Personal Review Year 2

You cant really review something until its finished, well that’s my excuse for leaving this final blog task till now. 

Never really thought about it before buts its quite a daunting thing uploading all of your work onto disk to be marked, not sure if that’s because im nervous I haven’t done enough. well its too late now. 

So this year, how’s it been, what have I achieved and what am I gonna do with it ?

I started off aiming to reach all the deadlines, not fall behind on the work load and generally sort my life out. There were a few misshaps here and there and I wasn’t over excited about the 3d work I produced in the first term but overall it’s been a blast.

I remember having the standard critical studies talk before we broke up before Easter, Mike was warning us about the impending group project which would start IMMEDIATELY after we got back from Christmas.

To be honest, I was a little bit scared.

We were warned that every group has there fallouts, people start hating each other and this rage is usually expressed on and caused by… ‘the slacker’ basically, I didn’t want to be this guy.

I knew when we had finished pulling names out of the hat that we had an incredibly strong group, not complaining or anything but knew I was gonna have to keep up and pull my weight so I wasn’t dubbed as, ‘the asshole that doesn’t do any work’

‘a group is only as strong as its slowest member’ – so they say

But all in all the team was great to work with and I ended up really enjoying the group project. Coming into labs everyday wasn’t a chore and I ended up learning new skills, particularly in my digital painting.

My biggest regret is deleted everything of the teams Dropbox. Woops. Left me feeling really guilty (it was an accident) but luckily we had backups so no damage was done.

Looking back I wish I had got a little bit more involved with the UDK aspects. My knowledge only goes as far as; importing assets & textures, limited amounts of material editor usage and lighting capabilities. Seeing as we have to produce our rooftop level using UDK, would’ve been nice to enter this project with a little more background knowledge.

I feel my digital paints have got stronger this semester. I finally got round to downloading Photoshop CS5, CS1 was feeling abit too outdated. I’ve adopted the technique of creating the image totally in black & white first, making sure its tonally correct, then adding colour by using a new layer with the blending mode set to overlay, very useful for applying colour without overly affecting the rest of the image.

 I honestly feel that my improvement in 2d, has shown through into my 3d work. Drawing isn’t a waste of time !

Overal I think this years been an excellent learning experience; Learning new skills and techniques which I can take forward and use next year in my final major project which I am really looking forward too. As we are expected to produce a lot of work in year 3, I really need to sort my life out and plan plan plan so I’ve got some sort of structure to my life.

Bring it on

Life Changing or Career Building

Teaching students in an industry that is always changing and developing is quite a task. But what to teach and what skills do you allow to develop ? You can’t always keep up with what the industry is doing, but it is however, important to keep up with the current standards.  

3d modelling, is something that needs to be taught. I doubt there is anyone out there who can intuitively ‘get’ 3ds studio max without any previous experience. Learning a new piece of software takes time. Unlike naturally developing artistic skills, software is limited to potential and there is set ways of doing things, like a mechanical progress.  

You can learn pretty much learn anything if you invest enough time and effort into it however. But with a structured learning course this knowledge can be achieved a lot quicker. For instance I tried learning 3ds max by myself, but I was so hopeless, got frustrated and gave up. But having a class of students at the same level around you to confer with is a good natural way to learn  

But what is needed to succeed in the games industry. it seems that technical skills are at the forefront of a decent portfolio determining likelihood of employment. However this is not the case for some developers who prefer graduates with a strong traditional background as well as being able to build and unwrap.

 ‘In a general 3d artist I like to see some evidence of traditional art training as well as solid 3d skills. Most 3d courses do not teach anything like composition or colour theory, just software. It doesn't matter how well you can use a software package if you have no idea about basic art techniques’

Game developers generally look for the employee who is an all-rounder. Working on multiple projects, it is expected to be able to produce work in lots of different styles. So if you’re only making realistic models or cars, you are very much confined to one role in the industry.  

I think that tech skills are majorly important, but having a balance of good traditional skills compliments your work that little bit more. There are different areas in game development where artistic judgment is needed more so than technical knowhow. If you are developing a game environment for example, its fine having all of these realistic assets that you’ve made that look superb, but if you lack the visual skills in basic composition and colour theory, when it’s all put together it might not reach its potential.  

