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Is it ethically correct or viable to add OT experience in a Game Dev CV?

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I'm about to create my first CV, and even though I've had some game dev experience, nothing comes near as close as the experience I have developing Open Tibia servers, which are games.

The thing is, how is this perceived from an employer or academic point of view? Given that OTs are somewhat illegal or in a grey area...

I'm trying to get into a master's degree, and I have some solid OT projects I'd like to show. Thing is I'm really afraid they'll think I steal other people's (Cipsoft) work.

Edit: To clarify, I never published any of my OT projects.
 
Well this is a good way to put it, yeah. Thing is I should make it look more like a project and less like experience in general. Do you think this would be a good way to put it?

"My own modded version of a free and open-source 2D MMORPG server emulator written in C++, using LUA and XML scripts.
Lead Game Designer / Creative Director / Programmer
Personal hobby project, 2016 - Present."
Post automatically merged:

just say you you have experience working with a free and open-source MMORPG server emulator written in C++
I didn't quote you before, I'm sorry.
 
How did you steal cipsoft work? You clarified that you coded/programmed with fully custom built emulator which is open source, how is that cipsoft related? As long as you don't use cipsoft code (which you don't have) or stuff, which doesn't matter anyway, because you won't put this into your CV
 
How did you steal cipsoft work? You clarified that you coded/programmed with fully custom built emulator which is open source, how is that cipsoft related? As long as you don't use cipsoft code (which you don't have) or stuff, which doesn't matter anyway, because you won't put this into your CV

It's more a matter of what I put on the CV and what they'll find when they google it (if they do). I don't fear I've done something wrong, there are many other applicants and if they somehow can relate this to copying others work I'd probably won't be even considered. Like you and I can discuss it, we know what it is, but they won't care if they have any minimum doubts.

Anyways, I've reworded as Evil Puncker recommended and if I get questioned I KNOW I can defend what I've done because it's honest work, but I just hope it doesn't even get to that.

Thanks for the help!
 
It's more a matter of what I put on the CV and what they'll find when they google it (if they do). I don't fear I've done something wrong, there are many other applicants and if they somehow can relate this to copying others work I'd probably won't be even considered. Like you and I can discuss it, we know what it is, but they won't care if they have any minimum doubts.

Anyways, I've reworded as Evil Puncker recommended and if I get questioned I KNOW I can defend what I've done because it's honest work, but I just hope it doesn't even get to that.

Thanks for the help!
You can describe OTS like Unreal or Unity. It's a base that you can modify and it let you do some gaming things.
 
My 2 cents - I think it should be fine, depending on amount and type of contribution you've made. If it's legitimately your own modifications and work you're showing off, then the rest doesn't necessarily matter that much imo. If you have a Github or something similar where you can easily show off the contributions you've personally put towards the project, that's good, so if they wanna go down the rabbithole and review your work more closely, they have the option to.

In the end, it boils down to demonstrating and conveying that you have built up certain skills and have experience with languages and tools.

I've cited my work on OTs both on my CV and as an experience to my professors and it was acknowledged without much further inquiry.
My project teammate also asked me to write him a recommendation at one point, so I figure that meant something somewhere as well.

If you are using TFS and OTC, the only disclaimer you should be prepared to explain is (if someone asks) is that you are using TFS/OTC as a base (much to how someone would use Unity, or UE, etc.), and Cipsoft sprites as a placeholder to develop a game on that open source engine/client, as those sprites are a convenient substitute that provides a lot of graphics to play with and test stuff until you are ready to replace them.

In such case, it's even better that your project is not public, because it is an indicator that you're just using this entire stack just to further your knowledge in game and code development, and not to host a ripoff of someone else's game currently.
 
Definitely write down your OT related experiences, what you learned, and how it effected whatever you tried.
My CV only had OT related experience written down when I got my first job and on the interview, all of the things were discussed.
 
I think this will help you:
1595966402093.png

I'm currently working as test manager of a top 100 fortune company, so yeah, it's really viable to have all your experiences at your CV, but be prepared to talk about them (in details) explaining what you did, what tools you used and what challenges you overcome in those projects (and what you have learned from it).

The most important thing is what you learned. Many projects don't work well and people give up but that's no reason to not include them in your resumé, in fact you usually learn way more when you fail than when you succeed.
 
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Short answer: Yes.

Long answer: I got both of my professional dev jobs (currently in a senior position) with Tibia-related-programming (The OX Server and TibiaAPI) on my CV. As others have pointed out, you need to be prepared to discuss what is on your CV in detail, and if you can provide open-source code that they can easily view (GitHub, GitLab, etc.) to back up your claims, that will help a lot.

My own modded version of a free and open-source 2D MMORPG server emulator written in C++, using LUA and XML scripts.
Lead Game Designer / Creative Director / Programmer
Personal hobby project, 2016 - Present.
This used to be, and may still be in some cases, the way to explain something on a CV, but nowadays they want you to give details about how you used those languages and skills; almost like a story. For example, you might say something like:
Building on top of an open-source engine, written in C++, for a 2D MMORPG, I added new features to the engine, expanded the C++/Lua scripting interface, and took advantage of XML for storing static data.
I would even mention the use of git for version control, and GitHub for working with a team; even Visual Studio for actual coding. Assuming, of course, you used those technologies.
 
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