So I've come to the end of the second year and I've learnt a lot as I've gone through it. When I started out I wrote about how I had no idea of where I was going and wondered where this year would take me. I found that getting into the swing of things and trying to push myself and improve my work was quite hard. It relied on me motivating myself and finding out why I wanted to be a game artist and why I was even here doing what I was doing.
It wasn't really to the second semester when everything started to come together. I think this was down to the group project we were assigned and made me realise what a real game artist does and what I would have to do in order to get where I wanted to. It made me evaluate where I was at and the skills I had and how they could be improved upon to give me the best tailor made portfolio for the companies I would want to apply for.
I know that I still have some way to go before I can go knocking on the doors of the games industry; but over the summer I plan to start really practising the tools and techniques further in order better my work flow and help in creating some real pieces that contend with the thousands of others competing for the few places up for grabs.
I'm also going to look a the processes of other leading artists more closely and try as hard as possible to build their work flow into mine to hopefully increase the quantity of work I put out as well as the quality. The main focus is really being committed to the deadlines and projects I set myself and also making sure I complete them as any other piece and see it not as work to be taken at a gentle pace but keep churning it out and making it look better till I could say I think it's getting to industry standard and would be proud to put into my portfolio and show it off to all the lead artists throughout the games industry.
Well I know what I have to do so enough talking about it on here, I guess I should go on and do some actual work before I fall any more behind everyone else out there!
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Saturday, 2 April 2011
From generalist to specialist...
So its been a while since i last posted which I'm sorry about but thank the group project I was Team Leader on for that! Though whilst we are on that subject, I have to just say how much it has made me grow as Game Artist which I can actually say now and mean. I was given the responsibility of leading the team, reluctantly I might add, but have found out something interesting about myself. Apparently I have somehow manage to acquire some sort of leadership qualities along the way and have found I really enjoyed it.
The fact I looked at this blog and found I was writing about something that I had previously perceived to be an impossible task, has now become something very straight forward and natural. Throughout the group project I have found that I started to really find what I wanted to do and enjoy.
The project was about creating a survival horror level environment and we thats what we did, and in my opinion we succeeded in pulling off an impressive and fun to explore level. It really drove me to want to create environments and generate the world in which the player can move and run around in. The project also made me want to explore the option of looking into perhaps managing a team or working in area like that.
I've quickly realised from the working environment we were put in and put ourselves in, that working in a team of hard working and driven people as well as specialising really helps in creating a piece of art/ work really possible and more importantly rewarding.
My reward was learning more about me and where I want to head off to and gaining the skills and determination to get me there and hopefully making me a great asset to the games industry.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
Interaction Design
Right interactivity has been a major driving force in pumping out more add ons for consoles and becoming the consoles themselves like the wii for example. However, consoles have also become not only a way to play games in new ways but also simulate the real thing. The gadget show did a great episode looking into games and if the add ons and peripherals could really help you in becoming a Martial arts fighter or pilot. Check it out its very interesting to see the results
http://www.five.tv/shows/the-gadget-show/episodes/episode-14-3
The physical interaction with controllers has been something that has always pissed me off, like i need to buy extra crap to make some stupid animated monkey dance on screen where I have to then clear it up after it has made mess all over itself through joyess amounts of fun its had after watching me dance round like a epileptic dog on crack and i'm meant to find this entertaining even though in real life no one wants to clean up someone elses mess or be tired out even more from the soul sucking and boring life of the everyday office job drudgery. I tend to put games down straight away if the controls are in any way awkward or messy or both and get frustrated when simple tried and tested control systems aren't implemented that would make the game run smoother and actually make it slightly enjoyable.
Now, I don't have small japanese hands so the PS3 controller makes me incredibly angry and want to throw it out my window, where as the ergonomically designed 360 controller sits in my hand as if I evolved to have a joypad in my hands from birth. Oh and not to souund like i'm whining about all the peripherals I have to find new places to store them in, but whose genious idea was it not to have the Wii remote come wiothout the knunchuk attachment and the strap already put on to avoid morons from throwing it at their TV through them waving around frantically to try and gain more points!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxqCoJpFac
Well I must admit to playing singstar, lips and just dance and next on my list for the 360 Kinect dance central and they are fun. Though Just Dance gave me a real work out, no i'm being serious I mean i'm pretty fit but that put me through some sort of real dance studio exercise I woke up the next day with muscles aching that I didn't even know I had! I can see how these new healthy games are meant to make you fit but only if you actually put more effort than it takes to raise your hand that you usually use to stuff a cheese burger or pie in your face...
