Paid full-time BlitzMax/game programmer position
BlitzMax Forums/BlitzMax Programming/Paid full-time BlitzMax/game programmer position
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| Hello Blitzers, Apologies in advance if this is not the best forum to put this in, as I wasn't sure if there was a better one. Anywho, I run a small indie game studio in Sunnyvale, CA which has recently gotten funding from angel investors. We're hiring engineers to help us finish our casual MMORPG. The server is already written, as well as a prototype of the game client. It's a really cool project, a very DIFFERENT and innovative type of game, and it already has a strong fanbase and support. We're looking for strong C/C++ programmers who know 2D/3D game programming concepts and ideally — BlitzMax! We're using a combination of BlitzMax, MiniB3D, and straight up C++ to do this project. Our offices are located at the Plug and Play Tech Center in Sunnyvale, CA at 440 N Wolfe Rd. We're looking to start hiring immediately, and please shoot an email to me at jtfrench [at] gmail [dot] com if you are interested in the project and I can share more details with you. This is NOT a telecommuting position, so we would need someone who is nearby and can kick it with us. Thanks, Jason |
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| Very cool, wish I was in CA! Best wishes with the project, would love to see some media if available. |
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| Oh well... too bad I'm from Brazil, would love to join the team :( |
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| Could you give us name of that mmo? I would like to see mmo made with blitz :) |
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| @ima747: Where are you? You've been incredibly helpful on the boards and we'd love to stay in touch with you. @SLotman: Same goes to you, SLotman. What part of Brazil? @Polan: My board has asked me refrain from posting the company name on too many blogs until our formal marketing campaign begins, but I'd be happy to share it with you over email. Feel free to reach me at jtfrench [at] gmail [dot] com and we can discuss some of the details. As for a Blitz MMO --- well, I originally wrote the game and released it as a text-based RPG, with an XHTML frontend, and a PHP/MySQL backend. I've since modularized the code more and essentially converted that backend to a remote procedure call box. Using cURL, my game treats the MMO server as a JSON-echoing, AJAX-like engine. It has given me awesome liberties in that I can easily create Facebook, mobile, desktop, blitzmax clients for this service, and allow players to play the same game and trigger the same actions from different modes of use. So really, the part that's BlitzMax is only a fraction of the non blitz parts (64k lines of server code, 8k lines of client code). Our next version (after making some money from this one), will probably be straight C++, but at that time we should be able to afford to pay an engineer to spend time debugging memory allocation issues and pointer arithmetic problems across our different architectures. Fun stuff, and I would love to get some Blitz-minded people involved. This is one of the few communities on the web that truly gets that cross-platform gaming not only works, but simplifies the game creation process and can be quite elegant. Last edited 2011 |
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| Same goes to you, SLotman. What part of Brazil? Rio de Janeiro. Let me know if even this far, I can be of any help :) |
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| but at that time we should be able to afford to pay an engineer to spend time debugging memory allocation issues and pointer arithmetic problems across our different architectures. Who is going to take on a job which is only debugging someone else's code? Use smart pointers and STL containers and you will save a lot of hassle. I'd either learn C++ and do it myself, or continue with a language I do know. It seems silly to start up your own computer games company as a programmer, and then make it in a language you don't know which means you need to hire somebody else. Also consider C#. |
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| CT, close abbreviation, long distance unfortunately. Keep us posted as you can release more info,would like to keep up with the progress. |
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| Who is going to take on a job which is only debugging someone else's code? Have you ever work under contract? You do what you're paid to do - and belive, there are plenty of people in need of money. Also, have you read the whole sentence? Our next version, will probably be straight C++, but at that time we should be able to afford to pay an engineer to spend time debugging memory allocation issues and pointer arithmetic problems across our different architectures. He is not saying the current code has memory and pointer issues. He's talking about a next version, probably in C++, having issues across different architectures. As for the project, just making something like this: It has given me awesome liberties in that I can easily create Facebook, mobile, desktop, blitzmax clients for this service, and allow players to play the same game and trigger the same actions from different modes of use. Is a huge achievement most of people here never got even close to do, and in my opnion, more than enough to start a business. So congrats to jtfrench for that! And even more props for sticking with bmax and recruiting people from here :) Last edited 2011 |
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| It just sounded to me like "My next game is going to be written in language X, but by then I will be able to afford to pay someone else to debug it for me." Why not just make it in a language you can debug yourself, or pay someone to code the entire thing on their own so it doesn't get riddled with errors in the first place. Memory allocation issues and "pointer arithmetic problems" (whatever that means, I wasn't aware the rules differed by architecture) don't just spring up for no reason, they spring up because you're not coding it properly. |
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| I dont know c++, and I live in kentucky ah darnit! P.S. You say you have a PHP/MySQL backend, PHP is a script language and quite slow, With a blitzmax backend it would run faster, therefore allowing more players per-server. The only hurdle is needing a blitzmax server and database There are some in the code archives |
