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Game Developer
Another insiders point of view: Jake Simpson
This is how Jake describes himself: “Jake Simpson is a jobbing games programmer. He’s been in this business, off and on, since the mid eighties. He’s worked on everything from the Sinclair Spectrum to the Current PC, with stops on Commodore 64, Amiga, Atari ST and Gameboy along the way. He’s in his mid thirties, and currently works for Maxis out on the west coast, doing interesting things with People Simulators. Before that, he worked on Arcade machines for Midway and First Person shooters for Raven Software. He’s British, drinks lots of beer, and thinks Americans don’t use enough U’s in their spelling.”
How did you get your job?
I got into the industry very young by hanging out with some of the industry types I admired, at computer shows in London. I used to talk to Jeff Minter from Lamasoft, who was my hero at the time. Here was a man in control of his own destiny, and I liked the idea of that. Of course these days it’s not so easy; it’s not all one man companies like it was back then. But still, unfortunately in this industry as much as any other, who you know can help. From meeting Jeff, I went to learning Assembly language by myself, coding up some small games and demos and hanging out in computer stores meeting people who were “in the industry”. Whenever possible, I showed them what I had been working on, and generally tried to make myself memorable. Eventually it paid off with an offer to work for a conversion house for a year. So I did. And that was the start for me.
Describe a typical day at the office
A typical day in the office is me getting there around 9. I tend to spend an hour going through emails and checking out several websites I frequent. Then I spend half an hour shutting down all the pop up windows that seem to arrive from the websites I visit. By this time, there is usually a meeting in the offing, so I’ll spend time at that, or I’ll get into the code I am working on. Usually it’s tidying up stuff that I either didn’t complete the day before, or fixing stuff I had completed but others had found bugs in. Then it’s lunchtime, so it’s either off doing chores, or lunch with some of the team. After lunch, I get down to it. For me, this is when the meat of what I do gets chewed. I’ll try as much as I can to put on headphones, shut down Trillian (my chat program) and just get into it. If I’m in the zone, time will pass and I’ll have no idea of it. By 7 I begin to get hungry, so I’ll decide it’s time to get something to eat. Depending on what is going on, I may go home at this point and do something in the evening (it’s important to have a life beyond work!) or if I’m totally in the zone, I’ll stick around and keep doing what I’m doing. Note: all through the day copious amounts of tea are being drunk. I’m British and I have to maintain some stereotypes. Besides, tea has more caffeine than coffee. What are the bright and the dark sides of your work?
What are the bright and the dark sides of your work?
The bright sides of this job involve working with some incredibly creative people, working with people who are f ar smarter and more experienced than you are, so you can learn lots. You get to work on something that’s big enough to appeal to the masses, yet small enough that you can see your individual impact on the project. When someone in an interview says, “Yeah, I really enjoyed game X, especially the part where...” and it’s something you worked on, there is a real sense of satisfaction. You aren’t just a small cog in a big machine. You get to bring entertainment to people, and express yourself in new and varying ways. Repeatedly. The down sides often involve clueless management who often just don’t “get” what you are working on. They often want carbon copies of games that have already sold, since they know they can sell that. Often they want it yesterday, and have no idea of the creative energy required to produce what we do. Then there’s the work. Creating something new is a hard process. It requires time, dedication, belief in yourself, and the discipline to walk away from something that doesn’t work. And that last one is particularly hard, if you’ve just spent a year working on it. When the end of the project draws near, crunch mode rears it’s head. That’s when you work 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, for about 2-3 months. All projects have this to some degree, and it’s grueling. But that’s part of the job. So be prepared to say goodbye to loved ones, friends, having a social life and getting any sleep when crunch time rolls around.
Any advice to the young aspirant?
Advice for aspiring game developers? Well, there’s several things that come to mind. Firstly, if you want this bad enough, you will get it. It just depends on what sacrifices you are prepared to make. As with anything, there’s a price to pay. But if it’s what you’re dreaming of, then you’ll find ways to make it happen. Practical advice: have something to show. Work on a demo, or a mod for Quake /Unreal Tournament or something. Nothing says “I can do this” to a prospective employer as much as having done it. Being able to comment intelligently on the development process from the perspective of having done it is a huge asset from a company’s point of view. Don’t expect to be driving a Ferrari overnight. We all pay our dues. It’s not like John Carmack or Tim Sweeny decided one day to make a game, and a week later they were swimming in money. They paid their dues, did their research just like the rest of us. It sucks to start at the bottom, but unless your dad is financing the company, that’s where you’ll begin. Accept that and make sure you learn from those around you. Play games. Play a lot of games. Learn what it is that is successful about any given game, and what isn’t. Being able to describe what was good about a game both impresses at interview time, and is also a very helpful tool when developing a new game concept; it just saves time not having to re-invent the wheel. Don’t be afraid to e-mail some of the luminaries in the industry. Sure, most won’t reply (they are busy people) but some might. It never hurts to have a friend in a high place. And finally, keep plugging away. Don’t give up. We’ve all been turned down at somepoint for something we thought we were perfect for. Sometimes we were right, other times not. That’s life. Accept it, find out why you weren’t successful, and do something about it. Good luck!
So, still into it?
If you want to give it a try there’s a few opportunities lying around that are just waiting for the appropriate talent and dedication. The Game Programming Starter Kit 5.0 . Start with the 125 interviews published by Marc Saltzman in his book: Game Design / Secrets of the Sages (included). These people are the most successful designers in the industry and their advice is worth a million bucks. Then try your hand at 3-D Game Studio Standard 5.12. It has a library of 3-D objects and a lot of user- friendly design routines. If you know your computer science well enough, get Microsoft’s Visual C++ 6.0 and polish the background images and characters you just produced. SDK’s Direct X 8.0 and the CD version of Tricks of the Windows Game Programming Gurus can also be added to your list. After you have practiced with them for a while, you will certainly gain a better appreciation of the professionals who build the games you play all the time!
You could do a lot worst than check SIMPLE: The Free Programming Language for Kids. www.simplecodeworks.com
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