Posts by Minos

  • Games you just finished - 2013

    Grave diggin!


    After months of playing this on and off... I just finished Final Fantasy XIII-2


    This was a pretty interesting case. To be honest I never cared much about Final Fantasy until about a year or two ago, but ended up skipping FF 13 due to the bad reviews. Earlier this year I got an itch for some Final Fantasy and decided to pick up this up since it seemed to have fixed most of the problems with the first one and had cool environments.


    At first I found the characters a bit annoying and the story convoluted. At some point I just gave up trying to follow what the hell was going on cause the amount of information was just overwhelming. I even gave up the game halfway through a few months ago due to a very annoying part (

    Quote

    Academia 400AF

    . There are so many places and branches to go and the game never really explains how to use the level navigator screen either so I decided to just use a faq to figure out where to go at some points.... and damn, does this game get better on the second half.


    The story (even though it's confusing as hell at first and takes a while to pick up the pace) is actually pretty clever and refreshing, with some really interesting and unexpected twists. I'd place the experience on this one at the same level as when I played Mass Effect for the first time.


    It's shame this game got ignored by the main public, it almost feels like a hidden gem even if this is a proper Final Fantasy game.


    Anyway, pick this up if you have an open mind, like some grinding or just likes good time travel paradox stories


    9/10

  • Nintendo 2DS

    Quote from blackdog

    Isn't this in practice a rebranding of the old DS?


    Nop, the 3ds' hardware is a lot better and has internet support.


    The 3DS is a great machine by the way, it's slowly starting to pick up the pace but it's got some awesome games already (Animal Crossing, Monster Hunter, Ocarina of Time, Etrian Odyssey, just to name a few I remember).

  • Al Anselmo - Game Designer and Level Designer

    Agree with Puddy, some of that stuff could cause more harm than good imo. Anyone can beta test a game and even if you are the best beta tester in the world... you are still not a developer. In a game production environment every developer is expected to give feedback anyway, so I don't see how being a QA in an indie game could help.


    I also think you should really decide what your ultimate goal is because that is not very clear in your portfolio. If your ultimate goal is to work at valve or develop shooters, then making a 2D game will definitely not help. Since you are investing so much time and energy into this I'd say to just go and get experience with real editors such as Cryengine, UDK, Hammer, etc.. Create a few multiplayer maps (preferably for games that people still play such as CS,TF2 etc...) or even a simple single-player campaign. Make something that a potential employer would be curious to play.


    The tricky thing with game designer positions is that nobody will hire you if don't have any relevant titles under your belt, and what I mean by that is to actually be someone that made in impact in a project. The easier and faster way to do that imo is by being a content creator (level designer, game artist, etc...), and then slowly climb the ladder until you have enough experience to be a game designer (which is really not about having ideas but about having experience. Anyone can have ideas but very few can actually execute them).


    Another thing that is kinda weird is to have how you perceive yourself in your portfolio (I'm talking about the main competencies section in your resume). Honestly, when we interview people here the most important thing we review is their work and their experience. If we think they are qualified for the job, then the person is invited for an interview and that's where personality comes into play.


    I would also be careful with "software competencies" as well, if you claim you are experienced with software A or B you have to prove it in your portfolio somewhere. (for example even though I know my way around Zbrush I don't even bother to have it on my resume, since I don't have any relevant piece created in that software).


    Hope that helps man