Can I have it all?

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    • Can I have it all?

      Hey guys, looking for some advice/perspective mainly from those in the game industry already, but others feel free to chime in. I recently started at a company (2 weeks ago today in fact) as a software engineer (not game industry related). This job has caused me to think a lot about things that I hadn't given a lot of thought to before. While I really want to be a game programmer, I also want to be there for my family. One of the nice things about my current job is that it is pretty flexible. If I want to work longer hours on Monday to take some time off Friday I can as long as its set up a few days in advance. My current schedule see's me working 7 to 3:30 most days and its nice to be able to get off at that time to come home and play with my son.

      I'm starting to wonder if I can do both game programming as a career choice and be the kind of Father/Husband I want to be. I want to be able to go to most of my children's events when their older (sports, plays, etc). Also, from what I've read/spoken to others about is that the game industry can be very unstable. While I could deal with getting let go and having to find another job or having to move for one, I'm not sure that's what I would want for my family. What are your guys thoughts?
    • I think that the reliability of jobs really varies, some places can be incredibly stable (for the game industry). I think that if it is your dream to be a game programmer you shouldn't let it stop you that you have a family (I myself am married with 3 kids). My current schedule is pretty nice, we can arrive anywhere between 7-10, and leave anytime after 4, so long as we are pulling our weight, getting the work done, and sticking around during a crunch, it is pretty flexible. I would hope that other companies also practice a similar policy as well.

      Now, I guess this is the part you are getting stuck at. Can you be both an amazing family man and also a great game programmer? Absolutely. That being said, there is going to be sacrifice's as well. You are going to have to work hard, sometimes longer than you would in any other industry, and you are going to have times where you have to turn down family events (not always though, just sometimes). Here is probably the best plus though out of ALL of them.

      - You are in a job you love, this makes you happy, making games vs. making accounting software. It's a no brainer
      - Your wife feels happier as well as you enjoy the career you are in (if she didn't it would be weird haha)
      - Your kids don't have to say "My dad makes....accounting software at his job", instead they get to say "My dad makes Video Games at his job!", and their school mates in unison say "WOAH, cool!"

      The game industry is an awesome place to work, and I am really enjoying it. In comparison, I see my wife and kids less than when I was in the trades, you would think this is negative on our family life, but this career has really positively effected our lives. When you are 100% passionate about your job, and love what you do, I don't see how it can go wrong.
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    • RE: Can I have it all?

      Well, yes and no....

      First, a disclaimer: I'm not married and have no kids. It's hard for me to picture those kinds of obligations. But, I have spent most of my adult life working in the games industry so I can certainly weigh in there. I also have a lot of activities I do outside of work that require a bit of flexibility.

      What mholley says is pretty much true, but I'll add a bit of a caveat: it really depends on the company. When I was at PlayFirst, we were in perpetual crunch. It was uncommon to work less than 60 hours a week. Planet Moon was a bit better, but the death marches got really old after a while. Maxis isn't too bad and our managers work REALLY hard to not schedule us for any crunch.

      At a typical game company, you'll work about 40 - 45 hours a week most of the time. When a milestone comes up, that number will rise to 50 - 60, depending on how screwed the project is. When ship comes up, you'll be working brutal hours. I've worked well over 100 hours in a week (there are a total of 168 hours in any given week, so that's a large percentage). There will be weeks (or months at some companies, especially on AAA projects) where you will not see your family or friends as much as you like. This is reality of working in games.

      Good companies will work with you. Most have a set of "core hours" for which you must be present, but you can arrive or leave at any time as long as you're around for those core hours and pull your weight. When you first start out, this means working 8 hour days minimum. Once you've established yourself, you can take some liberties. I come in around 11:30 on Tuesdays because I have a weekly morning appointment, but I also stay later to make it up. Sometimes I work from home because I have to take care of stuff here. It all depends, but most (good) companies will work with you.

      When I was at Planet Moon, I was dating a girl who had a very early schedule. She was usually in bed by 10pm at the latest. So, I would often leave the office around the normal time (6pm or so) and spend a couple hours with her. Once she went to bed, I would work from home until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning. There are a couple engineers on my team that do something similar; they leave at 5:00 or 6:00, spend time with their kids, then work from home.

