Game News Divinity: Original Sin 2 Kickstarter Update #21: Skill Tier Vote #2, Bobby Slavov hired as composer

[Jaesun]

Looking forward to what you will be composing for DOS2 Mr. Slavov

 

[imweasel]

Bobby's music is very good. I also really like the direction he is taking.

Also voted for bard. Again.

 

[Cadmus]

The Knights of Honor soundtrack sounds like it could be straight from fucking Stronghold, it's really good. Also it sounds like you could actually play it over D:OS and it would sound right. To be honest I think many of the tracks from D:OS, including the title, are missing something. Like missing another melody or instruments and I attribute this to Kirill's sickness at the time.
Bobby sounds good and the track they played in the background was nice. I think it will turn out fine. The art direction shown in on the screens was atrocious but maybe we already know that, I haven't been following the updates.

 

[Aenra]

Thanks for the 'samples' Perkel , all i had to go by was G3, whose score i was not particularly fond of. Like what i'm hearing so far; he seems like a nice guy too. I like humility

On a semi-random note.. Everytime i see one of their vids i start wishing if only, lol..
(i hate my job)
I mean look at this, this is just for a QA tester right?

Spoiler

QA Tester

As QA Tester at Larian Studios you become a core part of the development team. That means you don’t only test the game and assure its quality, but also the tools and engine. You must be able to execute all of the standard actions of the asset production team (level designer, FX artist, animator, scripter, …) to ensure ongoing game pipeline functionality.

Responsibilities:

• Test and help improve our production pipelines and tools.
• Test and help improve our games.
• Test new builds to ensure stability of the tools.
• Follow priorities given by QA Lead to ensure current team wide goals are met.
• Report bugs, validate bug correction.
• Assure follow-up of tickets during different production phases
• Manage the bug tracking system.
• First line of support for the production team with regard to any technical issues.

Requirements:

• Minimum 1 year of experience in QA in games industry.
• Understanding game production pipeline and tools.
• Advanced computer (Windows, Linux, hardware, …) and network configuration (router, dns, firewall, …) knowledge.
• Experience with version control management and bug tracking systems.
• Good judgment to estimate the significance and consequences of the bugs.
• Rigorous and methodical, autonomous and resourceful approach.
• You have great attention for detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Good communication skills in spoken/written English.
• Passion for videogames.

Pluses:

• Experience in programming and/or scripting.
• Experience in QA in software and tools.
• Knowledge of Perforce, JIRA and Jenkins.
• Familiar with the RPG genre and you have played many RPGs extensively and critically.

Was it always so .. demanding? What the fuck is JIRA, lol, or Jenkins? I could maybe deemed competent enough to mop their floors.

/white trash (with a PhD)

 

[Cyberarmy]

Voted for bard, I want something like the undead one in first game!

 

[Spectacle]

Voted summoning master. Summoning is cool, unarmed combat is for fags who like to touch other men, while bards are as gay as it gets.

 

[Aenra]

Poly and bard seemed like the best choices to me from the start. Had no issue with Swen pimping them out, they fit the game the most and in ways beyond the obvious. You have a "fun/goofy factor" to be included in Larian games and them two are the most obvious candidates for that

fake edit: bards are "gay" huh? Okie dokie

 

[Morality Games]

Hopefully bard doesn't make it in, or I would be obliged to play it despite a straight wizard being funner, as it inevitably will be.

 

[himmy]

having played and composed for Knights of Honor, Two Worlds II, WorldShift, Gothic 3, and most recently, Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and Ryse: Son of Rome.

Hehehe...no. I mean, this guy seems pretty cool and I certainly look forward to see what he does for D:OSII, but c'mon, man, G3 was all Kai Rosenkranz and it was one of the few flawless parts of that game. I genuinely don't understand why that guy doesn't get more work. He only worked on 4 games (G1 - G3 + Risen) and is only 35. Which, I now realize, means he was 22 when he did the music for Gothic 2, which is crazy.

