Real-world Game-world, Unity Packages and Portfolios
Hi all,
So those who were at the last CT meetup saw my side project (in low res and aliased :p). It is essentially Google Earth for Unity. I put some more work in on it to demonstrate it a bit better.
I made a video here
Downloadable here
There are two things I need help with...
1) What sort of things would game developers look for in a Unity package, I can guess the obvious stuff, a sensible API, don't hog the memory, make it flexible. But are there any experiences anyone would/could share about using or creating Unity packages? Also, what might one want from a package such as this? (of course, assuming that it would be popular)
2) As you might see I'm creating a portfolio website (I am fast approaching the end of academia, and a CV can be oh so boring). I'm slowly building up the individual pages to include more pictures, videos, information but I don't think I'm terribly good at web design, any tips? (I know I still need a logo :p) What would an employer look for and what would I want to include/exclude to make a good impression. Thought this would be a good place to ask.
With Thanks,
-raxter
So those who were at the last CT meetup saw my side project (in low res and aliased :p). It is essentially Google Earth for Unity. I put some more work in on it to demonstrate it a bit better.
I made a video here
Downloadable here
There are two things I need help with...
1) What sort of things would game developers look for in a Unity package, I can guess the obvious stuff, a sensible API, don't hog the memory, make it flexible. But are there any experiences anyone would/could share about using or creating Unity packages? Also, what might one want from a package such as this? (of course, assuming that it would be popular)
2) As you might see I'm creating a portfolio website (I am fast approaching the end of academia, and a CV can be oh so boring). I'm slowly building up the individual pages to include more pictures, videos, information but I don't think I'm terribly good at web design, any tips? (I know I still need a logo :p) What would an employer look for and what would I want to include/exclude to make a good impression. Thought this would be a good place to ask.
With Thanks,
-raxter
Comments
Your portfolio needs to highlight the skills and the value that you can bring to the table. Employers will be looking for different things, and you will need to tailor your portfolio/cv to meet their exact expectation.
For example, when I started looking for articles I did like everyone else, I sent out a standard CV to every firm I could (it was about 150 applications in all). Unsurprisingly I didn't get a single "positive" response. Afterwards, I re-looked at my approach. First I identified the top 5 firms I really wanted to work for. Afterwards I researched them extensively and identified areas of expertise that the firm, and even specific people dealt with. I then cross-referenced this with my skill set and highlighted what I thought was important and then sent our customised CV's to each firm.
To give an example, the CV that I sent to my current firm followed was developed as follows:
a) From my research I knew that they did a lot of commercial work with software companies
b) The firm disliked litigation, and preferred alternative dispute resolution mechanisms
c) At the time, there were a few articles on the firms website that where looking at the (then new) Consumer Protection Act, which indicated to me that the firm had recently got some CPA work, and was probably trying to get more.
With this in mind I wrote my CV to play to these factors, so for example I paid special attention and devoted most of my CV to show that:
a) I had an undergrad in Business Science Information Systems, and had practical experience in writing actual software, which in turn meant I could speak the "language" of most of their clients.
b) I was top of my class in the module for negotiation, mediation and arbitration
c) I had good knowledge of the CPA, and was interested in how it would affect Software Companies.
My other CV's looked completely different for the other firms (The one was more litigation focused for example).
What I didn't do was focus on the things that EVER OTHER law student also did (like the fact the I had my LLB, that I participated in Moot competitions and that I had done a research project). I listed these thing obviously, but my CV didn't focus on them.
To have a really good portfolio you will need to do something similar. For example every other com sci student can code, probably in multiple languages, so you don't want to focus on this. A skill that I think developers will look for is problem solving, especially "Creative" problem solving.So add a game to your portfolio that posed a specific problem for you as a developer, and use your CV to highlight the problem and how you overcame it. By doing this you are demonstrating to your potential employer, how you are different to every other person applying, and also practically showing them your skills.
I get calls now and then from (art) students asking stuff like, "How much should I be earning? Surely I should earn more because I have a degree?" They don't think of the value they bring to a company, and instead think that they're somehow entitled to some awesome job now that they've studied for a few years, despite there being hundreds of other kids who've got digital art degrees too.
Highlighting your (preferably exclusive) value in any portfolio or application is so incredibly powerful.
In terms of a package, and again speaking as someone who isn't a programmer, I think one of the things that guys I work with would look out for is whether it's easy to see what you're doing. This would be stuff like folder structure, scene structure, code structure and commenting - basically, to show that they could easily integrate/modify your work, without having to remind you of various coding/organizational standards, or spend a couple more hours scratching their heads. Like, there's coding (every grad does that) and there's coding that's team-friendly, and doing the latter saves a lot of headaches.