#0 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:31 p.m.
Im 16 and i want to work for Blizzard
#5 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:35 p.m.
Q u o t e:
What should i be doing to work my way to being a blizzard employee. I really love all of your games but WoW just knocks me out. I would want to design the different zones and instances. Anyone know how i could start working towards this goal?
Simplest advice we can give is to take a look at the jobs listed, see what the requirements are, and work your way toward those proficiencies. Artists and level designers are always sought after, so see what tools those professions use, train in those tools, and send us your portfolio!
#6 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:35 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I would want to design the different zones and instances. Anyone know how i could start working towards this goal?
Have a focus. If you want to get into level-design I would start by using the Warcraft 3 map editor or even map editors from Stracraft or War 2 to start designing maps for yourself and get immersed in ideas of level/map balance.
There are also a good number of blogs or publications that can shed some light on various parts of the industry. Search the web. There is a lot more going on with conventional education for game development than there was ten years ago.
#18 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:38 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Tyren, any word on the new MVT (Most Valuable Troll) positions? Crepe and Tseric will put in good words for me. =)
I see you're keeping your sig up to the minute... :P
#29 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:42 p.m.
We all start out as gamers, but it's honing your experience and passion to contribute back to the community and create the next great game which is where you see your passion realized. ;)
#41 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:53 p.m.
Q u o t e:
If Tseric can prove he wasn't a geek when he was 16 I'll post on my main.
Don't have proof on hand. :/
Not to say I wasn't a geek or had geeky interests at the time, but I don't think a lot of geeks were wearing bomber jackets and combat boots back then.
/shrug
#49 - Dec. 27, 2006, 5:58 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Is yesterday "back then"?
Is that some sort of failed jab at me?
Not sure I'm following your meaning...
#58 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:02 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I think he's implying that you are 16.
Ah, I see...
Hilarious.
#62 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:03 p.m.
Q u o t e:
The one thing I do always wonder about is whether Blizzard is a denim & tee-shirt outfit or a business casual outfit. Obviously, jeans and a tee-shirt is the 'ideal' techie environment but most companies I've worked for have expected slacks and collars.
I am currently garbed in jeans and a tee-shirt.
#65 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:04 p.m.
Q u o t e:
There's no 16 year old alive with a forehead as large as yours. Never fear. =)
Well, there was when I was 16, eh?
#71 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:06 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Some people actually take jobs that they enjoy, imagine that!?
Yep. I enjoy what I do. I've worked jobs I hated because it paid the bills but I much prefer working a job I love because while it has its more difficult days, I find I go home far happier at the end of the day.
I also tend to encourage others to give it a shot if it's what they want to do. All that can happen is you can get a 'no' or a 'not at this time'. As Tseric said, we were all 'just gamers' at one point in time. I won't tell you how long it's been since I've wanted to work for Blizzard, but I'll say it's been a long while. Sometimes it works out, you just have to give it a shot.
*I'm wearing Jeans, a blouse over a tank top and sandals (because it's California and you can do crazy things like that). Some days are jeans and t-shirt days for me and some I dress up a bit more depending on my mood.
#80 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:12 p.m.
Q u o t e:
As am I, good stuff working in a NOC. Good money too, the downside is I have to deal with grown adults that are about as moronic as the majority of forum posters....
Comorat, I never knew you worked in a NOC. No wonder you're so grouchy. ;)
Friend of mine works at our NOC here. He was a heartless cur before he went in. I think it has only reinforced this attitude, heh.
#82 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:13 p.m.
Q u o t e:
What jacket did you wear to work? Boots?
P-coat and sneakers.
#101 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:22 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Sadly... its true =/
Unless you're insanely good.
I didn't know anyone that worked here. Does that make me insanely good? :)
Now that I do know the people that work here, I count myself extremely fortunate.
#122 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:40 p.m.
http://www.blizzard.com/jobopp/assistant-community-manager.shtml
http://www.blizzard.com/jobopp/community-manager.shtml
#131 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:54 p.m.
Q u o t e:
How can you guys stomach the terrible hours? Doesn't it strike any higher-ups as odd that in order to be in a decent raiding guild you need a static schedule? It's a recipe for never having CMs in touch with that aspect of the community.
The hours are fine and we wouldn't be here if we didn't want to be here. Who said we don't ever raid either? Like anyone, we each have our playstyles.
I forgot to mention that aside from the qualifications listed for CMs there is also a certain type of personality that fills the role and it also takes a certain amount of common sense. There is as much art to it as there is knowledge. The art aspect comes from not only enjoying being around people but being able to read and understand them well.
Different roles in the company require different things. If you aren't a people person, you certainly wouldn't take up a community or PR related position .
#136 - Dec. 27, 2006, 6:58 p.m.
