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Post by Mark Jones Junior on Feb 6, 2005 14:14:46 GMT -5
Any tales anyone wants to share? Did ya cack it in the interview? I'm not gunna go first though.
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Post by Simon Butler on Feb 7, 2005 10:03:51 GMT -5
The external development house I was working for did stuff for Ocean. They were predominantly cack and just got worse as standards in the management side dropped. I quit and news of this must have got to Ocean because the next day Gary phoned me and asked me in for an interview.
I jumped at the chance.
All I remember about the day of the interview was walking down the stairs into the basement and being introduced to Allan, Waxy and Digby.
Allan, as was his wont...made some pithy comment about Scousers to which I replied with some equally barbed riposte regarding Mancs.
Thus was born the loving and mostly violent friendship between Mr Shortt and myself.
A relationship built predominantly on the fear of being on the business end of one of his meaty fists.
It was a common pastime of his whenever he was at a loss for something to do...or a particularly tough line of code was bothering him...hit Butler.
No malice intended...it was a therapeutic excercise...for him anyway.
Come on Allan...jump on board lad!!!
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Post by Ringostarr on Feb 8, 2005 17:48:36 GMT -5
I got offered a job by Colin Stokes after an interview with Gary. One thing I learned that day was if you get taken to an Italian restaurant for an Interview never order Spaghetti... impossible to eat and try and look as if you are listening at the same time! On my first day Gary told me to go round all the dev staff and introduce myself to everyone and find out what they all did. On Walking into Martin Galway's room I asked him who he was and he said "what the fuck has it got to do with you and get out of my room". Welcome to Ocean!
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Post by Paulie on Feb 8, 2005 18:06:48 GMT -5
Martin... always was (and still is) a total charmer!
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Post by Allan Shortt on Feb 10, 2005 6:00:05 GMT -5
Had interview with Gary, and gave me a trainee position then threw me straight into a project 'Yie Ar Kung Fu II', on £59 per week. what a great guy.
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Post by Gary on Feb 10, 2005 7:06:43 GMT -5
Had interview with Gary, and gave me a trainee position then threw me straight into a project 'Yie Ar Kung Fu II', on £59 per week. what a great guy. You're not supposed to tell anyone your wages - they'll all get jealous!!! Anyway, £59 bought a lot of beer in those days.....!!
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Post by Mark Jones Junior on Feb 10, 2005 7:28:40 GMT -5
I had been doing screens of Speccy stuff while I was at school. I went into the 6th form at Northampton School For Boys in Sep 1986 and lasted till Oct time when i thought "I don't wanna be here" so I left and got a job working in a computer shop. During this time I sent off a demo of all my Spectrum stuff to various software companies, not thinking anything would come of it. I ended up with interviews at Elite and Ocean. I went to Walsall to have an interview at 'Elite' but didn't fancy moving to Walsall, it was a hole. I got my interview at 'Ocean', and never having been a train before on my own I went up with my mum! ( : I was so nervous. I was interviewed by Gary in his office at the bottom of the stairs in the cellars of 6 Central Street (with my mum!). This must have been beginning of December. I was offered a job and started when everyone came back after Xmas in Jan 1987. When I started I was put up in the 'New Manx Hotel' on the Palatine Road (which has been knocked dow now I think, I went to look for it when I was up that way and it had gone!) My first night there I was in a terrible state, I was REALLY homesick and regretted the whole thing and would have gone home then and there if I hadn't taken all my 'Crash' magazines with me. My first morning I was SO nervous I had got up to the University on the bus when I thought I was going to pewk so I rushed off the bus and composed myself and walked the rest of way. Thankfully I didn't sick up the big breakfast I'd just had at the hotel. I was late on my first day but explained why. I'm GLAD I took those magazines now cos if I hadn't I wouldn't be here typing this!
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Post by Gary on Feb 10, 2005 8:11:50 GMT -5
Jesus! If I'd known you were going to go through that, I wouldn't have offered you the bloody job!!
But do you know what's REALLY scary about this? I have a son at school who is now the same age you were when you joined Ocean. That's scary!
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Post by Mark Jones Junior on Feb 10, 2005 8:33:13 GMT -5
Jesus! If I'd known you were going to go through that, I wouldn't have offered you the bloody job!! That's scary! I'm glad you did though! ;D Oh and seeing as a lot of ex staff have recently joined up I'd thought I'd 'bump' (I think thats the technical term) this thread (I'm getting good at this now) and see if we can get your response. If you so please. Faldee raldee ray doo day.
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Post by Mark Jones Junior on Feb 27, 2005 9:54:40 GMT -5
Oooops, I think in order to 'bump' this up I have to make a new post, not modify an old one!
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Post by redballoon on Feb 28, 2005 3:56:20 GMT -5
I can remember away back the mid-80's, probably about 1986, or something (I was about 14 or 15 or something), I phoned Ocean and spoke to somebody for about 10-15 minutes about a job at Ocean doing graphics.
At the end, I was asked to send in a demo of my stuff. I never did, incidently. After joining this forum, I sometimes wonder who it was I spoke to. Ah well.
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Post by Gary on Feb 28, 2005 5:06:33 GMT -5
It was me. I recognise your voice.
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Post by redballoon on Feb 28, 2005 5:34:17 GMT -5
I KNEW IT!!
Anyway, I had to do my homework, but I think I completed my demo tape just last year. I'll pop the C15 into an envelope and send it down. Ignore the loading screen fthat I did for Sex Invaders..
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slick
New Member
Posts: 11
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Post by slick on Oct 8, 2006 6:07:04 GMT -5
As for me - I heard Lee Fallon - (the rotund guy who always wore the same black t-shirt and denim shirt over the top - long hair - looked like a psycho!) got a job at OCEAn - and I though - Christ on a bike if theyll take lee I must have a chance!
So I pestered Frank - the QA Manager - & Maria and got an interview - then had to do a test of GREEN LANTERN - then had another Interview! Then I got the Job... in QA.
I was one of very few who got the JOB from outside.. by that a lot of people where taken on from some IT course or College somewhere.... I wasnt one of them - I was just a monkey (to quote someone who shall remain nameless) who played a lot of games and knew a LOT about games in general, and had about 12yrs of games playing experience before joining the hallowed ranks at Ocean QA...
If only id known that eating pies and saying BONE a lot was part of the job... Id have applied sooner!
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