By the end of this course, I really hope to get a job in either games or the film industry (preferably games) and I will do whatever it takes to get there. One thing I hate is giving up and I won’t be doing that any time soon.
I deliberate what I’ve been taught and apply it to my own learning processes. When I first started using 3D Max at the beginning of the year, like many others, I hadn’t a clue what to do but then I used what I had been taught to explore the program and now I know how to use the program effectively straight from trial and error and I hope to do this with all my work in the next 2 years.
In order to get where you want to be, you have to adapt to the needs of the industry by following the key qualifications and requirements from an early stage of learning.
I am a keen person with problem solving. If a problem occurs, I think about a solution to solve it rather than leave the problem to inflate, which I do when critiquing others and my own work.
Sunday, 15 March 2009
Life Changing or Career Building?
Liberal arts colleges mould students to relate to general knowledge and develop the student’s rational thought and intellectual capabilities. To be honest, I think liberal arts colleges are there to give students common sense and logic. A degree is almost like a guide into the gaming industry, a rather useful one but you don’t necessarily need a one to obtain the qualities needed for the gaming industry. Both do provide a valid and fulfilling experience to students in their own way but I have only gained experienced from learning through a degree since I haven’t attended any liberal arts colleges.
Looking at job vacancies for game companies, in order to get the job, I discovered a key trend in the requirements. The applicant must have experience and logic. The words: ‘passion, enthusiasm, problem solving, team working and work within deadlines’ appeared in almost every job requirements.
Evan Hirsch, head of Acme Animotion Group (Hoboken, NJ), a firm specializing in providing 3D design and support for industrial design and animations states: "I want to see the basics: sketching, portfolio examples that show me how the student thinks and understands light, form, and function. I don't want to see a lot of slick computer graphics that don't show me anything; I'm after good fundamental skills."
There is no right answer for this one; in the end, it all depends on the individual applying for the job. It is down to their passionate work, motivation and drive that determine whether they qualify for the industry.
Looking at job vacancies for game companies, in order to get the job, I discovered a key trend in the requirements. The applicant must have experience and logic. The words: ‘passion, enthusiasm, problem solving, team working and work within deadlines’ appeared in almost every job requirements.
Evan Hirsch, head of Acme Animotion Group (Hoboken, NJ), a firm specializing in providing 3D design and support for industrial design and animations states: "I want to see the basics: sketching, portfolio examples that show me how the student thinks and understands light, form, and function. I don't want to see a lot of slick computer graphics that don't show me anything; I'm after good fundamental skills."
There is no right answer for this one; in the end, it all depends on the individual applying for the job. It is down to their passionate work, motivation and drive that determine whether they qualify for the industry.
Sound for Games
Nowadays, without sound, there would be no game. Well, there would, but it would be a somewhat crap game. I know there are games that are still epic when played without sound like ‘Tetris,’ but with high consumer expectations and progression of technology, sound is a very important aspect to games that determine their overall experience. 
Sound used in ‘Tekken’ makes each character unique to give them personality and background. In ‘Tekken Tag,’ the character named ‘Unknown’ has a stage soundtrack that suits her well. This character is under the control of an evil spirit in the form of a wolf and the composed music fits perfectly.
‘Unknown’ stage soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5D8ljM0Q_E
An example of a game where the sound effects and music have a lasting effect on the player is in ‘Left 4 Dead.’ As you shoot the infected in this first hand player game, you may encounter a witch and the game warns you when you are approaching her with creepy music that becomes louder as you get closer. And what really created the eerie atmosphere is the disturbing witch’s crying sound effect with the backing music. Sound is a warning of on-coming danger in this game and creates tension. If the game is played on mute your character is as good as dead.
Left 4 Dead Witch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHD8tLvoDww&feature=related
Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards composition 'Good Times' signalled the start of the take-off of hip hop music, and the song contributed to the success of the Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,’ the first-ever hip hop record. It was this same song, with Edwards’ catchy bassline that influenced Queen's John Deacon to write the hit, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ in 1980. ‘Good Times’ is a prominent recording but I can’t say if it was the most influential recording of the 20th Century since I haven’t heard enough ‘influential’ music in that time to judge.
Sound used in ‘Tekken’ makes each character unique to give them personality and background. In ‘Tekken Tag,’ the character named ‘Unknown’ has a stage soundtrack that suits her well. This character is under the control of an evil spirit in the form of a wolf and the composed music fits perfectly.
