We' re all gamers here, but how many of you (us), are trying to break into the
industry itself?

What would you most like to do in the industry; and what steps are you taking
towards achieving this?

I was thinking that this could be a place where everbody discusses different
aspects of what they are most interested in, or what they are studying.

Someone get the ball rolling, and hopefully the rest will follow suit....

ha ha I' d say Adam would have the most knowledge for this kind of thing, IF i where trying to get in [not saying that I am not] my ideal position would be the kind of supervisor guy, you know the guy who gets all the credit for his teams games, Hideo Joima/ Cliffy.B/ Sheirgu Miyamoto etc...

I would not know how to do that, possibley work up the ranks untill your in a good position to try for it? but spending 20 years codeing for games dosent sound very appealing to me.

A producer and director?

I want to be those too, but I would like to work heavily on the concept/ animation
3-D modelling side of things, thats just to ensure that anything I visualise is not
lost in translation as best as possible. At the moment, I am kinda teaching myself
using 3DS Max animation and 3-D modelling, I can create characters and worlds
on paper, and visualise the progression on a storyboard. (Currently doing
conceptual art for 10 projects...) I would love to be the guy that demos
everything at E3 in those press conferences..

yeah that would rock. We need some indutry insiders to give us some hints

I reckon (and this is what I am doing) if you have a project that looks
complete, i.e the game mechanics are done, how the game would work, the
characters, a complete story, a script, and all that was left was the 3-D stuff
I reckon you could probably get any company to work on a project. Most
companies hate doing groundwork, but if you had that done, they probably wouldn' t
mind taking you on.

Also, getting free publicity is always good. If you are making your OWN
company, you would probably need a lot of people that are willing to work for
free... (About 30 people), people that are willing to only see profit after the
dev of the game is finished... That' s my take, but maybe this would benefit if some
people from KIKIZO STAFF joined in and offered some tips.

There are people who post here (like myself and jtype) that are doing games development degree' s (though jtype is actually a tutor/lecturer), so doing a dedicated course is one way in. but...

...there are several main ways " in" that I’m aware of.

The first way is through QA. (that' d be Quality Assurance, where the games are tested before shipping.) Get a job as a tester and kick ass and you may get promoted to the test lead. From there you may become a producer and continue climbing the ladder. Bear in mind that you probably have to live in a town where there are development studios nearby. This technique seems to work best at large companies. Small companies tend to outsource their QA.

The second way is to make some really cool shit and self-promote. Build a flashy website, and email the various companies that are out there with links to your work.

The third way in is via a friend. If you have a friend at a company then you might have an “in” for QA or having your portfolio looked at.

On a Degree

Having a degree is obviously nice but it' s also not always necessary. However, at many companies it IS very important and it can sometimes be a deal breaker. Often you’ll find that the larger the company the more important the degree. A degree shows that you know how to commit to something and finish it. It also shows a desire and ability to learn and work hard towards a goal. Personally i struggle to meet deadlines and tying up lose ends but as long as i pass my course i should be ok.

Bear in mind that this is an industry that moves very fast. The 3 oir 4 years you spend in uni are years you may fall behind so just keep a track of things.

I know a lot of guys who are continuing with their higher education while they attempt to get hired in the gaming businesses. I haven' t yet applied for a single industry job but i have sent my work to several companies and had several responses.

Now, like i said i struggle to meet deadlines and get everything finished, but REALLY you need to...

...show the potential employer that you know how to finish something. Starting something is easy; it’s the fun part. Finishing a project that you’re completely sick of is the hard part (and you WILL be sick of the game you' re working on as you approach the last couple of months). The last 10% of game development is the hardest. If you don’t have this ability then all of your skills are useless, so i' m pretty much f**ked!

I' m still unsure as to exactly what i want to end up doing. I' m not exactly briulliant at any one particular thing so maybe i should just aim for something like lead game designer and just delagate the jobs...

...however, the more popular jobs i' ll list with quick run downs of what' s expected.

