Final Week - 08/12/14 - 14/12/14 - Final Presentation, Showreel and exit plan

This week I had to present my show reel, and exit plan to the group.

*Website link here for ease of access

Website link

http://aaronedwards3d.weebly.com/

Exit plan 

My plan is to keep creating both realistic and stylized environments, as I enjoy doing these and wouldn't mind getting a job doing either one. I may work on a small forest/jungle scene between this semester and the final one, as I want to get better at foliage, and organic modelling.

I did start to do some 2D/concept art every week before uni started, but I haven't had the time to do any because I wanted to focus on projects. So I want to do little bits of 2D/concept drawings over the winter holiday, as I think this well help me improve as an artist in general, and I like the idea of being able to draw my own concept and model an environment on my own work. Also being able to do 2D would benefit me because there are still tons of developers that use 2D for games, and this would also fit into doing something like UI work, which is just opening more roles to get into.

I would aim for something every week, like this gong concept I made. I'm doing them in Photoshop, and in black and white to first understand value better before I get into colors.

I'm also going to learn Unreal 4 blueprints, and try to make, or start on a simple game with my friend over the winter. I think working In a team can keep me motivated, and knowing blueprints could benefit me for game Dev next year, and even after the course.

I want to try and contact game companies before I finish the year, and try to secure a placement so I have somewhere to go. I wouldn't mind joining an indie or AAA studio. But I would prefer to be part of a smaller team.

My plan for after the year is to hopefully have a job. If this fails, I will continue to improve my skills until I can get one.

Whilst trying to find a job, If I don't get one immediately, I would also consider joining a modding team for a game, as I know many games which started as mods, and it would be a good thing to have on my portfolio, as it shows working in a team and creating models specifically optimized for a certain engine, It would also keep me motivated, which is something I find difficult when working alone with no deadlines.



Show reel

For my final show reel I had my advanced 3D environment first, then my FPS environment from last year, and finally a hand painted environment which was done last year for a monthly poly count challenge. I do also have a prop at the very end, but I am unsure whether to keep it or not, I need to finish texturing it first.

The plan is to have at least one realistic environment, one hand painted/ stylized environment, and the third environment can be either.

I think showing I can do a variety of artistic styles will improve my chances at getting a job, and its also something I just enjoy doing, as I find doing realistic scenes all the time boring. I may include breakdowns of models after the environments if they are good standalone pieces.

Final presentation



Example asset environment

This is how I would present a render of an environment. Nothing special about it, just my website, name of the environment, and the programs used.

Example Prop

This is how I would present a prop. A couple of different view points and a wire frame. I do need to change this and put my website instead of my name, as that includes my name anyway.

Website link

http://aaronedwards3d.weebly.com/

Week 11 - 01/12/14 - 07/12/14 - Writing a CV

I had a go at writing a CV this week, as I will need one when applying for jobs.Even if its not until later, at least I can get feedback in its current state. I still need to sort out a reference contact.

I also updated my website with my CV and put a page where my show reel would be.

http://aaronedwards3d.weebly.com/

PDF LINK

Week 10 - 24/11/14 - 30/11/14 Self employment, indie studios, and the mobile market

This week I looked at other paths I could take if I couldn't get a job in the industry.

There was a time when I wanted to develop my own games for smartphone. I starting learning C# during college, and managed to fit this in to a project. I looked at a few tutorials, and by messing around and trying my own code I managed to make a top down space ship shooter game in the Unity engine. It was really simple, but I had a few ideas of how I would improve it. I managed to get it working on my phone, but after that I didn't really work on it anymore as I was starting uni, and wanted to focus on getting better at the art side.

I haven't touched coding since, but its still something I would like to be able to do, even just being able to make games that I wouldn't plan on selling could potentially help me get a job in in the future.


If I did get back into trying to create games, there is always the option of unreal 4 blueprints now. I'm still not fully sure how far you can go with them, and whether you could fully develop a game from scratch in blueprints, but it could still be useful and its something I am going to look into over the winter holidays.

I wouldn't be able to just make a game and nothing else, as I lack the skill and the money. So I would just have to get a job and try in my spare time. I would be constantly looking for jobs in the industry during this time.

I still read articles from smaller developers, and see what tips they have, and what problems they face.

http://www.mode7games.com/blog/2012/06/12/how-to-be-an-indie-game-developer/

This is a good one from Mode 7 games. He talks about the process of designing his game, Frozen synapse. There is some really good information on game design decisions, and he covers everything from level design to story, and even music.

