游戏邦注：本文原作者是Andrew Andreas Grapsas，他曾经在美国第三大游戏制作发行商THQ的Kaos工作室任游戏设置与动画程序师，还曾作为助理系统程序员参与《荣誉勋章》的制作。目前在主攻Facebook游戏的Arkadium公司从事游戏编程工作，此外还参与各种项目的编写和编程。

真相

你已经在这个行业捉摸滚打好几年了，难免感到灰心丧气。所以你从一盆滚烫的水盆跳到另一盆，只为追寻那个完美的梦想。每一次你选择离开，任凭你的老板在风中凌乱、震惊、恍惚。或者，他们也许会有抑止不住伤感的时候。尽管如此，他们还是会向你暗示：他们并不在乎你。

那些留住你的人，那些与你并肩作战的伙计姑娘们，希望打造一款“了不起”的游戏、攻克最终的难题、把产品推向市场。但是，一个又一个，他们走了。沮丧的你再也无法让自己的手指安然地在键盘上敲打。你只能顺其自然。终于有一天，内心那个“太多”终于突破底线了，你开始觉得自己像只被掏空的南瓜。

放弃

我只能说这是一段轶事；但作为一个游戏开发者，我已经目睹了许多朋友和前辈走上两条路：独立游戏制作人或离开游戏行业。开发人越是年轻，越是可能走上这两条路之一。对于工程师就更是如此了。

我明白独立的诱人之处。

但是，为什么离开游戏行业？我们先问一个简单的问题：为什么不进入游戏行业？

我教授关于游戏引擎构建的毕业生课程时，遇到的大多数优秀的程序师不是委身于小工作室就是沦为软件公司中的怪人。这其中存在一些巨大的激励因素和决定性因素。请继续读下去，我将一一道来。

水管工和水管

当我提到水管工时，你想到了什么？一个穿工装裤的家伙，顺着梯子溜进一个大得能容下一张沙发的裂缝里，可能是这样的吧？肯定不是一个文质彬彬、光彩照人、才华横溢的先生。肯定不是！

想一想你单位里的机修师。想一想你和他们的交往。你（或你所在公司的其他人）是不是把他们当成水管工来看待？“啊，坏了，修好它。”你是不是想都没想过任务有多难、有多重要，就指派他们去做？他们有完整的时间吗？他们有没有时间来声明自己的工作？或者，他们是不是不断地把头发从U型管中挑出来？你最后一次让他们坐下来谈想法是什么时候？

软件工程师不是水管工。

看一看开源群体。一定程度上，开源的存在是为了排遣“垂头丧气”——无法实现创意自由的受挫感。创意含有勇气和好奇的成份。你是不是将工程师的创造力发挥到极致了呢？或者，你差遣他们是不是像命令水管工来修理积水的厕所？

以开发为中心的公司很容易错失软件领域中最优秀的编程人才。这是为什么？他们怎么会这样？相反的，小公司看似拥有不可思议的挖掘人才的能力，而且能够留住这些有才干的程序员好一阵子？怎么会？其他企业要怎么才能做到这一步？

招聘不易

我拒绝了许多公司。为什么？好吧，他们的环境不太吸引我，或者我遇到不喜欢的经理人。更差一点，办公地点太恶劣。这些公司为了聘用我投入了多少成本？好吧，他们花时间安排初次面试和二次面试——这些可是从开发商的日程表上挤出来的宝贵时间啊；另外，他们还在中介机构和广告上撒了些钱。雇用一个人真是一笔大投入啊。如果他们想雇我，我却说不，那对他们来说真是一笔大损失啊。

另一方面，要相中一个合适的人也非常困难。你必须找那些符合公司规章制度（游戏邦注：包括待遇、工着装、社交环境、项目等等）的人；同时，这些人还得有能力完成必要的任务，最重要的是，效率要高。

我们不是车

你买车时，你会讨价还价。值得一试，对吧？无论你能支付代理商多少钱让他脱手，那车的功能和运作情况都是一样的。

你为什么和开发商杀价？你为什么对他们隐瞒曾经那段最好的“经验”？

一个低工资、少福利的开发人，另一个不担心薪水、不担心福利、不担心任何其他外部因素的开发人，这二者是不能比的。

警告：我不是在主张高薪。超过某个门槛的工资并不能刺激员工多干活。当然，我说的“门槛”是指可以让他们满意的薪水。如果你不知道这个门槛，那就瞄高一点吧！最差的情况是什么？你多付给开发人几千块，他们就会开心吗？

