Specialist or Generalist

Once, games were produced with one or two people doing every job. In the very beginning games were purely code produced by a single programmer. As it’s grown and matured alongside the technology that supports it, the game industry has diversified in roles and as game sizes grow so too do the size of the studios and teams that produce them. Recently companies outsource their work as well as using their own employees. The industry is now a fast-moving multi-billion dollar industry that has risen from a niche industry in focused markets to a mainstream industry that took 25.1 billion in 2010, in the United states alone.

After several guest lectures from the industry over the course of the last two years we’ve contemplated our future roles and jobs in the future and one of the most prevalent questions we’ve been asking is it better to be a generalist or a specialist? Better to excel at one chosen field or be capable at many or all? After the uncertainties of the industry it would certainly seem better to be a jack of all trades; able to turn your hand to anything a company may ask of you and if you intend to become a freelancer in the field then that adaptability will serve you very well.

Now I personally have always preferred to have a healthy mix of the two, sometimes called a T shaped person with a core skill and experience in others. I’m confident enough in my skills to count certain things amongst my specialities whilst having the confidence in my ability to attempt things I would not consider to be my strong points. I am not afraid to go where my skills are lacking to improve them. A prime example of this being my choice for the final major project; Of all of last year’s projects the foliage and tree projects were my least favourite, and possibly my least successful. This year however I’ve chosen to take this and turn it around and my final major project is hopefully to be a garden.

This game art course has given us the opportunity to try a wide range of skills and build our talents in each. But rather than the skills themselves the greatest thing I have learnt in this course in my opinion is the ability to react quickly, learning as I go to build skills. At the start of this course I could not have imagined the things I’ve produced but the steep learning curve has served me well.

In order to work in the industry successfully now, I’m of the belief that unless someone is of incredible talent, the talent of being able to turn your hand to whatever is handed to you is a far more valuable skill than the ability to create one set of objects spectacularly. In terms of employability the diverse nature of skills will allow you to apply and take on many different jobs and fill many positions within those jobs.

Interaction Design

Interaction Design

Last year Microsoft released the Xbox one. It’s ergonomic controller, motion tracking and voice recognition technology make it a very different beast to the earliest of it’s forefathers. I live in the age when the oculus rift is looking like it’s going to make virtual reality the next big thing, where technology is an ever present part of work, play and practically every other aspect of life besides; though the word Technology makes most people think of an entertainment product, technology is saving our lives and making everyday life so much easier for so many people.

Now that half the world interacts with a computer on a daily basis, some for many hours a day, the way people interact with technology and the ease they are able to do it is a huge part of development. Though there may be some stumbling points (I personally cannot stand how I’m supposed to interact with the windows 8) millions of pounds are spend developing accessible and innovative solutions to interaction.

In the beginning game consoles were blocky and simple and their controls were minimal – the very first home console, the Magnavox Odyssey had an analogue controller with dials used to position the cursor in the vertical and horizontal axis. And though it was a time until things like motion sensors and voice would be included even this earliest console had different interactable features – a golf club and ball attachment and the first ‘light gun’ style controller for a shooting gallery game.

Consoles like the Atari 2600 brought the joystick from the arcade into the home and though games consoles are mostly content to stay in their handheld controller comfort zone over the years the controllers have become more ergonomic; research and development have gone into making them easy to use and comfortable to hold. Consoles like the Nintendo 64 and gamecube began using the ‘handlebar’ style controllers that are still in use today.

Several notable exceptions have emerged mostly moving into motion sensor technology. The Nintendo Wii or Wii U and the Kinect on Xbox were preceded by the playstation move. At first slightly gimmicky they’ve become a firm area of video game with unique titles made with the technology in mind. Though there are some purists who prefer to exclude the Wii from the list of ‘proper’ gaming consoles but there’s no mistaking popular opinion and the Wii is the third most popular home console of all time.

