whine whine whine, blah blah blah.
polycounter lvl 18
hey folks, i've been a tad bit dis-heartened lately and i had a question i wanted to ask. i really dont want to sound ungreatful or bitchy, because i know that relitively speaking, i've got is soo damn easy, as most of us do.
i've been working my first in-house job as an environment artist. i've heard people complain before that the industry is fairly un-creative, and that they're upset that it's a little bit of a grind. i was certainly prepared for that. i dont have a problem doing model/texture work following a concept and having no creative freedom.
what i don't enjoy is doing a weeks worth of excell sheets, and being the go-to guy when they need someone to go through every single world object and do some piddly little fixies; basicaly shit an office temp could do.
in the past few weeks, i've really, really dis-liked work. now, i have shoveled shit before. i've had 'bad' jobs, but seriously i'd rather do physical labor than do excell sheets and mindless fixes.
anway like i said, i don't really want to bitch and moan, which is why i've held off. we all know that 'a job in the games industry' is some holy grail that shouldn't be tarnished, but it's frustrating. I'm not going to get into what i'm worth and who's good for what, but i've seen the quality of work that comes from the positions i'd like and i know i can hit, or beat it.
like i said before, i've heard that the games industry can be not creative, but how common is this stuff? i'm spending the vast majority of my time not doing anything remotely artistic. an office job.
is this common? should i look for another job, or switch industries?
i've been working my first in-house job as an environment artist. i've heard people complain before that the industry is fairly un-creative, and that they're upset that it's a little bit of a grind. i was certainly prepared for that. i dont have a problem doing model/texture work following a concept and having no creative freedom.
what i don't enjoy is doing a weeks worth of excell sheets, and being the go-to guy when they need someone to go through every single world object and do some piddly little fixies; basicaly shit an office temp could do.
in the past few weeks, i've really, really dis-liked work. now, i have shoveled shit before. i've had 'bad' jobs, but seriously i'd rather do physical labor than do excell sheets and mindless fixes.
anway like i said, i don't really want to bitch and moan, which is why i've held off. we all know that 'a job in the games industry' is some holy grail that shouldn't be tarnished, but it's frustrating. I'm not going to get into what i'm worth and who's good for what, but i've seen the quality of work that comes from the positions i'd like and i know i can hit, or beat it.
like i said before, i've heard that the games industry can be not creative, but how common is this stuff? i'm spending the vast majority of my time not doing anything remotely artistic. an office job.
is this common? should i look for another job, or switch industries?
Replies
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we all know that 'a job in the games industry' is some holy grail that shouldn't be tarnished
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Not so sure about that! Sure, it's a goal you want to reach towards, but it's not the holy grail. "A job in the games industry" can be anything from what you're experiencing right now, to where Ken Scott is, which is something to bear in mind.
-R
MackXX - believe me, i love working as part of a team, and totaly apprecieate the dynamic there, but if i'm doing something i don't enjoy with my life, i'd have to be doing a pretty damn significant thing to keep doing it. i'm not exactly feeding starving children
As far as piddly micromanagement tasks, we all eat shit at the end of the project and do whatever needs done to optimize and bug fix mundane stuff.
r.
I hate my job.
Put up and shut up. Decide that it's not worth rocking the boat, and deal with it. If you go this path, do NOT grumble to fellow coworkers because you'll become the problem employee, and it will make you even more unhappy.
OR
Go somewhere else. If you don't like how you are treated, and you know you have skills that other companies would desire, go to a company that will utilize you the way you want.
i've had 'bad' jobs, but seriously i'd rather do physical labor than do excell sheets and mindless fixes.
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There's your answer. Quit your job and go to some physical labor so someone can have your job that will appreciate it.
Seriously, I work with some whiney bitches who really don't appreciate where they are at. As far as I am concerned this is the best job in the world. Hell, even when this job "sucks" it still beats my best day at most of the jobs I have held in the past. If you aren't happy doing it, look for something else and quit your whining.
Seriously, I work with some whiney bitches who really don't appreciate where they are at. As far as I am concerned this is the best job in the world. Hell, even when this job "sucks" it still beats my best day at most of the jobs I have held in the past. If you aren't happy doing it, look for something else and quit your whining.
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Conversely, there are companies who use the excuse of how cool this job is to abuse and overwork their employees. Not saying this is the case in this instance, but I know I've worked for people before who have used the fact I'm "making games" to bend me over. Better than digging ditches, right? The answer is no, if you have the skills and experience to not put up with it. There are very few highly skilled qualified people in the games industry, and if a company abuses them in the name of "making games" then they'll most likely find themselves an employee short in the near future, as there are other places that have a bit more respect for their workers.
I love my job and I love going into work everyday, and I'm convinced I have the best job in the world as well, but it took me a few years and several companies to find one that didn't try to abuse the fact I enjoy it so much. It's about respect.
A week of Excel sounds shitty, and perhaps an office temp could do it.
Going through every objct, checking them, and making fixes is a job for a junior artist - it's an artists job, it needs to be done, no-one wants to do it, you are the newest.
Mindless fixes? No! You are fixing artwork, and I tell you that although it might be shitty, it needs to be done.
Be thankful you don't work with me - Thermidor came in as a junior and has to work closely with me. This means he has to go to the shop and buy me Macaroni pies. And Bacon Rolls. And have me invade his house demanding booze.
Sorry if I came across as a cunt in my previous post. I'm just in a bit of a mood.
I grew to love the admin shit more than making the art for a while, so much less taxing on those days where you need 300 coffees to even see the screen.
when I got into art director role, admin was all I did.
The fact that you're a game artist doesn't mean that you've got it good. However, you should make every effort to remake your situation into a good one before moving on.
just to be clear- i have NOT complained at work. (although by the soudns of it, i really should have, perhaps, in a polite way..) when i get a new task that i dont like, it's generaly with a smile on my face. i do not complain. i do believe this is the first time i've really vocalized my thoughts to anyone other than my mom/best friend. in fact, i feel rather guilty in a way for even making this thread, hense it's name. believe me. i'm pretty far away from a ranting mal-content.
in fact, doc_rob, being good at that stuff is why i do it all the time now. i'm not any more technical than anyone else, but when the other artists on the team get put on technical stuff, they bitch and moan and do it so damn slowly that it gets shifted on to me, which i TRY to look at as an honor, and do it quickly. i was acctualy TOLD that i get the shit jobs put on me, because aparently i was going to get some 'fun' work on my schedual... hmm.. looks like the character team sorted that out. oh well. what's that? re-apply a different value to a pile of objects instead, and then re-export? sure
anyway, while i'm interested in doing something about it, i do try, at least, and get into the mindset of enjoying it while i'm there. i've got it easy, certainly. i don't see that as a reason to stop aspiring to where i'd like to be, however.
either way.. this is great info guys, thanks for the perspective. i'll find a polite way to communicate my feelings to a lead- but i wory that i'm too late on that.. but i'm not going to talk about what needs to be done cuz that might be touching on my nda. I'll certianly change how i'm going to approach this because of this thread.
thanks a lot guys, i really do very much apprecieate this.
Using Excel, or another program, to track assets/bugs comes with the territory. Unless you're doing game design changes, then that should be done by a game designer, not an artist.
I think my question's been answered then. my main concern was basicaly if this is something that i could grow out of. i see a lot of artists who've been pigeon holed into doing these kinds of tasks because they were good at them, and became to imporant to move on. what i'm doing right now isn't so much of a concern as much as what's going to happen in the future if i continue down this road.
Just a thought.
Within reason of course as a lawyer would inform. Im sure washing and drying your managers car wouldn't be covered.