‘Unknown’ stage soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5D8ljM0Q_E
An example of a game where the sound effects and music have a lasting effect on the player is in ‘Left 4 Dead.’ As you shoot the infected in this first hand player game, you may encounter a witch and the game warns you when you are approaching her with creepy music that becomes louder as you get closer. And what really created the eerie atmosphere is the disturbing witch’s crying sound effect with the backing music. Sound is a warning of on-coming danger in this game and creates tension. If the game is played on mute your character is as good as dead.
Left 4 Dead Witch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHD8tLvoDww&feature=related
Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards composition 'Good Times' signalled the start of the take-off of hip hop music, and the song contributed to the success of the Sugarhill Gang's 'Rapper's Delight,’ the first-ever hip hop record. It was this same song, with Edwards’ catchy bassline that influenced Queen's John Deacon to write the hit, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’ in 1980. ‘Good Times’ is a prominent recording but I can’t say if it was the most influential recording of the 20th Century since I haven’t heard enough ‘influential’ music in that time to judge.
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Game Engines
Ok this is a rather tedious blog and I have no idea how to make it interesting but here it is...
A game engine is the software intended to create and develop video games. With game engines, functions such as rendering for 2D or 3D graphics and collision detection are used.
Furthermore, game engines also provide the use of: animation, sound, networking scripting, artificial intelligence and memory management all of which are needed to make the game as realistic as possible.
Additive and subtractive environments relates to the way which the 3D world in games are created. Where the player can interact with the surroundings in a game, the ‘world’ is everything which the player can see and the type of environment determines what is outside of the world.
Additive environments consist of a void, empty area. When an element is created such as a room, a space within the void is sealed off to create the area for the room. This may be a hollow cube shape. In order to create landscape with the sky, the terrain, buildings and trees are designed first then the scene is surrounded by a ‘skybox’ which is a large hollow box with the inside showing the sky. The hollow shapes must keep the void out as the world and void must be separated. A hole in the world is a “leak.”
The 3D engine ‘LithTech’ used additive environments to create ‘Alien vs. Predator.’
In a subtractive environment, there is no void. Instead, before a world is created, there is only an infinite solid. The world is created by subtracting sections from the infinite solid, thus creating hollow spaces for the player to exist in. There are less likely to be leaks in the world this way.
The additive environment is easier to manipulate so some designers may work their way around the subtractive style of editing by subtracting a large cube, for example, then creating a void in the middle of the large cube (infinite solid) then working in the middle of the (fake) void.
The 3D engine ‘The Unreal Engine’ uses subtractive environment which created ‘Unreal Tournament and Deus Ex.’
An advantage into buying proprietary technology is that it is a way of gaining more income. For example, Unreal Engine 3 has given a licensing agreement to EA games. However, the disadvantage to this is that EA plans to modify the engine and if the turnout of their games are not successful, Unreal Engine 3 may lose reputation, therefore losing the chance to licence to other gaming companies.
Next generation games now have the challenge of successfully meeting consumer demand and expectations. There has been a vast improvement in games with graphics and gameplay being very realistic, but how far can consumer anticipations go?
A game engine is the software intended to create and develop video games. With game engines, functions such as rendering for 2D or 3D graphics and collision detection are used.
Furthermore, game engines also provide the use of: animation, sound, networking scripting, artificial intelligence and memory management all of which are needed to make the game as realistic as possible.
Additive and subtractive environments relates to the way which the 3D world in games are created. Where the player can interact with the surroundings in a game, the ‘world’ is everything which the player can see and the type of environment determines what is outside of the world.
Additive environments consist of a void, empty area. When an element is created such as a room, a space within the void is sealed off to create the area for the room. This may be a hollow cube shape. In order to create landscape with the sky, the terrain, buildings and trees are designed first then the scene is surrounded by a ‘skybox’ which is a large hollow box with the inside showing the sky. The hollow shapes must keep the void out as the world and void must be separated. A hole in the world is a “leak.”
The 3D engine ‘LithTech’ used additive environments to create ‘Alien vs. Predator.’
In a subtractive environment, there is no void. Instead, before a world is created, there is only an infinite solid. The world is created by subtracting sections from the infinite solid, thus creating hollow spaces for the player to exist in. There are less likely to be leaks in the world this way.
