Any prospective interns must have the drive and motivation to work in an empowered work environment. A common phrase is “Attitude over Aptitude”. A strong work ethic, desire to succeed, and openness to learn new things are all requirements. Specific duties for interns are varied and based on their desired career tracts. There are internships for Software Programmers, Server / DB Programmers, Interface artists, Audio engineers, and Testing / QA.
Software Programmers
The bulk of interns express interest in the Software Programming internship. AJP makes heavy use of Flash and Actionscript for the majority of its game programming tasks. An understanding of Object Oriented Programming is the foundation of this field, and is required. While knowledge of the Flash SDK and Actionscript are useful, they can be learned as part of the internship. The course teaches how to integrate the Flex SDK into solutions like the FlashDevelop kit and the Adobe Flash environment with the objective of programming a fully monetized flash game from start to finish. The intern would be working closely with experienced staff members and utilizing the libraries and solutions they have developed.
In addition the company utilizes server and database programmers as well. The server schema AJP uses to manage its databases for social games is taught to interns who then go start to finish creating mock-ups of web and social games that utilize the AJP framework. These are then tied into Flash front ends, demonstrating a complete implementation of a client server setup. Interns who perform well in this course are primed to be added to the AJP permanent staff as social game developers.
Audio Engineers
There is always a place for sound experts with a passion for their trade. Interns interested in this tract should have a strong ear for music and sound effects and understand their application to games. Music composition is a great opportunity for any music artist interested in having their talents featured in the company’s web products. Musical talent is useful but not necessary. The solutions used by AJP are Sony Acid Pro and Audacity, though individual artists may work in other environments as preferred. Recording equipment is provided by the company to record new sounds, mix them, and convert them to the preferred file format.
User Interface Artist
The discipline of visually organizing on-screen elements is known as UI Art. Artists interested in this field of work should be comfortable working in Adobe Illustrator. Because the company produces all of its front-end products in Flash, vector formatted assets are the requirement. If an artist is comfortable using Flash studio’s built in draw tools that is also acceptable. UI Artists are very helpful in helping the designer give form and definition to a game project and are utilized at every stage of the process from start to finish.
Quality Assurance Testers
Testing is critical in ensuring a quality and bug free product is released. QA testing is the ground floor that most game developers use to enter the larger game companies. QA is as much an art as a science; and the process requires a great attention to detail, basic knowledge of programming, and the ability to think outside the box. Forms and formats are provided but the best performance in this area is finding the unseen exploits, bugs, and cheats in the games. As well input is collected on improvements and feature additions that will make the game better and more solid.
As a rule interns are treated as professionals, not students. Instructions are issued, tools provided, and performance expected. The intern is treated like any other member of the team and expected to perform to spec and deadline as appropriate. Anyone who feels they are equal to the challenge should contact AJP and inquire more.
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