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| It just sounded to me like "My next game is going to be written in language X, but by then I will be able to afford to pay someone else to debug it for me." It sounds that way to me too. Hiring someone purely to deal with memory allocation issues and pointer arithmetic problems does indeed sound like bad economics, because they shouldn't be happening. BlitzMax is very performant (as is C#, which Czar Flavius also mentions) and it's unlikely that a programmer who needs someone to fix the kind of issues discussed would be capable of writing code which ran faster than moderately competent BlitzMax or C# anyway. Obviously, neither of us knows why C++ is being discussed, and there may be valid reaons (completely unrelated to performance) why it's an essential headache, but there really ought to be very significant pros in order to make a move like that. |
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| Re slenkar Php is actually quite fast especially if the server is optimized for the target execution. Additionally the logical reason to use php is so you don't need to write a comms protocall and or you want to use a shared server or something else that won't let you run your own daemon since it all runs via http. You can also easily encrypt the communications by just using https, those are usually pretty big factors when designing a server. It's far from optimal for twitch gaming obviously where speed is everything, but if it's got a Facebook or other web client that's not likely... Additionally php can translate to perl or c very easily in future. |
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| Wow, a few of you guys are making a whoooole bunch of assumptions. But alas, this is the Internet, and I guess that's what anonymity encourages :) I know very well how to write C, C++, BlitzMax, and a bunch of other languages. I didn't graduate from Brown University's computer science program or work for Apple on Snow Leopard not learning those. I've written my own compilers, designed my own processors, built my own POSIX operating systems, and bunch of other stuff and have no problem handling the types of issues that arise out of that. I simply said "paying an engineer to debug memory issues" as to give a pat on the back to how friendly BlitzMax is, and how quickly it is to get things running. I'm not literally hiring someone to deal with pointer arithmetic. It was a geeky joke — sorry that didn't come across. I already have a bunch of the game written using BlitzMax as the abstraction layer around C++. My point is — I'm not going to take all of that out and re-do, when I can ship the game in a few months. I'd rather ship, and then re-write it in C++ --- when I have a) a released product, and b) more cash in the bank so I can hire people w/ very strong tech backgrounds to compliment my own. If you're not interested, or if it sounds ridiculous (Czar Flavius/Gabriel) simply don't apply! No need to troll. @SLotman & ima747 --- I think you guys get a little more about what I'm talking about. Also @Slenkar: to say "PHP is slow" is a bit of an unfounded statement. It all depends on how you use it. Would I write Halo 3 w/ a PHP backend? No. Could you write a multiplayer turn-based card game w/ a PHP backend? Yes! My project is not an action-based game with fast-moving objects that need to be tracked across a wide number of servers w/ little to no latency. This is a game which was a text-based, HTML game to begin with ----PHP/MySQL very easily handled it. Putting a visual layer on it just gives more for the player to chew on and play with their senses without actually increasing the stress on the server. You'd have to know a little more about the game to see what I mean. Last edited 2011 |
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| If you're not interested, or if it sounds ridiculous (Czar Flavius/Gabriel) simply don't apply! No need to troll. You've led a very sheltered (internet) life if a bit of friendly advice looks like trolling to you. I'm quite happy to make a mental note that you prefer not to receive advice though. Either way, no offense was intended. I guess that's what anonymity encourages :) My name, address, email address and mobile phone number are displayed prominently on my website. Feel free to contact me in any way which suits, although I'm not actually certain why you would care who I am. Last edited 2011 |
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| Okay :) |
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| Sounds like a nice project and good to see a real live bmax job posting. I've used bmax in my professional work for a few years now. Unfortunately I'm in L.A. Good luck. |
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| @GW: Yeah, the project is a lot of fun, plus working the Valley has been really cool. The game has deep connections to the music industry, so there's going to be a lot of cross-polination of art forms involved in this project. Please give a holler if you're ever in the bay area, or have any game dev friends around. |
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| Hi, Unfortunately I'm in France, but I could be interesting by your project. I've used bmax in my professional work (I made entirely a cad software in bmax) and C/C++/Direct3D for a 3d game for a few years now. Please say me if it is possible to work by internet. |
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| Please say me if it is possible to work by internet. This is NOT a telecommuting position Translation: No. |
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| ^:( Too bad, I've worked with Mark on every Blitz product since Blitz3D.. Including Monkey. @jtfrench I miss Sunnyvale. I used to go to Atari HQ all the time back in the day. Good Luck, |
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| We're open to telecommuting for a few closed projects, but we ultimately need a full-time person. If you're interested in working on a project though, please shoot me a message! @Richard Betson: Lots of video gaming legends here in Sunnyvale! I live right near Rooster T. Feathers where the first Pong arcade was installed. |
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| It's been great working with the BlitzMax community on these projects. We have a couple more (telecommute-friendly) projects coming up. For those interested, shoot an email to jtfrench [at] gmail |
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