Portfolio Tips
Author
Hey There,
I''ve just started to gather a portfolio of some of my
games. Some one suggested it you see. I was just
wondering if anyone had any tips on doing this. I''ve
only made two simple games on Pascal. As I have only
been learning it for 6 months I see this as quite an
achievment.
An tips on what type of games or what else I could do
or show would be greatly appreciated.
Thanx In Advance
GUY
Mega Moh Mine!!
Well, a portfolio is normally for the more expirenienced person that has a good collect of games to choose from. But, I''ll fire off my tips anyway.
Only choose the games that you like, and are proud of. If you''re not proud of them, and you don''t like them, then the person your showing them too probably won''t.
As far as what type of game, nobody should make that descision for you. You don''t have to make shooters just because everyone else is. Make games that you enjoy and that you play. That way, you''ll no more about them and how to make them.
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
Only choose the games that you like, and are proud of. If you''re not proud of them, and you don''t like them, then the person your showing them too probably won''t.
As far as what type of game, nobody should make that descision for you. You don''t have to make shooters just because everyone else is. Make games that you enjoy and that you play. That way, you''ll no more about them and how to make them.
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
A portfolio is a collection of your best work, or, depending on the work, a collection of all your work. It really doesn't matter, as long as what you have demonstates the skills and abilities you want to put across to people.
As far as do's and don'ts, if you do a portfolio for programming try to avoid installing connponents to the PC as ALOT OF COMPANIES DON'T LIKE THAT.
Is it programming you're going for? If it is then I would recommend you try your hand at C or C++ as well as pascal isn't used much in the industry.
Also if you wrote a non-interactive demo, which was cool to look at, that would be a good addition.
If I was demoing games for a sofware house, I would contact the company first by phone, ask questions (who do I e-mail, would you accept a CD with my portfolio?) and on the CD :-
An interface, (autorun not needed) to select the game you wish to see, and options to "view CV" "visit website", "screenshots" (in case they have problems running app, or wish to see what it looks like first) "Instructions" (these must be easy on the eye, no readme txt file shoved onto screen carelessly) "quit" and "about me" (a quick bit about yourself)
You could write the inferface in pascal or even HTML, but make sure you label the CD, and on the label is your name, contact, and the name of the file to run the menu.
It should be easy to load.
Try and test your software as you really don't want it crashing on them!
IMPORTANT: Remember that they may only wish to spend 5-10mins looking at your work. So don't send them a CD so full of stuff and can't possibly view all of! Quality over Quantity.
You might want to invest in a CD-Writer, you can buy a good one for £130-£150
As for labels, CD Stomper (Label kit) £30 from most places.
Your CV mustn't be "dull and corporate" Use a subtle amount of color and design to liven it up. (not too much mind, as remember that sometimes your CV might be faxed, so consider this with the layout)
One important note : don't use ANY material (code/sound/characters or music) that isn't your all own work, this isn't advisable. This is your portfolio for your work.
The very best advice I would give you, would be to contact a couple of software houses and ask them, what do they want in terms of content for a showreel/portfolio. You don't need to be looking for a job, just enquire. Ring them up by phone is better than email...
woo...bit of a post!
Hope this helps...
Good Luck!
Ste
www.stephen-hawes.co.uk
Edited by - Zonbie on June 22, 2000 8:11:10 PM
As far as do's and don'ts, if you do a portfolio for programming try to avoid installing connponents to the PC as ALOT OF COMPANIES DON'T LIKE THAT.
Is it programming you're going for? If it is then I would recommend you try your hand at C or C++ as well as pascal isn't used much in the industry.
Also if you wrote a non-interactive demo, which was cool to look at, that would be a good addition.
If I was demoing games for a sofware house, I would contact the company first by phone, ask questions (who do I e-mail, would you accept a CD with my portfolio?) and on the CD :-
An interface, (autorun not needed) to select the game you wish to see, and options to "view CV" "visit website", "screenshots" (in case they have problems running app, or wish to see what it looks like first) "Instructions" (these must be easy on the eye, no readme txt file shoved onto screen carelessly) "quit" and "about me" (a quick bit about yourself)
You could write the inferface in pascal or even HTML, but make sure you label the CD, and on the label is your name, contact, and the name of the file to run the menu.
It should be easy to load.
Try and test your software as you really don't want it crashing on them!
IMPORTANT: Remember that they may only wish to spend 5-10mins looking at your work. So don't send them a CD so full of stuff and can't possibly view all of! Quality over Quantity.
