Lord Death:

A test? What kind of things are on the test. The reason for asking is that I know a lot of people are shaky on their knowledge on just what a game company expects new hires to know...

Sounds like the US is a little different to us down under!

When I applied, the bulk of the merit was given on example source code and personal projects I submitted. Being some distance away, my interview was conducted over the phone. Standard interview questions apply.

While the company was still young then, my first day seeing any of the staff was my first day at work. Since then the company has grown, and the interview process has a few more steps in it.

I think the key to a smooth interview (having been through some more in the IT sector before I applied at the current company I work for), is to be open, honest, and willing to mention details where they apply. If you stay away from mentioning anything too technical, they will either think you dont know it, or you really underestimate their knowledge.

Too often (even when talking to friends) people find themselves still speaking very ''factually'' even when they run into areas that they arent quite sure about. Dont fill in the gaps on the fly. Chances are the interviewers will catch you out, and you will have to make something up to cover the fact that you were outright talking crap to them earlier.

And it may be something to remember that what you should be wanting from them is more than money. You want opportunities and a future. Dont press them on it, but you''ll want to know if they offer anything to their employees that can help them in the field.

They have a job to be done. You have a future to be decided upon. A good job sees you moving up either within, or your next move to another company.


regards,

GeniX

www.cryo-genix.net

http://www.softcorp.demon.co.uk/c++2.htm

Good luck

Just a question are you the only person going? Or have they a number of people trying out of the same job?

Ok, this is what they had in mind when they arranged this:

Dinner Monday night - it''s pretty nerve racking to meet some people (particularly a closely knit team) for the first time and then they jump into a technical interview. By arranging an informal interview they''ve moved the a lump of the pressure to the Monday night, so when you go in on Tuesday you won''t be a stranger.

For the dinner they are looking who well you can socialise with a new set of people (clients, etc) and more importantly if you easily fit in with the team.

Tips: be friendly, and be talkative, don''t hold back on your opinions (ie be open), but obviously express extremist views (which you probably don''t hold). Try and talk to loads of people, but a good conversation not just a quick hello. And if you can remember peoples names that will be really good - imagine going in the office the day after and say "Hi Jon", it''s show that you listened and cared.

Tuesday Interview: I''m guessing they''ll have quite a few hoops for you to jump through. I''ve heard of these dayscomprising of one on one interview, group presentations, teamwork exercises, AND written exams. Unlikely in the gaming world though.

You didn''t mention what entry role, be it programming or artist or designer.

First they may give you a tour of the company offices, maybe something of a presentation of things.

They''ll probably ask you to an interview, to talk about your CV your applications and your interests. Standard stuff. It''ll be technical though so brush up on your stuff beforehand. Lasts about an hour?

Then I''d bet that they''ll ask you to do a mini project for them, if you are an artist then maybe create a model, a designer would create a storyboard or something, a programmer may be asked for a simple demo (or 2d game as mentioned above). If your entry level position is a tools coder then you''ll be asked for a MFC sytle tester. Depending on the company (and if you sign an NDA) you may be asked to work on a part of their current game (bear in mind that anything to create will be theirs, and probably has already been written by another programmer, or will be rewritten after you leave)

I''d put 4-5 hours on this, make up your own mind about what sort of thing they could ask you to do in this time period. It''ll probably have a lunch break in so they can access how you are doing and if you''ve listened to what they wanted---this mini project is going to show off not only your skills but your time and stress management levels.

You''d then asked to give a presentation on it, explaining the details and they''ll be looking at how professional your code/model looks. (remember to add comments, and don''t leave anything to be done in the last 20 mins...you may run out of time).

[If you don''t quite finish the task they give you in the day (if they give you one) then ask if you can take it home with you. Whatever they say keep working on it and thinking about it, and send them an email on Thursday thanking them and suggesting another way of doing it, and improvements to your idea]

If the company is kind they may let you do some R&R then, playing multiplayer games in the QA dept, or trying out there lastest - it''s important you can play games, so you understand why people want to play games. Everything is a test by the way

Tuesday evening: is a chance for you to come back from any mistakes you made. Again, you''ve got to fit in but you''ve also got to show that you are still interested in the position. Say you''ve had a bad day...if you show it in the dinner they aren''t going to employ you (because you are going to let your stress build up, bad days happen quite often ) So give a really positive attitude (as you should all the time).

