Of course, If you have the time to dabble in MAX, it couldn't hurt I just wouldn't get hung up on it.

chrisradsby

I use both Max and Maya, I use Maya at work and Max at home. Don't worry about the software just concentrate on getting some good stuff into your portfolio