Real Pic January!

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I'm quite clueless as to what I want to do in the future. Probably anything revolving around software design or UI/human-pc interaction. Either that or more typographic/graphic design.

Who knows, i'll wait until after Dec. 21, 2012 to get my shit in order though.

[edit]Damn, totally forgot about this gaf avatar thing I did before going to sleep :lol, will post later.
 
Classes start tomorrow RP-GAF.

Got a rough semester ahead of me, blah.
 
This conversation is relevant to my interests. Just today I had a conversation with a friend of mine about what I want to do with my life and how the degree I just got feels utterly useless to me because in the end it's not really something I'm interested in. My interests in life are almost all media focused, being into just about everything from music and movies to video games and art design. I've always been one of those people who have loved the direction of media but have never been good at creating it myself. As we were talking, he told me that I should write for a magazine or website that focuses of films or music. I've always loved talking about things I'm interested in and I think I really want to do it. I know most of those jobs don't pay spectacularly (especially not out of the gate) but I think I'd enjoy it. I've always been afraid of a career because if I have to go somewhere every day for years on end and hate being there, my life will be much worse off. I really need to figure out how to get my foot in the door somewhere and quick.
 
H.Protagonist said:
How cool. My Japanese is conversation at best, and I've always admired people who could command a language with a great degree of proficiency. Did you learn it as a kid, or study it later on in life?
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studied the language for a couple years at the university. then had the fortune of being able to go to italy several times and actually use it. first time was a school-based trip, guided tours of this and that blah blah and the prof in charge did most of the speaking for us. i was shy at the time. second visit, hung out with my mother and sister in rome for a month and a half. went out on my own, tested my skills, did...okay. obviously stumbled on some phrases and colloquialisms... last trip there was just me and my (ex) girlfriend, so everything was on me. getting us food, directions, places to sleep, etc. and i rocked it.

being able to kick it at a bar/restaurant in rome and shoot shit with the locals is one of the things i'm most proud of in my life. i'm dark eyed, dark haired, and for a good minute and a half i could convince roman cats that i was one of them. they'd ask me what neighborhood i was from. then eventually they'd drop some slang sentences and i'd have to admit to the fact that i'm just an american cat. still though, those 1.5 minutes were thrilling.
 
doitlive said:
I just applied to Blizzard to be a Spanish Language tester.
hopefully I get an interview.
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Good luck! Good people over at Blizzard. ^_^

Lissar said:
See, I didn't think so, but they did specify "excellent game play skills". >> Do they mean can play games at all?

It would be nice to work at Nintendo actually, since I'd get to stay within PNW.
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Pretty much. Naturally they want people who are at least interested in/familiar with games to be working on them. You seem to play plenty, so I think you'd be fine. As for the JLPT, you could take it for future potential jobs. Having cert isn't always necessary (you'll have to take a translation test regardless), but it will help open the door. I'd actually say it might be worth it for you to apply regardless of not meeting that requirement. If you provide enough proof of your abilities (prior work/experience) that might be just fine if their applicant pool is not very large or experienced. Couldn't hurt. ^_^
 
I still have much to decide on what I want to do. I mean, I have a job, but it's in a field that's undergoing changes and laying off thousands of people a year. I don't think I'm in any danger of having that happen to me now (I left a much bigger company to go to a smaller, family-owned business), but you know, I feel sometimes like I could be doing more.

Plus, I'm trying to somehow get my social and dating life back together after having slowly spent the last 3 years trying to rebuild myself. It's mostly worked, but I need to really get out there more. Even my parents are bugging me about this, lol, and I don't live with them.
 
I like talking about, crafting, and posting game theory.

I guess some schoolgirlish part of my mind thinks like CliffyB or the non-shitty Mike Laidlaw is going to read my post and go "Hey, can you come help us make this game, smart message board poster?!"

This will never happen but wouldn't it be crazy cool if it did?
 
H.Protagonist said:
How cool. ^_^ I hope it works out for you, and definitely get out of there. You could always move back to the states and keep pursuing your career here, right?
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One day! As soon as I get the opportunity to play live shows or work in the video game industry, you best believe i'm out the door.

