7 replies to this topic

[Toran]

Hello.

I am a current programming student looking for a little insight on the hiring process.
I have about three months to graduation, but I am trying to get a head start.
I have created an ePortfolio with some past projects and such, however I'm not sure that
it is as effective as it could be.

Any tips/tricks/superstitions about breaking into the industry would be appreciated, especially ideas on
more demos to show what I can do.

Thanks.

[freeworld]

Your video have much to be desired, they're extremely short and don't explain anything of what you're trying to show. Especially the last one, demonstrating buoyancy, up until the last second, the ship doesn't appear to move at all, hard to tell if it is actual interacting with the water or not.

Maybe put some audio in there and narrate what you put the video together for.

[Toran]

Thanks for the feedback.

I will be redoing the video section of the portfolio in the coming days.
I hadn't thought about adding narration to the videos, I was going to go with a text description.
But, I think that you are right a narrated insight on what I was doing and why it is there would be much more effective.

[freeworld]

Thanks for the feedback.

I will be redoing the video section of the portfolio in the coming days.
I hadn't thought about adding narration to the videos, I was going to go with a text description.
But, I think that you are right a narrated insight on what I was doing and why it is there would be much more effective.

text is fine to, just something to describe what the video is supposed to be about.

[loom_weaver]

While not directly related... I would make your resume available as .pdf

[Tom Sloper]

1. looking for a little insight on the hiring process.
2. I have about three months to graduation, but I am trying to get a head start.
3. I'm not sure that [my portfolio] is as effective as it could be.
4. Any tips/tricks/superstitions about breaking into the industry would be appreciated

1. Read http://www.igda.org/games-game-march-2010
2. I wouldn't call it a "head start." This is the right time to start.
3. If you say that, it probably isn't. You should do more.
4. Then you should click this forum's FAQs link (above).

[MAEnthoven]

The real problem with your portfolio is that you don't have any finished projects.

Everything there is just showing how you can program nice <30 second videos. But anyone who knows c++ and spends a tiny bit of time with DirectX, OpenGL, or Unity3D can do that. You're showing the basics, but not real powerful projects.

Make something that people use, or that people will want to use. Make a project that can really "wow" the recruiter with statistics, or at the very least, your knowledge. You want to be able to talk about how many downloads you've got, or at least what skills it demonstrates.

Look at this post: http://www.gamedev.net/topic/602712-best-places-to-post-free-games-i-have-made/

Notice, his projects are finished projects.

[A Brain in a Vat]

The real problem with your portfolio is that you don't have any finished projects.

Everything there is just showing how you can program nice <30 second videos. But anyone who knows c++ and spends a tiny bit of time with DirectX, OpenGL, or Unity3D can do that. You're showing the basics, but not real powerful projects.

Make something that people use, or that people will want to use. Make a project that can really "wow" the recruiter with statistics, or at the very least, your knowledge. You want to be able to talk about how many downloads you've got, or at least what skills it demonstrates.

Look at this post: http://www.gamedev.n...es-i-have-made/

Notice, his projects are finished projects.

I agree partly with this, but don't think that you need to have finished games. No one in the game industry who is going to be hiring you expects you to have finished an entire game. Finishing a game doesn't map well to what you will do in the industry, and requires all kinds of tedium that does nothing but waste your own time.

You have the right idea, showing small systems that you've created and are demo'ing. The main problem is that you aren't showing anything worth showing. They show very basic skills, but you're going to need to show more than that to get the attention of an interviewer. Find a technique that's somewhat advanced that interests you, and then implement it well. Then put up a longer video describing your implementation.

Look at the nVidia tech demos as an example of videos/demos that show off a particular technique. Here's a good example of someone's tech demo: http://www.youtube.c...h?v=BG6YljaTdsI One video like that one would be much more likely to get you hired than a hundred videos like the ones on your site.

If you're in an interview with someone who's seen your portfolio videos, they're going to ask you about your implementation. You want to make sure you have shown something which was difficult enough that you have something to talk about.