Monthly Archive for January, 2009

Games of January

princeofpersiaFirst game I played in 2009 was Prince of Persia. I really liked it… after a while. As we grow older playing games, I think we often forget that we’re playing for fun and start analysing everything. And because of that, I started playing this game, putting way too much thought over the fact that you couldn’t die. But once I got around all that and started playing the game just to have fun, I realised how good that game was. The vistas are georgious, the characters likable even though somewhat cliché and the dialogs are well written. All in all, a really good game. Can’t wait for the DLC they just announced to be released.

After finishing Prince of Persia, I fired up Last Remnant. I haven’t play much, but so far the story seems disjointed. The combat system is interesting thought. I’ll surely go back to it after I finish Gears 2

With Last Remnant not really catching me, I started Gears of War 2 to see if I would continue playing Last Remnant or play GoW2. Sadly for Last Remnant, I’m hooked to manly killing locusts going from chest-high-walls to chest-high-walls. The action is intense, the shooting is good (for a shooter on console) and the cover system works really well. Oh, but the single player partner AI is REALLY dumb. Anyway, great fun so far. I’m also looking forward to play a couple of multiplayer match with members of the PMS|H2O GoW 2 Division.

Speaking of the PMS|H2O clan, with TWL League Season 4 starting, my Call of Duty 4 team is back in full practice mode. I get the feeling competition is going to be really fierce this season. I can’t wait!

PvP: Real man programming

In PvP, I play the devil’s advocate with a given subject. Each Player takes an extreme side/opinion on the subject and we see how both opinion clashes and then we open the topic to discussion. Don’t be shy to post a comment and participate to the discussion.

player 2Player 2: Here’s an advice for you noobs. If you want to break into the game industry, you already know that a portfolio is a BIG plus. But you may be wondering what you should work on, what you should put in your portfolio. Here’s the trick, if you want to be a real man, a real programmer, you need to stay away from easy technology like XNA or half-ass game building package like RPG-Maker or Verge-RPG. You need to stick with technology like C++, MFC, DirectX or OpenGL. That’s what they use in the game industry, that’s what you should use to build your portfolio.

You should build a 3D Engine from the ground up, with physics and an HDR lighting system. Things need to blow up. It need to be impressive. Oh and don’t forget about fog. People loves fog.

player 1Player 1: It is a given that a portfolio is needed, but I don’t think the technology used matters, you don’t need to build something big for your portfolio, you just need to build something. It does not matter if it’s a small Tetris clone, as long as you can show you’re capable of doing something.

Doing the grunt work of building a 3D game engine is nice when you’re experienced. But starting from the ground up can be pretty painful. It’s hard to get to a point where you have a finished product if it’s hard to take the first step.

Player 2: Yeah but say we both send our resume at the same place and all you have is that skinny Tetris clone and I have my Triple-A 3D Game Engine. Sorry P1, but you don’t stand a chance.

Player 1: Sure, but if we’re given the same time-frame to build our portfolio. The time it take you to get that AAA 3D Game Engine somewhat functional. I’ll be able to have a polished product, almost bug-free. And I’ll probably have time to finish 5 other project.

I think that the worst thing you can do to your portfolio is to create some monster of a project that end up so crazily complex that you’re able to finish only a small part of it, being left with something that doesn’t work half of the time.

My Take: I don’t think that the scale of the project is important. Like P1 said, you just need to show that you’re able to create things. However, I think that P2 brings a good point on using, at least some, of the commonly used technology. Not because it is required for your portfolio, but it gives you experience that you’ll need during technical test or interview.

What’s your take?

Note: Graphics used are from Ctrl+Alt+Del. Go read it, it’s an awesome web comic!

From Beginner to Journeyman

A beginner is a craftsman that doesn’t have the right to charge a fee for a day of work. To gain this right, he needs to prove himself and get employed by a master craftsman. That is when he becomes a Journeyman.

Today, is the first day of my internship as a Game Programmer at Mistic Software. Today, I gained the right to charge a fee for a day of work as a Game Programmer. As of today, I am no longer a beginner, I am a Journeyman :D