Another one is by Derek Yu, creator of Spelunky who goes over similar points.

http://makegames.tumblr.com/post/1136623767/finishing-a-game

There is a good forum called "GameDev" on Reddit, and people post things like there experiences, what they are developing, and also get advice when developing there game.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/

An interesting one I found was on a game made by 2 people, which made the 1# spot on on the Itunes store across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Canada, and Singapore. He shared his experiences, and shared the downloads throughout every month for a year.

http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/2ok3r7/ytd_revenue_for_a_dark_room_ios_a_game_that_made/

[ Month ]	[ Paid Downloads ]	[ Free Downloads ]	[ Apple Check ]
Nov 2013	403		555
Dec 2013	698		943
Jan 2014	986		1,320
Feb 2014	2,288	8,612	1,760
Mar 2014	15,428	15,172	11,600
Apr 2014	305,000		214,000
May 2014	237,000		166,000
Jun 2014	101,000		70,700
Jul 2014	29,526	5,110	22,200
Aug 2014	38,304	1,021,660	28,800
Sep 2014	28,400		19,900
Oct 2014	14,900		10,100
Nov 2014	5,040	134,959	3,790

The game was originally $0.99, but he decided to change it later on.


"The November 2014 paid downloads is not a typo. I made a mistake by making the game $1.99 again, and it destroyed our ranking in the RPG section. Lesson learned. I also made the game free for the first week of November in celebration of the one year anniversary (which I was happy to do, but that didn't help our rank either)." 
Amirrajann (2014)

This was the revenue breakdown from 1.96 million downloads (free and paid).

[ Month ]	[ Amount ]
Gross income (less Apple's share)	553,000
My half of ADR (I happily give Michael his share)	276,500
33% income tax	91,245
12% self employment tax	33,120
Net	152,135
Net per month (16 months from development to today)	9,508
Hourly (40 hrs, 48 weeks) doing ADR "full time"	59
Net hourly rate when I actually was working full time	51
16 month difference between ADR and 9-5	14,280
Self employed medical insurance (wife was 1099 too)	10,880
Grand total for making a #1 App	3,400

I always hear about games which get lucky and go viral, like the game Flappy bird. which was made in several days, and wasn't anything new, but somehow got so big it got over 50 million downloads.

So its interesting to hear the other side, where someone has spent a year on a game, and they were lucky enough to have it be downloaded over 1million times, but didn't really make much profit on it.

If I ever thought about making a game myself which I was going to sell on the app store, I wouldn't put everything into it as I know its a gamble. I would just make them for experience.

Even if your game is amazing, it could be buried under all the other apps that are put up constantly, and never even sell, Ive also heard stories of developers who have made a game, and had it copied by a larger studio, then there game gets taken down by the larger studio for copyright reasons, which is a scary thought.

I found some tips on what not do as a indie Dev starting out. There are some great points, I have picked a few.

"1. Do not fall for survivorship bias.

For those who may not know, survivorship bias is the tendency to consider only successful cases when analyzing market data, behavior, etc. It even influences warfare.
How does that apply to game development then? Well, when I started, I remember being really optimistic and enthusiastic about building an iPhone game. I was reading article after article of developers that were making good money out of the App Store and I thought maybe I could get some bucks myself. I didn't stop to think things through and it did not go well." 
 ROGER PAFFRATH (2013)

I found this point interesting, because the reason I started try to create a mobile game was because of all the success stories I had heard, but luckily I didn't get to far into it, and did read up on the not so good stories like the one I showed before.

"6. Do not underestimate the power of good planning.

Deadlines are awesome. Most of the things done on this planet have only been accomplished because of them. Without them, we feel too comfortable and a comfortable creative mind starts wandering. Before you realize, you're taking double the time to complete simple tasks.
Other positive aspect of good project planning is that you are able to focus on one thing at a time. You don't have to worry about those awful bugs, because you will have the proper time to deal with them later.
Some people might think that's only for larger teams or projects. That's OK. In the end, if you sit down every day and do the work you need to do, it all falls into place. Me? I like a good old fashioned deadline."
ROGER PAFFRATH (2013)
 
I have recently learned about the importance of planning from my advanced 3D project. I never really planned before as I thought, "well I don't know how long it will take". But really its just about trying to work to deadlines and having everything you must do down on paper, and not just in your head. This also is a must if your part of a team, as they can't read your mind.

"9. Do not start on the mobile market.

