MY QUEST:

I found out about Double Fine through your a podcast in 2012.  Fast forward six years, I’m a student game developer giving it all I have for a job there.

So, I checked their “Action Jobs” page to see what I could find.  Under "We are always recruiting everybody, all the time" there is a short story about what happens when you get a job there.

http://www.doublefine.com/jobs

Also featured on this fabulous brochure.

Last summer, I decided I wanted a job there, but they must have interns banging on their windows, so how could I stand out?   I decided to make a game that would have several sections to demonstrate my ability and show that I would work hard.  

Last Fall, I learned Unity through my University.  Every single project I made was either a part of my Double Fine game, or specifically designed so that I could reuse code for my Double Fine game.

Around December I realized it would be awesome to go to GDC.  The main reason being that I could speak to people from Double Fine and make an impression.  

It was too late to sign up as a GDC volunteer, passes were over $1k, but someone told me about the Unity Student Scholarship.  I didn't have a proper portfolio, but I uploaded my work from my Unity class and any other Unity projects I had.  Even without a portfolio, I tried to make it look good.  I spent so long on the application process that I was late to a New Years Eve party.

 The new year came, and my game that would get me into Double Fine, codenamed "Project Sourdough," was not on schedule.  It would never be completed on time, although parts of it were a complete mess.

Since Sourdough didn't have time to rise properly, I needed to make a more concise experience very rapidly.  I reused as much code as I could to make "Project Unleavened," a game that follows the story on Double Fine's “Action Jobs” page.

Time passed.  I really wanted to go to GDC.  One night, I prayed that I would go, even though it was unlikely.  I also prayed that if I didn't go, they would at least tell me soon, so I could stop thinking about it.

The very next moment, I pulled out my phone to call someone, and an e-mail popped up on the lock screen from Unity folks.

"Thank you for submitting...  We received a lot of high quality applications ... Unfortunately, you were not chosen as a recipient ... But we were impressed with your application" and they gave me a limited access pass.

I was completely in awe.

SO I WAS GOING TO GDC!  

 
The next thing I needed was a way to give them the game.  I designed a one-sided business card reminiscent of an atari cartridge, and had it printed onto two USB Business cards from VistaPrint.

I had a lot of work to do on Unleavened.  I put in some crazy hours in the weeks leading up to GDC, and had to either solve or work around countless issues.  Unfortunately, due to a quirk in my dialogue system, I could only build for Windows at the time.  Fortunately, I did get some help from my friends.  I found out one of them is a QA guru.  Another one could make great drawings, and it was amazing seeing him bring a piece of the game to life.  But their time was limited by their own schoolwork, so I did all the coding and most of the art myself.  That said, I can’t understate the importance of my friends and family during development.

The final week of crunch on Monday, my phone died.  It got hot, the battery drained quickly, and then it would not boot up.  I've had it for years, so it was at end-of-life, but the week before flying across the country was a bad time to bite the dust.
If nothing else, Verizon knows how to sell phones.  I got my hands on a Pixel 2 before the week was out.  Crisis averted, but it took the entire day to resolve that one.

Tuesday, I referenced DF’s Jobs page.  It had changed.  I had been planning to apply for an internship, but there was a brand new note.  “Alas, we are unable to offer internships pretty much ever, sorry!”

That could be the end of the story.   But it’s not.  If I couldn't be an intern, I’d apply for a full position as a Gameplay Programmer.

I programmed, built, tested, rinsed, repeated until it was error-free.  After all that testing I copied those files onto the two business cards.

I took a few hours off Sunday night before GDC to hang out with friends.  Unfortunately, I needed more than two business cards for GDC, so I got back to work around eleven to design some normal ones.  I lied down for a moment and fell asleep for three hours, woke up at 5 AM and then sent my design to the local Minuteman Press.

The next morning, there was no next morning, I woke up at noon.   I ran about a mile to the printer to get those business cards, and began to pack ASAP.

 (Disclaimer: That's not San Francisco )

I had a friend who was on-time to bring me to the airport, but I was too far behind packing, and missed the flight Monday.  They rescheduled me for free since the next flights had open seats.  I was stuck at the airport for hours, exhausted, but Tuesday afternoon I finally made it to San Francisco.

Double Fine runs a booth called "Day of the Devs" which showcases a few selected indie games.  I hung out there for hours trying to find one of them.  I met plenty of good people, but I missed their main producer (Greg Rice) by literally a minute.  

Wednesday night was an awards ceremony, and the Tim Schafer got a big one.  I waited twenty minutes after the show until the people from that company started walking out, and caught up to Greg Rice when he separated from the rest of them.

"Mister Rice, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"I'm really really late, I can't talk now."
"Can you at least take this?"
And I handed him one of the USB Business cards with my resume and the game on it.
He ran away screaming.   
Well, not really, he just walked away quickly.

 
THE HUNT CONTINUED,

Thursday, I finally got lucky at Double Fine's booth.

While scanning badges, I saw some tiny print.  It said "Double Fine Productions."  Whoah.  I looked up, and saw he was wearing a shiny Double Fine pin.  It was beautiful.  I looked at his face, and he was talking to someone else.  

I awkwardly stood by until he was free, and then told him my story before relinquishing the second USB Business card.  Package 2 delivered!  Delivered to a Communications Manager, no less!

Friday I walked out of a building and saw some people in Double Fine branded clothes ==> I orbited around in front of them, and introduced myself to two more DF people (programmers).  They really liked the idea of my game, so I gave them my card and told then where to find it online.

Saturday I applied to Double Fine thru their web site, the normal way, except that I included a link to the game.

Monday, the Communications Manager sent me an e-mail that the game didn't work.  I know exactly the issue and exactly why.  I sent both the fix and a working version.

Which brings us to today. 

Here is the game I made: https://sonictimm.itch.io/action-resume
Playtime is usually less than ten minutes.  I did modify my dialogue system for web, so you can play it in your browser.

Experience Points:     

I'd love to say that you can work hard for your dream job, but at this point I have no idea if I'll get the job.

What if I don't get the job.  I poured my life into a project for a [possibly] failed endeavor.  I still gained:

-A portfolio. 
-A trip to GDC
-Lots of contacts from said trip  
-Some free time in San Francisco 
-TONS of Unity Experience 
-Practice writing.  I love writing, but it's hard to sit down and do it.  
-Practice Art-ing.   I love UI, but spritework is not my calling.  
-A chance to collab with some friends   
-A game that may or may not be fun, I'll let you guys decide  
-This crazy story.  Honestly, the University feels mundane after all this...  

This list is getting crazy long..

But seriously, if your project fails, you'll probably learn more than if it succeeds. 
That said, don't ever strive for failure.  Study Failure.  Look at why things don't work, learn from other people's mistakes.  

Everyone learns from success, myself included.  (I'm not the first person to try and get into a company by making a game...)

Anyway, I'd love to get your feedback.  If you can spare ten minutes, I'd love to hear what you think of my game.

Also, if you have any tips for getting noticed by a game company / making yourself more employable, I'd love to hear those as well.

Cheers!