Get to know the team here!

[2K Elizabeth]

Do you want to ask a question about the background of a new team member, or more about what they do? Here's the place!

[smartalec5595]

well im only a kid but i LOVE bioshock and want to learn how to do video games and animation and such. any ideas where i can start?

[2K Jake]

Check out http://www.gamecareerguide.com/, it's an excellent resource for any budding developers.

The best advice we can offer is "go make games". Joining a mod team or working on small Flash games can give you a great deal of experience, and you'll quickly learn what aspects of game development you like the most.

Good luck and remember to stick with it!

[headkase]

well im only a kid but i LOVE bioshock and want to learn how to do video games and animation and such. any ideas where i can start?

Blender (http://www.blender.org/) is a great tool that was once commercial but is now Free, it is a very powerful geometry and modeling tool supported well with an active community. It's a great place to start! Programming wise, Microsoft's XNA (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/default.aspx) programming environment is free too and comes with very comprehensive documentation for both C# (the programming language) and XNA (the 3D library for C#) too.

[2KMarinDavid]

Like Jake said, if you want to make games, make games! Unreal Tournament and Half-Life 2 have good modding tools available and large communities to learn from. There's a wealth of information and free and open-source software out there. For art and animation, there's Blender and GIMP; for design, there's games to be modded; for programming, there's Visual Studio Express/XNA, PyGame, and games to be modded... If you're passionate about making games, there should be nothing stopping you. Of course, there's no one way to get into making games professionally, but if you start learning now and continue to pursue it, you'll find opportunities awaiting.

[2KCasey]

well im only a kid but i LOVE bioshock and want to learn how to do video games and animation and such. any ideas where i can start?

I remember when I was just a kid I started out creating games on Enterbrain's RPG Maker engines like 95, 2003, XP and so on. If you want to get some experience toying around with simple scripting and basic 2D game creation, I highly recommend starting off giving that a shot.

If you want to jump right in to animation and programming, some of my colleagues have already posted some great programs, and I'd also like to add trying out Game Maker or Dark Basic to get acquainted with how it all works.

Good luck!
-Casey

[2KAusBen]

well im only a kid but i LOVE bioshock and want to learn how to do video games and animation and such. any ideas where i can start?

It's never too early to start making games :)

I remember when I was young I was playing with modifying Doom, Quake and Duke Nukem 3D.

There are so many different jobs in the industry! programming (and that comes in many forms!), animation, modeling, texturing, making concept art, designing, sound engineering, public relations and marketing and so much more!

You just need to find what your enjoy the best.

My best advice for those starting out though, is to start small! Don't try to do too much and finish projects.

[smartalec5595]

ok thank you all ill try and who knows? maybe ill be working on bioshock 5?

[BioShockWins]

To anyone on the team:
What are the highs and lows of working in the gaming industry?
What are the hours like, and how is the work environment?
(Also salary and benefit type things, if you don't mind sharing. Anything you would like to share about your experiences, please!)

I am very interested in this career field, and am definitely setting it as a life goal.

[smartalec5595]

ok thank you for the programs but pretend i dont know ANYTHING about animating video games is there anywhere i can learn for free in bermuda or on the internet?

[2KAusBen]

To anyone on the team:
What are the highs and lows of working in the gaming industry?
What are the hours like, and how is the work environment?
(Also salary and benefit type things, if you don't mind sharing. Anything you would like to share about your experiences, please!)

I am very interested in this career field, and am definitely setting it as a life goal.

Myself personally.. I love the job and the environment here. Its a real blend of people with different backgrounds, cultures and talents and you learn so much, both about the industry itself and life in general from being around all these talented people.

Highs and Lows... Well making a game that not only you love, but other people love is obviously a high.. Even just helping make a game system which lots of other people enjoy is a great feeling. Lows, there aren't too many. Sure you get days where things dont go as planned or people might not like a system, but thats life I guess.

As for the hours, you need to be prepared to put in long hours when neccesary, but on the other hand there's no point burning yourself out.

[2K-Johnnemann]

To anyone on the team:
What are the highs and lows of working in the gaming industry?
What are the hours like, and how is the work environment?
(Also salary and benefit type things, if you don't mind sharing. Anything you would like to share about your experiences, please!)

I am very interested in this career field, and am definitely setting it as a life goal.

Hey,

As Ben said, it's a great industry to work in. The work environment is generally relaxed in a lot of ways, but everyone is driven by passion to create great games here at 2K. It's very enjoyable to work in an environment where there are toys decorating people's desks, arcade cabinets in the break rooms, and a sense of fun everywhere. Not to mention the giant Big Daddy in the corner...

As far as salary and benefit information goes, it depends quite a lot on the region in which you work, and of course the job you have! However, here's some information from Game Developer Magazine, which does a salary survey every year (full results are in the print magazine):

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=18212

- Johnnemann

[Breezy]

i have a question what is 2K Marin o.0

[2KMarinDavid]

i have a question what is 2K Marin o.0
We're a new-ish development studio based in Novato, CA and named for Marin County (just north of San Francisco). The studio initially consisted of a group of BioShock vets from the 2K Boston and Australia teams, and the rest of us have migrated here from other Bay Area studios because we love BioShock.

(In case you missed it, our executive producer has written a post for the PlayStation blog that elucidates it a bit more: http://blog.us.playstation.com/2008/06/03/meet-the-teams-bringing-bioshock-to-ps3-plus-new-screens/)

[PrivateJoker]

Hey everyone, Thanks for introducing yourselves, and sharing your perspectives on working in the game industry.

Would you PLEASE consider giving us the faintest hint about what "might" be the additional content in the PS3 version. Many of us are fans of the 360 or PC version, and want to buy the PS3 version as well, as long as its a considerable, or compelling upgrade.

