[animosity]

> It sounds like you were working on shovelware for EA or someone like that.

direct hit.

> find a small development shop which does it for fun and enjoyment just as much as for money.

i thought i'd found that at my present company but it's the same crap. i was really naive about this place.

> As for where to - what have you worked on

this is the most worrying part. i used to focus on graphics, but what these operations need is someone competent to deal with a broad range of issues. and that's what i've been shafted into doing.

> You make it sound like its dirty to have C++ experience!

i didn't mean for it to sound like that. i worry that people who make hiring decisions won't see beyond their keyword filters though.

[dkersten]

Well, assuming you don't want to try again with another game development company, I'd say look around for something that interests you and just apply. Don't worry if your current skills aren't a perfect match - you're experience (C++, graphics/performance-sensitive code, teamwork, tight deadlines, etc - the stuff other people mentioned) means you can probably pick up whatever you need on the way without much trouble and a good developer (assuming you're not applying to a big company with a clueless HR team...) should be able to spot that.

I found that having a background in C++, before moving to other languages (Python at first, now clojure wherever I can get away with using it) actually helped me program better. C++ makes you careful about managing resources almost to the point of paranoia - at least manual memory management does that to me :) and the C++ performance myth makes me pay a lot more attention at making sure my code is fast, regardless of language (though thankfully I've managed to kick the premature optimization habit in favour of choosing appropriate algorithms). I don't think I'd have picked up Python and Clojure (and Java and...) as easily if I hadn't went through the C++ pains, so you're epxeirence should serve you well. With a bit of luck, whoever you end up interviewing with will recognize that.