Artists

Portfolio FIRST, CV SECOND.
If you can’t produce quality work, then it doesn' t matter if you worked at ILM. Working at a place like that does not necessarily mean you made a huge contribution to one of their projects; you may have painted a horn on a CG dinosaur. Show work that you have sole ownership over - " this is a texture map that I worked on with my friend" is a surefire warning symbol for a potential employer.

If you want to be an artist, you either get " it" or you don’t. You know, the ability to draw, the knowledge of what looks right. You need traditional art skills to understand proportion, color, and composition before you move onto digital or 3d art.

Many artists attempt abstract or cartoony characters in their demo reels because they can’t build a normal, realistic human being. That kind of guy can be spotted a mile off. Traditional skills are very important!

3d artists should post their meshes and work for download in their portfolio, along with screenshots. Screenshots are uber important because it allows people to quickly assess your work.

Sometimes your older work is not a true representative of your current abilities. Keep an eye out for this in your portfolio and get rid of the rubbish stuff. Your portfolio is as strong as its weakest link. Sounds cheesy i know but it' s true.

Level Designers/World Architects

Make a website with screenshots of your work. If you’re looking to work at a company that has licensed technology then you should use that tech to make your levels. Be active in the community. If you’re making levels for Unreal Tournament and you want to get hired at an Unreal Engine licensee, post pictures of your levels on UT messageboards and get to know the guys in the community.

Write and post articles about your craft. This shows that you have good written communication skills and you have your thoughts cleared out.

Remember what I said above about artists leaving their older work in their portfolios. If your earlier levels suck compared to your latest work, take them off of your site! You’re only hurting yourself with it if you leave it up.

Above all, practice, practice, practice. Don’t be afraid to throw out old, rubbish work. Maybe even find an existing amateur level designer that you respect and send him your work for suggestions. If you stick with it, you’ll get better.

Design

Few people are ever just hired as Game Designers. They usually work, bite and claw their way to that position.

A Game Designer must have excellent writing skills. He must be a good communicator as well, as he’s working with the team to design the game. Charisma always helps, as he’s frequently the one evangelizing the game to the press and gamers. An introverted designer is an ineffective designer. A game designer should also be well read.

Above all, the Designer must also play games. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the amount of people in this industry that don’t play games. You’d be surprised at the amount of ideas and inspiration you can draw from other titles. Sometimes you’ll be struggling with a design problem and the answer could be in another previously released title. By playing this game you can see how the competitors solved the problem and use that as a starting point for your design.

If becoming a Game Designer is your ultimate goal, you can help speed up the path several ways. First, get to know a good Designer at the company you’re working at. You’d be surprised at what you learn. Second, try your hand at writing game pitches and design documents. You’ll eventually start putting game systems and worlds together in your head.

A games designer knows what’s going on in the real world and has his finger on the pulse of pop culture will ultimately know what feels right and looks good. This gives you a vital sense of perspective and will keep you grounded.

Half of game development is coming up with cool ideas. The other half is figuring out how you’re going to accomplish this cool shit with the amount of time and money and people you have. Figuring out the proper tradeoffs is a huge part of the job. Often you hear folks in the community say things like " Why didn’t they add this idea? I’m surprised they didn’t do it!" Well, you’d be surprised to find out that often the idea was floating around, but time just didn’t allow for it.



If you' re planning on doing a degree then you' ll likely be expected to do some website design (raw HTML and XHTML), use 3d Studio Max and will likeley have to work with the most compley of all industry programs; Maya!!!

I don' t even know why i' m bothering really! I suck!

Many artists attempt abstract or cartoony characters in their demo reels because they can’t build a normal, realistic human being. That kind of guy can be spotted a mile off. Traditional skills are very important!

That' s some insightful stuff there Majik, thankfully I can DRAW humans from the
top of my head without reference, whether this will translate to 3-D well remains
to be seen (the best thing I have done in 3DS Max is a hand, without texture).

Reading through your article Majik, I can see that I have had my head in the
right direction..

People say that the gaming industry is difficult to break into... I doubt it. Only
because it is only difficult if you' re not willing to put the work in. If someone goes
to a company with a really cool character and then TELLS them the story,
that person is straight back out the door.

What I am trying to do, is get most of the groundwork out of the way for the
projects I am working on, and then take it to a developer, or send an e-mail with
links to my website. At the moment, this is all part of the " PLAN" , I have a web
designer on call if I need to make a website.

