Hi,

I have a few questions to ask the community and hoping to get some feedback and thoughts. I plan on in March attending student day at GDC, I’ve never been before and was curious what is the general consensus on dress code for students looking for a job.

For my second question I have been talking with a few of my professors and I wanted to get the communities opinion as well before finalizing my portfolio over the next two to three months. I'm in a game development associates degree which kinda gives a look at everything, programming, AI, Math & physics, unity and unreal engine, 2D and 3D art, Project management, and Midi creation. With having a little of everything and I’ve noticed that programming is probably my strongest point what type of jobs should I shoot for and build a portfolio and resume around?

Finally my last question relates to my portfolio I have one finished 2D XNA game that consists of 4 levels and different difficulties and was thinking about creating a sample unity level as well. Should I continue with XNA that I know fairly well or should I script out AI, physics and stuff like that in Unity to show that I know multiple platforms for developing games?

Thanks for your time, my portfolio isn't live yet however when it is I will have you guys review it for me and give me some feedback.

I believe that it pretty much depends on what YOU want to work with. Having a 2D game done in XNA is a great start (given it is complete from main menu to sound fx), and most likelly will give you a head start in 2D game development. Unity is primarilly 3D, and by showcasing your skills there, you broaden the pool of potential jobs at programming.

For the most part, if you plan on goin the programmer route, tech demos are as desirable as completed games -- showing how you use shaders, physics or maybe even networking will tell tales about your skills and how you code. An employer will be most interested in the following:
* Can you pull through on a project? (obviously checked, as you have completed a game)
* Can you work with others towards a common goal?
* What are your skills and knowledge? (I can't remember the thread I read this in, but being willing(and able) to absorb new stuff in a short amount of time is a plus)
* Are you reliable? (previous job experiences would be desirable, as everywhere. But for an entry level job, it isn't a drawback to come fresh from a degree.)

Also, take a look at this thread (ha, so that's where my near-quote came from) -- FlyingDutchman describes how he was interviewed for a programming position for an indie company, as well as others go into more detail about what employers look at in a programmer.

Thanks Zethariel, I alredy checked out that post a while back but I'll reference it for the future as well. I worked with someone else on that 2D project so i think i can put a check mark on that, i also have some group projects from classes. I have an extensive IT resume with about 8 years of experience right now with three of them at my current job at webhosting working server administration and web coding support. But I'm not sure how that weighs in for job experience in the game industry at entry level work.

I would still like to know about dress codes and stuff like what to expect, i hear that they (career booths) pack up early on the friday that is student day, so i probably should have a list of companies i want to visit first at GDC.