如果你支付给开发人的薪水不够，又会发生什么最恶劣的情况？甩手走人。这就是严峻的后果。

体育团队积极地征招最优秀最闪亮的成员，几乎是不择手段地吸引他们归队。为了招徕工程师、设计师和美工，你做了什么？你的工作环境怎样？拥挤吗？光线够吗？福利又怎么样？是不是可以让开发人不必担心？

一般来说你的开发人对生活、工作等方方面面有什么忧虑？

车不会担心。但开发人员会。焦虑中的开发人不仅表现差，而且压抑的情绪累积到一定程度，他们终于找到解脱的办法——离开。

沉默是“金”

许多开发人对于自己的需求都沉默不语。本来就是这样。你能多积极地探究自己的需要？你对解决自己的问题有多投入？水管工？水管工？谁是水管工？

在一次年终回顾上，有人曾经这么对我说：“呃，你本应该提醒我们你想加薪！”我加入公司时曾定下一个口头协议，如果我表现良好，他们就会在一年以内支付与另一家公司相同的高薪。看来这人是告诉我，我早该让他们意识到这个事实。我是来当工程师的，难道我还得像谈生意一样跟他们讨价还价？作为工程师，编程才是我关心的事。

你得关心的是剩下的部分。

“我们做游戏！”

这个故事的寓意：

你告诉开发人员你是做游戏的，这样就能挽留他们的吗？你相信这样就足以留下他们？

你猜会怎样？其他人也做游戏啊！

没你，我们照样能做游戏！

大部分程序员在童年时期就深深地迷恋上某些游戏了。这就是为什么我们选择留在这个行业里，这就是为什么我们喜欢从事游戏。

然而，如果程序员的待遇就和随叫随到的水管工相当；如果没经过真正的投资，就要求程序员解决问题；如果还没建立管道系统，就要求程序员治理阻塞；如果没有合适的激励体系，水管工式的程序员能停留多久？

在你的公司运作中，程序员到底占了多重的份量？

“数百万人会玩这款游戏！”如果这个世界上没有数十亿万，那也有数百万的管道垫圈。我是愿意设计保时捷？还是处理垫圈？

“自由！”

独立本身是很吸引人的。美国人先祖感悟到了自由的力量，然后利用这个理念鼓励人民勇敢地挣脱比自己更强大的敌人。游戏开发人也很快就领悟到，我们靠自己也能飞黄腾达。

这对工程师来说，实在是至理。我们掌握了过硬的技术，我们有能力制作出独一无二的好系统。我们是软件的基础关键。没有我们，哪有软件！

随着移动领域的崛起，xbox接纳了独立游戏人，PC游戏借助数字化分布重燃希望之火，你又怎么能让我们为“你的项目”打拼？你拿什么留住我们？

当然有，安全感！但是，到现就只有这个是吗？另外，一个工程师当然可能为了稳定而留下来，但你真的能让他们为你鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已？你为什么老是给你的开发人员使绊？工程师靠创意起家。一旦创意的路途被堵了，这些人就不可能好好表现。

开发人员

作为开发人员，我有选择。我想在一个把自己当成水管工的公司工作，不断地被使唤吗？我想在一个把我的项目牢牢揣在他们手里的公司做事吗？这是一个非常传统的模式。工程师被指派工作做，就像在学样做各门各科的作业。

当你解放这些“囚犯”时又会怎么样呢？

问问Valve（美国软件公司）。

以开发人员为中心和工作室应该是近义词。在大多数工作室里，权力分配是平等的，或向工程师倾斜。为什么会这样？首先，这里几乎不存在领导和投资个体；再者，在小团队的软件系统里，几乎不可能有人能代替工程师，对吧？想想看，他们有程序代码啊。他们是唯一能接触程序代码的开发人。他们理解程序代码的运作。你怎么能替换他们？所以，他们往往手握重权。

控制权是诱人的。

还有，小团队里可能有许多欢庆会，对吧？就算没什么特别含义的欢庆会也好。“我们第一个人物移穿过场景了！！！干杯！”

这个过程就是：

挑战–> 主动权 –> 获得认可。

结语

好吧，我写的有点像满腹怨言的“咆哮体”了；但是，我希望你明白我的主要意思。工程师不应该被视为商品，而应该是公司的强大投资。一个优秀的工程师可以给公司创造莫大的价值；但请扪心自问，你为工程师本人及其生活增加什么价值了吗？

我想，你要问的不是工程师能为你的公司做什么，而是你的公司能为工程师做什么。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

“We Make Games!” Isn’t Good Enough

by Andrew Grapsas

The cat is out of the bag.