Personally I think that someone who is catered to the technical side of things is bound to be a little less creative.

Tech vs Tradition is kind of like Realism vs Creativity. If two students were asked to model any car they like, im sure the tech head would create a replica of an already existing vehicle, but the creative side of the traditional artist might model the same vehicle but in their own unique way.

Entering a 3 year educational course, it’s important to choose the right institution. What’s great about Game Art Design at De Montfort is that there is a very heavy influence of 3d, starting right from the beginning learning new skills throughout a wide range of software. But we are also pushed to develop our 2d visual skills and understanding which shines through into our 3d outcomes.  

From Generalist to Specialist

So games are becoming a pretty big deal these days, it was only 10 years ago where an artist and a programmer could sit in a room and make gold ! As games are having more and more money pumped into them, companies now employ thousands of worker minions throughout the UK alone to complete their projects

Making a game is an involved and lengthy process where producers, give publishers lots of monies who hire a development team of varying sizes, to make lots of cool shit to wrap up and sell.

The industry is made up of lots of specialist roles and us, game art student have got to fit in there somewhere. So we need to choose our role in the industry, there’s no point just applying for everything, because unless youre super human you cant master everyaspect of Game Art. Initially Game Art is split into two categories, 2d and 3d.

2d artists produce sketches, paints and models which are presented to varying people to show them what stuff should look like. The art team has people working in specialist areas. Producing environmental, character or storyboard concepts etc. 2d artists are usually watched under the close eye of an Art Director who overseas every artist to make sure their vision is communicated the way they want. As the concepts are produced usually at the beginning of development, art directors take care to ensure that all work is kept consistent to allow modellers to translate this into the 3d world. Their work is pretty much used as a guide through the long and arduous task of development

They actually have a lot of pressure on them, it’s like launching a rocket 3 degrees too wrong !

Anyway I know for sure that I don’t want to be a concept artist. As much as I used to love drawing it’s just not for me. Also to be a successful concept artist you have to be extremely talented in what you do. The work isn’t too stable either, you’re basically becoming a freelance artist.  

3d artists are responsible in creating bulk of content for the game.  pretty much all the assets in game; vehicles, characters and environment. Pretty much everything the player can see in game, except for maybe on screen HUD and scenic backdrops which are digitally painted or photographed.

An environmental artist usually makes the terrain shape and general assets for the scene. The level designer is responsible for basically how the game will play, working from pre-production all the way through to the final stages of development. While it does help for the designer to have good artist skills & judgment, the visual appearance is left down to the artist.  

The artists can also specialise in character. The character artists use the concepts produced by 2d artists to recreate the style and feel of the design, but in the 3d world. They will also work alongside animators to ensure that the character can be rigged correctly ensuring the most life like animations are achieved.

Everyone member of the team has their own specialist role which contributes to the end product.  Although everyone is working individually on their own task, with communication and working alongside others is important to ensure everyone is pulling together in the same direction working towards the same goal.

The point of this course is to teach us everytihng then let us decide what we want to specialise in. I still haven’t quite figured out where I want to be in the industry. I’m leaning towards being an environmental artist just cause levels are cool. But we’ll see how developing an environment for my FMP will sway my decision. 

Documentation FMP dry-run

Brief A cover based game released for current gen gaming platforms; Xbox 360, PS3 & PC. I will be using Cryengine 3 to develop this level. Mainly due to its lighting capabilities and I would like experience working with alternate game engine.

As this is a stealth based game set during the eveing/night, use of lighting has to be sufficient in order to present a tactical side. Strategically placed areas of light and dark, keeping a balance between areas where the player can be concealed in darkness and exposed in light.  

This game appeals to anyone who is a fan of the splinter cell games, particualary chaos theory, appealing to players who enjoy stealthy gameplay.

I will need to explore ways of creating convincing water also, making sure its looks realistic.