This one is the one I get most of people disagreeing with me. It's the first item on this list making young developers see everything optimistically. The real truth is: the good things on mobile are far less numerous than the bad things going on on the platform.
Seriously, if you are starting, with no fans, no press awareness and no big money to invest on marketing, forget the mobile market. This is something I learned the hard way. I saw months of hard work fall into the limbo of the App Store. Obscurity is a bitch.
Even if you forget the discoverability of games on the mobile market being all messed up, I really don't think you should start there. There are easier and faster ways to make and distribute games. Part of the reason we didn't play tested Little Red Running Hood accordingly was the fact that it was hard for us to send the app to people outside of our friend circles.
I realize there are two sides for that discussion and that there are down sides to any market, but I will remain encouraging people to start reading more about the problems of mobile and all the stories of other developers who fell for the mermaid's song."
ROGER PAFFRATH (2013)

Looking back, I don't think I would want to make a mobile game now, as this quote says there are more bad things than good. But its not just that, I don't like the limitations of mobile, how your only control is the touch screen. I would prefer to make a PC just because there are so much more you can do to make an interesting game.Plus I don't play many mobile games anymore, and don't have much interest in them.

I think If I try to create games again I will start of with really simple small games. Ones that could be completed in a short space of time. This is because I don't have the experience or skill to make a larger game, nor the time. I think having lots of little games to show with interesting mechanics could be a good way of getting a game design position, like the one from TT games.

I have also been looking at the games from Ludum Dare, which is a game jam website which does competitions like making a game in 48 hours. Its really impressive what some people do in such a short space of time. I think game jams like this are a good way to improve at game design. As you have to plan well and try and make an interesting, yet very simple game. I know many games have started as game jam games, and been so popular they were made into full releases. Its inspiring to see that fun games can be made without a massive amount of money, or resources, and in a space of 2 days.

http://ludumdare.com/compo/

References


Amirrajann (2014) YTD Revenue for A Dark Room iOS, a game that made the #1 spot in the App Store [Forum Post] Accessed at <http://www.reddit.com/r/gamedev/comments/2ok3r7/ytd_revenue_for_a_dark_room_ios_a_game_that_made/> at 7/12/14







ROGER PAFFRATH (2013) Opinion: What NOT to do when starting as an indie game developer [Blog post] Accessed at <http://indiegames.com/2013/11/opinion_what_not_to_do_when_st.html>

Week 9 - 17/11/14 - 23/11/14 Updated showreel

Made an updated show reel this week.

I have now included my forest temple environment, and my hand painted bar diorama. I decided to remove the turntable of the fountain as I don't think its a good piece, and I don't know if I will be able to texture the bell by the end of the semester so I have taken it out but plan to put it in if I finish it.

I think I might put some titles to each environment in, but I will get some feedback next week and change things then.

Week 8 - 10/11/14 - 16/11/14 Job placements

This week I was looking for potential workplaces after I finish university. I found an interesting magazine which showed 100 UK game developers, there locations,  games made, and websites. It was from 2013, but was still relevant and was a good way for me to look into the UK industry more.

Here is the link:

http://content.yudu.com/A28qw0/Dev1002013/resources/index.htm?referrerUrl=

The top platforms according to this magazine are I pad, I phone, android, and PC. Which is the same as what I found out for my UK games industry presentation.

I wanted to look into what the most popular type of art style developers use, as  I want to be good at doing different styles.

But from looking at this magazine, many of the developers use low-poly, stylized assets too, and there are plenty of 2-D sprite based games. I assume this is because of the most popular platform being mobile and tablet, and usually the games made are 2D or stylized to appeal to a wider audience.

As someone who enjoys doing both realistic high poly models, and low poly, hand painted, stylized assets, and I am unsure what  I should really be focusing on most, and what will give me the best opportunity.

I think I will continue to do both, and maybe even start learning some 2D, as its probably a good general skill to have, and will help me improve as an artist.

I looked at a few job positions from companies, to see what kind of responsibilities are required.

Facepunch studios

Facepunch Studios are a independent company based in Walsall, England. They have a few small teams which are developing different games.

They don't have any specific requirements for positions, and are just looking for anyone who they think are good enough for the job.

This is on there jobs page.

Fig.1 Facepunch (N.D)

I have looked at this studio before for the UK games presentation, but I think there a good studio, and would love to be able to work with a studio like this one. I like how they are in touch with the community, and are always getting feedback. The fact that they show there work every week is something I have not seen before from a studio, and its useful for me as its a way for me to see the development process for the game.


