🚀 go-pugleaf

From article <1992Nov20.131956.10514@nuscc.nus.sg>, by isc10144@nusunix1.nus.sg (CHAN NICODEMUS):
> JAMES MCGINLEY (mcginle@obelix.gaul.csd.uwo.ca) wrote:

> : Any information at all on anything (I'll even take unsubstantiated opinions)
> : would be fantastique. I (along with everybody else here I presume) would
> : love a job programming computer games.
> : 
> : Thanks a million,
> : Jim 'I'm doomed to work at a bank' McGinley
> : 
> : P.S. Thanks for all the help everyone gave me about redefining characters!
> 
> I think that I quite agree with him.  But what is the competition and
> marketableness of people like us?  I'm sure there are a lot of people
> out there looking for these type of jobs.  

Having once turned down a job doing computer games I guess I'm
qualified to answer this one.

How did I find the job? I didn't it found me.

I bought an Amiga 1000 when they were brand new. (This should tell you
how long ago this was.) And went to an Amiga users group meeting. I
met several people there who were getting paid to write games. I
thought this was pretty neat, since I'd written games as a kid and had
always wanted to do it "for real."

Well, I liked what I was doing to much to apply for a job myself. But,
I told a friend about it and he applied for a job. He got the job and
told his boss about me. Pretty soon I got a call, had a telephone
interview and was offered a job. I turned it down.

So, why in the world did I turn it down?

1) The pay sucked. Best I could hope for was 30% less than I was
making. And I was under paid as it was.

2) No benefits

3) It was all short term, fixed price contracts.

This means they give you a spec, a deadline, and a price. If you
implement the spec by the deadline, you get paid. 

These contracts were for periods of weeks to at most 3 months.

4) No royalties. (A very few lucky souls get royalties.)

5) No creative control. You code to spec. If you don't code to spec,
you don't get paid.

6) Programmer supplied equipment. For most contracts you have to have
the equipment needed to carry out the contract, or you don't get the
contract.

This was all in Salt Lake City, Utah. There were 2 contract houses
there that worked this way. I was told, bluntly, that they were in SLC
because that's where they could find people who were desperate to take
this kind of work.

This does not describe the whole computer gaming industry. There are a
small number of shops the actually employ people to write games. BUt
they do not employ many people.

				Bob P.

P.S.

Writing games is 1) fun, and 2) very educational. Do it because you
enjoy it and you will learn so much from it.

-- 
Bob Pendleton             | As an engineer I hate to hear:
bobp@hal.com              |   1) You've earned an "I told you so."
Speaking only for myself. |   2) Our customers don't do that.
                   <<< Odin, after the well of Mimir. >>>