Dreams

Having recently spent 5 months at home, my perspective on the future has rather radically changed. When Year 1 ended, I was riding the crest of University and consequently couldn't see the bigger picture. Looking back I'm not sure what I thought, however that's partially the problem. It took the down time for me to realise life goes on, no matter what you do. This much I already knew, but it sunk a little deeper over the summer. Next year marks the advent of my last summer - by which I mean that after Year 3 I should be working full time. It's not the biggest revelation reading it back but it was at the time.

I found myself asking ‘What does it mean to be an artist? It seems as if all my life I've had an unreachable goal. When I first fell in love with drawing I never thought I’d be an artist. When I got good at it I never thought I could be a game artist. Finally, when I wanted to be a concept artist, it seemed an even more unlikely possibility.

Who am I kidding? I will never be the artist I want to be. That's the first step. Why? It’s because the artist I aspire to be is based on the idealization of other concept artist’s work. Try as I might, my fine art background will not budge. This isn’t the worst thing that could happen, but seeing as I desire to be more conceptual it's not very helpful. I almost think I should stop looking at other people’s art because it's so different to mine. As proud as I am of the work I produce I can't help but be unhappy with it on some level.

So I probably won't be a concept artist. But I'll be an artist. My philosophy has always been to be the best artist you can be. That's pretty much all there is to it. There is a lot of talk about how to get into this industry and whilst it’s not unhelpful, all it boils down to is being a good artist. If you are an artist, you will see how an artist sees and learn and snowball as they do. To be immersed in colour, to recognise perspective, and to observe anatomy. To live and breathe art is to truly be an artist. I wonder how many people who call themselves artists actually are. I sometimes wonder if I can even consider myself an artist. Am I as passionate about art as I should be?

I would have loved to have lived when the masters did; I envy them, to be so close visually to this world. To get up every day at dawn and sit and draw the ever changing colour. Sod the money and the luxury, I'd give it all up to go live in the country and paint every day. As long as I've got enough food to live, I'd be happy.

That's the somewhat ridiculous dream. You never know, it might happen. But it most likely won’t.

The more achievable dream is to work for Naughty Dog or Santa Monica Studios. They are the makers of Uncharted 2 and God of war 3 respectively. Those teams are true artists. Seriously breathtaking work.

I've recently succumbed to 3D. Del made a good point when he wrote, “if you don't like 3D then that's probably because you are shit at it.” That hit home. I mean if I was proficient at it, I still doubt I would enjoy the outcome anywhere near as much as a 2D image but nonetheless I wouldn't dislike it as I do now. At the end of the day if I end up as a 3D artist that's not where I want to be. But to put it in perspective, would I rather be working at Tesco? Obviously the answer is no. So 3D wouldn't be the worst job. I've barely invested any time in it, though I'm competent enough. Therefore my goal for this year is to invest some serious time. Modelling is the same as it would be in real life just with that infernal program in the way. Just need to learn it inside out and let the artist within do the rest. Already this week the treasure chest model seemed to come out of nowhere and I haven't done any 3D since last year so I was surprised that I remembered everything.

In terms of concept art it’s pretty simple. Keep hammering away at the fundamentals and apply it all to this process -> http://www.adamnichols.net/tutorials/concept-art-process-101.php?id=8

One day.

The Course

So at then end of the first year, what do i think about the course? It's pretty much exactly what i had expected and if anything a little better. I very much enjoy the visual design part and that, first and foremost is why I'm here. The game production side of things is actually more fun than i imagined it would be. I've clearly got better since day one. My only concern with the 'balance' of 2D and 3D in the next 2 years is that it seems to shift more to the 3D. This may be just because 2nd/3rd years are personally going in that direction, or it may not.

I would like to actively pursue the conceptual art side of things as the course progresses. Don't get me wrong i intend to keep improving my 3D but i will never consider myself a 3D artist and never wish to be employed purely as one. I don't mind doing 3D work as a supplement to my 2D, to help visualise and conceptualise it. However making assets is not really my thing. That is probably why I'd rather end up in the film industry rather than game.

All things considered i still consider this course to provide the opportunity to best learn a wide range of skills that i wish to acquire.

I quite like the short deadlines as personally this actually helps me keep on top of things. It provides a sense of urgency as opposed to producing a 'it hasn't got to be in for ages' attitude. I'm pretty sure I've hit almost every weekly deadline which has enabled to me to not be working during the holidays and to pursue my own studies. Hopefully i will be able to keep that up in the second year. Although from the looks of things it only gets more intense. I guess that's what i should use the 5 month break for; practise, practise, practise!

