@GirlVersusGame Absolutely! Been at it for close 30 years and it's had its ups and downs, but right now I'm in a very good place with it. As with all professions, some parts are engaging and some are boring, some are challenging and some are frustrating, but with my current experience and knowledge of the software and business domain I'm working on, the frustrating bits are at a minimum.
I'm a full stack developer (handling anything from the data store to the user interface) on a single software as a service (SaaS) product, meaning that customers subscribe to our software online and doesn't require local installations.
@GirlVersusGame Yeah, there has been a steady evolution of technology over the years. The most frustrating one is the need for stronger and stronger security measures to counter an ever growing threat matrix. It can be exhausting and diverts a lot of energy from providing features and functionality. It also almost always runs counter to a smooth and user friendly experience. It is wholly necessary, though, and cannot be ignored or taken lightly.
There is an inherent flexibility in the work, but how much you are allowed typically varies a lot from employer to employer. Freedom to work from home (or anywhere) and setting one's own hours is well and fine on paper, but, in my opinion, there needs to be certain boundaries when you're working in teams. Nothing is more frustrating than not being able to proceed because someone you're dependent on is unavailable for long stretches of time due to different work hours (worked on a project where one guy worked from Thailand and the time difference was a headache). My current job has a good balance, I think. A lot of freedom, but larger deviations from standard hours needs to be planned and agreed upon.
I think there is a natural link between working in IT and gaming, in my generation in particular, at least. When I was young, there was no clicking a button or inserting a disc to start playing a game, you needed to have some knowledge of computers in order to be able to play a game. I remember having a book with games. That's right, games came in books. The earliest Commodore home computers we used didn't have storage media readily available, so you would literally program the code for the game into the computer's memory in order to play. Once you turned off the machine, it was wiped, so you needed to do it again the next time you wanted to play. Luckily, soon came cassette players and then floppy disk drives, so things got easier then. Many of us developed a general interest in computers, outside of just gaming, though. I think it was '86 or '87 i attended my first programming course and learned the basics of BASIC. It would be many more years before I started programming for real, but I think it helped having learned the basic concepts at a young age. I think my story is pretty common among the gamers of my generation,
@FuriousMachine Not to interject, but that’s really interesting insight into the evolution of software development. Imagine a world where we didn’t have such a large cybersecurity issue — all those resources could actually be used to develop and improve products! The IT industry would probably be years further down the road of technological advancement. I guess one could say the same for every facet of society if we could be rid of resources spent on fighting crime, but it seems especially true with programming. I’m increasingly frustrated at how many passwords and 2-factor authenticating that I have to do to perform even the most basic computing functions. I can only imagine how much it affects those who work in the computer industry.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution I love interjections, so please do
But, yeah, you're absolutely right, it's taking an insane amount of resources and sometimes unnecessarily so. Like you say, 2FA for even the most basic functions that really contains no attack surface at all is highly disruptive. I like to say that there is a wide gulf between "security conscious" and "crippling paranoia" and, unfortunately, too many go straight to the paranoia end of the scale.
And once the first quantum computer becomes available, all passwords in the entire world are useless, as it can brute force even the strongest passwords in minutes. Phishing scams using tools like Magic Cat have evolved to bypass 2FA as well: they get you to the phishing site with a dubious link, trick you into entering your card info, which they monitor in real-time, add your card to a phone wallet they control, which triggers a 2FA notification on your phone, which you then enter in the phishing site and they can then use that to complete adding your card to their wallet. Then they use your card with impunity from there. Moral: Always be 100% sure that the site you're interacting with is legit, even with 2FA (and on some phone browsers it may be difficult to see the actual URL of the site you're interacting with).
