Monday, September 28, 2009

I.Must.Get.PS.3.Now!!

Or when this little game titled Final Fantasy XIII is available here in North America. Just look at this trailer at the bottom and try to say "I don't want this game." I bet you'll fail miserably.

I know that this game is coming to Xbox360 outside of Japan, but as the devs kept telling us, it is simply out of question to include Japanese voice track on DVDs for this game. It does not have enough space to hold all that, unless dozens of discs are to be used.

This, and Korean subtitle is all I'm asking for. Or maybe, with PS3 being region free, I'll get an Asian copy that comes with Korean subtitle. Woo, just thinking about that makes me all giddy.

Following is the new FFXIII trailer shown at Tokyo Game Show 2009. It's long, beautiful, and dramatic. Enjoy~!

PS. Watching this trailer makes me wonder, what if FFXIII was instead a movie, or DVD movie release like Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children? It'll take considerably less time to enjoy everything it has to offer, probably have better storytelling... Just a thought.

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

It's All About Skills

Here is a list of required/desired skills a game development company is looking for at this time. This list is for a Software Tool Developer position at one of the better known studios.

I post it up here as a reminder to myself how much work I really have. Working at a stable job, it's easy to forget what is out there, and how far behind I actually am. As this listing shows, I truly worth nothing.

I've got a loooong way to go, and I better get my act straight and start pushing myself forward towards my dream job...

Requirements/Skills

  • EXCELLENT MATH SKILLS
  • 3-5 years of professional games experience
  • C++, C#, and C++/CLI expertise
  • Experience in creating the following PC applications: level editor (actor
    placement, navigation meshes, particles, boundary regions, etc), art prototype
    catalogue/database, animation/cinematic editor, material/shader editor, plugins,
    build tools, data messaging tools, lighting tools
  • Experience using the following technologies: Maya Plug-in API, SQL, OpenGL,
    CG/HLSL
    Ability to design, author, and maintain complex tools used in
    different parts of the production pipeline

Bonus Skills

  • Experience using DCC applications (3DStudio/Maya/Photoshop/XSI/...)
  • Knowledge of scripting languages (Python/MelScript/Lua/VBScript.)
  • GUI art/design skills

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

A Confession


My name is Peter Park. I am a software engineer at a huge US defense contractor. I am getting paid pretty well, even more so with recent promotion to "Software Engineer" from a "Software Engineer Associate." My job security with this company is tremendously stable, even in this God-forsaken economy. And the work schedule is very flexible--I get every other Fridays off. The job also provides numerous benefits, like a retirement savings plan, health benefit, and even a corporate discount on my cell phone service.


And I am very unhappy with my work.


The work I do is extremely dull. It involves looking at documents for hours after hours. (For instance, for the past two months, all I've been working on are a mere couple of documents and nothing else. And I do mean absolutely nothing else.) My work here is a tiniest part of the overarching program. And the program, as a whole, moves at a glacial pace--it's a same damn aircraft for past 50 years. My typical day involves sitting, staring at the screen, typing in a few character, slacking, eating lunch at my desk all-day-long, and... that's about it. Not much of interaction with coworkers, impromptu meeting with my task lead or team lead, phone calls...


On top of this--probably the worst part of it all--no matter how hard I slack, no one (not even a manager) bothers to drop in and say that I need to step up and start performing! You might think that they may know how I'm working, and that someday, I will get hammered for this, but actually, I was commended for the work I've put into the team effort. ... So, apparently, they do think I'm working hard like a worker bee in my little cube.


Everyday at work, I constantly think about 'what if' scenarios: 'What if I chose different major at college?' 'What if I wasn't working as an engineer?' 'What if I was at a different, a smaller company?' I always think of a place where my work is more dynamic, challenging, busy, and where I get along well with my coworkers, probably making a few friends as well. (Most of the employees here are in their retirement years, and rest in their 40s or at least with families and kids. I feel so left out.) Sometimes, I even look up job listings at some companies I would like to work at... The only thing that's holding me off is the possibility that any other places may be just like this place where it's dull and slow with tons of red tapes and processes.


Clock is slowly ticking. With it, it's taking my life away. But I'm not too mad at it about this moment. I just want this day to end, so I can go home and enjoy my time away from this hole.


My name is Peter Park. And I am a slacker and a daydreamer.