Johnn Four
Web Monkey
Joined: 12 Jan 2004 |
 Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 05:21PM |
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As the BioWare community continues to expand, we are always on the lookout for exceptionally talented community members who have shown not only creativity and skill, but the drive to turn a hobby into a profession. We profiled some community members turned BioWare staff when we achieved two million members, and now that the community has ballooned to three million, we wanted to add to the expanding list of outstanding new staff who got their start in the community.
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Chris Priestly
Community Coordinator
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Behind an Evil desk in Marketing |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 05:27PM |
I would like to add that the words "talented" and "James Henley" are not usually found in the same topic. Unless we're talking about fish juggling.
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Like a great predatory piano, I sit silent in the darkness. Until it is time to attack and then I strike in a cacophony of violence and ivory keys. |
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Johnn Four
Web Monkey
Joined: 12 Jan 2004 |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 05:29PM |
Have you tried to juggle fish? Man, that's hard.
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Johnn Four
BioWare Web Monkey #4
Mass Effect - BioWare's sci-fi action RPG now available |
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Greg453V
Game Owner
 SW: KotOR Xbox
Jade Empire
Mass Effect
Joined: 23 Jan 2006
From: Austria |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 06:48PM |
So Iīm a 17 yaer olg guy, from Austria, and I got a few questions about the jobs in the Game industrie in general:
1) I got an 4D imagen, like games and I can use a compiuter... and I want to get an Game Grafik/Level Desinger oneday. But I got an problem: I find no program for 3D models, in the Text, about how some guy get ther jobs by Bioware, they talked about NWN engins and so on... wher can i get some kind of stuff like this?
2) I visit an Pre- University Shool (I donīt know the translation of the Name, ... its an unice shool in the hwol world), and want to visit an University after it. Is importent to visit an Compiuter skilling path or is it just importent to got skills on an Compiuter.
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This is 10% Luck
20% Skill
15% concentrated power of will
5% pleasure
50% pain
That 100% make a Game |
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LdyShayna
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR Xbox
SW: KotOR PC
Jade Empire
Jade Empire:SE
NWN 2
NWN 2: MotB
NWN 2: SoZ
Mass Effect PC
Sonic DS
Joined: 18 Oct 2001
From: Colorado |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:31PM |
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 17:29:49 (GMT) by Johnn Four
Have you tried to juggle fish? Man, that's hard.
Pfeh, and it wasn't even mentioned in his little bio. Priorities people! |
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Kevin Lynch
Moderator
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Jade Empire:SE
NWN 2
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: NS, Canada |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 07:56PM |
These are cool reads. I'm curious about something, though. Is the interview/testing process really that intense in the game industry as a whole, just at BioWare, or is it only particular fields that go through the sort of process that James describes here:
Quote: ...I was contacted for a phone interview and then a follow-up interview/technical design test in person. That test was the most grueling 14.5 hours of my life.
It's just a "show us what you got kid; put up or shut up and hit the road". That's intense, alright. 
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And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
These dreams in which I'm dying, are the best I've ever had |
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Chris Priestly
Community Coordinator
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: Behind an Evil desk in Marketing |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:08PM |
Well, it does depend on the position you are trying to be hired for. For example, an artist doesn't have to do the same test James mentions. Instead they have to submit a portfolio and then undergo a different screening process controlled by teh Art department manager. Heck, even us QAers have a whole testing process that must be undergone before you get a job.
I'm not sure if this is indicitive of the industry as a whole, but I'd like to think so. Making video games can be a dream job, but I'd hope that, no matter which company it is, the people making them are the best people possible. They certainly are here at BioWare. 
Well... and James.
_________________
Like a great predatory piano, I sit silent in the darkness. Until it is time to attack and then I strike in a cacophony of violence and ivory keys. |
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Brian Chung
Talentless Hack
Joined: 03 Oct 2005
From: Desk #12, oooo window! |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:15PM |
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 19:31:52 (GMT) by LdyShayna
Pfeh, and it wasn't even mentioned in his little bio. Priorities people!
That's because I've got the fish now! |
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Stanley Woo
QA Ninja
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: The BioWare Compound |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:18PM |
You'll have to have James tell you the whole story in detail, but what it boiled down to was that a few hours into his test, he decided it was unworkable and scrapped it and started over. By the time he was through, he'd spent over 14 hours at the office designing the darn thing.