And the problem with "everyone" using the most extreme security measures is that it fosters user fatigue and then users stop paying attention. And when users stop paying attention, they become easier targets
@GirlVersusGame Lol, sometimes it good to have a partner who’s not a gamer. Diversifies your life. 😄
I’ve only seen about half the episodes of Black Mirror and none of the latest season, but most I’ve seen are quite good. If you’re not familiar with the concept the best comparison I can think of is the show is akin to a modern day Twilight Zone, if you’re familiar with that old show. Each episode is a mind-bending standalone story that usually revolves around something near-future and lightly science fiction with future uses of technology. Most of the time the settings and subject matter involve fictional depictions of tech and its uses/misuses. Often philosophical, morally grey, or speculative in theme. From Wikipedia: “many episodes depict basic human emotions and desires that intersect with, and get twisted by, a technological system that invariably spins out of control and into catastrophe”
I can’t remember if you’re a fan of the show @FuriousMachine Sometimes it’s difficult to enjoy fiction about an industry you work in. It either hits too close to home and makes you feel anxious, or it’s too far fetched that it’s hard to suspend disbelief and enjoy the story. 😄 It’s the same issue with cops or lawyers watching law shows, doctors watching medical dramas, scientists watching sci-fi, teachers watching shows set in schools, etc, etc.
@Th3solution@GirlVersusGame Black Mirror is one of those series I've been meaning to check out, but never got around to. Will see about rectifying that when I re-sub to Netflix later this year.
I've yet to see a show or movie close enough to my work situation for it to make any impact one way or another, but there are of course many eye rolls at general computer use and "hacking" in movies and shows. Silicon Valley was the closest I've seen to being relevant to my work, though even that was so distant due to the vastly different work culture of the US and Silicon Valley compared to home, so it doesn't really count in that regard. Great show, though, truly loved it!
I do get the dev tiring of MMOs, though. They say "do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life", but that is really not true. I used to love programming and had many hobby projects outside work back in the day, but it does become work and eventually you just want to spend your free time doing something else. I am now, for the first time in over a decade, back to having a hobby project, but it's going slow and is just as much about teaching myself new technology and techniques as it is about coding for fun.
@FuriousMachine@GirlVersusGame I think I heard that the show’s title is a reference to our cellular phones, which when the screen is turned off obviously looks like a black mirror. I guess the same could be said for any computer monitor or flat screen TV. It’s also a clever double meaning referencing how the show highlights the dark or sinister parts of ourselves that technology brings out of us or reflects upon us.
If you end up checking any of the episodes out, drop some impressions on the TV thread as I’d be curious to read what you think. It might be worthwhile to search online for recommendations of the best episodes to watch because some are better than others. That’s what I did, because you can just skip some of the lesser ones since there’s no interrelated narrative or dependency from one episode to the next. It would save yourself some time.
@GirlVersusGame That’s interesting about the obsidian mirrors, so perhaps that’s another intended metaphor or symbol of the title.
And definitely happy for you that your Minecraft creations are now accessible! Did you ever play Dreams? It might be of interest to you if you enjoy creating digital worlds. I tried it (and I’ve done a little bit of Minecraft years ago) and it was too much for me to wrap my head around. I didn’t quite have the patience or artistic vision to do much with the creation suite. But it was entertaining to see and play some of the content the community created.
It’s unfortunate that Dreams crashed and burned for Sony and Media Molecule. It’s not quite Concord level of catastrophe, but such a long time developing a game that fizzled so quickly. I don’t even know if the servers are still on or if there’s still an active community there.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Will absolutely check it out and try to remember to share my thoughts on it
@GirlVersusGame So happy that you got your hard work back! It sounded like a regression bug (when you fix something and accidentally and unknowingly break something else) so I was quietly hoping they would fix it. Very glad they did
@GirlVersusGame That’s an interesting take on Dreams and your experience with it. So it does seem like you really gave it a chance. From the sounds of it, I dabbled in it much less than what you did, but I agree with what you said — there was a remarkable lack of community zeal and rapport. Which is weird when you think of it because the whole point of the game was to promote camaraderie and sharing creations and creativity. It was very stylish and unique, and yet… still felt soulless.
