[Nuke]

last place you want to end up is in the workforce. i dont think ive ever had a job where i dont feel like im being exploited, used, and taken advantage of, or where im forced to do likewise to customers. im more comfortable living under a bridge and eating rats for a living while occasionally overdosing on over the counter medication for a cheap fix.

good thing i live near the woods and know how to kill things.

[CommanderDJ]

Starting to fear that the games industry is not where I want to actually end up, as it pretty much eschews the concept of work-life balance if the stories are to be believed, and that is simply not a life I want. Going to do what research I can to either confirm or deny this.

honest piece of advice here:  don't let that be the only thing to stop you.  plenty of other jobs do the same thing.  i live at the beach and haven't been to visit it in about a year and a half.  except for my brief polar plunge skim session on new year's.

Sorry if my naivete comes through here, but just because other jobs do it doesn't mean it's okay. My life has more or less been one-dimensional for the past few years since I'm focusing on graduating, and the entire time I've held out hope that once I get a fulltime job there'll finally be a cap, an upper limit to the time I have to sink into my career . I'm passionate about programming and the possibility of making games, but I don't believe that means Iwshould dedicate my entire life to my career. I want to have hobbies and non-work friends

[General Battuta]

You have every right to want that - it's a fundamental aspect of a humane work environment.

Crunch is real. It sucks. I have a game writing job and a real writing job and I'm still trying to figure out the balance between the two. I certainly miss my NYC life of novel-writing days and nights out with friends. On the other hand, you do get to be part of a multi-million-dollar endeavor, and your work will be seen by millions, so...

[Nuke]

just got the kitten fixed. nothing looks as sad as a kitten that is on drugs and cut up.

[haloboy100]

Starting to fear that the games industry is not where I want to actually end up, as it pretty much eschews the concept of work-life balance if the stories are to be believed, and that is simply not a life I want. Going to do what research I can to either confirm or deny this.

honest piece of advice here:  don't let that be the only thing to stop you.  plenty of other jobs do the same thing.  i live at the beach and haven't been to visit it in about a year and a half.  except for my brief polar plunge skim session on new year's.

Sorry if my naivete comes through here, but just because other jobs do it doesn't mean it's okay. My life has more or less been one-dimensional for the past few years since I'm focusing on graduating, and the entire time I've held out hope that once I get a fulltime job there'll finally be a cap, an upper limit to the time I have to sink into my career . I'm passionate about programming and the possibility of making games, but I don't believe that means Iwshould dedicate my entire life to my career. I want to have hobbies and non-work friends

Be an indie game developer! At least for the sake of trying.

I definitely would not be surprised to see people from HLP involved in the development of games like FTL or Kerbal Space Program.

Though of course I have no idea at all how easy or hard attempting such a thing could possibly be.

[Polpolion]

I adopted a kitten yesterday. Named her after our favorite video game protagonist: Pilot.

[General Battuta]

:3

[Rodo]

I normally like puppies over kittens, but that's a cute little ball of fur. 

[CommanderDJ]

You have every right to want that - it's a fundamental aspect of a humane work environment.

Crunch is real. It sucks. I have a game writing job and a real writing job and I'm still trying to figure out the balance between the two. I certainly miss my NYC life of novel-writing days and nights out with friends. On the other hand, you do get to be part of a multi-million-dollar endeavor, and your work will be seen by millions, so...

Definitely stuff worth thinking about. I feel like the AAA-studio experience is something I'd want (at this point) to try, even if it's only for a short time. As you said, it probably does wonders for getting your work out there, not to mention for your resume. Not really sure how to phrase this, but how much choice do you have to actually determine that balance? (Does that make sense?)

Be an indie game developer! At least for the sake of trying.

I definitely would not be surprised to see people from HLP involved in the development of games like FTL or Kerbal Space Program.

Though of course I have no idea at all how easy or hard attempting such a thing could possibly be.

This is definitely something on my mind. My problem is that I'm not very innovative when it comes to game mechanics and such, I'm much more interested in games in terms of telling an interactive story, so I feel like I'd be ill-suited to being a solo dev (because I don't get ideas for games, I get ideas for stories that I'd like to see told through games), but joining up with an indie studio (difficult as that is, especially in Australia) is something I'd definitely like to do.

