Term's over. Time for an update.

Been pretty busy with the end of the term but I wanted to find the time to update this blog. Looks like I will be working at two campuses for this upcoming term, so things will get even busier. This term, I had a lot of students turn in some pretty good work. There is a LONG way to go with most of it, but it's nice to see the level of progress being made.

A few weeks back Westwood hosted a Game Legends event in Anaheim. Here is a website with a short clip.

I was late getting there but it started late so apparently I didn't miss much. Below I am pasting the notes I scribbled in my sketchbook:

Westwood Game Art Legends

Q and A / Talking Points

- Help insure the games success by creating buzz about game’s development. This buzz will aid in marketing and create hype for release.
- Games are expensive to make / have high risk factor and the failure rate is high.
- There is no secondary market for games and their shelf life can be very short.
- Experiment with gameplay on multiplatform environments. I-phone SDK is popular. Flash games and web based games are more casual and versatile.
- Focus on ENTERTAINMENT. Fun is always most marketable trait.
- There must be good synergy between creative side and promotional / advertising side of studio.
- Engaging gameplay is NECESSARY but story CAN be secondary. One reason story takes a backseat to gameplay is because gamers don’t usually write very well (LOL)
- Create interesting gameplay by joining SMALL teams of creators making online games (Kongregate.com – in search of “the awesome”)
- Be prepared with design document for game but think about novel approaches. One designer was hired because he brought in board games / dice and PAPER models over the typical boring design doc.
- POKER is the perfect game. It is portable, multiplayer and has “emergent gameplay”. Emergent gameplay is the creative use of a game in ways unexpected by the game designer's original intent. It commonly appears as complex behaviors that emerge from the interaction of simple game mechanisms.
- Website is new calling card for work. Far more important than interview and should be first glimpse of demo reel work. Website should draw audience to artist’s work.
- To make addictive gameplay one must invent a NEED within the game. Simple and elegant gameplay can be most addictive.
- Attend conferences like GDC and DICE
- Perfect employee should be able to learn on the job as well as teach.
- Flash also makes a perfect platform for quickly prototyping games. Multiple iterations of game for testing is key to development.
- Because of rampant game piracy, the model for gaming in Japan is a “pay as you go / pay to play” model. By contrast, games in Europe and the US have a longer shelf life. More games are trying the pay as you play model in order to allow players to BUY power ups or equipment online which would not otherwise be found in the game.
- UNITY technology / games for import / multiplatform.

Chester the cheetos eating . . . goldfish.

Today was only the second day I have ever taught Photoshop and I really love it. I have been teaching mid-high end 3d classes so long I forgot how much fun it was to just play around in photoshop. Tonight I had the class create a hybrid animal / frankenpet inspired by a Worth1000.com challenge. Here is "Chester", whom I created as a class demo from two random flickr pics. My apologies to the original photographers.

Steampunk challenge extended one week.

It has been extended a week!! Though I am nowhere near completion. At least this gives me hope.


Here is a mockup with the 3d I have made composited in. The photos aren't mine and are really just serving as reference for a background I wish to model.

steampunk progress

It doesn't look like I am going to get this steampunk challenge done in time for the deadline of Jan 12th.

Here is the progress I have so far but really it is just a start. It is my hope I will at least finish it for my demo reel. (Sigh) . . . A new term is starting up and really I just wish I could hit the pause button on my life. Personal issues are making it hard to concentrate on school or anything else for that matter.

Links and pics

Wanted to plug my friend Joel Davis's article:
Better Programmer Art
(or how to fake it as a game artist)

REALLY good tips on game art here for artist's and programmers alike.

Also wanted to mention Alchemy since it is my new favorite drawing program. This program is great for making loose concept sketches as well as abstract doodles as well as good old illustration.
Here are some examples of what I mean from their forum

Modeling done

Haven't unwrapped the UVs yet. Playing around with image based lighting and the skylight in 3dstudio max. Messed around with it in post (photoshop)

Update.

Minor update. The modeling is almost done.