IT is something you mostly learn from experience: if you're smart enough to look up things and make educated guesses, you'll learn the field just fine.
On the other hand, I very much dislike self-taught programmers. One of the more useful things you get in class is introductions to "standard" design and coding patterns that make certain tasks simple, and easy to follow when you're looking at other people's work. For the most part (i.e. not Nelson), self-taught people don't know these, so they don't follow good design practices and write bad, buggy, unmaintainable code.
At this point I could probably apply for the IT guy of a small office but I'd still need to do a lot of looking up.
Dude, like 90% of IT (especially when starting out) is looking up stuff. If you are moderately technical, good at communicating, and very capable of research on Google, you are highly qualified for the majority of entry-level (and even higher-level) IT jobs. Go for it!
-EDIT- Hell, if you have the communication skills, you're already better than the majority of IT grunts out there.
So what sort of qualifications would a self taught person need to apply? Or is it more showing a portfolio of their work?
It's not really a "portfolio" per se, but talk about the interesting/cool/difficult things you've done with computers, and what skills you already have - installing computers, building computers, command-line knowledge, running servers if you've ever done it, what programming/scripting languages you know, etc. Hell, even just knowing how to use Microsoft Office well can be important.
It's not like you're going to be applying to be a sysadmin right off the bat, but you can do office support work with basically no extra training.
Im with you now. Cheers for answering. Where would you say is a good start point? For instance I've got a decent working knowledge of Excell, Word, ect where could I go from there?
Can you comfortably build a computer from parts? It's a helluva lot easier to start diagnosing generic computer issues if you have a basic understanding of the guts.
From there, it would be worthwhile familiarizing yourself with software or even operating systems you're not already comfortable with. Install some Linux distro on a crap computer (or virtual machine) and figure out how to do your day-to-day. Try running a public-facing game server from within a home network, one that your friends can connect to remotely - that'll give you some basic understanding of networking. Run an SSH server to familiarize yourself with a command line and more complex server configuration.
All approachable, cheap, practical projects that can be used to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of how computers work and how to fix them.
IT is something you mostly learn from experience: if you're smart enough to look up things and make educated guesses, you'll learn the field just fine.
On the other hand, I very much dislike self-taught programmers. One of the more useful things you get in class is introductions to "standard" design and coding patterns that make certain tasks simple, and easy to follow when you're looking at other people's work. For the most part (i.e. not Nelson), self-taught people don't know these, so they don't follow good design practices and write bad, buggy, unmaintainable code.
Somehow our company has managed to hire a dude who did some like c# night classes run by some Microsoft employees in their spare time. His code is downright atrocious and he has some terrible habits that have made working with him a pain in the ass sometimes. He's been getting better but it's an uphill battle.
Can you comfortably build a computer from parts? It's a helluva lot easier to start diagnosing generic computer issues if you have a basic understanding of the guts.
From there, it would be worthwhile familiarizing yourself with software or even operating systems you're not already comfortable with. Install some Linux distro on a crap computer (or virtual machine) and figure out how to do your day-to-day. Try running a public-facing game server from within a home network, one that your friends can connect to remotely - that'll give you some basic understanding of networking. Run an SSH server to familiarize yourself with a command line and more complex server configuration.
All approachable, cheap, practical projects that can be used to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of how computers work and how to fix them.
I very much dislike self-taught programmers. One of the more useful things you get in class is introductions to "standard" design and coding patterns that make certain tasks simple, and easy to follow when you're looking at other people's work. For the most part (i.e. not Nelson), self-taught people don't know these, so they don't follow good design practices and write bad, buggy, unmaintainable code.
luv u bro
I generally concur. If you're self taught, you NEED to learn the standards yourself, and not just bumble around trying to program stuff. Read a few books on your language(s) of choice, take some higher-level CS theory classes on Udacity and Coursera (seriously, I didn't really know about big-o notation until about two years ago and that's embarassing), and learn the patterns.
I can't tell you how many times I've been working with someone and mention a programming pattern when describing how to solve a problem, only to get blank stares. Communicating with other programmers (perhaps the most important thing you'll do working in the industry, up there with reliably estimating time and being able to look things up quickly) is almost more important than sheer programming skill. If you can't communicate with other programmers (and, sometimes more importantly) non-programmer stakeholders effectively, you'll find yourself wasting everyone's time describing implementations rather than big-picture stuff.