[General Battuta]

Here crunch is less a product of 'You must stay and work.' and more a product of 'Here's what we have to do. Here's when we have to get it done. How good do we want it to be?'

[An4ximandros]

Can't get Wireless modem card working on Win 7. Tried a USB key yesterday that didn't work either. Checked all drivers and stuff. I am loosing patience... and my wired net service is ending this month...

[StarSlayer]

Even outside the gaming industry you will see plenty of crunch/overtime requirements.  Unfortunately if you're a salaried employee you will not be rolling in the glorious time and a half. 

What you need to get the feel for is if its an occasional "For King and Company!" type of thing or if they are just continuously saddling you week after week with 60 hours work for 40 hours of pay and no recognition.  The former is a chance to show you are an All Star worthy of accolades and advancement, the later is them taking advantage of the situation and you may want to consider alternative employment.  You should be able to get a feel for it from the general moral of the "grunts."

In short missing Kendo a week or two is well worth proving you're a hard working go-getter if you know it will pay off come review time.

[perihelion]

I adopted a kitten yesterday. Named her after our favorite video game protagonist: Pilot.

Dawwww!  I love calicos.  My first cat was a calico.  She was 1 year older than me and decided I was hers.  We used to hang out at the top of the magnolia tree in the back yard and watch all the idiots scurry around below.  (That tree couldn't be as tall as I remember it being, but hey, I was shorter then as well.)

Make sure you get a scratching post and some kitty treats.  If you set up positive reinforcement for using the scratching post early and regularly enough, your furniture will thank you.   

[deathfun]

All this talk of kittens reminded me again of this

[Gortef]

I adopted a kitten yesterday. Named her after our favorite video game protagonist: Pilot.

Aawww, that's a cute pilot. The name almost demands you to make her bed look like a Herc or another fighter.

And then hope she will actually sleep in it, which is more than likely a fat chance...

[Luis Dias]

Here crunch is less a product of 'You must stay and work.' and more a product of 'Here's what we have to do. Here's when we have to get it done. How good do we want it to be?'

Yes, I am well aware of this tactic it also exists in architecture. It's the most passive aggressive quasi-trollish management technique ever invented by our society. All those ideological ghosts that we were educated with, you know, "realize your potential, be the best, be yourself, roar like a leaf in the wind, etc.", are absolutely correlated with the interest of exploiting to the fullest the "intellectual property" worker, by giving him/her this manipulative dillema "well we could just work the eight hour shifts and let our products be ordinary... but is that what your spirit craves for? Is this what you really want to achieve for yourself?"

I'm not criticizing anyone who is exploited by this. I am a voluntary victim of this idea myself. I am just deeply skeptical of the system, I think it's like it discovered the way to exploit workers and make them like it. Extremely cynical.

[Klaustrophobia]

it's raining so hard maybe i won't have to go to work tomorrow due to an unplanned un-drydocking of the ship.

[Luis Dias]

So I read that transformers PDF (90% of it)... omg that is so huge. And interesting. Especially the talent of retrieving anything memorable and curious from that ghastly trilogy. I already wonder if there's something akin to this but with the Star Wars prequels or, even, the Twilight movies. Oh dafuq I'm talking about, of course there is.

[haloboy100]

it's raining so hard maybe i won't have to go to work tomorrow due to an unplanned un-drydocking of the ship.

That sounds...sinister.

Do you work on the ship? What is it like?

[Klaustrophobia]

you have 10 priorities.  they are all #1.  ready, set.... WAIT!  you don't have any of the support you need.  why isn't this done yet?  you're holding everything up.  why did you rush and make that mistake?  don't you know better?  why did you let those other guys make that mistake?  here's what you should do to fix this.  WHY THE **** DID YOU DO THAT WHAT IN THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!!

... hey have i told you these hilarious stories about all the stupid **** i did when i was in your spot?  the one that ended with technical requirements getting changed because of what i did?  did you know i have the record for having the most changes? 



or did you mean what's the actual ship like?  it's big.  really. god. damn.  BIG.  and you can totally stand under it right now.  a lot of walking.  a lot of ladders.  and it's starting to get hot and nasty as hell.  well, nastier.  ships in maintenance conditions are always gross and torn to ****.  i got to see one of the main engine turbines cut open a while back.  it's surprisingly NOT that big.