You might want to invest in a CD-Writer, you can buy a good one for £130-£150
As for labels, CD Stomper (Label kit) £30 from most places.
Your CV mustn't be "dull and corporate" Use a subtle amount of color and design to liven it up. (not too much mind, as remember that sometimes your CV might be faxed, so consider this with the layout)
One important note : don't use ANY material (code/sound/characters or music) that isn't your all own work, this isn't advisable. This is your portfolio for your work.
The very best advice I would give you, would be to contact a couple of software houses and ask them, what do they want in terms of content for a showreel/portfolio. You don't need to be looking for a job, just enquire. Ring them up by phone is better than email...
woo...bit of a post!
Hope this helps...
Good Luck!
Ste
www.stephen-hawes.co.uk
Edited by - Zonbie on June 22, 2000 8:11:10 PM
quote:Original post by Tiso
Only choose the games that you like, and are proud of. If you're not proud of them, and you don't like them, then the person your showing them too probably won't.
If you're not proud of your game/demo/whatever, that doesn't mean it's crap or that the company doesn't like it. I mean, I could get a job at programming games for GBC if I send the games I did on other Z80-systems, but I'm not really proud of these games. What matters is that they can see you are capable of doing what they want. If you can do it, you'll get the job (if there's no competition).
Arjan
-------------------------
-Programmers don't byte, they nibble a bit.
Unknown Person
-------------------------
Edited by - Arjan on June 23, 2000 4:36:06 PM
Slow down there.
The reason I said that was because:
a) when your proud of a game, you did something extra that you enjoyed, or worked extra hard at it
b) they see that you enjoy your the games you make
c) I believe it
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
The reason I said that was because:
a) when your proud of a game, you did something extra that you enjoyed, or worked extra hard at it
b) they see that you enjoy your the games you make
c) I believe it
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
Never post anything you''re not proud of. If you aren''t impressed, you can be sure I won''t be.
First thing in your portfolio should be the cover letter and your resume. Sure, sure, you want to write games. But you still need a good cover letter and a readable resume.
If you are putting games in your portfolio, choose the 3 best. Just like your resume, this is not a list of everything you''ve done in your entire life. It''s a quick way to show what you''re good at! For each item/game/etc, include 1 sheet of paper with a screenshot and quick description of what you did in this game (unless you did it all in a small game).
The CDROM (you *WILL* have a CDROM) should have an easy to use structure to it. I must be able to run your game "out of the box" so to speak and it must run right the first time or the CD is in the garbage.
First thing in your portfolio should be the cover letter and your resume. Sure, sure, you want to write games. But you still need a good cover letter and a readable resume.
If you are putting games in your portfolio, choose the 3 best. Just like your resume, this is not a list of everything you''ve done in your entire life. It''s a quick way to show what you''re good at! For each item/game/etc, include 1 sheet of paper with a screenshot and quick description of what you did in this game (unless you did it all in a small game).
The CDROM (you *WILL* have a CDROM) should have an easy to use structure to it. I must be able to run your game "out of the box" so to speak and it must run right the first time or the CD is in the garbage.
Well, what if your program needs to write to a file? It obviously can''t do
that on a CD. And what if some person tries to copy all your game files
to their hard drive? A read-only file attribute will be set for all your
files, and if you program needs to write to one of them, it will fail.
I would think the best way would require that your game be installed on
their hard drive with an installation program if it needs to write data,
like configuration info.
that on a CD. And what if some person tries to copy all your game files
to their hard drive? A read-only file attribute will be set for all your
files, and if you program needs to write to one of them, it will fail.
I would think the best way would require that your game be installed on
their hard drive with an installation program if it needs to write data,
like configuration info.
Personally, if I was in the position of reviewing portfolios of demos, I''d hate receiving demos with full installation processes, such as InstallShield. Especially for small demos. I would much rather just copy or unzip it to a directory, run it, and delete it afterwards, than worry about it modifying my Start Menu, interfering with the Registry, etc. If you had to deal with 50 of these every day, I think you''d want them to be as ''clean'' as possible.
I personally consider games that install and uninstall themselves to be less burden to work with than clumsy .zip files. Although I would presume this to be a matter of preference.
The_Minister
1C3-D3M0N Interactive
The_Minister
1C3-D3M0N Interactive
I think if it''s easy to install, and easy to uninstall, then it''s a go. If you click install, it installs quickly and efficiently, and if you click uninstall the start menu is gone and you never see it again.
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
............
Guardian Angel Interactive
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