 

[Darkzone]

Thanks for the 'samples' Perkel , all i had to go by was G3, whose score i was not particularly fond of. Like what i'm hearing so far; he seems like a nice guy too. I like humility

On a semi-random note.. Everytime i see one of their vids i start wishing if only, lol..
(i hate my job)
I mean look at this, this is just for a QA tester right?

Spoiler

QA Tester

As QA Tester at Larian Studios you become a core part of the development team. That means you don’t only test the game and assure its quality, but also the tools and engine. You must be able to execute all of the standard actions of the asset production team (level designer, FX artist, animator, scripter, …) to ensure ongoing game pipeline functionality.

Responsibilities:

• Test and help improve our production pipelines and tools.
• Test and help improve our games.
• Test new builds to ensure stability of the tools.
• Follow priorities given by QA Lead to ensure current team wide goals are met.
• Report bugs, validate bug correction.
• Assure follow-up of tickets during different production phases
• Manage the bug tracking system.
• First line of support for the production team with regard to any technical issues.

Requirements:

• Minimum 1 year of experience in QA in games industry.
• Understanding game production pipeline and tools.
• Advanced computer (Windows, Linux, hardware, …) and network configuration (router, dns, firewall, …) knowledge.
• Experience with version control management and bug tracking systems.
• Good judgment to estimate the significance and consequences of the bugs.
• Rigorous and methodical, autonomous and resourceful approach.
• You have great attention for detail.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Good communication skills in spoken/written English.
• Passion for videogames.

Pluses:

• Experience in programming and/or scripting.
• Experience in QA in software and tools.
• Knowledge of Perforce, JIRA and Jenkins.
• Familiar with the RPG genre and you have played many RPGs extensively and critically.

Was it always so .. demanding? What the fuck is JIRA, lol, or Jenkins? I could maybe deemed competent enough to mop their floors.

/white trash (with a PhD)

It only sounds so demanding. PhD? What did you study and what was the topic of your PhD? If it was gender studies or communication then you are fucked.

 

[Aenra]

oh i know i'm fucked. But thank you for phrasing it so tactfully

..unless they are in need of shrinks?.. you think.. maybe.. some dark room in a Belgian basement.. worn out and dispirited Larian employees volunteering forced to descend poorly illuminated stairwells.. talk..? No?

I'd have a session with Swen ANYYYYtime! No charges either ^^

edit: for example, take Starr Long yeah? He had 'some' theatre studies degree on him..and yet, he managed to land a QA at Origin back then. Couple of stories like that and my impression had always been that landing a job as QA was something ..attainable.. if one had a solid knowledge of RPGs and some semblance of a functioning brain. And then you read what i posted above and start thinking that maybe some twenty years later? Things may have changed a bit, lol

 

[Lucky]

oh i know i'm fucked. But thank you for phrasing it so tactfully

..unless they are in need of shrinks?.. you think.. maybe.. some dark room in a Belgian basement.. worn out and dispirited Larian employees volunteering forced to descend poorly illuminated stairwells.. talk..? No?

I'd have a session with Swen ANYYYYtime! No charges either ^^

edit: for example, take Starr Long yeah? He had 'some' theatre studies degree on him..and yet, he managed to land a QA at Origin back then. Couple of stories like that and my impression had always been that landing a job as QA was something ..attainable.. if one had a solid knowledge of RPGs and some semblance of a functioning brain. And then you read what i posted above and start thinking that maybe some twenty years later? Things may have changed a bit, lol

It might look more professional, but it hasn't changed that much. You don't need a specialised background as you'll mostly learn what you need to do on the job. Like, JIRA is just a bug-tracking program and it's a plus if you know how it works so that they don't have to explain it. Having previous experience in QA is there to cut down on that learning stage and to ensure that the applicants don't drop out once they are hired and discover that they don't like doing QA work.
Most of the other requirements are just fluff and you're already quite a cut above the competition if you have a PhD from any decent university. It's merely a matter of balancing what you can't do yet, with what you have to offer now and what you can learn in the future.