I don't think we are on the verge of a major breakthough with the interactivity of games not until we start entering the worlds of films like The surrogates, and GAMER (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034032/) oh and just for the record The surrogates graphic novel is way better than the film.
Even weith the release of 3D technology games are still no where near taking that technology any further, even the best 3D films are still a little ropey here and there and its mainly just a gimmick these days to get people to buy more stuff to stop the world from ending because we aren't already paying enough to every man and his dog who are being taxed by everyone else.
Interactivity involves people getting up and being interactive themselves and with other people, not just being the bedroom gamer that xbox live and PSN have seem to push people to be. I mean am I sooooo old that I can't see that playing split screen and having friends over for Pizza and to earn bragging rights on the latest games isn't as cool as making 14 year olds with no social skills cry over the internet as you here their sobs down the microphone after repeatedly spawn killing them?
Personally I feel people are becoming too dependant on living life through a tv screen and wondering what things really feel like rather than going out and doing them for real and not for more achievement points or trophies. I mean whats more fun going bowling with mates and wearing those ridiculous clown shoes watching people fall over down the alleys or sitting at home waving a stupid white stick at a tv which tells you, your an idiot be better at waving the white stick!
I leave it to you....
http://www.five.tv/shows/the-gadget-show/episodes/episode-14-3
The physical interaction with controllers has been something that has always pissed me off, like i need to buy extra crap to make some stupid animated monkey dance on screen where I have to then clear it up after it has made mess all over itself through joyess amounts of fun its had after watching me dance round like a epileptic dog on crack and i'm meant to find this entertaining even though in real life no one wants to clean up someone elses mess or be tired out even more from the soul sucking and boring life of the everyday office job drudgery. I tend to put games down straight away if the controls are in any way awkward or messy or both and get frustrated when simple tried and tested control systems aren't implemented that would make the game run smoother and actually make it slightly enjoyable.
Now, I don't have small japanese hands so the PS3 controller makes me incredibly angry and want to throw it out my window, where as the ergonomically designed 360 controller sits in my hand as if I evolved to have a joypad in my hands from birth. Oh and not to souund like i'm whining about all the peripherals I have to find new places to store them in, but whose genious idea was it not to have the Wii remote come wiothout the knunchuk attachment and the strap already put on to avoid morons from throwing it at their TV through them waving around frantically to try and gain more points!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOxqCoJpFac
Well I must admit to playing singstar, lips and just dance and next on my list for the 360 Kinect dance central and they are fun. Though Just Dance gave me a real work out, no i'm being serious I mean i'm pretty fit but that put me through some sort of real dance studio exercise I woke up the next day with muscles aching that I didn't even know I had! I can see how these new healthy games are meant to make you fit but only if you actually put more effort than it takes to raise your hand that you usually use to stuff a cheese burger or pie in your face...
I don't think we are on the verge of a major breakthough with the interactivity of games not until we start entering the worlds of films like The surrogates, and GAMER (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0986263/)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034032/) oh and just for the record The surrogates graphic novel is way better than the film.
Even weith the release of 3D technology games are still no where near taking that technology any further, even the best 3D films are still a little ropey here and there and its mainly just a gimmick these days to get people to buy more stuff to stop the world from ending because we aren't already paying enough to every man and his dog who are being taxed by everyone else.
Interactivity involves people getting up and being interactive themselves and with other people, not just being the bedroom gamer that xbox live and PSN have seem to push people to be. I mean am I sooooo old that I can't see that playing split screen and having friends over for Pizza and to earn bragging rights on the latest games isn't as cool as making 14 year olds with no social skills cry over the internet as you here their sobs down the microphone after repeatedly spawn killing them?
Personally I feel people are becoming too dependant on living life through a tv screen and wondering what things really feel like rather than going out and doing them for real and not for more achievement points or trophies. I mean whats more fun going bowling with mates and wearing those ridiculous clown shoes watching people fall over down the alleys or sitting at home waving a stupid white stick at a tv which tells you, your an idiot be better at waving the white stick!
I leave it to you....
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