I have four specific question about creating a website with my developing material on it for a resume and project listings.

I'm going to post my 2D Development projects with screenshots, video, source code, and executables as recommended by Mr. Sloper.

I'm currently starting to get into Unity3D as my next step. I'm using the "Walker Boy Studio" Unity Course as a way to get myself understanding the program and creating things.

Questions:

1) As part of the project we create 2D and 3D Mario clones in which we create a game under their direction with shared models, textures, sounds, and other components. Since I'm looking to get into the programming aspect more than the art side, would it be unprofessional or frowned upon to list these as projects? Or would that be fine?

I would expect to do one project with Unity completely on my own (with free components but without any direction) afterwards anyways, but I keep hearing the mantra, "complete projects, complete projects," so I want to show I stuck with and completed more than just the one project I do afterward and try to move on to 3D in XNA. ...I guess I want to show a general progression of my work.


2) With 3D projects such as in Unity, the project files get very large very fast. How should I show source code, without requiring someone to download a huge file? Are videos sufficient for this? Or do I still offer the option? On top of this, file hosting services and offering the storage I need comes a little into play and would require more money to be spent on my part. I guess I'd rather avoid it if at all possible.

3) When should I create a website to showcase this information? I currently have "pong" made, a 2D XNA project in the works in which I'm waiting for my art guy to catch up, and now I'm moving onto Unity. Should I wait until I at least have my second XNA project so I don't just have pong, or should I have made it yesterday?

4) Lastly, should I create this website solely based on game development (resume specifically) or have a separate specified resume on the website for Software Engineering jobs and Game Development? I understand when you apply places you personalize the resume to the job you are applying for, but as a website reference I can't really do that I realize that upon graduation having a gaming job lined up right away isn't realistic, and I may need to work for a while for a different kind of company and I don't want to hamstring myself.

1. It's unclear what you think might be frowned upon (I think I'm missing some information in your question). What is the problem you worry about?
2. Video not sufficient, but important. Source code is a must (source code that you wrote).
3. Create it now, so you can start getting feedback now, so you can be improving it as you add to it.
4. Have separate websites for separate types of jobs. Don't confuse your visitors.

Mr. Sloper,

Thank you again for your input it is very appreciated.

In response to answer 1:

I don't know how projects are viewed from the "inside" when the studio is selecting from candidates. If it turns out the tutorial is simply me copying and pasting code, I obviously would not pass it off as my own. However, if it's "solve the collision problem with Mario gathering coins and creating events to make them disappear and make a sound I feel that I have then written the code myself.

My worry is that someone from the studio says: "I've seen this a million times, it was probably copied" (I don't know how common this coursework is) or that they say "oh he just followed a tutorial. It's part of the reason why I feel like I should make my own project afterwards to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts from beginning to end without a helping hand.

In response to answer 2:

Do you recommend an online storage to handle large source code and project files handled with 3D programs so I don't have to come out of pocket, or does that solution simply not exist?


EDIT:

Also, my webpage can be basic as long as it's easy to understand and navigate correct? I'm trying to be a programmer not an art designer, and I don't want to spend my time resources on making an eye grabbing top of the line flash page, but instead just have simple and concise layouts.

1. Do not use projects you created as a class project. Read http://www.igda.org/games-game-may-2012
Only provide source code that you actually wrote, along with your demos and/or videos.
2. How you manage the website is something for you to decide. I can't advise you on that.
3. It has to be easy to understand and navigate, and it has to not make a bad impression on the prospective hirer.

An employer really only has two questions to answer: Will you do the job well? Will you fit in?

Your website should help provide positive answers to those questions.


A programmer portfolio is much less important than an artist portfolio. It is possible to get a programming job fresh from school without a games portfolio. It is very nice to see that you have written games on your own, but it is not an absolute requirement.

If you have written games on your own and you provide both movies AND source on the site, it provides a strong answer to both of those questions.



If your website demonstrates that you are willing to violate IP, I personally believe that is a negative answer. You don't fit in, because we don't like IP theft.