I am pretty confident, that I have what it takes, I just need to finish the work.
I am good with deadlines ONLY if I am excited about the work.

What I have found that helps most is if you set your own deadlines and abide by
them; you should be able to work to anyone' s deadline.

When I was 16, I really wanted to break into the industry, I sent a character
to Sega thinking that it was the best. I gave them a bit of the story, but got turned
down flat. In the past 3 years I have developed a lot. I know that one character
isn' t going to get a developers attention. SO I have made my own deadlines
and managed to reach most of them.

What also works is getting a small team together that have different interests
and abilities that cover most/ or as much as the requirements of bringing a game
together. It' s no good having 10 concept artists, you may as well make an animation.

I also think its a good idea to have projects that you want to work on, and the
concept for other projects that you are willing to sell, " dispensable projects"
if you will. These projects if well planned, should appeal to developers and maybe
gain you a financial boost if a developer is willing to buy (if one turns you down,
keep going). The financial boost is strictly for your own company if you are
making one. If you have someone thats willing to run the business, and also
do the business research, that money could come in handy.



Majik, what does your course teach you then? Everything? Or just one aspect?

At my uni there are several games development courses; Computer Games Art, Computer Games Programming, Computer Games Science and Computer Games Design.

The other courses are fairly specific, but the Games Design course offers modules from all of the other courses as well as things like storyboarding, scriptwriting, in-depth 3d Stuido Max, 2d & 3d animation, character modelling and texturing, engine coding etc.

Parts of the course are boring but it' s what i have wanted to do since i was just a youngling. Plus, we get to mess around with dev-kits and break stuff too so it' s all good!

I even work part-time in Gamestation (for 2 years or so now). My girlfriend says i love games more than i love her. I do.

I even work part-time in Gamestation (for 2 years or so now). My girlfriend says i love games more than i love her. I do.

HAHA! atta boy!


Speaking of 3D Studio Max,, have you ever worked with Lightwave? It' s by far my favorite 3D modeling and animation package.

No, but i' ve heard a lot about it. Our course is 3d Stuido Max specific and i don' t know whether that' s a good or a bad thing. I guess learning to use multiple packages would be tricky.

I even work part-time in Gamestation (for 2 years or so now). My girlfriend says i love games more than i love her. I do.

Just show her a copy of DOA beach volleyball and say...

" Look, it used to be just you and me..."

lol. That would break her heart hook line and sinker, but you' re one of those
people that doesn' t listen to the rant of a 19 yr old, so.... lol.

Speaking of 3D Studio Max,, have you ever worked with Lightwave? It' s by far my favorite 3D modeling and animation package.

So Terry, you' re into all ths 3-D modelling stuff? What kinda stuff d' you do?

I am only starting to use 3DS Max... I think it' s cool, but it' s something you have
to do everyday I think, there is some stuff in there that the human brain simply
cannot register/hold..

You ever thought of taking your stuff further Terry?

No, but i' ve heard a lot about it. Our course is 3d Stuido Max specific and i don' t know whether that' s a good or a bad thing. I guess learning to use multiple packages would be tricky.

I' d imagine that the good thing about working exclusively with Max is that you' ll become more proficient with the software and can later apply your modeling techniques to other 3D modeling & animation programs.

At the end of the day they' re just different interfaces you have to learn, they all create super awesome visuals.

Though SOME things are easier to do with some programs over others. I' ve messed around with 3D Studio Max 3 & 4 (great all-around), TrueSpace 3 & 4 (great for beginners), Bryce(great for animating water and creating landscapes), Rhino(was just a modeler last time I played with it), Lightwave 6 thru 8(great all-around), Maya(great all-around, Squaresoft used it ALOT), and Martin Hash' s watered down version of Animation Master(great for character animation).. After checking them all out I finally settled on Lightwave as the program I would focus all my attention to. I always wanted to try Softimage since Sega of Japan seemed to love it and use it mostly, but unfortunately could never get my hands on any version of it.

So Terry, you' re into all ths 3-D modelling stuff? What kinda stuff d' you do?