Setting Staring on one end of the shipping yard, the player has to transverse the environment proceeding along the train tracks up on to a freighter, on which they have to make their way down into the engine bay to sabotage the engines.

Most of the basic environment will be made from tilesets so the level can be modularly put together saving time. All pieces will be 256x256 with a variety of texture including; concrete, gravel and tarmac. 

I will look at photography from existing shipping yards to get an idea for good composition of the level 

Environment & Props The Initial view of the level will be seemingly large and open, but the play space will be restricted by various assets. As shipping ports are usually cluttered with cargo containers, I can use these to my advantage as barriers on the edge of the map. The tri count should be relatively small on these assets (its just a box) but a larger 1024x1024 texture sheet may be needed as this asset will feature a lot in the level. Texture space can however be saved by adjusting the colour in the editor rather than having a whole new texture sheet.

Along the length of the freighter will be huge cranes dominating the environment. This will be a hero asset - high budget tri count built on a 2048x2048 texture sheet. There will be a lot of space in the middle of these cranes, to make use of this there will be a railway running underneath, with various train locomotives and carts. The tracks will also be modular so they can be placed and run anywhere through the level.  

Smaller assets will include standard, barrels, spare ship parts, land anchors, tyres, etc

Vehicle - The freighter ship, will placed as a static object next to the harbor. The hull, rails, cabins quarters and anything basic on the ship will be modelled as one piece. But some pieces like containers etc will be made separately so they can be placed anywhere. The ship will be large but the players path will be restricted so not that much of it can be explored. The player will see some of the deck but will decend a staircase down into the bowls to the engine room.  

Creativity – The Talent myth and craft

Creativity, what is it ? Where does it come from ? Psychologically, we’re all born with the potential to be creative, but some are just better at it than others, why ? 

Creativity is all around us, everywhere we look. Coffee mugs, lampshades etc. Have all been through a thought out process to get where they are now as we see them. Creativity is needed to make the idea unique and thus successful.   Specially in the video games industry, there is no point releasing the same thing over and over again, because people will just get bored…

Kinda makes me wonder why people are still buying  Call of Duty games.

The need to be creative is something we use every day, with family, friends or at work etc. But what is creativity, I suppose a good definition would be, a process in which a person ‘creates’ something new which has value and/or meaning to others. A solution, artwork… life ?  

We basically rely on existing bodies of knowledge to apply an appropriate solution to a problem, the more fluent, flexible and original ideas that are imagineered, the more creative that person is considered to be.

But can creativity just be based on problem solving, is there a right or wrong answer ? Do we really have to rely on knowledge to be able to be creative.

‘Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes, the art is know which ones to keep’ – Scott Adams

You could call an artist’s painting one big mistake, layers and layers or brush strokes over one another, kept only by artistic judgment; freedom is presented without the need to be exact. Looking at work by Egon Shiela, he expresses the human form with such elongated characteristics, it’s not strictly speaking correct ! But it is still a work of art, a spark of creativity; His own interpretation of the human figure.  

This is where craft comes into the equation, the ability to express an idea. You might have possibly come up with the perfect song in your head, but don’t physically have the right skills to express it.

My friend for instance, is great at improvising solos on the guitar, instinctively knows what note to hit next, when and for how long. I’m absolutely useless at this so I tend to take the approach of trial by error until it sounds good

Anyway, craft is a skill, which can be taught and developed. Some people could be considered naturally good at painting ‘oh he’s got an eye for it ‘ but generally the more you do something, the easier it becomes to learn, and repeat.

Being creative has two sides to it which doesn’t work without one another. First off all you need the initial idea, this might be great but useless you have the skills to express it, little is going to be achieved.

Whilst you can broaden your mind, Imagineering ideas is something which comes naturally to us. Unlike craft (which can also come naturally) but can also be developed.

Interaction in Games

So companies are always trying to find new ways to involve the player within the game, allowing them to be more interactive in the whole experience.

The most recent idea is motion control, but to be honest, I think this is a bit of a gimmick. Yeah the PS2 tried it with eye toy, then Wii made a whole console based around moving with your body to control the game. But even Nintendo is passed that now and have moved on to new things (Wii U) while Microsoft and Sony are still playing catch up with Move and Kinect. 

