I heard back from Activision about the whole interview thing. The HR contact woman described how it would go down:
1. Meet Greet Chat
2. Lunch
3. Scripting Test.
And I said, Whaaa?
First of all, who goes to lunch as part of an interview?
Am I interviewing for an executive position? "You roxored our world, Mike. Here's the keys to the corporate jet. You can take it anywhere but Belgium."
I mean, my essay was pretty decent, but not that good.
Second, what's all this "Scripting Test" stuff? In my second email to the HR woman, a week or two ago, I answered her question:
"Do you know scripting?"
with
"I don't think so, can you be more specific?"
To which she never responded.
So now the interviewers think I can script, since they're planning to test my skills in "Scripting".
In level design, a Designer will open the level still in progress and place elements - like spawn points, weapon and health powerups, event triggers, and so on. That's what "Scripting" the HR woman is referring to. I've never done it.
I could learn how - but I won't pass their test, unless the interface is designed for pre-schoolers and the mouseover prompts are lengthy and verbose.
So I responded to the HR woman's email, and asked her to make sure my interviewers (I still don't know their names) are aware that I have zero Scripting skills. If they still want to interview me, that's great. I just want them to be fully aware of my skillset before the interview.
I don't want to be wined and dined, and then after lunch I screw the pooch on the test and they call their goons to beat me up and throw me into the street. After relieving me of the $30 they spent on my lunch.
I talked to a knowledgeable friend last night who told me that entry level Designers can make 40K - 50K a year. And I was pretty pleased with the 24,000 I'm making now. If the salary really is that nice, it makes the luncheon interview make more sense. And reaffirm the fact that I'm not qualified.
To think, I was worried that a Design position wouldn't pay enough to leave my Testing job
Here's another thought - if the design team knew I had no Scripting experience, would they have asked for or ever read my essay? What if I slip through the cracks and end up getting the interview - and then somehow hired for the job - due to an intial misunderstanding?
I have a weird kind of luck for things like that.
1. Meet Greet Chat
2. Lunch
3. Scripting Test.
And I said, Whaaa?
First of all, who goes to lunch as part of an interview?
Am I interviewing for an executive position? "You roxored our world, Mike. Here's the keys to the corporate jet. You can take it anywhere but Belgium."
I mean, my essay was pretty decent, but not that good.
Second, what's all this "Scripting Test" stuff? In my second email to the HR woman, a week or two ago, I answered her question:
"Do you know scripting?"
with
"I don't think so, can you be more specific?"
To which she never responded.
So now the interviewers think I can script, since they're planning to test my skills in "Scripting".
In level design, a Designer will open the level still in progress and place elements - like spawn points, weapon and health powerups, event triggers, and so on. That's what "Scripting" the HR woman is referring to. I've never done it.
I could learn how - but I won't pass their test, unless the interface is designed for pre-schoolers and the mouseover prompts are lengthy and verbose.
So I responded to the HR woman's email, and asked her to make sure my interviewers (I still don't know their names) are aware that I have zero Scripting skills. If they still want to interview me, that's great. I just want them to be fully aware of my skillset before the interview.
I don't want to be wined and dined, and then after lunch I screw the pooch on the test and they call their goons to beat me up and throw me into the street. After relieving me of the $30 they spent on my lunch.
I talked to a knowledgeable friend last night who told me that entry level Designers can make 40K - 50K a year. And I was pretty pleased with the 24,000 I'm making now. If the salary really is that nice, it makes the luncheon interview make more sense. And reaffirm the fact that I'm not qualified.
To think, I was worried that a Design position wouldn't pay enough to leave my Testing job
Here's another thought - if the design team knew I had no Scripting experience, would they have asked for or ever read my essay? What if I slip through the cracks and end up getting the interview - and then somehow hired for the job - due to an intial misunderstanding?
I have a weird kind of luck for things like that.
Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteI could actually give you a crash course in level design and scripting.
That is, of course, assuming they still use the Duke Nukem 3D engine.
Sure, come on over.
ReplyDeleteIf only you lived in Los Angeles.
I would make the flight, only something tells me they aren't making the next spiderman game on a 10 year old, pre-3d acceleration, first person shooter engine.
ReplyDeleteI think there's still a couple of my multiplayer maps floating around in cyberspace somewhere...one got a whole 3 downloads!
Hey--who said wine and dine? i thought it was lunch? that could mean Wendy's where I come from . . .
ReplyDeleteit's good experience for when you _do_ get the keys to the fett jet--
I've determined your luck is limitless.
ReplyDeleteWendy's - I wish! There are very few Wendy's out here.
ReplyDeletePlus, considering the lunch would be on the company, it would be somewhere nice. I know how these folks operate.
I'd rather go for a fast food interview - quicker, and less stress.