      Come to think of it, I do it too. Sometimes I have a class or theater rehearsal that causes me to leave an hour or so early. I make it up that night when I get home.

      The important thing here is that you have to build trust before you can do stuff like that.

      So, in the end, you can definitely make it work. Many of my co-workers have families they go home to. But, you have to be willing to be absent from time to time. Crunch happens in this industry and your colleagues need to be able to trust that you'll get your stuff done.

      -Rez
    • Can I just say you guys are awesome, cause you are. I showed my wife your comments and she agrees that I should continue to pursue game programming as a career choice. I really appreciate the perspective of both your posts (I also laughed a little at 10pm being early as that is usually what I aim for as I get up at 5am, though maybe Rez just runs better on less sleep than I). Of course there will be sacrifices, but I think we can both make them with our eyes a little more open now. Thanks again.

    • (I also laughed a little at 10pm being early as that is usually what I aim for as I get up at 5am, though maybe Rez just runs better on less sleep than I).

      Nah, I'm just a night owl. For example, I woke up around 1:30pm today. My circadian rhythm is also messed up. I tend to sleep on a 26 - 28 hour cycle or so. When I'm on vacation and have no obligations, my natural tendencies are to stay up for about 18 hours before I'm ready to sleep, then I sleep about 9 hours. This causes me to loop, which I tend to do once every couple weeks.

      When I'm forced to conform to the rest of the world's schedule, I average about 5 - 6 hours of sleep a night during the week, then crash for about 10 hours a night on the weekend to catch up.


      I think one positive thing is that many studios seem to be located in Southern California. I've looked more into Orange County than San Diego, but I'm sure several are there as well.

      There are some in San Diego, though not as many as orange county. The LA area has a pretty big game development scene.

      -Rez
    • Hey Trinak,

      On the team I'm with at EA, it's usually 40 hour weeks. When we were crunching for November/December/early January, it was more like 60-70 hours. Based on my two teams at EA, most of the people I have worked with are fairly settled down, have families, etc., including management, so hours tend to be pretty normal. That being said, I think the average start time at EAC is about 10 AM, so you won't see too many people in the morning here if you roll in at 7 AM :)

      James
    • I think the average start time at EAC is about 10 AM, so you won't see too many people in the morning here if you roll in at 7 AM


      How do you guys work at 7 AM? No matter what I do, I always feel that my head is a piece of wood until 12 AM or something :D And the best productivity starts around 8 PM ending at 2 AM! (but that's probably my 'feature').
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    • @dendra Thanks for the video. I watched the first speaker as mentioned and it was exactly what I needed. I liked his point about a schedule. I always seem to intend to go home and work on something, but something else usually pops up that I need to get done. Organizing myself better would probably help though.

      @rickvanprim thanks for the insights.

      @devast3d I'm generally a morning person, but usually don't really start getting into what I'm working on till 8 - 8:30. I use that hour to catch up on emails, read something related to my job, or (rarely) post a quick response on these forums. The main reason I come in so early is so I can get home by 4 and have some time with my son before he goes to bed.
    • Originally posted by devast3d
      I think the average start time at EAC is about 10 AM, so you won't see too many people in the morning here if you roll in at 7 AM


      How do you guys work at 7 AM? No matter what I do, I always feel that my head is a piece of wood until 12 AM or something :D And the best productivity starts around 8 PM ending at 2 AM! (but that's probably my 'feature').


      This is totally me as well lol!
      You may call me char 71 97 100 100 97 109.

    • @dendra Thanks for the video. I watched the first speaker as mentioned and it was exactly what I needed. I liked his point about a schedule. I always seem to intend to go home and work on something, but something else usually pops up that I need to get done. Organizing myself better would probably help though.

      You're welcome. I'm glad you liked it.
      A schedule would be great for me to have, too. I've been having the same problem
      since I started studying. Though maybe I'm simply planning on doing to much stuff :)