Video games consoles not only interact with us, but also facilitate interaction between us; the Sega Net Work System for the Sega Mega Drive was the first console to include a network connection to download games (though the game had to be re-downloaded each time) and connect and play with other players by using a Megamodem (A modem with a speed of 1600 to 2400 bit/s) This was a service only available in Japan but the Sega Channel was released in North America and provided a similar service.

Online multiplayer is now a standard feature on most consoles and games and rather than requiring a monthly subscription cost usually only requires the owner to have an internet connection. People are connecting and competing against others all around the world.

Sounds for Games

Music effects the way people learn as a motivator music has been in the forefront of social change. Both influencing and also being influenced by society.

 

Nowadays it’s easy to forget the social implications and the power of music – available as it is at the click of a link on the internet, but as one of the earliest forms of entertainment, storytelling and plays a vital part in society, facilitating communication.

 

In music, arguably the most influential track is ‘Good Times’ composed by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards – one of the most sampled tracks of all time, sampled by bands and performers from Queen to Justin Timberlake. It set president for copyright and crediting composers. Though it might not be the first song people think of it’s inspired or enabled the creation of many others, making it one of the more influential songs written.

 

It’s power to incite emotion has been used in every genre from the stage to the screen and very often it is the soundtrack that makes or breaks a scene or film. Though this property is often overlooked due to the subtle nature of it’s effect, music has the power to sooth or terrify and a talented composer can do with a tune what chapter upon chapter of prose is needed to achieve.

 

Sound has become an indispensible part of video games though the first video games on consoles like the Magnavox Odeyssey were completely silent (Pong’s sonar beep being regarded as the first ever game sound effect) before games like Space invaders used simple, repetitive rhythms that sped up as the enemy neared to generate suspense and panic.

 

Journey escape was possibly the first to contain actual music, with its digitized versions of Journey songs. And Tetris’ repetitive soundtrack becomes one of the most recognisable original pieces of music produced for the video game industry. From then on, music became a firmly established part of the music industry, through Zelda, Final Fantasy and mega man.

 

The release of the Nintendo 64 meant that games began to rely on the CPU to generate sound and music and new genres of games such as survival horror took full advantage to create atmosphere using music and sound effects.

 

From then on games like Dance Dance Revolution, based solely on music led the way to cement Music as a vital part of any game.

 

Games have grown in sophistication and the technology has grown to house it, games now contain scores of music that would rival other media such as films. As in these media, sound is used to build and enhance mood, atmosphere, ambience and tension. Many successful game franchises have distinctive themes and background music that not only enhances the game experience but are so distinctive that they become synonymous with the franchise itself.  

 

Horror games such as Amnesia use music and sound to create feelings of dread whereas games like Bioshock infinite use it to create feelings of Zeal or wonder. Virtually every major game produced now has a unique soundtrack and as much research gets done into getting authentic music and the correct music as does into the visuals of the piece. Nowadays the visual and sound designs are strongly intertwined. Making them stronger than they ever could have been alone. Composers such as Jack Wall - Mass Effect and Splinter Cell: PT, Jesper Kyd – Hitman and Assassin’s Creed ii and Koji Kondo – Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Super Mario have rightfully earnt their place as excellent composers, and their scores 

Documentation

Though the final major project doesn’t start until next year, I’ve already started to generate ideas and gather research materials and reference images. A part of this process was thinking about documentation.

As this will be the first project of this scale I’ve had to produce on my own organisation and specifications will be of great importance if I want to stay on schedule to produce a working finished piece to the best of my ability.

With that in mind, I’ve produced a dry run of the game outline that will accompany my final major project;

Concept:

For my final major project I intend to produce a game level for a computer or playstation 3 platform. A garden on an island in the middle of a lake in the Japanese Chainiwa or Strolling garden style. Either during the summer or Spring. I will be looking at Japanese legends and myths to collect inspiration and I am particularly interested in the legends surrounding sun showers – the legends of Fox weddings – and would like to combine these with other myths and legends to create a mystical or Ephemeral feel to the garden.

By the end of the project I hope to have produced a full level containing the garden on the island and either a bridge or boat crossing the lake. If possible I would also like to produce a room or two of a building within the garden.