Patterns and CS theory knowledge are the difference between a code monkey and a programmer.
At this point I could probably apply for the IT guy of a small office but I'd still need to do a lot of looking up.
Dude, like 90% of IT (especially when starting out) is looking up stuff. If you are moderately technical, good at communicating, and very capable of research on Google, you are highly qualified for the majority of entry-level (and even higher-level) IT jobs. Go for it!
-EDIT- Hell, if you have the communication skills, you're already better than the majority of IT grunts out there.
My bosses at IT Support specifically hired me because I was personable, regardless of my computer skills. As they put it, "It's easier to teach computer skills to a people person than people skills to a computer person."
In other news it seems that PATV and the PAReport are closing down but with the promis of other stuff to come in their stead. Feelings/thoughts?
PATV is only getting rid of the re-hosted content. The only one of these shows worth your time was Shut Up & Sit Down, because they were funny, but I really never trusted their actual opinion on games. Quinns has said some things on his podcast that made me realize him and I have drastically different definitions of what a game is.
As for PA Report, it's a huge loss. It simply must not have been able to turn a profit. If PAR was raking in dollars, I don't see ANY way that PA could justify shutting it down.
How many fucking pins are you going to sell, Penny Arcade?
The majority of "games journalism" sucks so bad it hurts to read. Guys like Ben Kuchera are few and far between, so it's unfortunate that he'll be off to a new home.
Such a site doesn't make money or have a purpose. Everyone who wants real game journalism doesn't need such a website, as we already have our ways of filtering out the stupid stuff to know the important things. Everyone else will only click on articles that talk about already popular games, or cosplay galleries. Not that I dislike cosplay galleries, but it has no real place on those websites. Alas, it gets the views, and therefore gets the website its money.
There is not need for journalism in video game land. Also giant bomb for A\V video game laughs.
If someone who actually knew about games were actually capable of evaluating a game properly, I could save a lot of time in my life. It takes longer to download a play a demo than it takes to read a few paragraphs. Also, there have been occasions where one of us needs to buy a game to figure out if others should also buy it. We can avoid those occasions if someone's job is to figure that out for us.
If someone who actually knew about games were actually capable of evaluating a game properly,
Translated: someone with same taste as Scott. Your personal opinions about things are not the absolute truth of the universe and you should stop thinking that they are. Anyone should be able to take the infinite amount of information the Internet has about any game to be smart about their game purchasing decisions. I honestly don't remember when was the last time I had any kind of buyer's regret for a game, as I know what I like and I know how much I value things I like.
What Scott is looking for is a website actually run by people with similar taste to him, of which one does not exist.
This is likely because everyone with taste like Scott has better things to do than run a website that caters to such a niche audience and will not make very much money.
They don't have to have the same taste as me, they just have to be capable of actually evaluating games properly.
For example, Mario Tennis 3DS. The most important thing to know about the game is that it is vastly different from previous Mario Tennises in that timing does not matter. In old Mario Tennis, hitting the ball early or late made a difference in the shot that was sent back to your opponent. It was even possible to hit the ball out, as in real Tennis, by swinging too early or late. In Mario Tennis 3DS any button press within the window will hit the ball. All that determines the shot you send back to your opponent is which button you press. Thus, the game devolves to Simon Says, and any test of your dexterity is significantly diminished compared to any other Mario Tennis.
That's the kind of info that lets you know whether you need to buy this game, but you can not find it online from any game journalism source whatsoever.
See, you framed your argument in terms of previous games, and Scott's experiences and enjoyment of previous games.
Writers aren't allowed to do that. They are meant to address a game as it is.
Additionally, few people with that in depth awareness of game mechanics are writing, let alone playing Mario Tennis 3DS.
It has nothing to do with enjoyment or taste. I made a factual evaluation of the games mechanics. I did not say whether this mechanic was preferable to me or not. You are extremely bad at reading.
You are correct that few people with with in depth awareness of game mechanics are writing. But that's the point. If you don't know anything about games, you aren't qualified to be a games journalist.
Rym had some choice tweets a short while back that explain it pretty well.
A sports journalist knows the history of Baseball. A game journalist probably hasn't played any Final Fantasy game with a number less than 8
If you don't have that knowledge you aren't qualified for the job. Almost all so-called games journalists are just writers who are good at writing and happen to enjoy video games. They just aren't good at games or knowledgeable about them.