If you get sometime, then you should try and talk to one of the people who interviewed you, to see what happens from now on and maybe ask for an impression of how it went. He/She probably won''t tell you, and some people would tell you that you shouldn''t ask...but if you feel comfortable then go ahead.

Make sure you thank them...this is a really good chance!

Regarding clothes, take a suit with you, but the dinner will not be black tie (check out the restuarant beforehand though). You can ask on the Monday, but the dinner is really to get all the formality out of the way - and trust me when you ask "do I have to wear a suit?" they''ll laugh there heads off, or they''ll say in a serioues voice "Of course" (and they''ll be being sarcastic )

One last tip: enjoy the whole day...and show it!

Good luck.

Just thought I would clarify a few things.

First it is an entry level programming position, thats why I put it in this forum.

So far the process has been:

1) I emailed resume, coverletter, and link to website with my demo on it.

several weeks go by
2) Got an email saying he''d like me to take a timed programming test.

a week goes by
3) I took the programming test and I had 2.5 hours to complete it. I didn''t quite finish it, but was very close. As far as the test goes, it was a tough test that gave plenty of leeway for you to show your abilities, but didn''t drill on technical aspects of programming. Mainly it was just programming algorythms. He said I did well on it and I got around 70 out of 100 points. No reason to study for it.

two weeks go by
4) Says he would like to have a phone interview with me.

several hours go by
5) Have phone interview

several hours go by
6) Says he would like me to come out for a real interview.

a week goes by
7) ...

So because I already took the programming test, I''m not so sure they are going to give me another test during.

If I get the job I''ll be sure and share everything about how I got in the industry. I know there are several things I''ve seen or haven''t seen that other people might find useful. Except for the programming test, I''m sure thats something they don''t want people to see.

would be nice to know about the sort of tests you get given. What sort of stuff is involved, ie. do you actually have to make it totaly from scratch if they want u to make some sort of graphics demo? or what? i doubt i could do that as im intrested in game programming, when i make demos it takes a long time to get the basics up for the graphics part of my code.

Xanthen, sounds like you are doing good. Volition is Outrage''s (where I work) sister company. They used to be the same company, then they opened two offices, then they formed separate companies, then eventually they both were acquired by THQ. So you could potentially be working for the same company I do (just a different studio).

It sounds like you took the test at home? So they didn''t care what resources you used? The test they give is very similar to the test I took (they used to be the same test a long long time ago but have mutated since then), but I got put in a small room with a pencil and paper and no resources.

You''re right I''m sure they wouldn''t want to have you posting the test. As that is the "weed out" factor to get rid of people who can''t hack it. Now you are probably on to the personality "test", which is to see if you are compatible with everyone and not a tool. Although they may ask you more questions there to make sure you can think on the go. But sounds like you are in good shape. Let us know how you do. And tell us about your demo.



Marc Hanson
Programmer on "Alter Echo"
Outrage Games - THQ

It was a 2.5 hour timed test administered over the internet. He also classified it as "closed book" and though I could write it in an editor, I wasn''t supposed to use the compiler to test it. Though I''m sure the compiler might have caught some dumb errors, I''d be amazed if anybody could take that large of a test in that period of time and still have time to write a program to test the code.

So basically the only advantage I had was I got to type instead of write, which I am much faster at.

supagu,

No company has asked me to do something so unimportant as write a graphics application from scratch without resources. And I doubt there are any, since you''d be weeding out a large number of people who do program well. One company did ask general technical knowledge about the programming language. I haven''t had much formal training in programming so I did pretty bad on that test, but all the others have been to just write algorithms to do something.

My interview was installing linux on a computer with no floppy drive, no CD-ROM drive, no zip drive, and no network card.

''twas fun.

Don''t listen to me. I''ve had too much coffee.

quote: Original post by Sneftel
My interview was installing linux on a computer with no floppy drive, no CD-ROM drive, no zip drive, and no network card.

''twas fun.

<hr>Don''t listen to me. I''ve had too much coffee.

out of curiousness...how did you end up installing it?