9/17    The Sims 2 -- Best - Game - Ever!!1!!!  (really!)
        \_ I believe it's spelled EVAR!!!
        \_ But where are the guns?
           \_ I took the blue licorice and got fired.
        \_ Having spent the past 10 months of my life working on that game,
           it's somewhat weird and comforting for me to see this on
           the MOTD.
           \_ Man, that must really suck, to have to work on a dollhouse
              game...
           \_ Ignore the jobless, clueless troll above. Any Easter eggs you
              can give us the 411 on?
           \_ How did you get started in the gaming industry?  I get the sense
              that AI and graphics as taught at Berkeley aren't particularly
              helpful if one wants to work in the field.  I know people once
              got started tinkering at home or in the demo scene.  It seems
              like the teams making games today are really big.  If this is
              the case, how can one person working alone produce something
              that comes close to a modern shipping game, that is, something
              impressive enough to land a development position in a gaming
              company?
              \_ They can't.  You can get in at the bottom or you can maybe
                 publish a free game that catches on and turn that into
                 something.  A few folks made it as modders but very few.
                 \_ Okay, what's the bottom?  Tech support?  Play testing?
                    \_ I assume you want to be a programmer, not an artist or
                       other creative type?  I suggest finding a small company
                       that will pay you nothing or look for a junior job at
                       a huge place like EA that will find *something* for you
                       to do.  Why would you want to work in an industry that
                       pays so much less than anywhere else for the same work?
                       Just curious, but how old are you?  When I interviewed
                       at Maxis/EA, everyone was early 20s or late 30s and
                       older with nothing in the late 20s to late 30s gap.  I
                       was late 20s/early 30s at the time and found it weird
                       and not a good fit.
                       \_ if you want to be an artist-type, you might find
                          something at the academy of art, SF, or SF art
                          institute. very expensive if you go this route.