I have seen many writers who do understand the intricacies you list. The problem is that this writing will go over so many people's heads. Your market is small, and therefore such work is not a sustainable living.
Someone could do it on the side, knowing they won't make money off of it, but the reason they don't do it is the same as the reason you don't.
I feel like Giant Bomb does a pretty good job of letting me know if something is worth playing by telling me and showing me the good and the bad. I can usually make a decision based on that.
Their Quick Looks are better than their reviews (or any reviews).
Maybe its just me, but I can very reliably get the feel of a game by watching it played. Lets Plays and Quick Looks are the only reliable "journalism" out there for me and the concerns like Apreche's above concerning the controls are exactly the kinds of things that make up the banter. Sure it takes longer than reading a couple of articles, but if a game is worth playing, its probably worth jogging through a 30min video.
I was watching two shows on PATV at the moment: Checkpoint and Extra Credits. One of them is now dead on indefinite hiatus. It also sucks for the guys from Extra Credits who already had a falling out with The Escapist once, but I guess to them its more of a labor of love and I don't think they will stop any time soon.
I used to watch PATV itself, which is not running at the moment and doubtful will return, and Strip Search of Course, but for now the channel is pretty much devoid of any use to me.
There is not need for journalism in video game land. Also giant bomb for A\V video game laughs.
No, it is not a "need," but it would be pretty ignorant to say that there aren't good stories worth being told about the people and companies who make games, interesting industry analysis pieces, and the like.
Don't let your low opinion of most gaming news websites color your value of talented writing. Some people, myself included, actual enjoy reading well-written (sometimes, dare I say, even thought provoking) pieces about a hobby that I spend a great deal of time on. If you're gonna say that real journalism should stick to news and politics, well, fuck off.
I have seen many writers who do understand the intricacies you list. The problem is that this writing will go over so many people's heads. Your market is small, and therefore such work is not a sustainable living.
A very small market indeed. And both the skill set and audience for reviews/previews vs. long form stories can be completely different. When I wrote for MTV and Wired, they didn't give a shit whether I turned in a 1,000-word piece I was incredibly proud of, or a 1-paragraph summary of a press release. It was the same pay, b/c all they cared about was having another post to collect hits and drive their ad stats.
Your market is small, and therefore such work is not a sustainable living.
I would give a differing opinion on this comment. I think there is a very large market that is dormant. People who would be interested in this type of journalism have already written off virtually all game journalism as superficial, inaccurate and one step away from paid advertising.
The number of mature people playing games has increased (when I started playing games there was nothing realistic about the games they were targeted at children specifically). The game playing demographic now has spread across the age range. It is not as taboo for an adult to play video games or have it as their hobby.
The number of people reading reviews has dropped dramatically and brought many publications and sites to a halt. Gamers are looking at peer review whether written, on Youtube or streamed to help them get an understanding of the game and whether they should buy it now while it is popular, wait till it is on sale or to not buy it at all.
Unfortunately these "peers" are quite often lacking in their understanding of games, mechanics, history and virtually every other detail that you might think as interesting. I would be interested in someone who knows about games to comment on it. The lack of this results in Apreche's dilemma where one of his group of gamers needs to try it out to see if it is worth getting.
Comments
On the other hand, I very much dislike self-taught programmers. One of the more useful things you get in class is introductions to "standard" design and coding patterns that make certain tasks simple, and easy to follow when you're looking at other people's work. For the most part (i.e. not Nelson), self-taught people don't know these, so they don't follow good design practices and write bad, buggy, unmaintainable code.
It's not like you're going to be applying to be a sysadmin right off the bat, but you can do office support work with basically no extra training.
From there, it would be worthwhile familiarizing yourself with software or even operating systems you're not already comfortable with. Install some Linux distro on a crap computer (or virtual machine) and figure out how to do your day-to-day. Try running a public-facing game server from within a home network, one that your friends can connect to remotely - that'll give you some basic understanding of networking. Run an SSH server to familiarize yourself with a command line and more complex server configuration.
All approachable, cheap, practical projects that can be used to familiarize yourself with the fundamentals of how computers work and how to fix them.
I generally concur. If you're self taught, you NEED to learn the standards yourself, and not just bumble around trying to program stuff. Read a few books on your language(s) of choice, take some higher-level CS theory classes on Udacity and Coursera (seriously, I didn't really know about big-o notation until about two years ago and that's embarassing), and learn the patterns.
