Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

Ask Paradox (almost) Anything Thread (no support/tech or code questions)

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Show only dev responses
I've got a question. What is it that makes Paradox so active on their forums and willing to listen to their customers? Rather than just getting staff members to issue "formal statements" about what's upcoming, the staff tend to participate fully in discussions regarding the bugs in their games and resolve to fix them.

I don't know, of all the games i've played, Paradox seem to be the most interested in their fanbase.
 
Walter Model said:
I've got a question. What is it that makes Paradox so active on their forums and willing to listen to their customers? Rather than just getting staff members to issue "formal statements" about what's upcoming, the staff tend to participate fully in discussions regarding the bugs in their games and resolve to fix them.

I don't know, of all the games i've played, Paradox seem to be the most interested in their fanbase.
Click to expand...

The answer has two parts

1: culture

While there's nothing formalised in our contracts ("you have to be active on the forums" or the like) everyone at PDX know that our closeness to the community is one of our greatest strengths.

You could say that being close to the community and regularly posting here is a part of the office culture. When you see your colleagues post and talk regularly on/about the forum you tend to want to be included. Everyone in the office doesn't post of course, but most do.

Besides, almost everyone here are gamers and therefore we know how frustrating it is when you feel there's a ginormous wall between you and the "other side".

Equally we know how fun it is when somebody actually responds and shows that they care. And we really do care!


2: Publishing

In the publishing team we agree upon a number of goals and strategies each year, and one of our goals actually is:

"We are close to our audience/we know gamers"

so it's an concerted effort on our part to make sure we don't lose touch with "reality" ie, the players. We try to keep you in the loop, to be honest with you, involve you in decisions (where it's suitable) and most importantly listen to you


Hope that answered your question
 
cool-toxic said:
Say you want to get into game development, but you first want to study at the university for some years, what would you at Paradox recommend doing in the meantime to be more ready for a job in the game development industry - besides learning Swedish ? :D
Click to expand...

Depends entirely on what you want to do in development

Programmer

Graphics

Game Design

Level Design

Community management

Animation

Project management


Specify and thou shalt receive.

/s
 
cool-toxic said:
Great thanks Shams. :) I was thinking Game Design, but the candidate will open for Programming as well as other sides. It's called Media Technology and Games. Anyway the answer must be Game Design. :)
Click to expand...

Not really that many jobs available in the world as as game-design, so I'd recommend going with programming.
 
Johan said:
Not really that many jobs available in the world as as game-design, so I'd recommend going with programming.
Click to expand...
What are the requirements for a programmer in Paradox Interactive? Some companies like to list a huge amount of different libraries you have to be able to use before sending a job application.

And I remember that Pyro Studios required that you must have been the main programmer in at least one commercial product.
 
Inner Circle said:
Sorry for the Double Post, but what has caused the Database error on the Forums yesterday?
Click to expand...

Not sure, as I have not seen any. I know the server was overloaded the other day and had to be restarted, but that's about it.



As for you who want to work as a game designer, that is a very difficult goal. There are extremely few entry level game designer jobs out there, unless you start your own studio.

Those who hold a job as a game designer often has years of experience from other areas. I spoke to one senior game designer who told me he though it was immensely positive it the person applying had experience from working with other things than games as well. The common path is to start as something else within the games industry though.

If you want to be a programmer, learn a programming language really well... ;) Most studios use C++, so that might be a good start. There are often tests before hiring a programmer, so brush up on all areas and even obscure details before going to an interview

As for community management, I'm not sure. I don't think my path is the most common one. Read ads for job requirements and you might get a good idea. I think good communication and people skills come in handy though. I've seen it coupled with tech support a lot, so that might be something to keep in mind.

HavoCast said:
What are the requirements for a programmer in Paradox Interactive? Some companies like to list a huge amount of different libraries you have to be able to use before sending a job application.
Click to expand...

Be excellent at C++. Fit in with the team. Johan might add stuff, but I think these are the basic requirements.
 
Kallocain said:
If you want to be a programmer, learn a programming language really well... ;) Most studios use C++, so that might be a good start. There are often tests before hiring a programmer, so brush up on all areas and even obscure details before going to an interview
Click to expand...
Why C++? Why does everyone use C++? Because in my very limited experience, almost any other language is easier to write, debug, and maintain than C++ once you get the hang of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back