The additive environment is easier to manipulate so some designers may work their way around the subtractive style of editing by subtracting a large cube, for example, then creating a void in the middle of the large cube (infinite solid) then working in the middle of the (fake) void.
The 3D engine ‘The Unreal Engine’ uses subtractive environment which created ‘Unreal Tournament and Deus Ex.’
An advantage into buying proprietary technology is that it is a way of gaining more income. For example, Unreal Engine 3 has given a licensing agreement to EA games. However, the disadvantage to this is that EA plans to modify the engine and if the turnout of their games are not successful, Unreal Engine 3 may lose reputation, therefore losing the chance to licence to other gaming companies.
Next generation games now have the challenge of successfully meeting consumer demand and expectations. There has been a vast improvement in games with graphics and gameplay being very realistic, but how far can consumer anticipations go?
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Gaming Cultures
I’m probably part of the competitive online gaming culture but not with games that would be played on PCs. I tend not to play games on PC due to the off-putting complexity of the functions such as ‘CTRL, ALT, SHIFT, A, Q and Z’ to accelerate (slight over exaggeration) but my point is that I play on consoles more due to it’s simplicity of functions and the fact that consoles are specifically designed for games, thus portraying a better performance of the game. Whereas computers are for documents, research etc all of which shares the memory with games.
Innovative ideas and technology allows gamers to ‘socialise’ more within gaming. The introduction to online gaming with Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 has allowed further expansion to gaming and lets the gamers communicate using headsets whilst playing. Playing online with consoles means you will always have someone (even if they’re on the other side of the world) to play with, depending on the game. This eliminates the tedious ‘single player’ mode that gets repetitive over time. You’re abilities aren’t really tested until you play a game with someone else. I’ve noticed that when you constantly play a game against the computer, you pick up what the computer’s functions do, hence predicting what may happen next, whereas with humans, you obviously can’t. For example, when playing against the console in ‘Tekken 5’, the CPU (the brains of the console) registers the moves you use against it in every round, therefore knowing when to block the same move the next time you use it.
Gaming occupies somewhat most of my free time. I normally play console games when I want to step out of this world and enter a virtual one. It’s almost like an escape from things I avoid or try to forget.
I must admit, I DID have friends I only knew through MSN, but this was when I was between the ages of 13-15 when I had no life and chatting online with complete strangers was “cool.” Now I would prefer to know who I am talking to, by which I mean they are actual physical beings who I know and have seen. Having said that, I’ll probably end up contradicting myself when I end up with a long list of friends from around the world whilst playing games on the PS3 online.
Innovative ideas and technology allows gamers to ‘socialise’ more within gaming. The introduction to online gaming with Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 has allowed further expansion to gaming and lets the gamers communicate using headsets whilst playing. Playing online with consoles means you will always have someone (even if they’re on the other side of the world) to play with, depending on the game. This eliminates the tedious ‘single player’ mode that gets repetitive over time. You’re abilities aren’t really tested until you play a game with someone else. I’ve noticed that when you constantly play a game against the computer, you pick up what the computer’s functions do, hence predicting what may happen next, whereas with humans, you obviously can’t. For example, when playing against the console in ‘Tekken 5’, the CPU (the brains of the console) registers the moves you use against it in every round, therefore knowing when to block the same move the next time you use it.
Gaming occupies somewhat most of my free time. I normally play console games when I want to step out of this world and enter a virtual one. It’s almost like an escape from things I avoid or try to forget.
I must admit, I DID have friends I only knew through MSN, but this was when I was between the ages of 13-15 when I had no life and chatting online with complete strangers was “cool.” Now I would prefer to know who I am talking to, by which I mean they are actual physical beings who I know and have seen. Having said that, I’ll probably end up contradicting myself when I end up with a long list of friends from around the world whilst playing games on the PS3 online.
The Game Industry
Like many other businesses, gaming companies are closing down due to the global economic slowdown and with people spending less; this makes the competition tough to win consumers and markets.
Nevertheless, the gaming industry continues to release games of interest to the consumers.
So what are the remaining games companies doing to avoid the closure of their business? Is there a secret to the industry’s maintained success? No. The majority of games being released are sequels and/or remakes of classics which are guaranteed the sales. The endless list includes games such as: ‘Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Resident Evil and Tekken.’ Now I know it’s logical to release a sequel if the previous game was successful and I for one can’t wait to purchase ‘Tekken 6,’ but the first game in the series was a unique and new idea to begin with and a risk worth taking. So are companies now afraid to release something completely diverse?
