Stomping Grounds Revelation
So, today I went back to the smoking remains of Acclaim Austin. There were empty hallways, empty cardboard boxes strewn about, and a very few, suspicious people walking around. There was the IT manager, who looked weary from trying to help out both his friends and his former employer. There were security guards, who scowled at you to make sure you weren't vandalizing anything, and auctioneers, who looked through your stuff to make sure you weren't stealing Acclaim property. That kind of stuff freaks me out, so I always opened up everything, and offered to let them look through it. I think that made them more nervous.

It took me several boxes, two trips to the car, and 2.5 hours to take down my office. I completely filled my car, so I went home to empty it, then returned to help out some of the others.

I'm a proxy today. You see, since the company closed more than a month and a half ago, many people now have jobs in far off lands. Because I'm helpful sucker, I offered to help them out by cleaning out their offices for them.

I cleared out two offices with just two boxes. Comparing that to my glut of stuff really was humbling. I never realized how much I lived out of my office.

I had video game box covers all over the walls, with obscure movie posters in between. I put up concept art as office decoration, and I have a plush alien hanging from the ceiling. I had food in all my filing cabinets. This was partly because a video game company is one of the best examples of a paperless office, and partly because I used to run a clandestine general store out of my office.

While I was going through the offices, I realized something. In the last month or so, I've had several interviews with game companies. I've been applying for senior game programmer jobs because I've got seven years experience, more than three shipped titles, and a broad range of skills in the gaming industry. However, I seemed to be hitting a brick wall with most of the companies. You see, I don't specialize in 3D programming; and these days, a programmer is measured by his 3D programming skills. Don't get me wrong, I can build an engine in D3D or OpenGL, I just don't enjoy it as much as building a game. 3D programming just feels like building a tech demo, no life, no passion.

Because I don't like working in 3D, I haven't got much work experience in 3D, and as I've said, we seem to measure intelligence by polygons. So, because of this, I've been passed over on several of my interviews. In one interview, a potential employer actually asked me, "So, you really think you're a senior level programmer?" It had started to build up, bothering me a little more each time, until I started doubting my own skills. Maybe I wasn't a senior programmer. Maybe it takes more than experience making games.

Then I cleaned out my office, and I saw all the notes that I had made. I remembered times that people came to me for help on code design problems. I remembered when I was the sole controller of huge sections of code. I remembered being the lead on my own project. At Acclaim, the lead of the technology group would come by my office several times a day, and we would occasionally talk about issues he was dealing with. If he valued my input, if other people came to me for answers, how could I not be a senior level programmer?

I think the problem might just be the economy. There have been a lot of people fired from game companies recently, and there's a glut of talent out in the market. Maybe companies feel like they can always find the next Bobby Fisher, and they don't have to deal with anyone who isn't a 3D guru. Maybe they're right. But we are rapidly approaching a point where the technology is not going to push us any more. When we all have blisteringly beautiful rendering systems, they will need people who can do original thinking on Networking, AI, and Gameplay; And typically, the 3D gurus don't like to spend time thinking about the game side (just look at John Carmack). Maybe then they'll decide that flexible thinkers are useful again.
- posted by BrandG @ 8:56 PM