Q u o t e:
How much common sense? Common sense about what perspective? :^)
Ok, I should have said a certain kind of schizophrenia to go with it too. ;p
#168 - Dec. 27, 2006, 7:53 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I happened to know a programmer who used to work for Blizzard until just recently (left for a better paying job that he now loves dearly). He personally hates WoW, and he says most of the programmers/engineers etc also hate the game. I'm fairly sure that when a CM has to go to talk to a dev, he/she doesn't physically get up and go over to the dev offices and knock on the door. I'm fairly sure that like most offices today, inter-office communication is done through technology... phone, email, even instant messenger. Correct me if I'm wrong here, blues.
Heck, hire some of us east coasters here, and let's have an excuse to have a Blizzcon East!
Other games are spoken of (we are gamers afterall), I guess it just depends on what your department's focus is. World of Warcraft of course is going to be dominant due to its very nature. I don't think I have talked to anyone here that hates being here. So from my viewpoint your friend is incorrect and by definition I'd say "most" like working here. :) I'm sure there are some that don't too but some of that could be burnout. Who knows?
Yes, people play the game here too, are in guilds, raid etc. So the idea that most don't even play seems absurd when I hear people talking in the halls all the time about their latest specs etc. Best of luck to your friend though and we wish them well.
Yes, we communicate via email and through phones and messaging however, we do get up and go knock on doors too and have plenty of face to face meetings. We are very much interactive with each other and at the same time respectful of each other's time so that we don't get in the way of goals someone may have.
(To answer another question about 'random hours'.) I work a set schedule. Yes, sometimes I have longer days due in part because I can work at home a bit as well. Yes, sometimes weekends are involved for me (which generally means a tradeshow of some sort.) The great part of working with a team though is that you can share the load. If I get called up for a work related issue, I'm ok with that. I expect it. I can tell you though that since working here, my free time has actually been much more free than it was in the past.
Being that this is the game industry though a certain amount of expectation for long hours exists. Most game companies are trying to find ways to minimize this however, it's a rather demanding industry despite its purpose of providing entertainment. It's not very different from film studios in that regard. Timelines when working on developing projects can be demanding trying to meet them.
#172 - Dec. 27, 2006, 8:09 p.m.
Q u o t e:
edit: But its in cali, i kinda like where i am ;P
It's warm here. ;) And we have Disneyland. Can you top Disneyland? ;p
#176 - Dec. 27, 2006, 8:14 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I have disney world ;P and its warm here :D
Yes, but you have hurricane season meanwhile we just have the occassional roll-o-matic that doesn't require quarters. ;p
#195 - Dec. 27, 2006, 10:16 p.m.
Q u o t e:
4) Spend the next like 20+ years drowning in student loans because you thought college would make you rich*
I still have my student loans hanging over my head. Thankfully I'm not drowning in them but they are still quite the burden. Life costs a lot of money no matter where you are or what you do. ;)
#199 - Dec. 27, 2006, 10:22 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I am building models of roads and bridges so they can see what they look like before building them...accurate elevations are a pain =(. Not to mention sorting through hundreds of pages of badly drawn plans photocopied too many times.
Just be thankful that you're no longer working in DOS. That's all I'm saying.
#207 - Dec. 27, 2006, 10:43 p.m.
Q u o t e:
I never understood student loans. I worked 40 hours a week, heck, sometimes I worked over time and got my BS and MS in seven years... What on earth would a person be doing when going to college that they couldn't work and go to school? Party? /shrug
It doesn't take partying to be the problem. Everyone has different events in their life and burdens that can affect them.
(I saw that about the plates moving btw. I don't think about those things on overpasses when driving. No no no. Not at ALL. *wimper*)
#280 - Dec. 28, 2006, 7:05 p.m.
Q u o t e:
Neth is far to well rounded to have attended a private school. She made it perfectly clear that she couldn't work her way through school and had to take out loans.
I am not sure if this was a compliment or an insult. ;)
Just as an aside and back on topic:
I can tell you that many people in the industry all have different stories of how they got in and why. No one can completely agree on one exact method. As much as an education is needed, so is unabashed talent in whatever it is you choose to do.
#328 - March 14, 2007, 7:25 p.m.
Q u o t e:
While there is a propensity for your earthquakes to have a shallow focus and be destructive, given the nature of the your plate boundary, you really don't have much to worry about. The subsurface where you live is relativity stable and compact, which in turn helps to limit the amount of destruction associated with an earthquake. This would be different if you where in, say, San Francisco, where the subsurface is largely unconsolidated sediments.
Seismic waves passing through solid bedrock is far less destructive than seismic waves passing through unconsolidated sediments.
So don't worry too much about it Neth!
I knew I'd be able to use my geology degree on these forums one day!
Cheers
I would be soothed by this if I didn't remember the Northridge quake so well even though I wasn't here. Ick.
BTW... thread Necromancy is bad but in this case I'll link to the job opportunities page for those interested.
http://www.blizzard.com/jobopp/