Move

My topic of choice concerning the GDC is going to have to be the Playstation Move controller. Prior to seeing the Sony conference i had no interest in the Move and didn't even know what it was. However after witnessing what can only be described as the most blatent rip off ever in the form of a wii-mote with a lightbulb jammed on the end i have to say something about it.

Fistly you'd think that Sony would at least try to be innovative. Microsoft have come up with Natal which although questionable in terms of how well it will work at least is a venture into the relatively unknown. It could be argued that Natal is inspired by the eye toy and it probably is, but the general ethos behind it is rather different, the idea being that Natal is a full means of control.

The Playstation move controller is basically a better version of the wii controller. This is assuming their discourse about the peripheral is not an exaggeration. If this is true the playstation then essentially is the Wii mark 2.

Lets assume the Playstation move controller is a better, more accurate version of the Wii controller. The wii now becomes completely obsolete. Playstation uses blu ray disks for a start so developers can put two control systems in a game if they want to test the waters. The PS3 has hi definition graphics which the wii most certainly does not and not to mention better games.

I'm not particularly a fan of Playstation myself, not since the PS2 anway. I thought Sony royally screwed up with the PS3 but at long last it's beginning to all fall into place. My dad recently bought a PS3 and as a long time 360 owner i have to say Sony has won me over at last.

It shall be EXTREMELY interesting to see what Nintendo do next. They basically have to up their game and do something to combat the onslaught of Move and Natal. It is a shame that Nintendo kickstarted the motion gaming revolution yet are on the verge of being ousted, but thats business i guess.

One other thing i found hilarious was Sony's attempt to justify their epic steal by stating that they've been in the motion sensing game for ages and playing around with the technology eg. the eyetoy. That still doesn't disguise the fact it's a complete rip off of the wii. Even the ad campain has taken the family dynamic theme.

Apparently Sony also has some other stuff up it's sleeve for E3, watch this space...

A Moment of Reflection

3 Years sounds like a long time, but it really isn't. My own personal reason for being at University simply was an excuse to study art for 3 years. Everything I've done whilst here I could have done at home, except in the real world I'd need a job and wouldn't be able to devote the vast amount of time that I currently do to art. The other bonus to being here is being part of the class which goes a long way in motivating me. If I were at home on my own I can’t say I’d be as motivated but seeing all the great work everyone else produces inspires me to better my own work.

Looking back, my original goals in coming to University were simply to work work work. The plan was to study art day and night, and now with the majority of the first year behind me I can safely say that is what I’ve done. I think my progress has mainly been theoretical though this year. My work has remained pretty consistent since day one, in fact I’d say my best work was in the first 3 weeks simply because it was more fine art oriented. I have spent the year loosening up and learning different ways of working and visualising things, and while the quality of my work has remained the same, i have gotten a lot faster at working. I’m probably still slower than the majority of people but I’ve taken at least a third off the time it takes me to do a piece of work.

The one area I’m really proud of my improvement in is life drawing. Before this course I’d only ever done it once and the results were pretty poor. But after 3 sessions I’m pretty happy with my life drawing outcomes as final pieces. I generally finish in time and am really happy with the rendering. Don’t really know where to go with them from here on out, aside from speeding up I guess and putting more detail in the face. I think that my anatomy studies in my gap year combined with my new faster looser style combine in life drawing to good effect. The few hours in life drawing each week is when I’m at my best.

It’s strange, although I am satisfied with all the work I produce, I will always feel that there is a massive void between where I am and where I want to be. To that end I try not to think about the future too much. I think about it in terms of goals and I know where I want to go, for example I’d like to end up in the film industry if possible and one day teach art, but on a day to day basis my only goal is simply to be the best artist I can be. So whatever I’m working on needs to have 300% effort gone into it. Unfortunately for me, a lot of work so far has had to be finished before I really feel it’s finished in my mind, but deadlines must be met and I like to think I have a good balance between bringing things up to a presentable standard and what I call finished.

Ultimately there’s not much more that I can do than I am doing, so I resolve myself to keeping up the hard work and hope that one day I’ll be happy with my work.

What People Want

Doing some reading about the game industry and what employers are looking for I have come to the conclusion that the three most important things are talent, passion and personality.
To that end I think that the best institutions for students are the ones that provide a solid foundation of the traditional arts whilst encouraging personal development. In my eyes personal development impacts peoples art and generally how they apply themselves. An interesting person who is thoughtful and curious about the world will probably apply themselves more than someone who is just going through the motions and moving through the system.

This is important while studying to get the most of one's time in education. Having said that general drive seems to be heavily sought after in the industry. Just about any article you read about the review process states that applicants should be passionate about games and what they do.

