Im curious as to if colorblindness will be a serious problem. Ive managed ways around it for the most part, but Im quite sure it' ll eventually kick me in the ass.

While I don' t know much about color blindness I would think that a colorblind artist would have no problems with modeling and animating characters and backgrounds... I guess where the real challenges would come in is where texturing is concerned since you' ll have to work with colors at that point.. But from what I' ve read, companies tend to have individuals assigned to different tasks.. For example, one person' s job would be to model the characters/backgrounds, another person' s job would be to apply textures to the created models, and another person' s job would be to animate them, so I think there' s some flexibility there. But that' s just my expired opinion, lol :)

Isn' t Maya like the most expensive 3D package software?

Currently I think the award goes to " Houdini" . I was reading a price listing in a 3D Graphics magazine today and they had Houdini listed for $17,000.. Holy Mackeral!!!!1!

I got so excited when I heard they had used 3DS Max for Orta' s hair (if I
remember correctly) in Panzer dragoon, only the lord knows why I got excited,
I don' t even know myself. That book sounds interesting Terry, any idea where I
can get my hands on one? Ebay? Or any good book store?

According to the book, they used various 3D packages to achieve the results that they did in Panzer Dragoon Orta..

The dragon model was created with 3D Studio max and was animated using Softimage 3D... Here are a few other excerpts taken from the book:

" All the characters excepts the hero were created with the polygon-based modeling of Softimage 3D and the spline-based modeling of 3D Studio Max. However, all of the motions were added with Softimage 3D."

" Almost all of the map backgrounds were created with 3D Studio Max."

" Minoru Kusakabe, 3ds max director, managed the 3ds max team that created Orta' s motions, and Akira Suzuki, Lightwave 3D specialist, supervised the Lightwave 3D team. LightWave was used for action scenes.Takuya Imamura, Orta model designer, modeled Orta using Metasequoia, and Kenichi Kutsugi, facial animator, added all the expressions."

" For the CG model, Orta was created in Metasequoia. The dragon was created in both LightWave 3D (regular edition) and 3ds max (detailed version). Orta was later converted to 3ds max so that her hair, expression and motion animation could set up. The dragon animation was also set up in 3ds max, except for its complex movements, which were transferred and set up in LightWave 3D"

Hehe, I LOVE the behind the scenes techno babble

As for the book, I got it from Amazon.com...

I think one of the more interesting things I read in it was:

" There was a time when the staff tried to figure out whether they should use Dreamcast or PlayStation 2 as the primary platform software for Soul Calibur 2. Many considerations factored into their decision to go with PS2. Take for example, the issue of color setting. Dreamcast is based on YUV color, while designers use full color. However, PlayStation 2 is based on index color and requires time... Even though the increased polygon counts that are possible with PS2 software helped enhance the picturesque quality, the workload also increased and all of that consumed considerable time. It took about twice as long to produce each stage for PS2 platform than it did to produce the same stage for the edition created for the Dreamcast platform. Maya was the main tool used in the production of Soul Calibur 2."

Don' t rule out journalism as a route into the industry. I started writing for Kikizo about 2 years ago and now work at a developer, though to be fair still as a writer (as that' s what I want to do)... but the opportunity is there to move about the company.

If you have some awesome artwork (2d or 3d) then post on really well known (to the industry) sites like...

http://www.cgsociety.org/

...my man Cliffy B posts there along with other people from the industry and it' s sites like this where they find great digital artists. Oh, and it might be worth getting into jtypes goodbooks (sending him money would be best!) as he has multiple known industry contacts. He runs a games design degree (akin to the one i' m on) and so any advice he gives you should be helpful!

Majik, that site is..... Awesome!

The 3-D stuff I have seen there alone has made me speed up my work, thanks
for that great link, I won' t be posting anything on there until probably the end of
the year.

According to the book, they used various 3D packages to achieve the results that they did in Panzer Dragoon Orta..