You’ve been in the industry for a few years and are feeling frustrated. You’ve jumped from one pot of scalding water to the next, searching for the perfect dream job. Every time you leave, your employer is shocked into a silent stupor. Or, maybe they’re afraid they’ll be emotional. Still, you have an inkling that they just don’t give a damn.

The people were keeping you there, the other guys and gals in the trenches right next to you battling to make the game “great”, resolve the final cert issues, and push the product out the door. But, one-by-one, they left, or you became too frustrated to keep your slipping grip on your keyboard. You just had to let go. Your internal “too much” meter was triggered and, inside, you were beginning to feel like a carved out pumpkin.

And… it’s dead.

I can only point to anecdotal evidence; but, from where I sit, as a game developer, I’ve seen a lot of my friends and former colleagues choosing one of two paths: to either go independent or leave games. The younger the developer, the more likely they are to follow one of those two paths. This is especially true of engineers.

I’ll get into why independence is appealing.

But, why leave games? In fact, let’s ask a simple question: why not enter games?

I teach a graduate course on game engine architecture. Most of the brilliant programmers I’ve encountered go off to work for either a small start up, or a megabeast of a software company.

There are some huge motivators and deciding factors. I’ll get into them in a few moments. Keep reading.

Plumbers and pipes.

When I say plumber, what comes to mind? Jeans slipping down revealing a crevice large enough to fit a sofa, perhaps? Definitely not an elegant individual with brilliance to spare and a motivated intelligence capable of slicing a man in twixt. No, certainly not.

Think about the engineers in your organization. Think about your interactions with them. Do you (or the other people at your company) treat them like plumbers? “Oh, it’s borked. Fix it.

” Do you send them off to do tasks without thinking about how hard the tasks are, how important they are, etc. Are they full-time? Do they have a full-time say in what they do? Or, are they thumbing hair out of a u-bend constantly? When was the last time you genuinely sat them down and asked what they wanted to do?

Software engineers aren’t plumbers.

Look at the open source community. To some degree, the existence of open source is a means of venting frustration — frustration at not having the creative freedom to build. It takes bravery and curiosity to create. Are you using your engineer’s creativity to its fullest? Or, are you ordering them around like a plumber you’d call in to fix an overflowing toilet?

Developer-centric companies have been easily skimming the best programmers from the software world. Why? How do they do this? Conversely, small companies seem to have the same ineffable ability to find talented, capable programmers and hold them for some time? How? How can that translate to other organizations?

Hiring ain’t easy.

I’ve been on both sides of the hiring equation. I’ve said no to companies. Why? Well, their environments didn’t appeal to me, or I met managers I didn’t like. Worse, the office space might have been atrocious. Please read Peopleware. Please. How much did these companies invest in attempting to hire me? Well, there’s the time they spent to do initial interviews and subsequent interviews — precious moments taken from developers’ schedules — and the cash they threw to agencies and ads. There’s a deep cost to trying to hire someone. If they want me, and I say no, that’s a huge loss.

On the flip side, it’s very difficult to find the exact person you want. You need to find someone that will work within the constraints of your company (money, work attire, social environment, projects, etc.) and have the ability to succeed at the necessary tasks. Most importantly, you probably need them ASAP.

We aren’t cars.

When you buy a car, you haggle. It’s worth a shot, right? That car is still going to have the same features and work the same way, regardless of how much cash you manage to get the dealership to part with.

Why are you haggling with your developers? Why are you holding back in giving them the best “experience” ever?

A lower paid developer with less benefits is not the same developer as one that isn’t worrying about salary, isn’t worrying about benefits, and isn’t worrying about any other external factors.

Caveat: I am not advocating paying more. Paying beyond a certain threshold does not motivate people to do more work. Rather, I’m saying the “threshold” to be happy has to be met. If you don’t know the threshold, aim high! What’s the worst that happens? You’re overpaying a developer a few thousand dollars and he or she is happy?