It's also desirable if the applicants actively learn and expand their knowledge in their own time as this stands them in good stead to evolve and move with the industry. Encouraging this at an educational level not only improves overall work but leads to effective problem solving.

When it comes to highly trained art graduates or liberal arts graduates i don’t see why there should be any general preference over one or the other. Surely there are a number of different positions where one or the other would be more suitable and it’s more of a case that graduates are not applying for the right jobs to suit their skills. Then again perhaps it’s a case of people not choosing the right education to meet their future goals.

Game Related Noise

I remember the days when game soundtracks used MIDI files. Even that was pretty advanced compared to the minimal tones used in earlier games. Personally it is the MIDI tunes I always associate with the genre of 'Game Music.'

Games like Zelda and Final Fantasy were only enhanced by these poly tonal soundtracks. Because the music was different than that of whatever was playing in the charts at the time I think it served to remind you that you were playing a game. It was great because in playing games you got to listen to different music. Even though those days are behind us, I love listening to some of the old MIDI tracks because although players might not be intently listening at the time, I defy anyone to listen to MIDI tunes from games they played as kids and not instantly be taken back in their head to that game. I can still hear FF7 tunes and instantly see the game in my head.

Sound these days is vastly more sophisticated and is used to enhance the gaming experience much like it is used in films. Composers can now work exclusively for games, and create pieces of music which serve to enhance the mood, or increase the tension. Some character driven games have different pieces of music associated with each character and might have certain tunes play whenever said character makes an appearance. Sephiroth's theme from FF7 was even extended into a revamped version for the Advent Children film. Other games have certain music associated with them to enhance their identity. Halo made good use of this with an impressive orchestral score. Personally the FFX theme tune is one of the most beautiful melodies I've heard in a game.

In all my time playing games I think I can probably say that the most effective use I've ever experienced of a games soundtrack really enhancing the game, would be the Resident Evil series. Resident evil 1, 2 and 3 had the perfect accompanying sounds. The subtle music gently in the background, the soft shuffle of a zombie's feet when you entered a room, the silence followed by the turning of a door handle. Considering they came out in the PS1 days I think the developer really utilised the game sounds and score perfectly to enhance the experience. It was so well thought out I don't think it could have been done any better. The slow click click of an unseen licker in Resident Evil 2 is one of those gaming memories that will always stay with me.

Game Engines

Game engines are the underlying code structure which make a game work. These can be split into different components, such as rendering, physics, scripting, animation and AI to name a few. It is not uncommon for these to be reused seeing as their primary use in being developed is to speed up the process of creating games. This can be of particular use when developing a sequel to a game, having said that, some sequels prompt new engines to be built, or example half-life 2 uses a completely different engine to half-life 1. The original half life was built with a modified version of the Quake engine, whereas Half-life 2 was built from the ground up using the 'Source' engine. Valve have now actually remade the original half-life with the 'Source'. This remake however was a straight port, even reusing the original textures and models from the first game. Many fans felt that it didn't utilise the Source engine to it's full potential and as such there is now a third party remake in the works. This remake is called Black Mesa and is built from scratch to take full advantage of Source.

When working with 3D engines and level editing, designers have two methods at their disposal depending on which the engine supports. It will either use an additive or subtractive method of level creation.

With additive, there is an empty void and the designer must first create a hollow cube to break the player off from the world (the world being everything the player can see in the game) Inside this cube, parts can then be added to the world.

In the subtractive method, there is only an infinite solid to begin with and the level designer must then subtract and empty space from it.

In general, the subtractive method is becoming slightly obsolete. However, if you are making a solely indoor environment then it might be more practical than additive which is better suited to outdoor environments.

As you can see game engines, and the decisions that go into creating them is no simple task. As such many games companies may choose to licence a pre-existing game engine from another company. Though this is costly, it is rather time consuming as much of the ground work is already done. Once licensed they are then free to start creating their game or perhaps modifying the engine to suit their specific needs. In terms of the company who owns the engine, it can be a helpful source of revenue and thus adds to the appeal of developing your own engine. If the resources and time are available then not only can you create an engine specifically tailored to the game you wish to make but it's also good business.

With next generation technology, game engines continue to get more and more complex and in actual fact are some of the most complicated software currently written. Game engines bring many different components together and are sometimes termed middleware simply because of the ability to mix and match many specific game engine components like renderers or physics engines such as Havok. It's in the continued interest of developers to use engines in this way as everyone can benefit from developments in the gaming world this way.

In future, i imagine they can only get more and more complex, perhaps even with new components as next generation hardware/software attempts to break new ground!