Some developers have too much time and money on their hands. Is it absolutely
necessary to use more than one software program to achieve what you want? Or
can you just do it on one program? There are probably things that one program
can do easier than another... Like animation processes. Although I suppose the
more time and effort you put into something, the better it comes out.

Is it always the projects with big budgets that are successful?

And, this is probably a really silly question...

Why on earth are there a lot of crap games out there?

Note: I' ll probably answer that question myself later in the thread.

Original: Hidemoto

as Terry said, online tutorials for 3d suck big time....i tried to learn from them but i ended up with even more doubts than i started.

3DS max comes with its own tutorials, they are pretty good to follow, the only
problem is retaining the information you have learnt, which is one of the most
difficult things to do.

Don' t rule out journalism as a route into the industry. I started writing for Kikizo about 2 years ago and now work at a developer, though to be fair still as a writer (as that' s what I want to do)... but the opportunity is there to move about the company.

Which developer? Or are you not at liberty to say.
Journalism was one point I would have considered, what do you need for that?
I can write well, but what other requirements?

Journalism seems like loadsa fun, you guys seem pretty down to earth and not
stuck up your own arses.. (Some editors/journalists are like that which is annoying).

How many staff are there at Kikizo?

I often wonder about what the future holds for me really, I' d love to work in the industry again, but I love the flexibility and freedom I have in my current job.

Saying that I' d switch to PR in a flash was an opportunity come up, but I' d miss the creative input I have currently.

Anyone got any bright ideas!?

Right now im in school trying to get everything straight with my artwork
so once i gradutae,
i' ll have something to take with me and show.
So when i go in to look for my high level entry position ill have something to show.

If you have some awesome artwork (2d or 3d) then post on really well known (to the industry) sites like...

http://www.cgsociety.org/

...my man Cliffy B posts there along with other people from the industry and it' s sites like this where they find great digital artists. Oh, and it might be worth getting into jtypes goodbooks (sending him money would be best!) as he has multiple known industry contacts. He runs a games design degree (akin to the one i' m on) and so any advice he gives you should be helpful!

like tiz already said, awesome link man...after seeing this one i am also feeling extra motivation to work....like they say: " if you wanna do something great then compete with the best"

About the game demo issue...my goal with it isn´t to break in after doing it....this will be a promotional exercise...a way to understand all processes of game making and hopefully to showcase a good story telling ( as many of you may remember me bitching around saying that the most important thing in a game was story while all of you told me " IT´s ALL ABOUT GAMEPLAY" ...it´s true that now i value more gameplay than before but story like shenmue and final fantasy 7 still make go nuts about a game.

I know that in this HD era and even in on current gen there is no way a one man show production could be sucessful but i am aiming for game directing so i order to show the concept of the game i am have to do the rest too.

The posting on the site thing might work
as long as you remember to put your name

I often wonder about what the future holds for me really, I' d love to work in the industry again, but I love the flexibility and freedom I have in my current job.

What did you work as before in the industry? Any great tips you can offer like,
what is the importance of a concept artist, and how important are they?

Right now im in school trying to get everything straight with my artwork
so once i gradutae,
i' ll have something to take with me and show.
So when i go in to look for my high level entry position ill have something to show.

Just make sure that the stuff you had can be games related, theres a difference
between drawing well, and drawing what is required, if you can re-create a Da
Vinci picture really well, that is good, but developers are more interested in your
own ideas and they will look for how they can benefit from your work. Not the
fact that you can copy, but how well you come up with your own ideas..

I know that in this HD era and even in on current gen there is no way a one man show production could be sucessful but i am aiming for game directing so i order to show the concept of the game i am have to do the rest too.

One man shows tend not to do well, but it is a start. I am only talking from
personal experience where I have been able to motivate people just from pitching
the idea to them.

A game demo seems to be one way of showcasing your talents, but I think it
would have to blow everything else away in order to appeal to the developer, I
think most developers are looking for that " Killer App" that they can show and
everyone will be like bloody hell!