Sentry said:
Yeah, I can definitely relate having lived in Syria the past two years after being born and raised in the U.S. Wish you luck with the job though, but regardless, hope you get out and pursue a life you want.
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Yeah, culture shock is a bitch. Took me a while to adjust. And thanks. :) How are you holding up there?

kisaya said:
Why were you sent to Saudia Arabia? I hope you get the job though ;O Where exactly would you be working?
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It's where I'm from. My dad was working at the Saudi embassy in Washington for 10 years. He got into some sort of an argument with his boss who he suspected was laundering money lol (long story) and he was sent back in 2001. I've been in Saudi Arabia ever since. As for the video game music job, it's best I keep it a secret until I get more concrete news. It's just how we do things in the industry, I'm sure you understand, kisaya. *gloat*

Despera said:
http://i.imgur.com/GGLlI.png[/IMG

It sucks because you're forced to live like a chameleon. Good luck with your pursuits, fellow Saudi GAF'r.[/QUOTE]
Oh man, it's so fucking hard having to deal with ignorance and people shoving their beliefs down your throat from either side. Live and let live god dammit. You from Saudi? :o
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coldvein said:
studied the language for a couple years at the university. then had the fortune of being able to go to italy several times and actually use it. first time was a school-based trip, guided tours of this and that blah blah and the prof in charge did most of the speaking for us. i was shy at the time. second visit, hung out with my mother and sister in rome for a month and a half. went out on my own, tested my skills, did...okay. obviously stumbled on some phrases and colloquialisms... last trip there was just me and my (ex) girlfriend, so everything was on me. getting us food, directions, places to sleep, etc. and i rocked it.

being able to kick it at a bar/restaurant in rome and shoot shit with the locals is one of the things i'm most proud of in my life. i'm dark eyed, dark haired, and for a good minute and a half i could convince roman cats that i was one of them. they'd ask me what neighborhood i was from. then eventually they'd drop some slang sentences and i'd have to admit to the fact that i'm just an american cat. still though, those 1.5 minutes were thrilling.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you went about the best way for learning it. ^_^ Once you're in the country of your language choice and forced to fend for yourself you learn very quickly indeed. Awesome that you managed to trick the locals into thinking you were native, too. Europeans seem so particular about pronunciation that it's hard to carry on a conversation without feeling embarrassed/ashamed all the time. :P

NihonTiger90 said:
I still have much to decide on what I want to do. I mean, I have a job, but it's in a field that's undergoing changes and laying off thousands of people a year. I don't think I'm in any danger of having that happen to me now (I left a much bigger company to go to a smaller, family-owned business), but you know, I feel sometimes like I could be doing more.

Plus, I'm trying to somehow get my social and dating life back together after having slowly spent the last 3 years trying to rebuild myself. It's mostly worked, but I need to really get out there more. Even my parents are bugging me about this, lol, and I don't live with them.
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Sounds like you need to a road trip or to shake yourself up by getting out of your element. Being scared can be very stimulating. :)

shanshan310 said:
I'd really love to go into interpreting/translation but I fear my Japanese and Korean will never be good enough.
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JET program-a-go-go? Do you have a degree yet, shan?
 
H.Protagonist said:
Sounds like you went about the best way for learning it. ^_^ Once you're in the country of your language choice and forced to fend for yourself you learn very quickly indeed. Awesome that you managed to trick the locals into thinking you were native, too. Europeans seem so particular about pronunciation that it's hard to carry on a conversation without feeling embarrassed/ashamed all the time. :P
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not gonna lie, that last trip was a real test. i was scared as shit. i was anxious to say the least. but i came through in a solid way. when your back is at the wall and you've only got yourself to rely on, you sink or swim.
 
ShockingAlberto said:
I like talking about, crafting, and posting game theory.

I guess some schoolgirlish part of my mind thinks like CliffyB or the non-shitty Mike Laidlaw is going to read my post and go "Hey, can you come help us make this game, smart message board poster?!"

