XeNTaX

This is really hard topic for me, so I hope I will find someone reasonable and more experienced with all of this stuff I will describe here.

I will start then. Circa 6 years ago I started creating modifications for infamous game called Garry's Mod, infamous becouse of copyrighted content it can use as modifications, I wont cut deeper into this, anyone who knows this game and know his shit will agree with me, either is the community or the fact that this game lives only becouse its copyrighted downloadable content.
Let's just say I did released few of those modifications back then. But I have stopped for my own reasons few years ago.

Now recently I am on starting line for this problem, and that is I am potencional dealer of tools that can import data from some games into multipurpose format, thats why I'm here on this forum. The fact is that I cannot ensure how end-user will handle them, whinch is main problem for me.

Now the hardest part.

What if a guy with my infamous history and skills, actually want to work in game development?
As of you, the reader's prespective tolds you, would you hired this preson in your own company?
What if this person will actually be on the job iterview, and they will find out who you are and what you did? And im talkin about company where I took some of their assets, converted them and made a mod for another game? Or even made tool that can convert them.
They cannot accept such person, am I right?

Well, I thank you if you reached this far. That was my worry, and now why?

For past few years I got facinated by games, on the technical side, I have studied every game I have played, and I have quite large collection of converted assets from them. I also wrote my private library for storing multiple asset formats.
I am getting older and I think, I have nothing to lose, anyone have their dreams, and I have only 1 left, get a job as hobby and just have decent life. I live in literal shithole with heavy underpaid job, I just want some change in my life and that one last thing is my last stop.

Im not here to whine or cry about why part, that was just informational, just why I want.
All I just need is some insight and help within theese dark worrying times.

Thank you.

PredatorCZ wrote: What if a guy with my infamous history and skills, actually want to work in game development?
As of you, the reader's perspective told you, would you hired this person in your own company?
What if this person will actually be on the job iterview, and they will find out who you are and what you did? And im talkin about company where I took some of their assets, converted them and made a mod for another game? Or even made tool that can convert them.
They cannot accept such person, am I right?

I'm going to assume that the name you have on your resume isn't 'PredatorCZ', in which case you're fine.

Honestly, companies usually don't care anyway, lawyers care, but companies don't.

I've been working in the game industry as a 3D Artist for nearly 8 years now, nobody here cares, I've been working in the Japanese game industry for a few years now, and some of the games I've worked on I've seen people rip in here, I can't stop it, it doesn't take money from me, I'm basically perfectly ok with it.
I've been part of this forum 11 years ago, I've always been rather active, but less as a tool maker (thats not my area really) but as part of the community, helping people where and if possible.

At an interview the team you work with hires you, you aren't interviewed by HR, and you aren't interviewed by Lawyers.

And to be perfectly honest I don't imagine you're going to write 'guy that wrote tools people used for copywritten content' on your resume either.

You'll be fine, you'll apply for a job and you'll interview for it if they think you're good enough.

What you do online anonymously is just that, anonymous, nobody knows who you are or what you've made unless you mention it yourself.

Of course I won't write in my resume what I'm doing online.
But there can be problem. Lets say I apply to certain position, and after some time someone says
"Hey m8, wanna play some game with us?"
"K"
"Gut tell me yar nick and I add ya"
"K, its Predator CZ"
"Whoah, that asshole who just take our shit and put to another game?" or "made a tool for reading our asset format so ppl can rip it?"

You know where I'm pointing that, they will actually find out who I am in online world and I could get fired for company espionage or smt like that, even sued in worst case scenario. Some of them must know my nick name, since few my mods have over 360k subs, thats lots of people.
On the bright side, non of them were actually marked by DMCA and none of owners or devs contacted me to take them down. I always took it as that "I make this mod and people will find out that this game even exists, look for it and maybye buy it and have fun like I had"

But maybye they don't care like you said, maybye Im just paranoid like always I am. But they just can't take this job as "alright I just place few things here and there or I just make this model by this artwork and call it a day". They must care, don't they?

your experience with games industry practices is worth a lot more to your employers than picking up on the legality of mod tools.

mods encourage creativity and this is usually not frowned upon when making games

that said, you can generalize your experiences with writing tools "interests in data formats"/"created a mod with xxxx downloads"

on the "company espionage" question, you may be asked by your employer to stop working on mods while employed "conflict of interest" so be prepared for that, but it shouldn't put you off applying!

PredatorCZ wrote: But maybye they don't care like you said, maybye Im just paranoid like always I am. But they just can't take this job as "alright I just place few things here and there or I just make this model by this artwork and call it a day". They must care, don't they?

THIS.
They don't care.
Companies generally don't care, they didn't lose big bucks.

But tbh, unless you're making great friends at your company, don't offer to game with them, as it gets awkward if you leave.

I've been on this forum for many years as I said, but until this thread I'd never heard of you either, you overestimate how far the tools reach, 360k is a good number but most of that isn't going to be industry pro's, its gonna be kids living with their parents and the like a lot of the time.

lionheartuk wrote: But tbh, unless you're making great friends at your company, don't offer to game with them, as it gets awkward if you leave.

Tbh I have never offered anything in my life, but thanks.

lionheartuk wrote: You overestimate how far the tools reach, 360k is a good number but most of that isn't going to be industry pro's, its gonna be kids living with their parents and the like a lot of the time.

I know they are children since pro's wouldn't request more and more those stuff. But ppl can report this stuff to company(ies), becouse... reasons.

WRS wrote: on the "company espionage" question, you may be asked by your employer to stop working on mods while employed "conflict of interest" so be prepared for that, but it shouldn't put you off applying!

I don't think I'll have even time to make mods, becouse I'm glad I have some time for UE4.
<- Im not sure how I should understand that, its disturbing....