UbiSoft Is Hiring!

#1 I can't decide if this is a recruiter thing or just someone who really likes Ubisoft...

#2 He's recuiting. Hey Dan, you'll get even more responses if Ubi picks up some TSE licenses ;)

#3 Yup and he's serious too. Ubi is really expanding (or trying to). Just a glance at their Careers page illustrates how much. The only major caveat about relocating to Montreal though is that you really need some solid french. Several of the positions would be tempting but my francais is incredibly rusty. Montreal is a pretty cool city though, when all is said and done.

Anyway, good to see you here Dan. Loved Homeworld2. Do you guys at Relic still lurk about the 'green cafes' in around Gastown these days? ;)

#4 You actually dont need to know too much french. Everyone (or at least most everyone) speaks English.

Very friendly city.

#5 Well, yes for just kicking around the city you'd be fine for the most part.

However, many of the postings on the Ubi site state 'Essential: Bilingual (English/French)' - especially in the more support oriented positions.

#6 Well hot damn. That I didn't know.

#7 If the positions where starting 7 months from now I'd be very interested. I'll be applying there once I finish school here in Vancouver at the Art Institute. I know Ubi has hired from here in the past I just hope they keep the trend ;).
Support and higher level management positions are the only ones I've seen where you have to be able to speak fluent French.

#8 Hello Dan,


Greetings from Bachiosaurus Studios. It's good to hear from you and about Ubisoft!

I am a friend of Jack Wall and client of Bob Rice.

As a composer, I take pride in delivering fresh, unique, and appropriate music from a wide variety of styles to enhance the gamer's experience while working within the client's budget.

Today's world of game audio requires careful consideration of the musical approach to a particular project - inevitably coming down to the question of MIDI versus orchestra. I invite you to check out the demos on my website (see below), especially the first montage ("Epic Wayfarings") as it demonstrates the method I use, being a Hollywood studio violinist and violist, of layering strings (myself-not an expensive string section!) many times over the MIDI tracks. Mixed well upon a main core of sampled symphonic instruments (e.g."Vienna Symphonic Library" string samples, among others), this makes for a full, realistic, and massive sound that MIDI alone cannot provide. For added impact, featuring a world-class studio soloist (horn, trumpet, guitar, etc.) can make the game audio stand out (eg. "Electronesia")

Of course, completely live orchestral or purely electronic soundscapes ranging from ethereal/Celtic to quirky to dark are also available.

Also for your consideration, short demo tracks customized per your instructions for a particular project can be provided.

I look forward to the possibility of working with you and Ubisoft.


Kind Regards,


Richard Altenbach
Composer

Bachiosaurus Studios
P.O.Box 728
Topanga, CA 90290
cel: 310.403.0611
tel: 310.455.7099
fax: 310.455.0040
http://www.bachiosaurus.com
richard@bachiosaurus.com

"Our music makes a lasting impression."

Now Represented by Bob Rice
FBI four bars intertainment
Bestsounds@aol.com
408.364.9851

#9 Interesting but it's a shame most all companies want people with 3-4+ years of experience in the game industry. Where are the companies looking for talented interns willing to work for pinance just to get their foot in the door? lol

#10 Acutally, I saw some Junior Programmer positions listed. I'm just out of University and I spent three weeks on my application! I hope they give me a call ;) I didn't go to a game development University, but I tried as best I could to study multimedia applications and I have written an optical motion capture system, worked on JFreeciv (a Java Freeciv client), as well as some other games. Any help would be appriciated Dan :D :D

I'm not sure if I should start writing a cover letter like message here. I think I will stay away from that for the time being. You guys are free to visit the ubisoft portfolio I did up though. I'm still working on it but I submitted my application anyways because the content is all there and I didn't want to miss the boat.

Here is the link:

http://cs.stmarys.ca/~c_nickerson/ubisoft/

Negative and Positve comments are welcomed :)

#11 Hey Colin:

Thanks for your reply and I'm happy to help out. Except that most of the juniors and entry level jobs at most game developers go to candidates who've completed a demo or some mod level on a game somewhere. Although there's a certain degree of respect for original demos too. We'll talk more...

#12 Wow Dan, this is awesome! Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

#13 Hi.

Actually I live 2 hours from Montreal, and plan to move there this summer after I finish my master degree. My best buddy even did two internships at Ubisoft Montreal.

Unfortunatly, I had a very unpleasant hiring experience with one of Ubisoft's sister business. That makes me hesitate to apply to for a position at Ubisoft. I wonder if things are still done the same, or if the process has improved since the last 2-3 years?

#14 Ubisoft is very different in its internal policies and politics from gameloft, and gameloft has changed a lot in the past couple years : there might be no management left from the era you mention.
They're part of the same conglomerate, but are mostly independent corporations.
I'm guessing you mean Gameloft :)
I don't have direct first hand experience with Ubisoft's working environment, but from my time at gameloft and talking to people who've worked at both, as well as talking to Ubi employees, they're different.
It's still the very big leagues of the game industry.

#15 I can't tell which place or exactly what happened, that wouldnt be very polite of me.

In fact, the management people I add business with were quite nice and understanding, the problematic decisions came from "above". As I never actually worked there I can't speak for the working environment, my friend seemed to like working there. Its nicely situated, too.

#16 Oh, I understood you didn't want to elaborate or name names, etc.
I just took a guess, and was trying to tell you that the problem might not exist anymore, because the aforementioned studio has changed and grown a lot, as well as moved out of the Peck building, and took up shop near Rosemont metro sharing a lot more space, but only with Guillemot :)

#17 Cool, thanks for the update :)