I will use 3DS max and mudbox for modelling and the Cry Engine for building whiteboxes and the finished level. I will be using photoshop for authoring textures but I also wish to produce textures by hand-painting them.

Technical specifications:

Lead character:

Though the level will be mainly first person the lead character you play as will be one of the characters will see most often. The character must be distinctive, recognisable and high quality and to that end should be relatively dense. Around 15,000 tri.

An NPC:

An NPC in the small garden would likely be viewed multiple times. Whilst they may not need as many tri as the main character but  10,000 tri

A Vehicle:

This will be the boat that carries the character from the mainland to the island garden. It will have about 9000 tri and 1024x1024 texture sheet

 

The Environment:

As the environment will be viewed mainly from a first person perspective, the tri count will need to be slightly more dense than a third-person level in order to maintain the detail of the objects. I do not want to set a specific tri-count for the environment. However I am aiming to have at least a frame rate of at least 25fps on the final level.  Tri will be used efficiently with this aim in mind.

Props and scenery objects:

Props and scenery objects follow much the same rules as the environment itself. Props will be repeated in multiple areas of the level and as most scenery objects will be plants and stones and will therefore be repeated many times.

Though not the final idea for my FMP this basis will form the complete design document for my project.

Level Design

In my previous entry I talked about how composition of visual elements are used in video games to influence players and guide them through the level as well as creating mood, emotion and emersion in a game level.  Whilst it is true that this is a very important aspect of the finished game it is not the only part of the development process.

 

Though video games are primarily thought of as an artistic exercise, often thought of in the same way as Films or TV shows but they have a unique element not present in these media; video games have to house a player who will experience and interact with the level. The player’s actions dictate the outcome to some extent but it is the job of the level to be clear enough to direct the player to the solution or conclusion whilst still being challenging enough. Modern games contain assets and environments with dynamic behaviours interactability and huge environments which call for creative solutions to maintain frame rates.

 

The level has to be able to cope with the dynamic actions of a player whilst directing the player along the course of the game. With game levels becoming larger and many games are becoming increasingly free-roam or turning towards a sandbox style which means that the underlying elements and design of the level have to be exceptional in order to support the large amount of assets that the game will house.

 

Therefore it is the job of the level designers to produce this. Without relying on the visual aspects of the level game designers build levels with mechanics and layout in mind. Things like trigger boxes, portals (Used so that the game loads portions of a level rather than the entire level all at once) and interactive areas and objects are all planned out and tested in this stage.

 

In the early days of the industry, games were produced solely by programmers but with the evolution of 3D levels it’s become necessary to diversify the roles within the team. Design became more refined; games became larger and required a more diverse range of skills. Now that games are bigger, more complex and more open, games need to be tested multiple times to ensure their playability and function. To this end, Level designers will produce game levels using white box elements as stand-ins for game elements. Interactable elements may be represented by different coloured textures and it is in this stage that the interactive architecture of the level is planned and tested. These basic versions of the finished level help developers to test out their level functions and mechanics without the distractions and influences of the visual elements. This also means that changes can be quickly and easily made. Not to mention that as the level is built without the need for the visual assets and art, there’s no need to wait for testing to start. This means that the game can be tested and improved for longer, improving efficiency in the development process. This extra time also means that there is more time to find and fix problems and bugs in the game and has become a vital part of the development process that supports the rest of the game’s production.

The importance of compositon

Whether it's for concept art or a stage-design like process of populating an in-game scene, composition is not just a pleasant addition to a piece of work but is in fact a vital part of an image or a game. Not only does it create visually pleasing environments but it's also a tool to direct the eye of the player, draw focus to key elements and direct the path of the player through the level. Composition also takes a vital role in creating a believable environment that feels natural to the player whilst still being interesting.

Composition is also used to develop narrative, demonstrate importance and status in an image and is used to create rhythm, mood and pacing in an image. In a game or 3D space these same principals can still be used to great effect; A video game level can be thought of as a series of scenes and vignettes that narrate or illustrate the story of the level or even as a series of 2D images presented to the player. Without composition and planning to order and structure these images, things might be overlooked or meaning might be lost. 

