A Qualitative Assessment of Video Game Programmers: Ego vs Job Desirability

[Farid]

Okay, let's get this out of the way, this is a joke topic (well, it starts that way, anyway.)

I was skimming through Robert W Rose's blog (a developer at Sony Bend) and saw a post of his that I thought would be relevant to some of the B3D usuals.

The post is two months old, but hey:
http://robertwrose.com/2008/12/qualitative-assessment-of-video-game.html

I put together this chart plotting the ego of the game programmer against the desirability of his/her job. Data points are not to scale.

This is the result of years of rigorous interviews while I was "embedded" with game programmers from many different backgrounds. I found that SPU (the PS3 coprocessor instruction set) programmers by far have the largest ego, but not necessarily the most desirable job. Shader programmers have the perceived "coolest" jobs in the industry but don't have quite the same ego as SPU programmers. PS3 game programmers believe they are better than Xbox 360 programmers, but Xbox 360 programmers have a more desirable job because their games reach a wider audience. PSP game programmers are a bit of an anomaly because they believe the work they do is very challenging, but no one in the industry particularly wants to make PSP games. Mobile, Flash, and iPhone programmers are at the bottom of both ends of the spectrum: their jobs are neither desirable or carry much ego.

This is a joke. Duh!

 

[RudeCurve]

I think PS2 programmers should be somewhere near the top right corner too.

 

[Rangers]

It would see, to work better if the bottom arrow was reversed..

Aka the dumber the job the better it is, but the less ego involved..

 

[Rodéric]

Lol.

 

[archie4oz]

I don't consider "shader programmers" to be all that cool. I'd definately SPU programming cooler simply because the solvable problem domains are wider and more interesting. I'd also place iPhone programming much higher, to the right of DS and below the Wii... In fact I'd put it above the Wii and bump the Wii down a bit.

Also much heart to the PSP... Poor thing...

 

[Davros]

Where is the box for Derek Smart!!!!

 

[Silent_Buddha]

It's off the charts. If they included it, the bubbles in the chart would become but little dots...

Regards,
SB

 

[obonicus]

I don't consider "shader programmers" to be all that cool. I'd definately SPU programming cooler simply because the solvable problem domains are wider and more interesting.

Yeah, but are you an SPU programmer?

 

[Fafalada]

I think PS2 programmers should be somewhere near the top right corner too.

They were. Remember PS2 is an old platform and most of them have grown out of their ego trips by now(though some never will, obviously).

In fact this chart would be far more interesting if plotted as "ego/time-spent-in-industry", and survey should include groups of kids out of Uni, seasoned programmers from other fields, democoders etc.

I don't consider "shader programmers" to be all that cool.

I don't consider them particularly desirable either(especially after interviewing some of them). I suppose it's fine if you have a 200 people team and your guys can work on ultra-narrow domain tasks, but it doesn't work so well in more conservatively sized teams.

Aka the dumber the job the better it is, but the less ego involved...

He is charting "desirability" in terms of employment opportunities, not job-satisfaction.
Also it should be noted that those poor-souls afflicted with mad-scientist syndrome actually enjoy work more the harder it gets, hence that chart would not be totally opposite either.

 

[LeeC22]

It would see, to work better if the bottom arrow was reversed..

Aka the dumber the job the better it is, but the less ego involved..

It's not the platform that makes the job dumb, just the dumb programmer that makes it seem that way.

Good job this is a joke thread...