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[TRENCHES] Thursday, March 19, 2015 - Weren’t Meant To Know

GethGeth LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
edited March 2015 in The Penny Arcade Hub
Weren’t Meant To Know


Weren’t Meant To Know
http://trenchescomic.com/comic/post/werent-meant-to-know

A new hope

Anonymous

I’m a long time reader of the tales on this site, and sadly I find most of them negative. While I understand a lot of people suffer a lot of pain trying to get into the games industry, I thought it might be nice to add my tales to the pile and see if we can increase the number of happy endings to some of the gut churning misery that often sprawls across these pages.

I’ve wanted to work in the games industry since I was a kid in the 90’s, shortly after I knew I was unlikely to be an astronaut. Back in 2004 I managed to get a 3 month contract with a very big Publisher in the UK. The hours weren’t too long but the normal memes applied - I stuck in a building far away from the developers, not appreciated that much, playing games to test them isn’t as much fun as playing them for fun and most importantly, I was stuck on LAME game titles (Testing Halo is one thing, Dora the Explorer games on old Nokia phones another) and so forth.

That said, I still loved it. I got free curry when I worked the night shift, I like my co workers and the crunch never really happened to me luckily. I was very sad when my contract ended, and sadder still when I was called back for another 3 month run AFTER I had started my history degree, but I thought it was the best option to finish the degree.

Fast forward to after my graduation and I’m working retail for a portion of a pittance as guess what, nobody was hiring art grads in 2008. I think back, and I gamble my money on paying for a Games Design Degree which I do well at. A few years of standard web design jobs and I manage to somehow snag an interview with THE SAME games company via linkedin (seriously, GET A PROFILE ON LINKEDIN) for a permanent SQE (Software engineer who writes automated tests for QA) role, and I aced it. I didn’t even have to take a pay cut. I’ve just finished my first week back, and from what I can see QA is respected far more now and embedded in the same office as the development team which gives me great hope for the future.

I guess I better get to a point, and the point is this. Don’t give up hope. Yes, QA is hard, yes getting into the games industry is hard. I could get fired easily if the project goes wrong, but at the moment things are going well and my boss is already very pleased with my work. The recession can’t last forever and not everyone at a large publisher is a blood sucking monster who hates games, some just want to work hard and make great ones. Just as every story doesn’t have a fairytale ending, not every story has a monstrous one.

Don’t give up hope.


Geth on

Posts

  • NijhazerNijhazer Sunnyvale, CARegistered User regular
    ...what

  • jothkijothki Registered User regular
    Being meta is supposed to be a thing that you earn.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    He doesn't know if he's spilled the drink or if the cat has pissed on the sofa. It's not meta.

  • Rhesus PositiveRhesus Positive GNU Terry Pratchett Registered User regular
    I... did not get that.

    [Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
  • milskimilski Poyo! Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    He doesn't know if he's spilled the drink or if the cat has pissed on the sofa. It's not meta.

    "Pissed."

    I ate an engineer
  • Suburban_ArcanaSuburban_Arcana Registered User regular
    Anyone who doesn't understand this comic should read the last one again, and then this one

  • UnknownUnknown
    This content has been removed.

  • LieutenantDanLieutenantDan Registered User regular
    I really like the art style in this one. Not the humor so much, but it looks great.

  • Morgan BlackpowderMorgan Blackpowder Registered User regular
    Issac lives in his car, who's house is this?! Who's cat is that?!

  • MichaelLCMichaelLC In what furnace was thy brain? ChicagoRegistered User regular
    Morgan Blackpowder wrote: »
    Issac lives in his car, who's house is this?! Who's cat is that?!

    We weren't meant to know.

  • yurnamehereyurnamehere Registered User regular
    Some time has passed since then, and he's had a paying job.

  • Morgan BlackpowderMorgan Blackpowder Registered User regular
    Well he's got a sports car, and the car payment for those tend to be the same size as a rent check, so I'm not sure I'm buying that he went from tester, to manager, to tester (and for the EA of his world at that) and can afford to keep the car and have an apartment.

  • TubeTube Registered User admin
    so he sold the car and used the deposit to rent a place. A character with a full time job being able to afford to rent a home (perhaps with roommates) and own a cat (perhaps not his) is not a plot hole.

  • darkmayodarkmayo Registered User regular
    I think the real thing we are missing here is if it isn't "Cut Cum" then who's Cum is it.

    Switch SW-6182-1526-0041
  • cB557cB557 voOOP Registered User regular
    Tube wrote: »
    so he sold the car and used the deposit to rent a place. A character with a full time job being able to afford to rent a home (perhaps with roommates) and own a cat (perhaps not his) is not a plot hole.
    Nope, Isaac breaks into other people's houses to drink soda. That's canon now.

  • donavannjdonavannj Registered User regular
    cB557 wrote: »
    Tube wrote: »
    so he sold the car and used the deposit to rent a place. A character with a full time job being able to afford to rent a home (perhaps with roommates) and own a cat (perhaps not his) is not a plot hole.
    Nope, Isaac breaks into other people's houses to drink soda. That's canon now.

    I have no qualms with this being canon.

    steam_sig.png
  • HardtargetHardtarget There Are Four Lights VancouverRegistered User regular
    So like, the comic is just a more PA styled joke about the game industry now instead of one with a plot moving forward?

    steam_sig.png
    kHDRsTc.png
  • GaslightGaslight Registered User regular
    edited March 2015
    donavannj wrote: »
    cB557 wrote: »
    Tube wrote: »
    so he sold the car and used the deposit to rent a place. A character with a full time job being able to afford to rent a home (perhaps with roommates) and own a cat (perhaps not his) is not a plot hole.
    Nope, Isaac breaks into other people's houses to drink soda. That's canon now.

    I have no qualms with this being canon.

    You have no cums with it being canon?

    Gaslight on
  • Dark Raven XDark Raven X Laugh hard, run fast, be kindRegistered User regular
    Hardtarget wrote: »
    So like, the comic is just a more PA styled joke about the game industry now instead of one with a plot moving forward?

    Nah, we're just a couple strips in. Probably see some plot come up in the next few weeks.

    Gotta say, liking the new art style. Makes it feel more distinct from PA.

    Oh brilliant
  • Morgan BlackpowderMorgan Blackpowder Registered User regular
    That car is his baby, he could have sold it when he had no place to live, bought a mini van, which is more comfy to sleep in, but no! Had to keep the car, he's not selling now.

    I'm completely on board with him breaking into people's houses to drink soda, this is much more congruent with his personality :D

  • Kai_SanKai_San Commonly known as Klineshrike! Registered User regular
    I originally thought this was just a plot peice that was kind of forshadowing the plot to eventually come and describe why hes living somewhere.

    But I also accidentally missed the last comic, which now ruined things.

  • euichoeuicho MaineRegistered User regular
    This is the first time I've laughed at a Trenches comic in a while--it got me good. Don't get me wrong--I love the trenches, it's just more story driven (still with a little "gag a week" style though).

    Pinny Pal Profile | PAX East '10,-'15
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