Composition plays a big part in making a scene or image readable whether it's distinguishing the difference between a piece of furniture in a dimly lit room and an enemy lying in wait for you behind it or the figure of focus and the background of an image, composition is there to help make sense of what could be a confusing image in the same way that in a large, open or potentially confusing environment, composition can mean the difference between a frustrated player and a happy one where it can give hints to direction or solutions to puzzles.

Even in it's derelict sections where colour is less of a help, Portal manages it's composition well to point you in the direction of the solution

You can go anywhere, so how do you find where you're meant to go?

Skyrim's vistas are wide and often bleak but compositional elements of flow (the mountains) and focus (First on the tree, then the castle) come together to point the viewer through the image in the direction of the ruined keep and on into the larger world

Through flow (creating curves within the image), contrast, (between light and dark, focus and none focus or bright and dim colours) pattern, repetition and proportion the viewer is able to distinguish where an object in a 2D image is in a potential 3D space. Even in a game this is important because the player is looking at a 3D environment through a 2D medium like a TV. Though 3D gaming platforms exist, 2D is still far more common and then the task of distinguishing depth and placement is left up to the brain and the eyes ability to process the information given and it's up to the artists creating the game to supply the right information to make an area, scene or character recognisable and noticeable in a natural manner.

Mastery of composition is essential in any art field, in video games mastering composition gives you control over how a player will view an area and therefore gives you control over how a player will react to and feel about that area. This is essential in creating a compelling narrative and a sense of emersion or investment from your players. There's a reason employers look for artists rather than technicians.

Planning and Concepting

From beginning to end, producing even a single asset for a game is a process of refinement, revision and judgement as well as an exercise in time management and work ethic. In the industry getting a game completed on time can be the difference between huge success and the company closing it’s doors. Even seemingly organic processes such as doodles and scribbles for idea generation have their place and are optimised to produce the best useable results.

Whilst not exclusive to the game industry the Production pipeline is an essential tool in the creative industries for organising not only large numbers of employees when creating vast projects but also in organising yourself and the work you produce – it fosters good work ethics and provides a framework and direction to work, encouraging the creations of mid-project deadlines and a sense of progress as well as providing a formula for creating results every time.

A Typical Game Pipeline (http://www.skins.abtec.org/skins1.0/?cat=27)

Most games and their assets will follow a pipeline in order to produce their content. It may differ slightly depending on what is to be created (A character would not require a map or paths to be produced where a level would, but a treasure chest would have no need for a script to be written and so forth) but fundamentally it is the same.

The  beginning of this pipeline is the planning and concept stage. Beginning with a Mission and Game brief which will detail the aims of the project and may include the story and the required elements and mechanics as well as what the final product should look and feel like. This proposal will then be used to produce mood boards and style sheets. These collage-style documents show the inspiration and themes of the work, as well as set a baseline for what the finished product should really look like.

 

A Stylesheet and a moodboard, they may look similar or completely different

Essential to the project, these documents provide a vital springboard for the concepts that are the next stage of this process. Without this base it’s much more difficult to produce these concepts (Be they high quality final concepts or quick, sketched ideas) but with them the flow of work is augmented and the quantity and quality is greatly improved. Even when there are setbacks, like a concept being rejected, the pipeline helps by providing a structure which is easy to backtrack and restart work in a smooth and efficient way.

The Game Production Pipeline exists to assist the creator of the work; it’s structure leads to a timely production of work not only in the concept stage but carried through to later aspects of the pipeline – which I will talk about in later blogs. Coupled with the desire of the creator to work and produce to a high standard (In other words the creator’s  strong work ethic) This fosters an ability to produce a consistent and high quality body of work that not only shows direction and cohesiveness when it comes to producing an end result that answers the brief but also a clear thought process and a structured way of working that can do nothing but benefit a professional working alone or as part of a team.