This will never happen but wouldn't it be crazy cool if it did?
Click to expand...
Keep the dream alive! You are, after all, too reasonable for this forum and crazier things have happened.
 
Lissar said:
See, I didn't think so, but they did specify "excellent game play skills". >> Do they mean can play games at all?

It would be nice to work at Nintendo actually, since I'd get to stay within PNW.
Click to expand...

Game skill expectations aren't exactly high...when I went in for my interview in Activision they just sat me down in front of a PS2 with a copy of Kung Fu Panda and asked me to finish the first level.

AgentWhiskers said:
It's where I'm from. My dad was working at the Saudi embassy in Washington for 10 years. He got into some sort of an argument with his boss who he suspected was laundering money lol (long story) and he was sent back in 2001. I've been in Saudi Arabia ever since. As for the video game music job, it's best I keep it a secret until I get more concrete news. It's just how we do things in the industry, I'm sure you understand, kisaya. *gloat*
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This is how I got a job doing Spanish localisation, fluent Spanish from living with diplomatic parent. How big do you think diplogaf is?
 
Pancakes said:
Classes start tomorrow RP-GAF.

Got a rough semester ahead of me, blah.
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Me too - all art classes, trying to get this portfolio ready for Comic-Con San Diego in July, and, later down the road, Creative Talent Network in Burbank.

On another note, I just assume people on GAF want to get into the video game industry in some way. Who is not like that at all?
 
coldvein said:
not gonna lie, that last trip was a real test. i was scared as shit. i was anxious to say the least. but i came through in a solid way. when your back is at the wall and you've only got yourself to rely on, you sink or swim.
Click to expand...

I feel like that kind of 'test' should be a requirement for any language course. Learn some elementary crap and grammar, then get dropped in the middle of nowhere in that country and left for 6 months. Sink or swim, sink or swim. :)

shanshan310 said:
Nah, still got 2 and a half years to go. Thinking about JET after that though :D Is that what you did?
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Yup. One of the best, most useful experiences of my life. I stayed for all 3 years, and I'm still reaping the benefits. Highly recommend it. It will be good for cementing your language skills, getting you some real life experience, earning you some money and being damned fun all around.
 
AgentWhiskers said:
Oh man, it's so fucking hard having to deal with ignorance and people shoving their beliefs down your throat from either side. Live and let live god dammit. You from Saudi? :o
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Yep.

The funny part is, whenever you try to hint at alternative ways to think, you get accused of being a "victim of western influence". If only more people could think for themselves and break free of indoctrination.
 
KPJZKC said:
This is how I got a job doing Spanish localisation, fluent Spanish from living with diplomatic parent. How big do you think diplogaf is?
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It doesn't matter really. Diplo-GAF is as exclusive as it gets!

Despera said:
Yep.

The funny part is, whenever you try to hint at alternative ways to think, you get accused of being a "victim of western influence". If only more people could think for themselves and break free of indoctrination.
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You are my new best friend. *fist bump*
 
Despera said:
Yep.

The funny part is, whenever you try to hint at alternative ways to think, you get accused of being a "victim of western influence". If only more people could think for themselves and break free of indoctrination.
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Haha, you guys should see how things are here now.

The words "You're being influenced by sharia law!" have been spoken on TV by seemingly serious people in positions of great power.
 
Duderz said:
On another note, I just assume people on GAF want to get into the video game industry in some way. Who is not like that at all?
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I am I guess. Well it was my dream as a kid but now I realize it's really not for me. I'm not really a creative person and I'm not really interested in programming. I just enjoy playing the games other people made :)

H.Protagonist said:
I feel like that kind of 'test' should be a requirement for any language course. Learn some elementary crap and grammar, then get dropped in the middle of nowhere in that country and left for 6 months. Sink or swim, sink or swim. :)
Click to expand...

