Programmer Extraordinaire: About srand
Original Link (now dead) - http://acdm.turbinegames.com/featuredarticles/?action=view&article_id=149
Programmer Extraordinaire: About srand
By Alicia Brown
Turbine prides itself on the highly talented individuals it has working behind the scenes to give you the game you all love to play. Quite a few AC players are already acquainted with srand, one of the better programmers in our industry, having encountered her on the message boards; most have been awed by the hours and intensity she's contributed to helping fans find answers to the technically perplexing questions they've had about various features of the game.
But now we'd like to give you a closer look. Direct from the source, we continue our series about srand, as we divulge to her waiting fans the answers to how she got where she is today and how others can get their start in this industry. And while we're at it, we'll also share the insight she provided us about the lifestyle of a game developer based on her personal experience and her gaming likes and dislikes too.
Q. How did you get your start at Turbine?
A. Well, after I got the third and last of my bachelor's degrees, in Computer Science, I began doing rapid prototyping of military/civilian logistics Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for a company that contracted to DARPA. But for fun, in my spare time - every spare second, for a while - I played Asheron's Call (AC). Many of my friends, also recently graduated programmers, were looking for more exciting work - and they also played AC. One day, one of them noticed a game programmer position posted on Turbine's employment page and pointed it out to the rest of us. We applied en masse - and Turbine eventually hired three of us. But I (*preen*, *preen*) was the first.
I had no experience in that side of games at the time but some of my client/server and AI programming experience came in handy - not to mention my AC addiction! It also helped that I was and am a darn good programmer. (Oops! Can I fit my swelling head through the door now? *grin*) Seriously though, I'd been on the programming team in college and was always very good at object-oriented programming which is a very useful paradigm for game programming. Let me put it another way: If you're trying to break into game programming with little or no game experience, it helps to be strong on the programming side.
I find it curious, by the way, that many friends had long-standing dreams of working in games but the idea never occurred to me until they suggested applying to Turbine. I'd been playing games forever, of course, but the idea of making one just hadn't appealed to me ... until Asheron's Call.
Q. What influenced you when developing ACDM (games, movies, books, etc.)?
A. The kind of development I do - I mean game systems and tech, as opposed to content - isn't the sort of thing that's generally inspired by books or movies. But I am inspired by other games quite a bit.
Q. What games have you played (and what are your dislikes and likes about each)?
A. I play a decent amount of single-player strategy and adventure role-playing games (RPGs) and try to keep the lessons they've taught me in mind when I evaluate game mechanics in AC. But before you ask, yes, it's often difficult to translate those experiences into a massively multi-player space.
I've been playing multi-user dungeons (MUDs) since I learned how to telnet - and pen and paper RPGs since I convinced my cousin that girls aren't necessarily icky just because they chose to play a barbarian. I've played most of the existing massively multi-player online role playing games (MMORPGs) at least a little bit - including Fighting Legends, which I liked a lot. I hope it's not a surprise to anyone that I think AC is the best massively multi-player game (MMP) out there. I find that most others make me feel ... claustrophobic. I like AC's wide-open spaces and wide-open character development. I'm not claiming AC's perfect, but I do like our underlying game systems and tech more than most of the MMPs and MUDs I've played.
Also (and I suspect I'm going to surprise a few people with this) I'm fundamentally a solo player -- and AC is flexible enough to fit my play style pretty well in that respect.
Q. What can you tell us about the lifestyle of a game developer, based on your experience [e.g., sleep habits, work hours, money, caffeine and nicotine usage, junk-food consumption, etc.]?
A. The lifestyle of a game developer is all about luxury and ease ... so long, that is, as you find 12-hour days in front of a computer screen "luxurious!" For various reasons, I start and leave work later than most of the team: I come in around Noon and usually stay until sometime between midnight and 3 a.m. Then I go home, eat, sleep, wake-up, shower and come back in!
Those working hours are voluntary, by the way. The entire team puts in many more hours than we should because we're all passionate about making AC the best game it can be. The "up" side is that I don't have to care all that much how much money I make, since my hours ensure that I never have a chance to spend any of it, anyway! The "down" side, I suppose, is my health - I drink enormous amounts of Pepsi and eat mostly candy bars. If Turbine didn't stock a snack shelf, I probably wouldn't eat at all. (Which might be better for me, come to think of it - but let's not go there!) Besides, I sometimes get on a kick and decided to exercise more and/or take time out to eat right. But then I get involved in the game again - and forget my good intentions.
Q. What's your advice on how to get into the game-making business?
A. Play games. Think about games. Analyze games. Know what you want to do in the industry - programming, writing, design, art, etc. Talk to people who have that job and find out more about what they actually do on a day-to-day basis. Learn what professional talents and personal qualities are important for that job, then work on getting yourself good at that sort of thing. There's no point in applying for a programming position if you're a bad programmer. Communication and organization are important for everybody. A good resume helps a lot, too. Even though you know exactly what you want to do, be willing to accept a related but not-quite-perfect job if one comes open.