Hey Lits, I'm curious about their architect-hiring initiatives; is it pretty simply just for map-design/etc, or is there other stuff architects bring to the table in terms of being creative individuals?
I'm not an expert but from what I've been told they hire creatives, if you're good at what you do they want you. Much like their handbook says, they want people that contribute inside and outside of the box.
Here's an example...
Level Designer
Can you turn a whiteboard concept into a sensational gameplay sequence—or help us figure out why players don’t ever look up when they’re trying to solve puzzles? If so, we need you! We’re looking for level designers to help us create exciting new gameplay experiences. In collaboration with peers from all disciplines (artists, programmers, animators, writers, etc.), you’ll use your skills and knowledge of game design to create imaginative gameplay, produce creative solutions to playtest issues, and quantify and analyze feedback to ensure that players get the most out of every Valve game. Duties:
Participate in design sessions to create outline of game experience.
Build the game world in 3D.
Use entity scripting to create cinematic sequences of gameplay.
Work with artists, animators, writers, and programmers to implement elements such as art, animation, story, and design requirements.
Participate in observed playtesting and create work items based on observations and analysis of playtesting data.
Manage and prioritize bug lists. Requirements:
Working knowledge of a professional level design tool
Three years industry experience (or equivalent)
Experience with programming, art, or architecture a plus
Experience with shipping projects (professional or amateur) a plus
Please include recent examples of levels or environments you have made
Reminds me of my Rockstar daze before architecture - before architecture started to become like the game industry - and the mandatory hours for the 33 Gough street project are:
Sometimes, I wonder if architecture really is as creative as it pretends to be... Certainly not in respect to business models, structures and practices...
What's interesting about the software industry is that they can make the tools they need to work better, if the existing tools aren't good enough. As everyone's workflow (and the tools we use) becomes more internet/cloud centric, they're in the uniquely skewed position to create better tools for themselves. I can't write a better Revit for myself, but a programmer can code a better tool for themselves (and others) if they're unhappy. This has created an amazing amount of creativity, efficiency, buzz and money around their professions.
Every time a sub-contractor sends 6 copies of a submittal to a GC, who sends me 5, I send 4 on to the engineer, who sends me 3 back, of which I pass on 2 to the GC, who passes the final one on to the subcontractor - every time I do this, I curse our profession for working in this prehistoric way. It's as if the internet never happened.
I'm gonna go bang my head against a wall right now.
If I work longer hours I will get promoted and paid better.
Architects are often the lowest paid person on the building site and the only ones willing to donate their leisure time for free.
I will one day start my own practice.
The proliferation of small practices and their significant cull rate illustrates a pathology unsupported by economic logic.
I’ll rise through the ranks of management.
Architects are a labor force, not a set of managers. The most insidious trick in the corporate world was to begin calling everyone a manager, executive or senior something or other. This created the illusion that everyone was on a relatively even plane with their employer.
We must suffer for our art.
We are suffering for our employers’ profit. After all, how much of your time is spent being the ‘artist’? I spend around 7% of my time being the ‘artist’. I refuse to suffer and sacrifice for all the other stuff.
Long hours make the project better.
Long hours may produce a greater quantity of information, but corporate research suggests that working long hours drastically reduces quality and soon becomes a liability.
My employer is suffering equally for the good of the project.
Each unpaid hour of overtime you work is profit to your employer. Though an employer may articulate otherwise, profit plays a fundamental role in encouraging an environment of extended working hours. If one of my team did an extra hour I could only think “thanks for that extra $210 you just gave me”.
Architectural practices cannot afford to pay overtime.
Like so many other professions, the architectural profession would adapt. It would remodel its spreadsheets. So is the nature of capitalism.
Other professions, such as law, demand extended hours – why not architecture?
Law is one of a handful of professions that has a cultural predilection for extended hours. The fundamental difference between law and architecture is that lawyers are typically paid very well.
Creativity doesn’t necessarily happen between 9am to 5pm.
How creative are you between 5.30pm and 8.30pm? Let me answer that for you; you are not creative at all, you are in fact tired, hungry and keen for a beer. You may get a burst of creative energy at 2am, but those moments are rare and fleeting and they don’t need you to be sitting in your employer’s office for them to emerge.
May 16, 12 10:16 pm ·
·
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.
Valve New Hire Handbook
http://newcdn.flamehaus.com/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf
enjoy.
shameless bump.
What is your objective in posting this?
its a model for a new type of architecture firm
i think it's fairly obvious that i am trying to start a discussion re: alternative management practices.
Valve only hires the best and when you do that hands-off management comes with the territory. They do hire architects...
Hey Lits, I'm curious about their architect-hiring initiatives; is it pretty simply just for map-design/etc, or is there other stuff architects bring to the table in terms of being creative individuals?