That's what I did to "perfect" my english. Went to the US as an exchange student for a year, great experience and it's really satisfying to master another language^^
 
Duderz said:
Me too - all art classes, trying to get this portfolio ready for Comic-Con San Diego in July, and, later down the road, Creative Talent Network in Burbank.

On another note, I just assume people on GAF want to get into the video game industry in some way. Who is not like that at all?
Click to expand...

*Raises hand.

I'm going for a BA in Electrical Engineering, but I still don't have much of a clue of how to use it. Might go for Masters and try Academia or just try to break into the industry.
 
I might want to retire in to teaching one day.

I taught gifted students at a summer camp and fill in for my dad when he can't make his classes.

I am honorary Teacher-GAF. :o
 
H.Protagonist said:
It's for the dream, man! You have to at least come out and check out the scene. E3 would be best, obviously, but hard to get into if you're not already part of some established site/company. However, even if you couldn't get in, you could meet tons of industry regulars at that time. Snag some interviews, do some freelance reporting, and make some contacts. I know it seems scary, but if you just have enough resources to last you 6 months you could give it a go. I moved out here cold turkey with no editing or video game experience and here I am inserting weird things into games now. If it happened to me, it could happen to you too. ;)
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Any suggestions for inroads to writing stories and/or music for games? :P
 
To GAFfers who had to flee the US post 9/11, I am sorry that happened to you.

I lost a friend that way. He worked the counter at the deli nearest my building, but he was a good guy and we'd always crack jokes, talk about the news and movies. It helped that we were both outsiders in the neighborhood. Then 9/11 happened and he expressed concern for his daughters. He was gone within the week.
 
Duderz said:
On another note, I just assume people on GAF want to get into the video game industry in some way. Who is not like that at all?
Click to expand...
I'm staunchly committed to keeping gaming a hobby, and I've never really had any interest in pursuing it as a career.

Among the people I know from college, only a single person went into the gaming industry. The majority of the rest are on the overachieving bandwagon: many pursuing MD's, MD/PhD's and PhD's, a smattering of people at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, several at McKinley/BCG/Bain, a few computer engineers working at Google. All the pre-law students I knew are now at Harvard Law School, and one was crazy enough to pursue a JD/PhD dual degree at HLS and Harvard GSAS. An unusual sample of people, for sure.
 
Hawkian said:
Any suggestions for inroads to writing stories and/or music for games? :P
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Best I can offer is to 1) get published (novel, magazine articles, story submissions, etc), 2) do scenario writing for something (web shows seem to be the best way to break into this), 3) have a strong portfolio of your work or 4) hook up with a new indie game dev team. The latter may actually be the fastest way to get yourself into the biz (as there are many new and young start up companies), but steps 1 and 3 are probably the most important. You might also want to start off as an editor (like myself) and pitch your ideas from the inside. MMO companies might be a good fit for you as they often release DLC and regularly write fresh material that isn't a whole game.
 
H.Protagonist said:
Best I can offer is to 1) get published (novel, magazine articles, story submissions, etc), 2) do scenario writing for something (web shows seem to be the best way to break into this), 3) have a strong portfolio of your work or 4) hook up with a new indie game dev team. The latter may actually be the fastest way to get yourself into the biz (as there are many new and young start up companies), but steps 1 and 3 are probably the most important. You might also want to start off as an editor (like myself) and pitch your ideas from the inside. MMO companies might be a good fit for you as they often release DLC and regularly write fresh material that isn't a whole game.
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Thank you sincerely for this, I'm committing it all to memory.

I'm moving from working in IT to writing for the marketing team at my company in a week. I wonder how different things will look from there...
 
AgentWhiskers said:
Yeah, culture shock is a bitch. Took me a while to adjust. And thanks. :) How are you holding up there?
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It's bearable, but it is annoying sometimes. Most people I come in contact with thankfully don't try to shove ideas down your throat, though. I find most of my druze friends and relatives are generally atheistic.

The divide between sects here isn't nearly as bad I don't think, I have many christian friends even, and some of our closest family friends even, are christian.

The problems in the country now though are troubling, it's getting worse and worse in escalation, and the biggest issue is how many pro-gov. people are here, there really is a divide and it's not black & white.

