Putting down roots

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    • Putting down roots

      I was thinking this week about how common it can be to be laid off or transition between companies in the game industry. This led me to thinking about the frequency that game programmers must move which led me to wonder about whether they rent or buy (I know, my thought processes are strange even to me sometimes). For those of you in the industry (or those who want to jump in with opinions for fun) would you say it's more common to rent because you may be moving in a few years or buy and sell if/when you do move?
    • I personally rent, but I know many game developers who own. It really depends on where you live. I've lived in the San Francisco Bay Area my whole life. I think Mike has lived in Austin since the start of his career as well. If you live in a place where there's already a lot of game development, the chances that you'll have to move aren't as high.

      -Rez
    • There are more up north in LA, which isn't too far from San Diego. You may not have to move far.

      -Rez
    • One thing to pay attention to is when a company you want to work for ships a game. There is usually some attrition when that happens as people leave the company to go somewhere else. They tend to post jobs shortly after.

      -Rez
    • rezination wrote:

      One thing to pay attention to is when a company you want to work for ships a game. There is usually some attrition when that happens as people leave the company to go somewhere else. They tend to post jobs shortly after.


      Either that or if the game doesn't sell too well, they close the studio and flood the market with experienced game devs (Yes Codemasters... I'm looking at you). So don't hold off on all of your applications until they ship a game. :)