In response to my question before:

Why on earth are there a lot of crap games out there?

I was watching Cybernet (not realy on mainstream tv but on sky channel 163,
and it' s on everyday from 4.00pm-5.00pm), and a title called Winback 2:
Project Poseidon popped up.

This game was in the making for 7 years (so they said) but looked like
utter garbage. 7 years???? What the hell were they doing? I reckon I could of
made a game that is far better than that with their time and resources...

If you thought your garbage smelt bad, try this stinker on for size...

jtype, it would be really good if you could share some of your experiences
with those of us still wet behind the ears...

They obviusly pulled a Dave Chappelle and blew all the money and time one
reefer.Why else would a 7 seven year game suck.

They obviusly pulled a Dave Chappelle and blew all the money and time one
reefer.Why else would a 7 seven year game suck.

Maybe the timescale was 7 years, but it' s likely they stopped development
in between for other projects, so the total time actually spent on the project
may amount to only 2 months.... who knows.

Jtype, whats the minimum number of people you recommend that are needed
to work on one videogame?

Man, I' d like to work in the videogame industry but I don' t have any talent and I' m to old to start learning now. But good luck to you guys, make sure you give me some great games in the future or I' ll break your weak developer arms and legs.

Good point and ithink at least 20 people to work on a game
director
graphics coordinator
10 people to work one layouts a movement
5 people to do testing and tightrn graphics
2 people to leak cheat codes to the public
and 1 person to advertise

I thought publishers did the advertising part?

Ok and 1 publishing company

*laughs uncontrollably*

Yeah, if you include the publishers, it' s probably around 30 people per game.

Depending on the size of the
publishing agency it could be 25 or maybe 30
So i guess between 20 and 35 people

what is the importance of a concept artist, and how important are they?

Very. BUT, concept artists don' t work throughout the entire development cycle.

The good thing about being any kind of artist within this industry is the sheer amount of creative input you have. You don' t even need to be a great artist, you just have to be able to come up with tons of stuff very quickly and convey ideas that are easily understandable.

Ofcourse your portfilio would have to have lots of scope and include a multi-tude of different sections (characters, weapons, vehicles, buildings etc), or if you' re specifically looking to be say a character concept artist you' ll be joining a MASSIVE queue and it' ll be hard to get yourself noticed.



The easiest way to get people to see what you can do is put together something like a comic. Make it long enough with a detailed story and get accross most points you' d want in the game and then get a developer to have a look at it. You' ll have shown that you can create likable characters (or not), shown your artistry skills, shown that you can create characters to fit into environments and into a storyline. That kind of thing will get you loads of kudos.

Just remember that developer DO look out for people who can' t draw/model/whatever the human form accurately. It' s almost impossible to cover up.



Cliffy B posts on http://www.cgsociety.org/ and guys like him pay a lot of attention to whatever critism (and you' ll only get good critism there, -- and you need to take notice of what the guys say) your work gets and what you do about it.

If multiple posters suggest adding or altering something to make it better/whatever, it' s worth doing or at least thinking about because you never know who will see it.

Always accept critism, it' s good for you.

Don' t rule out journalism as a route into the industry.

Good point!

Good point and ithink at least 20 people to work on a game
director
graphics coordinator
10 people to work one layouts a movement
5 people to do testing and tightrn graphics
2 people to leak cheat codes to the public
and 1 person to advertise

I think you need minimum, 20 people to work on the intial development, also
some games don' t usually need cheat codes, but hey, I always thought they were
mistakes, but cheat codes aren' t necessarily fundamental to a gameplay
experience...

The easiest way to get people to see what you can do is put together something like a comic. Make it long enough with a detailed story and get accross most points you' d want in the game and then get a developer to have a look at it. You' ll have shown that you can create likable characters (or not), shown your artistry skills, shown that you can create characters to fit into environments and into a storyline. That kind of thing will get you loads of kudos.

Pretty much what got Akira Toriyama into the videogame industry eh?