Do wish you luck though, it sounds pretty shitty and I can relate to feeling of being somewhat 'lost'.
 
Nex Superne said:
I'm staunchly committed to keeping gaming a hobby, and I've never really had any interest in pursuing it as a career.

Among the people I know from college, only a single person went into the gaming industry. The majority of the rest are on the overachieving bandwagon: many pursuing MD's, MD/PhD's and PhD's, a smattering of people at Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, several at McKinley/BCG/Bain, a few computer engineers working at Google. All the pre-law students I knew are now at Harvard Law School, and one was crazy enough to pursue a JD/PhD dual degree at HLS and Harvard GSAS. An unusual sample of people, for sure.
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Haha, sounds like a group of my friends! A lot of engineers, teachers, and programmers. But in that same mix there's a professional athlete (currently trying to get sponsored by Nike), and...me! Still chasing the dream job.
 
H.Protagonist said:
Pretty much. Naturally they want people who are at least interested in/familiar with games to be working on them. You seem to play plenty, so I think you'd be fine. As for the JLPT, you could take it for future potential jobs. Having cert isn't always necessary (you'll have to take a translation test regardless), but it will help open the door. I'd actually say it might be worth it for you to apply regardless of not meeting that requirement. If you provide enough proof of your abilities (prior work/experience) that might be just fine if their applicant pool is not very large or experienced. Couldn't hurt. ^_^
Click to expand...

Okay, I applied! I don't feel my resume really shines though. Oh well, I guess we'll see. I almost got a job at Nintendo of Europe (the only problem was my visa actually, they couldn't give me one) so I know I can get a least that far...
 
There's a website called Tigsource that has a lot of indie developers. You might find someone that's looking for a writer there.

One thing I'm doing for building a scenario writing portfolio is making sure my site gets enough video content to apply for a Roku channel at the end of the year. If you guys have seen Sega1991 post on the gaming side, he's a buddy of mine, and he recently got a Roku channel and it's made me super jealous.
 
I'd join in on the fun but I tried resizing the image I want and it just looks stretched. Anyone willing to help a poor innocent photoshop-less soul?
 
Lissar said:
Okay, I applied! I don't feel my resume really shines though. Oh well, I guess we'll see. I almost got a job at Nintendo of Europe (the only problem was my visa actually, they couldn't give me one) so I know I can get a least that far...
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Good luck! We're rooting for you!

JoJoShabadoo said:
I'd join in on the fun but I tried resizing the image I want and it just looks stretched. Anyone willing to help a poor innocent photoshop-less soul?
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Post it and someone will avatar-ize it for you.
 
AgentWhiskers said:
It's where I'm from. My dad was working at the Saudi embassy in Washington for 10 years. He got into some sort of an argument with his boss who he suspected was laundering money lol (long story) and he was sent back in 2001. I've been in Saudi Arabia ever since. As for the video game music job, it's best I keep it a secret until I get more concrete news. It's just how we do things in the industry, I'm sure you understand, kisaya. *gloat*
Click to expand...

Oh man that sucks D; I thought maybe you were born in the USA and your parents just decided to send you to their country (pretty much what a lot of Yemeni families do here, meh). Again, I wish you good luck! :D
 
ShockingAlberto said:
There's a website called Tigsource that has a lot of indie developers. You might find someone that's looking for a writer there.

One thing I'm doing for building a scenario writing portfolio is making sure my site gets enough video content to apply for a Roku channel at the end of the year. If you guys have seen Sega1991 post on the gaming side, he's a buddy of mine, and he recently got a Roku channel and it's made me super jealous.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'd never heard of Tigsource...
 
Lissar said:
Okay, I applied! I don't feel my resume really shines though. Oh well, I guess we'll see. I almost got a job at Nintendo of Europe (the only problem was my visa actually, they couldn't give me one) so I know I can get a least that far...
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Best of luck Lissar!
 
Sentry said:
Just post it bro.
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21VHN.jpg
 
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