 

[zwanzig_zwoelf]

oh i know i'm fucked. But thank you for phrasing it so tactfully

..unless they are in need of shrinks?.. you think.. maybe.. some dark room in a Belgian basement.. worn out and dispirited Larian employees volunteering forced to descend poorly illuminated stairwells.. talk..? No?

I'd have a session with Swen ANYYYYtime! No charges either ^^

edit: for example, take Starr Long yeah? He had 'some' theatre studies degree on him..and yet, he managed to land a QA at Origin back then. Couple of stories like that and my impression had always been that landing a job as QA was something ..attainable.. if one had a solid knowledge of RPGs and some semblance of a functioning brain. And then you read what i posted above and start thinking that maybe some twenty years later? Things may have changed a bit, lol

I almost managed to get into Hitman Absolution/Kane & Lynch 3 QA team without any previous experience, so I guess these applications exist to scare off the least determined folks.

 

[krist2]

having played and composed for Knights of Honor, Two Worlds II, WorldShift, Gothic 3, and most recently, Crysis 2, Crysis 3, and Ryse: Son of Rome.

Hehehe...no. I mean, this guy seems pretty cool and I certainly look forward to see what he does for D:OSII, but c'mon, man, G3 was all Kai Rosenkranz and it was one of the few flawless parts of that game. I genuinely don't understand why that guy doesn't get more work. He only worked on 4 games (G1 - G3 + Risen) and is only 35. Which, I now realize, means he was 22 when he did the music for Gothic 2, which is crazy.

If you read the text again, it also says played, he did play on the Gothic 3 soundtrack, traditional instrument. Rosenkranz talked about the guy in an interview,

3. Are there any samples in your songs we might have missed? (for example Herr Mannelig in the Old Camp theme)

You mean original compositions from other people that I used as samples? I worked with a bunch of awesome people on the Gothic 3 soundtrack that were also involved in the creation of the actual themes. “Ishtar” (Gothic 3) for example was greatly influenced by Borislav Slavov (composer of Crysis 2 and 3). His knowledge and expertise in Eastern instruments and melodic patterns added a depth and credibility that would have been hard for me to achieve.

 

[pakoito]

There are two brands of QA: manual testing, and automated + manual. I guess in games the division runs even deeper.

The former is for people without any technical skills or prospect of acquiring them. They are supervised by someone who does, who then passes along the things properly. They sit with the game and play, and play, and play, and then play some more. If a bug is found, it's attempted to be reproduced, filled, and that's it. The value added to the project is little individually. You can find them by the hundreds, poorly paid and kicked after a project is done.

The other type usually has a STEM background and knows that games are first software, then "an RPG", and understands development and the tools of the trade. Basic Jira, Jenkins and Perforce are bottom of the tech pyramid, they're the equivalent of Outlook, Word, and Excel at every office job. Scripting languages for automation and deep understanding of CI is where's at. In this offer they also specifically require knowledge of engines, networking, and asset pipelines. Each one of them can enhance your product tenfold. They tend to be almost as well paid as the engineers, and the ones at the top of the barrel can get a job anytime.

It's also important to note that you have very little to no saying on the game's direction, and most are excluded from design playtest sessions. You don't get picked for being a great RPG player, but for being able to understand all paths of execution, create reproducible errors, and reporting them properly. If you want to add to the design discussion, sign up for focus and user testing days, i.e. conferences. If you attend to several and they recognize you, your input is acknowledged because you've seen the thing grow.

 

[Spectacle]

QA is one of the few jobs where being diagnosed with Asperger's is a positive trait you should bring up at the job interview.

 

[Caconym]

 

[Mustawd]

Holy Sh...cannot unsee..

 

[Heretic]

I don't understand. Why is Swen disappointed that over 90% of their backers are men?