The BioWarian supervising him at the time liked his product, his process, and his willingness to scrap the whole thing and make something even better.
Most people get it done right the first time through. James is, I guess, just "unique."  But more importantly for applying at BioWare, he bakes a really good pumpkin pie and isn't shy about sharing with the guys in QA. That's important. |
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Kevin Lynch
Moderator
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Jade Empire:SE
NWN 2
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: NS, Canada |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:30PM |
Heh, I did get that it might have been a little extreme, but even if he scrapped it halfway through, that's still a full day test. As long as he doesn't consistently scrap half of the stuff he works at, I guess that'd be alright...right?
I do like these sorts of stories, though. Might be interesting to hear a bunch from the non-community recruits, too. There are tonnes of behind-the-scenes folk that make BioWare run and they may (may!) get a mention in a credit of a game from time to time. Seriously, y'all should get everyone to do up a little blurb and you can have enough content for, let's see, 300+ weeks of Wednesday reads.
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And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
These dreams in which I'm dying, are the best I've ever had |
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Guard Dog
Game Owner
 NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
NWN 2
NWN 2: MotB
NWN 2: SoZ
Joined: 15 Jan 2004
From: The Dog House |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 08:34PM |
Does anyone else find it more than a little ironic that Rick Burton is from Houston, gets hired by Bioware and moves to Edmonton, then a year later Bioware opens a studio in Austin. 
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The Forgotten Realms Weave Bringing Faerun to life! |
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James Henley
Designer
Joined: 13 Sep 2004
From: Austin, Texas |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:01PM |
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 20:18:43 (GMT) by Stanley Woo You'll have to have James tell you the whole story in detail, but what it boiled down to was that a few hours into his test, he decided it was unworkable and scrapped it and started over. By the time he was through, he'd spent over 14 hours at the office designing the darn thing. The BioWarian supervising him at the time liked his product, his process, and his willingness to scrap the whole thing and make something even better. Most people get it done right the first time through. James is, I guess, just "unique." But more importantly for applying at BioWare, he bakes a really good pumpkin pie and isn't shy about sharing with the guys in QA. That's important.
Stan sums it up really well. Now if only I was actually capable of baking pumpkin pie, I wouldn't have to keep ordering it in to bribe the QA guys... 
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 20:30:15 (GMT) by Kevin Lynch
Heh, I did get that it might have been a little extreme, but even if he scrapped it halfway through, that's still a full day test. As long as he doesn't consistently scrap half of the stuff he works at, I guess that'd be alright...right?
Normally, I'd have a little more time to put things together than one sitting.
I agree, it is a fairly extreme example of the process. I just felt it was better to start fresh on something of a more appropriate scope than end up with a half-finished project. Time is finite, and there are schedules to keep.
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It really is that simple.Edited By James Henley on 06/21/06 21:02 |
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Kevin Lynch
Moderator
Game Owner
NWN
NWN: SoU
NWN: HotU
SW: KotOR PC
Jade Empire:SE
NWN 2
Mass Effect PC
Joined: 17 Oct 2001
From: NS, Canada |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:17PM |
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 21:01:27 (GMT) by James Henley
Time is finite...
Now I understand your difficulty. 
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And I find it kind of funny, I find it kind of sad
These dreams in which I'm dying, are the best I've ever had |
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Rheannan
Game Owner
 NWN
SW: KotOR Xbox
Jade Empire
Joined: 27 Oct 2005
From: Off With the Fairies |
Posted: Wednesday, 21 June 2006 09:25PM |
Quote: Posted 06/21/06 20:30:15 (GMT) by Kevin Lynch Seriously, y'all should get everyone to do up a little blurb and you can have enough content for, let's see, 300+ weeks of Wednesday reads.
I second that.Edited By Rheannan on 06/21/06 21:27 |
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Bomag
Game Owner
 SW: KotOR PC
Joined: 08 May 2006 |
Posted: Thursday, 22 June 2006 07:15AM |
Anyway Greg453V,
A good (free) 3D Modeling program is Blender (http://www.blender.org) ,and it has a nice book on wikipedia on how to use it. It will do everyting you need a 3D program to do in order to make games.
If youre going primarily into level design and graphics you don't need to focus on computing per se, but you do need to know how to develop a world that can be expressed within the limited confines of a computer. (i.e. how to write a story as a series of scripts. Movie Directing is to writing as Level Design is to Movie Directing)
--WW |
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