Best Regards,

Private Joker

[Death]

One thing Ive learned about modding. Learn to draw. You need concepts to get people. Sadly I do coding. Not a very wise choice on my part.

[DAVEGADGETBOY]

here's a question that i've been wanting the answer for. who is this other company that is helping you make the ps3 version of bioshock???

[RaptorM60]

There are so many different jobs in the industry! programming (and that comes in many forms!), animation, modeling, texturing, making concept art, designing, sound engineering, public relations and marketing and so much more!

You just need to find what your enjoy the best.

I found myself interested in PR/Community Support, never liked all the different programing languages and never been good at drawing (wich is of course needed when you want to become an artist - I have some quite good skills in photoshop and am creative, but just can't draw by hand and do not feel like an "artist" ).

I know it's a bit off the area you guys are working in, but even though you have much better overview of games industry than me, so ... any ideas how could I start/where should I study (if there is a specific university where to study or it's just enough to have bachelors degree in PR from any "normal" university)?

PR/Community support is, in my eyes, a good choice between "development" and "marketing". Well, ok, to be honest, it is a more marketing side ... but it is not just about counting millions and cutting budgets of development studios :-)

[PlasmidJunkie1]

Check out http://www.gamecareerguide.com/, it's an excellent resource for any budding developers.

The best advice we can offer is "go make games". Joining a mod team or working on small Flash games can give you a great deal of experience, and you'll quickly learn what aspects of game development you like the most.

Good luck and remember to stick with it!

Thanks for the advice. I plan on getting into game design, maby not for a living, but for sure modding. I'm a teenager and already making maps in Sandbox2.

[PlasmidJunkie1]

I found myself interested in PR/Community Support, never liked all the different programing languages and never been good at drawing (wich is of course needed when you want to become an artist - I have some quite good skills in photoshop and am creative, but just can't draw by hand and do not feel like an "artist" ).

I know it's a bit off the area you guys are working in, but even though you have much better overview of games industry than me, so ... any ideas how could I start/where should I study (if there is a specific university where to study or it's just enough to have bachelors degree in PR from any "normal" university)?

PR/Community support is, in my eyes, a good choice between "development" and "marketing". Well, ok, to be honest, it is a more marketing side ... but it is not just about counting millions and cutting budgets of development studios :-)

Yea, I wan't to get into the gaming industry aswell, after some thinking and assessing my skills and intrests, I too found PR and Marketing one of the top choices along with level design and game journalism. Like you I have good ideas, but scarse artistic abiltiy.

[2KAusBen]

I found myself interested in PR/Community Support, never liked all the different programing languages and never been good at drawing (wich is of course needed when you want to become an artist - I have some quite good skills in photoshop and am creative, but just can't draw by hand and do not feel like an "artist" ).

I know it's a bit off the area you guys are working in, but even though you have much better overview of games industry than me, so ... any ideas how could I start/where should I study (if there is a specific university where to study or it's just enough to have bachelors degree in PR from any "normal" university)?

PR/Community support is, in my eyes, a good choice between "development" and "marketing". Well, ok, to be honest, it is a more marketing side ... but it is not just about counting millions and cutting budgets of development studios :-)

Im not sure what the best way to get a start in this particular area, maybe someone else has a better idea. However the best thing you can do is just get involved with game communities, get involved in beta testing, try your hand at moderating popular community forums and things like that.

[japester]

This is a neat thread. :)

In the olden days (I'm from the Pong Generation), game programming was all about creativity and technical know-how, since everything was built from the ground up.

Nowadays, with so many games based off existing engines, is there a split between folks who are mostly creative types (art, design, etc) and those on the technical end (programming, adapting existing engines, testing)? Or do most folks still straddle the two?

[RaptorM60]

get involved with game communities, get involved in beta testing, try your hand at moderating popular community forums and things like that.

Great, some of these things are exactly what am I trying to do :-) Thx, that's just what I wanted to hear ...

[2KAusBen]

This is a neat thread. :)

In the olden days (I'm from the Pong Generation), game programming was all about creativity and technical know-how, since everything was built from the ground up.

Nowadays, with so many games based off existing engines, is there a split between folks who are mostly creative types (art, design, etc) and those on the technical end (programming, adapting existing engines, testing)? Or do most folks still straddle the two?

From my experience, everyone is quite specialized these days. You wont see programmers for instance doing any art work (Affectionately known as "Programmer Art").. My art skills are horrid actually, I struggle with stick people!

On the same token, programmers don't necessarily make good testers, or designers good artists and vicar-versa... Everyone has the own strengths and weaknesses and everyone has a particular role to play.

Some people do have skills in a few areas but the majority of their work is in one area.

I don't think it's really viable for anyone to be both a designer and programmer, or artist and designer etc.. Each job is just too in depth and complex these days for you to dabble in all of them.

Even as a programmer it's hard to do everything or work on every system and a lot of people prefer to specialize in a certain area (Graphics, AI etc).

I guess there are no real rules, but with games taking so many years and so many people, it's much more common to have specialists...

[speed]

Hey guys, I've been in software development for over 12 yrs now, more recently on the QA side of things. I'm also a lifetime gamer going back to the days of Pong. I think there is a general consensus that Game Testers aren't really compensated all that well. Is this accurate from your experiences? I think I would love to get into game testing but if it doesn't pay very well it would be a stretch for me to adequately provide for my family. How do you guys feel about the value of a solid QA team compared with how they're compensated in the gaming industry? Do you feel this is a trend that is changing or deserves to change?

Thanks!

[2KAusBen]

Im not sure what the income for QA is here in 2K Australia, so I cant comment on the first part of your post.

QA is very important and the QA people in our office here are highly valued by myself and the others.