I can't tell you how many times I've been working with someone and mention a programming pattern when describing how to solve a problem, only to get blank stares. Communicating with other programmers (perhaps the most important thing you'll do working in the industry, up there with reliably estimating time and being able to look things up quickly) is almost more important than sheer programming skill. If you can't communicate with other programmers (and, sometimes more importantly) non-programmer stakeholders effectively, you'll find yourself wasting everyone's time describing implementations rather than big-picture stuff.
Patterns and CS theory knowledge are the difference between a code monkey and a programmer.
As for PA Report, it's a huge loss. It simply must not have been able to turn a profit. If PAR was raking in dollars, I don't see ANY way that PA could justify shutting it down.
How many fucking pins are you going to sell, Penny Arcade?
The majority of "games journalism" sucks so bad it hurts to read. Guys like Ben Kuchera are few and far between, so it's unfortunate that he'll be off to a new home.
Your personal opinions about things are not the absolute truth of the universe and you should stop thinking that they are. Anyone should be able to take the infinite amount of information the Internet has about any game to be smart about their game purchasing decisions. I honestly don't remember when was the last time I had any kind of buyer's regret for a game, as I know what I like and I know how much I value things I like.
This is likely because everyone with taste like Scott has better things to do than run a website that caters to such a niche audience and will not make very much money.
For example, Mario Tennis 3DS. The most important thing to know about the game is that it is vastly different from previous Mario Tennises in that timing does not matter. In old Mario Tennis, hitting the ball early or late made a difference in the shot that was sent back to your opponent. It was even possible to hit the ball out, as in real Tennis, by swinging too early or late. In Mario Tennis 3DS any button press within the window will hit the ball. All that determines the shot you send back to your opponent is which button you press. Thus, the game devolves to Simon Says, and any test of your dexterity is significantly diminished compared to any other Mario Tennis.
That's the kind of info that lets you know whether you need to buy this game, but you can not find it online from any game journalism source whatsoever.
Writers aren't allowed to do that. They are meant to address a game as it is.
Additionally, few people with that in depth awareness of game mechanics are writing, let alone playing Mario Tennis 3DS.
You are correct that few people with with in depth awareness of game mechanics are writing. But that's the point. If you don't know anything about games, you aren't qualified to be a games journalist.
Rym had some choice tweets a short while back that explain it pretty well.
If you don't have that knowledge you aren't qualified for the job. Almost all so-called games journalists are just writers who are good at writing and happen to enjoy video games. They just aren't good at games or knowledgeable about them.
Someone could do it on the side, knowing they won't make money off of it, but the reason they don't do it is the same as the reason you don't.
Maybe its just me, but I can very reliably get the feel of a game by watching it played. Lets Plays and Quick Looks are the only reliable "journalism" out there for me and the concerns like Apreche's above concerning the controls are exactly the kinds of things that make up the banter. Sure it takes longer than reading a couple of articles, but if a game is worth playing, its probably worth jogging through a 30min video.
I used to watch PATV itself, which is not running at the moment and doubtful will return, and Strip Search of Course, but for now the channel is pretty much devoid of any use to me.
Don't let your low opinion of most gaming news websites color your value of talented writing. Some people, myself included, actual enjoy reading well-written (sometimes, dare I say, even thought provoking) pieces about a hobby that I spend a great deal of time on. If you're gonna say that real journalism should stick to news and politics, well, fuck off. A very small market indeed. And both the skill set and audience for reviews/previews vs. long form stories can be completely different. When I wrote for MTV and Wired, they didn't give a shit whether I turned in a 1,000-word piece I was incredibly proud of, or a 1-paragraph summary of a press release. It was the same pay, b/c all they cared about was having another post to collect hits and drive their ad stats.
The number of mature people playing games has increased (when I started playing games there was nothing realistic about the games they were targeted at children specifically). The game playing demographic now has spread across the age range. It is not as taboo for an adult to play video games or have it as their hobby.
The number of people reading reviews has dropped dramatically and brought many publications and sites to a halt. Gamers are looking at peer review whether written, on Youtube or streamed to help them get an understanding of the game and whether they should buy it now while it is popular, wait till it is on sale or to not buy it at all.
Unfortunately these "peers" are quite often lacking in their understanding of games, mechanics, history and virtually every other detail that you might think as interesting. I would be interested in someone who knows about games to comment on it. The lack of this results in Apreche's dilemma where one of his group of gamers needs to try it out to see if it is worth getting.