If you’re not paying a developer enough, what’s the worst that happens? He or she leaves. That’s a severe consequence.

Sports teams actively recruit the best and the brightest. They appeal to them through nearly any means necessary. What are you doing to appeal to your engineers, designers, or artists? How’s your work environment? Crowded? Amply lit? What about benefits? Are they at a point where your devs simply won’t worry about them? How worried, in general, are your devs? About life?

About work? About life-work?

A car can’t worry. A developer can. A developer that’s worried will not only under-perform, but seek avenues to alleviate that concern — leaving.

We’re quiet. Get used to it.

Many developers are quiet about their needs. It just works that way. Then again, how actively are you inquiring into our happiness? How engaged are you in resolving our issues? Plumber?

Plumber? Plumber anyone?

I’ve been told, “Well, you should’ve reminded us you wanted more money!” at a year review. I had joined the company with a verbal agreement that, if I’d performed well, they would match, within a year, a very high offer from another company. I was told I should have made them aware of the fact. Yet, I was hired to be an engineer. Should I also be a haggler, a business person, AND an engineer? As an engineer, engineering is my primary concern.

You worry about the rest.

“We make games!”

Moral of the story:

Are you trying to keep your developers at your office by saying that you make games? Do you believe that’s enough to hold them there?

Guess what? Other people make games, too!

And we can make games without you.

Most of us programmers were awe struck at some point in our early lives by some game. That’s why we’re in the industry. That’s why we love working on games.

Yet, if a programmer is being treated like a call-in plumber, to solve a problem without being truly invested, to cure a clog without having built the piping system, or without the proper motivating systems, how long will that plumber-programmer stay? How important is he or she to your operation?

“Millions of people will play this game!” There are millions, if not billions, of grommets in the world. Would I rather engineer a Porsche? Or a grommet?

“Freedom!”

Independence is, in and of itself, appealing. The forefathers of the United States saw this and utilized the concept to motivate a populace in rebellion against a much stronger foe. Game developers are, rapidly, realizing that we can strike out on our own and be moderately successful.

This is especially true of engineers. We have hard skills that are in demand and capable of crafting unique and appealing systems. We’re the fundamental linchpin in software. Without us, there would be no software!

With mobile booming, xbox allowing indies, and the PC reigniting through digital distribution, how are you going to keep us working on “your projects”? What’s to keep us there?

Sure, there’s security; but, that only goes so far, doesn’t it? Additionally, an engineer may stay to feel secure, surely, but are you getting the most out of him or her? Why are you hobbling your own developer? Engineers thrive on creating. When stifled, these individuals will not perform.

Developers, developers, developers.

As a developer, I have choices to make. Do I want to work for a company where I’m a plumber, constantly being told what to do? Where other people hold my project future in their hands?

This is a very traditional model. It’s predominant. Engineers are given work to do, just like in school, with varied performance.

What happens when you unleash the inmates?

Ask Valve.

Developer-centric and start up almost need to be synonymous. In most start ups, the power distribution is broken evenly or slightly in-skew of the engineer. Why is this? Well, first, there are few cooks, few invested individuals. Secondly, in a software system on a small team, it’s nearly impossible to replace the engineers, right? Think about it, they own the code. They’re the only developer to ever touch it. They understand the in’s and out’s. How would you replace them? So, they typically have a good amount of control.

This control is appealing.

Additionally, there can be a good amount of celebration, right? Even for little features. “We have our first creature moving through the environment!!! BEERS!”

This feeds into:

Challenge –> Mastery –> Recognition.

In Summary

Well, that was a bit ranting; but, I hope you got the primary message. Engineers need to be looked at less as commodities and more as strong investments that the company is making. A good engineer can add huge amounts of value to a company; but, ask yourself, what value are you adding to that engineer and his or her life?

I guess, ask not what an engineer can do for your company, but what your company can do for an engineer.

Have a good weekend!

About the Author

Andrew Andreas Grapsas is a game programmer at Arkadium, Inc. developing facebook games. Previously, he was a gameplay and animations programmer at Kaos Studios|THQ, and intern systems programmer on Medal of Honor.

Andrew is actively writing and programming for various projects. You can read more at his blog aagrapsas.com. He promises to update it soon.(source:gamasutra）