Game industry (was Re: Software Styles (was: Re: [MUD-Dev] Is database access a bottleneck))

[Amanda Walker]

On 12/12/02 9:03 PM, Kebernet <kebernet at kebernet.net> wrote:

> As someone who has spent time working in "Academia" who now does
> "Enterprise" banking software, one thing I feel compelled to note
> is the simple payrate discrepency between the game industry and
> the rest of the computing world too.

Indeed.  One of the downsides of the prevailing myth that "games are
different from traditional software, so traditional experience
doesn't count" is that it can be difficult to attract experienced
talent when you do run into classic challenges (such as scalability,
redundancy, load balancing, and so on).  Take me, for example.  I've
been doing network R&D since the early 80s.  I've implemented TCP/IP
stacks, worked on everything from desktop UI stuff to embedded
real-time software for carrier-class networking gear, and generally
speaking have a very deep knowledge of how to deal with networking
and concurrency.  I have no trouble commanding a six figure salary,
and have more offers of work than I can accept even in this economy.
I'd love to be applying my experience to games--I enjoy them as a
player, and I think that MMORPGs are where many interesting and
challenging problems in VR implementation are actually getting
solved.  Certainly much more so than in academia or more traditional
"VR" research.  Game publishers are actually building stuff and
learning what works and what doesn't, which I greatly respect.

However, the current game development model of "work in crunch mode
for a couple years for peanuts and sweat equity, and hope we hit the
jackpot" simply can't work for someone like me, older than
mid-thirties with a mortgage and a life outside of work.  I've done
that already.  Now, companies like Microsoft/Turbine/Bungie,
Sony/Verant, or maybe even Mythic (which has the advantage of being
local to me :-)) might be able to make me an offer I could seriously
consider, but the smaller indie game projects don't have a chance
just on pure economic grounds.  So it remains a sideline.

Amanda Walker


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