NOTHING worth mentioning, I can assure you, LOL.. It' s always been an Off and On thing for me and I' ve always been a hobbyist at best.
Simply put, I' ve always enjoyed creating stuff, whether it be via 3D modeling and animation, music composition, or even knitting ;). There' s just a certain satisfaction one gets from creating things on their own.

I am only starting to use 3DS Max... I think it' s cool, but it' s something you have to do everyday I think, there is some stuff in there that the human brain simply cannot register/hold..

3D Studio Max is REALLY cool. I think it was the first MAJOR 3D modeling and animation program I got my feet wet with, but that was in the mid-to late 90s, I imagine that it' s gotten WAY more powerful since that time. ;)

And you' re right, there are some things that are a little more difficult to grasp. I' ve never been able to wrap my mind around character creation. The tutorials on the net at places like 3DCafe were never as detailed as I would have liked in order to get a good understanding of their character creation techniques. And the books out there don' t know the meaning of ' detail. I almost always focused on modeling and animating inanimate objects and backgrounds, with the occasional failed attempt at character creation, hehe.

Mostly did outerspace stuff where most of the time I always blew up the Earth ;)
Did underwater stuff, animating a school of mutant sharks, lol.
Did landscapes, etc... Most of the time I focused on special effects and I LOVED working with particles!

You ever thought of taking your stuff further Terry?

Absolutely Not :p
The ONLY thing I' ve ever entertained the idea of taking further would be game music. Given my extreme hatred of math it was never going to be programming, and my lack of art skillz also meant that it wouldn' t be 3D modeling

But damn, after posting this I' m REALLY starting to get the itch again to leap back into 3D modeling and animation full bore!

Space Harrier was programmed in Lightwave. Out Run was programmed in 3D Studio Max.

I haven' t gotten to the character animation/design stage of 3-d studio max
but me being the curious person I am decided to try a " timing exercise" ... Lets
just say, I give credit to those guys that can actually reach deadlines on time.

I can create characters with ease on paper, it' s like breathing, translating them to
3D.... Not so easy... Although 3DS max has a feature that allows you to scan
all 4 sides of a human head and then model a 3D structure around them. That' s
a way to get started..

Though SOME things are easier to do with some programs over others. I' ve messed around with 3D Studio Max 3 & 4 (great all-around), TrueSpace 3 & 4 (great for beginners), Bryce(great for animating water and creating landscapes), Rhino(was just a modeler last time I played with it), Lightwave 6 thru 8(great all-around), Maya(great all-around, Squaresoft used it ALOT), and Martin Hash' s watered down version of Animation Master(great for character animation).. After checking them all out I finally settled on Lightwave as the program I would focus all my attention to. I always wanted to try Softimage since Sega of Japan seemed to love it and use it mostly, but unfortunately could never get my hands on any version of it.

I take it you purchased all those programs then?lol.

I think that most of the stuff done in 3d animation is extensive use of the program.
Animators find different techniques to get the animation quality they desire, I can
understand that a bit because the same applies for when you' re drawing.

Simply put, I' ve always enjoyed creating stuff, whether it be via 3D modeling and animation, music composition, or even knitting ;). There' s just a certain satisfaction one gets from creating things on their own.

I understand what you mean, drawing used to be a hobby for me, back when
I made my first Sonic comic. Then I took it to drawing pictures of the X-men
where I would record the show on VHS and then pause it at each character
just to get what they look like. I even made an OLD comic where it had Link,
Mario, Sonic and Shinobi all helping each other in the Ocarina of Time backdrop.

There is a good feeling you get from creating something. Now I do my own stories
and I feel more accomplished than writing stories that I would have wanted to
put in my fav videogames. The only story I have never re-written is Shenmue..

I' m going to ask a realy naive question, don' t slate me!

......WHAT drives up development costs?

Is it the amount of people needed to research? And the amount of people needed
to research new technologies?

Sorry, thats just a tip of the " Simple questions that have bugged me" Iceberg..

Aren' t those programs you speak of very expensive? Did you borrow them from school or something?

I take it you purchased all those programs then?lol.