I remember the classic ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Golden Axe’ being simple, pixelated games but their general idea and gameplay along with addictive qualities is what made them be successful games and part of my favourite video games.
In very rare circumstances, a company may release successful new and unique games that are not taken from a movie or television programme. Although games like these gain consumer interest, they offer a low income and at the end of the day, game companies are only interested in what’s in the consumers’ wallet.
As most gaming companies are relying on sequels of games to generate masses of income, they face challenges to make their next sequels harder as gamers already know how to play them and at the same time, gain new customers. I own ‘Resistance 2,’ and I can honestly say that I did not need to play the first ‘Resistance: Fall of Man’ to get into the game and understand the storyline. I also wasn’t a fan of the ‘Resistance’ series until I played ‘Resistance 2.’
This challenge may impact the industry in the future by consumer’s wanting games that are better than their sequels. Unfortunately, at this point, re-releasing games and sequels over and over again may not be enough to win the market, so companies will have to result in releasing fresh, unique, never before seen games that consumers will want and need. Good luck!
Nevertheless, the gaming industry continues to release games of interest to the consumers.
So what are the remaining games companies doing to avoid the closure of their business? Is there a secret to the industry’s maintained success? No. The majority of games being released are sequels and/or remakes of classics which are guaranteed the sales. The endless list includes games such as: ‘Street Fighter, Golden Axe, Resident Evil and Tekken.’ Now I know it’s logical to release a sequel if the previous game was successful and I for one can’t wait to purchase ‘Tekken 6,’ but the first game in the series was a unique and new idea to begin with and a risk worth taking. So are companies now afraid to release something completely diverse?
I remember the classic ‘Street Fighter’ and ‘Golden Axe’ being simple, pixelated games but their general idea and gameplay along with addictive qualities is what made them be successful games and part of my favourite video games.In very rare circumstances, a company may release successful new and unique games that are not taken from a movie or television programme. Although games like these gain consumer interest, they offer a low income and at the end of the day, game companies are only interested in what’s in the consumers’ wallet.
As most gaming companies are relying on sequels of games to generate masses of income, they face challenges to make their next sequels harder as gamers already know how to play them and at the same time, gain new customers. I own ‘Resistance 2,’ and I can honestly say that I did not need to play the first ‘Resistance: Fall of Man’ to get into the game and understand the storyline. I also wasn’t a fan of the ‘Resistance’ series until I played ‘Resistance 2.’
This challenge may impact the industry in the future by consumer’s wanting games that are better than their sequels. Unfortunately, at this point, re-releasing games and sequels over and over again may not be enough to win the market, so companies will have to result in releasing fresh, unique, never before seen games that consumers will want and need. Good luck!
Thursday, 5 February 2009
An Unforgettable Purchase!
I’ve just purchased the Playstation 3 (a rather wise choice) and I have no doubts about this epic invention! As soon as I set it up and played the first game on it, I was hooked and within minutes, it was connected to the internet (efficient or what!).The console came with two games as part of the bundle, ‘Mirrors Edge’ and ‘Resistance 2.’ I started to play ‘Mirrors Edge’ first, but the game was slightly disappointing as it didn’t uphold my interest and attention. Don’t get me wrong, the graphics were amazing, but this game wasn’t my cup of tea as it is a slow paced game to begin with, not sure if it becomes more action-packed later as I haven’t played that far into the game.
After about 30 minutes of ‘Mirrors Edge,’ I decided to give ‘Resistance 2’ by Insomniac Games a go, and what a game it is! I don’t own the previous ‘Resistance: Fall of Man’ game, but I am seriously considering it. I just love how ‘Resistance 2’ doesn’t have a long tedious introduction. Right from the start, the game places you in the middle of action and destruction, instantly absorbing you in the game. The aliens/monsters definitely have a lasting effect on the player with their gruesome characteristics and unexpected appearances during gameplay.
What I especially like about this game are that the surroundings and scenes during gameplay are not just narrow, predictable corridors like most first hand player games. Instead, playing ‘Resistance 2’ it is like stepping into an open world of destruction with the player in the centre of it. The graphics are equally amazing in both video sequences and during gameplay. One aspect from the graphics that stood out was the perfect realism of the water.
With ‘Resistance 2,’ Insomniac Games definitely know how to maintain current customers and at the same time, reel-in new ones.
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