I'm not an expert but from what I've been told they hire creatives, if you're good at what you do they want you. Much like their handbook says, they want people that contribute inside and outside of the box.
Here's an example...
Level Designer
Can you turn a whiteboard concept into a sensational gameplay sequence—or help us figure out why players don’t ever look up when they’re trying to solve puzzles? If so, we need you! We’re looking for level designers to help us create exciting new gameplay experiences. In collaboration with peers from all disciplines (artists, programmers, animators, writers, etc.), you’ll use your skills and knowledge of game design to create imaginative gameplay, produce creative solutions to playtest issues, and quantify and analyze feedback to ensure that players get the most out of every Valve game.
Duties:
Participate in design sessions to create outline of game experience.
Build the game world in 3D.
Use entity scripting to create cinematic sequences of gameplay.
Work with artists, animators, writers, and programmers to implement elements such as art, animation, story, and design requirements.
Participate in observed playtesting and create work items based on observations and analysis of playtesting data.
Manage and prioritize bug lists.
Requirements:
Working knowledge of a professional level design tool
Three years industry experience (or equivalent)
Experience with programming, art, or architecture a plus
Experience with shipping projects (professional or amateur) a plus
Please include recent examples of levels or environments you have made
http://www.valvesoftware.com/jobs/job_postings.html
Reading this absolutely blew my mind. I'm sort of depressed knowing that the likelihood of my ever working in such an environment is practically nil.
Lots of respect to those that have made it work, and make lots of money doing so.
The profit sharing aspect of the business is quite intriguing...getting paid based on your actual contribution. If only...
haha... yes, that would be something. valve is so great... TF2 and portal are just awesome.
Reminds me of my Rockstar daze before architecture - before architecture started to become like the game industry - and the mandatory hours for the 33 Gough street project are:
LITS4FormZ
True -then I took my bonuses and used them for Arch School tuition and a 3 series - those were the dayz
I'm reading this and thinking "the cake is a lie"
portal is sick! in a good way
Sometimes, I wonder if architecture really is as creative as it pretends to be... Certainly not in respect to business models, structures and practices...
What's interesting about the software industry is that they can make the tools they need to work better, if the existing tools aren't good enough. As everyone's workflow (and the tools we use) becomes more internet/cloud centric, they're in the uniquely skewed position to create better tools for themselves. I can't write a better Revit for myself, but a programmer can code a better tool for themselves (and others) if they're unhappy. This has created an amazing amount of creativity, efficiency, buzz and money around their professions.
Every time a sub-contractor sends 6 copies of a submittal to a GC, who sends me 5, I send 4 on to the engineer, who sends me 3 back, of which I pass on 2 to the GC, who passes the final one on to the subcontractor - every time I do this, I curse our profession for working in this prehistoric way. It's as if the internet never happened.
I'm gonna go bang my head against a wall right now.
A recent article on Archdaily touched on similar topics.
http://www.archdaily.com/234633/worklifework-balance/#comment-2289740
If I work longer hours I will get promoted and paid better.
Architects are often the lowest paid person on the building site and the only ones willing to donate their leisure time for free.
I will one day start my own practice.
The proliferation of small practices and their significant cull rate illustrates a pathology unsupported by economic logic.
I’ll rise through the ranks of management.
Architects are a labor force, not a set of managers. The most insidious trick in the corporate world was to begin calling everyone a manager, executive or senior something or other. This created the illusion that everyone was on a relatively even plane with their employer.
We must suffer for our art.
We are suffering for our employers’ profit. After all, how much of your time is spent being the ‘artist’? I spend around 7% of my time being the ‘artist’. I refuse to suffer and sacrifice for all the other stuff.
Long hours make the project better.
Long hours may produce a greater quantity of information, but corporate research suggests that working long hours drastically reduces quality and soon becomes a liability.
My employer is suffering equally for the good of the project.
Each unpaid hour of overtime you work is profit to your employer. Though an employer may articulate otherwise, profit plays a fundamental role in encouraging an environment of extended working hours. If one of my team did an extra hour I could only think “thanks for that extra $210 you just gave me”.
Architectural practices cannot afford to pay overtime.
Like so many other professions, the architectural profession would adapt. It would remodel its spreadsheets. So is the nature of capitalism.
Other professions, such as law, demand extended hours – why not architecture?
Law is one of a handful of professions that has a cultural predilection for extended hours. The fundamental difference between law and architecture is that lawyers are typically paid very well.
Creativity doesn’t necessarily happen between 9am to 5pm.
How creative are you between 5.30pm and 8.30pm? Let me answer that for you; you are not creative at all, you are in fact tired, hungry and keen for a beer. You may get a burst of creative energy at 2am, but those moments are rare and fleeting and they don’t need you to be sitting in your employer’s office for them to emerge.
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.