LOL.. Absolutely NOT...
I played around with the free DEMO versions of TrueSpace 3 & 4, Rhino, and Bryce..
I purchased Martin Hash' s 3-D animation program. By far the WORST software purchase of my life. The thing came with no manual, kept crashing and was incredibly difficult to model stuff with.. It was great for character animations though, but I was stuck animating the free models included with the software which got old QUICK..

I took two animation courses just for fun..One class focused on Cinema 4D, which I hated.. The other class focused on Maya which I really enjoyed cause it' s the only way I' d be able to try out Maya as it' s one of, if not the most expensive 3D modeling and animation programs on the planet.. And if you' re a whore for SquareSOFT' s prerendered stuff then you' ll be happy to know that MOST, including the accursed Final Fantasy Spirits Within movie were done mostly with Maya.

As for 3D Studio Max 3 and Lightwave 5.5 - 8, well let' s just say I played with em back in the mid-late 90s and I plead the 5th as to how I got to do so .

But I am saving up my pennies to get Lightwave 9 since it' s finally in the sub-$1000 range ;).. Lightwave is used a lot for special effects in sci-fi shows like the various versions of Star Trek among other stuff. It was also used to model the ship used in the movie, The Titanic.

Aren' t those programs you speak of very expensive? Did you borrow them from school or something?

Some are/were REALLY expensive.
Back then, Lightwave and 3D Studio Max used to be in the $3500 - $4200 range.. Maya was at the $8500 - $17,000 range. Alias Wavefront (used on CG Transformers), Softimage were just a LITTLE less than Maya in price, which means they were uber expensive. ..

Martin Hash' s Animation Master-lite program was $299 which is why I jumped at the chance to buy it.. TrueSpace 3 and 4 were $495-$695 which put it within the afforable range and to me was the best program at that price range.

Bryce was also at an affordable price-range but its strong points were for creating landscapes and animating water and stuff like that. Character creation wasn' t one of its strong points.

what on earth makes them that expensive!? ...did Jesus write the code?

HAHA! atta boy!

Just show her a copy of DOA beach volleyball and say...

" Look, it used to be just you and me..."

I' ve told her previously that out of her and videogames, if i had to live without one, it' d be her.

She understands. I' ve known her for going on 11 years now and we' ve been a couple for 4. She knows games are my passion and she kinda gets it, even if she doesn' t fully understand what' s so special about them.

She likes R*' s Table Tennis. Probably because it' easy to play...

what on earth makes them that expensive!? ...did Jesus write the code?

They' re industry grade packages and so can afford to be sold at that price.

It' s the licence you are paying for (or NOT paying for in some peoples cases)

Aren' t those programs you speak of very expensive? Did you borrow them from school or something?

My brother programs with C++ stuff, and his company tend to give him this stuff
for free... But usually the earlier versions, I am currently only working with
3DS Max 5, haven' t been fortunate to get my hands on a copy of 3dS Max 7 which
I heard uses something called " freeform" (not too sure, correct me if I am wrong)
but this helps the animation physics of the hair to move more realistically.

I' ve told her previously that out of her and videogames, if i had to live without one, it' d be her.

She understands. I' ve known her for going on 11 years now and we' ve been a couple for 4. She knows games are my passion and she kinda gets it, even if she doesn' t fully understand what' s so special about them.

I think a round of applause is in order for Majik and his girlfriend, I have NEVER
met anyone' s girlfriend that would understand that.... What' s the majik secret?
(Ho,Ho, see what I did there?)

I am beginning to understand what drives up development costs, that is to get
the latest versions of each program, and new development tools to help ease
the process. Also now most games are becoming like hollywood with cameo
roles from top-class voice actors... hmm... So is it possible then to make a good
game without a hollywood budget? Nintendo seems to manage fine, they don' t
usually report on how much it cost to make a game...

It' s the licence you are paying for (or NOT paying for in some peoples cases)

*Busies himself by washing the dishes..*

Whoo Hoo! I found a new copy of Lightwave on Ebay for pretty cheap!! It is MINE!!!!!!!!! Once I get it and register it, I' ll be able to get the upcoming Lightwave 9 for cheap from the manufacturer!!