If your website is small and has a free host, I personally don't mind that much, but I know others who object. It answers questions about how professional you are willing to present yourself, and how seriously you take your craft. When I graduated most of the people I knew owned their own domains, and kept their own projects up on it. Apparently this has changed two decades later. It shows if you fit in professionally and you have a strong belief about presenting yourself well.

It should be easy to navigate, again to show that you actually know what you are doing. If you cannot make a (fairly trivial) web page easy to navigate, how will you expect to navigate many years worth of code? It shows your ability to do the job.

1. Do not use projects you created as a class project. Read http://www.igda.org/...s-game-may-2012

I'm not sure if this is just semantics, but the tutorials for the "Walker Boy Studio" website are not an actual school or college. It's a collection of videos made on instruction for Unity3D. Like I said perhaps semantics. I am left with these questions:

1) Will my early material such as making an RPG with only a 800x600 resolution in XNA even merit being put on a website as a project anyways by the time I get to a level I need to be at to be hired? In other words, should I even include my pong clone or the RPG I'm making, or should I just chalk them up as learning tools? The only way I can see them being useful would be perhaps for showing growth, but I don't know if that's valued.

2) I read on your website about protected IPs. The Walker Boy Studio tutorials use Mario for 2D and 3D, so I assume using either of these projects for anything either than learning are basically out of the running for being listed anyways. Correct? Also, not that it's supposed to be a huge project, but Pong would also be out of the running?

3) Perhaps I should have stated this earlier - I'm interested in being a programmer, not an artist, not a level designer, but a programmer. Does make a project for a 2D game more worthwhile since logic is still being used? Does this change anything? What are they looking for since I may not have a portfolio, but rather a collection of source code? I guess I'm just a little fuzzy. I understand what to post online, but much like an artist can bring a physical portfolio, am I just stuck with using business cards and hoping someone goes to my link?

I want to get started on the website like you said in order to start getting feedback early, but looking back perhaps I don't even have a single project I can include at this point. I could post my resume, but that may be it.

Thank you again for your help.

It is possible to get a programming job fresh from school without a games portfolio.

This is where I become confused. So if I graduate with a BS in Computer Science, have internship experience (non-game related) and however far I can get in game design, I should have a legitimate chance at being hired as an entry level programmer? This just seems to contradict what I've heard in the past. Everyone seems to say a million people want the jobs, and people with years of expereince can't even break in the industry. Is there something I'm missing?

If your website demonstrates that you are willing to violate IP, I personally believe that is a negative answer. You don't fit in, because we don't like IP theft.

I fully understand how serious this is, I however did not know that simply using the IP was bad form when showing projects to prospective employers. I only thought it was something I could not sell until I read Mr. Sloper's website article.

How far does IP go? Can I still post my Pong game as a project, or is that considered an IP even though I'm using my own graphics and such? Should I just name it something else? I know Mr. Sloper recommends if you can't afford a lawyer and you have a question just don't do it, but I'm not sure if that falls under public domain as long as I change the name of the program and it's not exactly the same game?

[quote name='Tom Sloper' timestamp='1345766700' post='4972809']
1. Do not use projects you created as a class project. Read http://www.igda.org/...s-game-may-2012

I'm not sure if this is just semantics, but the tutorials for the "Walker Boy Studio" website are not an actual school or college. It's a collection of videos made on instruction for Unity3D.
[/quote]

That's even worse. A project you made from a tutorial does not show that you are a capable programmer. You have to make something of your own.

I only thought it was something I could not sell until I read Mr. Sloper's website article.

How far does IP go? Can I still post my Pong game as a project, or is that considered an IP even though I'm using my own graphics and such? Should I just name it something else? I know Mr. Sloper recommends if you can't afford a lawyer and you have a question just don't do it, but I'm not sure if that falls under public domain as long as I change the name of the program and it's not exactly the same game?

Posting "stolen" IP on your website is very bad. Only put original work on your website.

Posting "stolen" IP on your website is very bad. Only put original work on your website.

So for future reference I should skip making "clones" for pong and Mario type games since they are virtually unusable?

Also, are there unrestricted 2D or 3D sources for artwork that I can use so I can put my material in a portfolio upon completion?