Creator style games demand a certain amount of time and energy, and I think that’s part of the hurdle. Not to mention that imagination and creativity are things that society socializes out of us as we transition into adulthood and take on responsibilities and jobs. Some professions do cultivate imagination, dreaming up creations, and innovation, but honestly I think it’s a small percentage of laborers. The vast majority of people end up in a job that is mostly iterative, high pressure, conformist, and uninspiring. I’ve been in jobs where they try to encourage creativity and innovation but it all seems lifeless when it’s a veiled attempt to increase profitability and job efficiency. Creating for creations sake is limited to only those that work on the arts.
Even game development is hampered by deadlines and revenue goals. It was really refreshing to read that recent article from Kojima where he said that he was actually disappointed that DS2 was receiving universal praise. He admitted that his company needed to have some level of profitability but that he didn’t create games to appeal to the masses, rather wanted to make games that were divergent. (I forget exactly how he said it, but that was my interpretation)
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
I'm back, now. Still on a break from gaming, though. But using the forum again, for the time being.
Just a couple of thoughts. I see myself outside my voluntary roles, as primarily being a free jazz guitarist. But I alternate my free jazz study with hip hop listening sessions, to ground me and bring myself back down to earth when things get too lofty and intellectual in the worlds of six-string jazz.
I am reading Jon Fosse's Septology at the moment, and will be moving on to Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust after that. Taking the summer time, easy.
I feel like it's important not to over-intellectualise in life. Especially for those of us, I'm sure including many on here, who are interested in the arts and culture, in general. I think a balance is important. Live well, work hard or study, and dedicate your free time to the things you love, but don't get too heady with it, focus on the "lowbrow" in addition to the highbrow in terms of your intellectual and cultural pursuits, is my advice.
There is definitely a danger, imo, in dedicating oneself solely to the life of the mind.
As a caveat to that, I am not saying that hip hop can't be intellectual as well, there are rappers, for example, who actively encourage their listeners to read and study.
Also the depth of the lyrics in addition to their weight and profundity in some hip hop cannot be denied either, that doesn't apply to some of the well-known ones, from what I've heard of their work, though. Gotta dig at least a little bit for those special gems.
There was a whole debate about whether commercial or mainstream entertainment has the same value as high art, on the radio, and I think the recurring sentiment was that it doesn't really matter, as long as you, personally, find it enjoyable. Art's worth is always susceptible to subjective judgement.
@Jimmer-jammer@GirlVersusGame I’ve been meaning to respond on the subject of the creative pursuits of adults in society and I’ve just been a bit swamped so haven’t been able to construct a clear and concise way to explain my meaning. Plus, I don’t want to bore everyone with my pontifications about sociology. Suffice it to say, I think maybe I wasn’t clear that when I was talking about loss of creative fostering as we get older it was collectively speaking, not individually. Certainly each person has immense ability to continue their creative endeavors. And a person’s abilities and quality of imaginative output is probably better as we age. Nevertheless as a whole I still think people aren’t encouraged to be creative as we age, at least not in the purest sense. The natural inclination to be artistic and imaginative as humans isn’t fostered in the same sense that productivity, conformity, and industry are. Throw a box of crayons, paper, and some clay onto a table and a child with have a blast making, drawing, imagining. Whereas an adult will organize the crayons, put them in a box, clean up the mess, and wipe down the table, then check their To-Do list on their phone to see what their next task is. It is what it is, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing necessarily. Rather it’s just the way society drives us starting in primary school to spend less and less effort on creative pursuits and more and more on analytic and achievement oriented tasks.
(Oops… I still got off into the boring sociological weeds…) 😅
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Glad to see you’re finding balance in your life pursuits. I like what you’ve said there. It strikes on the conversational subject that I was having with Jimmer and GvsG about the tendency for us to abandon artistic expression as we get caught up in the roles of adulthood, compelled in keeping the machine of society going. I think that balance you speak of is key to long term happiness.
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