Nintendo’s new console the Wii U, features a touchscreen key pad which can supplement or replicate the television. If you’re a fan of golf (I hate golf) you’d have the course on the television, the controller on the ground showing the golf ball and you, over it taking your swing. It’s like real golf !

Playing first person shooters, you attach the controller onto a plastic weapon and use it as if you are aiming down the sights of the gun, whilst viewing the environment on the TV screen. Pretty innovative stuff if you ask me.

All this is well and good. But at the end of the day, the average gamer is most likely overweight and wants to sit on a couch, eat food and blow people’s faces off. The best interactive controllers are those where you don’t have to physically exhaust yourself to play the game.

If you want to play aircraft simulation, then you buy a joy stick, because pilots have those. If you want to play a racing game, you buy a steering wheel, because drivers have those. They also have pedals and not a go button. Basically the reason these devices are so good is because they’re like the real thing.

Just like how a controller has vibration feedback, some top end steering wheels go so far as to have force feedback. Basically the wheel will be respond with different amounts of resilience suitable for the moment. You can feel the texture of the ground, the resistance of the tyres whilst cornering and when the car is about to lose traction; adding an extra degree of realism to the experience.

As far as gaming on consoles is concerned, the current controllers are holding up well pretty well. Time ago games used to have all sorts of quirky configurations, but It seems that overtime, all the buttons merge into one control scheme almost becoming universal (depending on genre) this really helps as the moment you pick up a game, you don’t have to consult the manual for controls. Some games still however insist on having over complicated controls. Metro 2033, for example, is such a difficult game to pick up and play if you haven’t for a while…

Until games are like the Matrix where we will be able to plug ourselves into a machine and explore a different kind of reality, interaction with games only goes as far as pushing sticks or jumping around like a Wii-tard (see what I did there)

Hurry up technology !

Sound For Games

It seems these days that sound, has taken a hit in the modern games industry. As games are primarily judged upon visuals, developers put more time into cramming the most polygons on screen at once and making everything look pretty, putting sound on abit of a back seat.  But audio done well certainly pays off.

Sound Effects normally sound coming from objects that are (interactive) in the level; the firing of a gun, acceleration of a group b rally car, explosion of a grenade etc. All make the game believable. Bad Company 2 (and probably BF3, haven’t played it yet) has its sound effects down to a tee ! Possibly the greatest I’ve, heard ?

You feel like you’ve got so much power when you fire a weapon, but at the same time terrified when a grenade goes of in the room next to you, the weapons punch then echo around the map, the helicopters create thunder as they fly overhead. Such an immense experience; making this game so immersive. You feel as though you have been placed in a modern day battlefield !

I think even if the game didn’t have top class graphics or gameplay, id still buy it just because the sound is so immense ! For me, it definitely set this game apart from all the other hundreds and thousands of First Person Shooters.

Voice Acting It seems more and more games these days, which are heavily based on storytelling; employ professional actors to voice characters in their games. So much connection to the character can be created If they can portray their role correctly for the story  

Heavy rain and L.A Noire are good examples of superb voice acting. Games based by making choices based primarily on reading characters statements and expressions, yeah the voice acting has to be nailed. 

Well… the games wouldn’t really work if the actors were as dull as the mono toned drones from, lets say… oblivion. And films would be shit if all actors were as convincing as Nicholas Cage.

LA Noir also featured celebrities voices aaannd their actual faces ! Was quite amusing to bump into Alan from Two and A Half Men casually down the street.

Background Music generally encompasses the overall atmosphere of a situation. Wandering through Limbo wouldn’t be the same with the Tetris theme, it just doesn’t work ! This is what horror games have to work on to actually be scary. At the end of the day, lots of spontaneous quick time events doesn’t make a game scary, it just makes it jumpy. The fear is created from the unknown and anticipation of events.

 the top AAA titles often employ professional composers and orchestras to accompany the moments creating in game moments. The sound track can become so memorable and popular they actually get released and you can actually buy them !

Just another way to make money though I suppose.