 

[Aenra]

Because after the last party we all swore we'd had enough taking turns in cross-dressing. A larger variety was deemed as essential.

 

[Perkel]

I don't understand. Why is Swen disappointed that over 90% of their backers are men?

Playing rockstar for pussy in gaybar i assume.

 

[Mustawd]

I don't understand. Why is Swen disappointed that over 90% of their backers are men?

It means he's leaving almost 50% of a total audience off the table. Which translates to a lot less $$.

 

[Perkel]

I don't understand. Why is Swen disappointed that over 90% of their backers are men?

It means he's leaving almost 50% of a total audience off the table. Which translates to a lot less $$.

Which never really made any sense to begin with.

To have that other 50% he would have to change game to cater to them which would also directly go against what males like. Bioware even after they made ton of changes to get more wymyn on their games still have like 80% males.

They still can't figure out that mostly males actually play games and do give a shit about them.

There are enlightened women around who love good games but majority of them when they hit 16 are all about getting D and by 20 gaming for them is something they did as kids and they find poking knife in their friend kidney more fun than playing some rpg.

Recently things improved but it will take decade or so to have any comparable amount of wymyn playing games.


What most of women play (studies claim that there are actally something like 55% of gamers being women) is actually time wasters. Their sudoku, shitty farmville and other shit like that. It is no different that their brazilian soap opera. Something to do when you don't turn knife in your friend belly.

 

[Mustawd]

Agree; Not sure what he was expecting.

 

[Lucky]

There are two brands of QA: manual testing, and automated + manual. I guess in games the division runs even deeper.

The former is for people without any technical skills or prospect of acquiring them. They are supervised by someone who does, who then passes along the things properly. They sit with the game and play, and play, and play, and then play some more. If a bug is found, it's attempted to be reproduced, filled, and that's it. The value added to the project is little individually. You can find them by the hundreds, poorly paid and kicked after a project is done.

The other type usually has a STEM background and knows that games are first software, then "an RPG", and understands development and the tools of the trade. Basic Jira, Jenkins and Perforce are bottom of the tech pyramid, they're the equivalent of Outlook, Word, and Excel at every office job. Scripting languages for automation and deep understanding of CI is where's at. In this offer they also specifically require knowledge of engines, networking, and asset pipelines. Each one of them can enhance your product tenfold. They tend to be almost as well paid as the engineers, and the ones at the top of the barrel can get a job anytime.

It's also important to note that you have very little to no saying on the game's direction, and most are excluded from design playtest sessions. You don't get picked for being a great RPG player, but for being able to understand all paths of execution, create reproducible errors, and reporting them properly. If you want to add to the design discussion, sign up for focus and user testing days, i.e. conferences. If you attend to several and they recognize you, your input is acknowledged because you've seen the thing grow.

That's roughly how they're divided in the games industry as well, though it varies per company how much the role is nailed down and how intermittent layers to it there are. There's companies that burn through large numbers of testers and don't care about giving room to gain experience, while others have smaller teams where you can do decently if you get good enough at bug spotting. One way to tell them apart is to look into the credits sequence for any of their games and see if the testers are mentioned by name anywhere. If so, fair chance that their testers aren't burned out wrecks. You'll still have a better chance at a decent job with a technical background, but one upside to working in the industry is that your competition will in general be less skilled than those working in similarly programming oriented sectors (because the pay is worse) and quality standards are often not as high as they should be, so you've got a chance at advancement if you're in any way capable of picking up the computer related skills.

QA is one of the few jobs where being diagnosed with Asperger's is a positive trait you should bring up at the job interview.

This is more true than you might think. QA gets extremely repetitive and requires a love for seemingly insignificant details, something that tends to be less of a problem for people with Aspergers. Not so good for the more team oriented work, but their general bluntness is less of a problem than dealing with the people who are just really socially awkward. I hear quite a bit about people specifically looking for people with Aspergers because of how good employees they make.