Travelers tales studios

One job that caught my attention was from a studio called travelers tales, it was a position for Junior designer. The company makes Lego games from franchises such as star wars, lord of the rings, marvel and batman, and is quite an old company.

Junior Designer

Location: Knutsford
Advertisement publish date: 04/11/14
Start date: ASAP
Salary: £Competitive + benefits
Duration: Permanent (After a probationary period)
TT Games Knutsford are looking to recruit up to 4 new Junior Designers to work within the DESIGN department on our hugely popular LEGO console games.  These roles will be to work across projects within the Knutsford office. 2 of the positions will be to work on the cross project HUB design team, the other 2 positions will be to bolster the two design teams based in the Knutsford office.
Main Responsibilities:

• Responsible for creating, documenting and communicating level designs under the direction of the Game Director / Assistant Game Director
• Responsible for taking levels from paper design / block-out stage through to “box-ready” complete standard under the direction of the Game Director / Assistant Game Director
• Responsible for communicating level content to all key stakeholders involved in the respective level, including: characters, animations, cut-scene content, vehicle requests, environmental and technical art and audio
• Responsible for testing, balance and tuning of all aspects of gameplay within given levels.
• Any other tasks as identified by the DESIGN Head/Leads
• Undertake relevant on-the-job training where required and keep up-to-date with industry advancements and technologies

Skills & Qualifications:

• Excellent communication skills
• Excellent time management and planning skills
• Solid understanding of game editing tools and software
• Practical and methodical approach to both technical and creative problem-solving
• Demonstrates dependability and commitment to projects / tasks
• Flexible approach with the ability to adapt with change
• Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines

In return we offer a competitive salary and a range of benefits.
Salary: £DOE + Benefits

This one a role I had not seen much, and something I had always wanted to try and do but never knew how to get into it. It seems like a really interesting position but I think they would want people who are big fans of LEGO, and while I think the games are interesting, I don't collect LEGO, and haven't played the games since the Star wars ones when I was younger.

They also had positions for an environment artist too.

Environment Artist

Main Responsibilities:

• Responsible for creating in-game environments compliant with the game design, both technically and aesthetically
• Creating 3D models using packages provided (Maya, Z-Brush and Photoshop)
• Creating and applying 2D textures – create and apply texture maps to the specification set by the Lead Artist
• Lighting environments – ability to apply good lighting principles to all artistic output
• Creating materials/shaders – Diff/Spec/Norm maps etc. and being responsible for the final look
• Setup of dynamic lighting, post effects and basic scene animation via in-house editors
• Ensuring work/level hits all memory and frame rate guides/restrictions – optimisations/LODs etc
• Understanding that changes and amendments are part of the pipeline
• Attend regular reviews of their work (and present all concept and ref used)
• Constructively feedback any concerns of design impact on level/work
• Other tasks as required
• Work with Art Leads and other artists to ensure consistency between vision and implementation of environment assets
• Contributing original ideas towards all aspects of the project
• Undertake relevant on-the-job training where required and keep up-to-date with industry advancements and technologies

Skills & Qualifications:

• Good demonstration of skills through CV/Showreel/Website or Art Tests
• Excellent communication and organisation skills
• Good working knowledge and proficiency in Maya, Z-brush and Photoshop
• Good understanding of in-house tools and software used in development
• Practical and methodical approach to both technical and creative problem-solving
• Excellent artistic ability
• Demonstrates dependability and commitment to projects / tasks
• Flexible approach with the ability to adapt with change
• Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines

Both game design and game art appeal to me, but if I had the option I would love to be able do both.

Star Breeze studios


This is a studio based in Sweden, I don't think I would mind moving abroad but I would prefer to stay in the UK as I know no other languages. I think this is more for experienced environment artists though.

ENVIRONMENT ARTIST

Job Description:
As an environment artist you will work in a team where you will have the ownership of full levels, pushing your aesthetical and technical skills to the fullest.
Your interest lies foremost within creating realistic worlds, exteriors, interiors as well as nature.
You need to be able to multi-task, and possess good communication skills both spoken and written.
Responsibilities:

• Modeling, texturing and creating collision and implementation of environmental assets
• Being able to follow references, concepts, art direction and yet being able to take the work further independently
• Ability to take on the responsibility of the full scope of the level environment. Participate and communicate with peers, managers and vendors
• Working closely with the team to ensure the quality consistent and cohesiveness

Qualifications:

• 3 years of experience working as a 3D artist within the games industry or equivalent
• Understanding real time graphics, preferably worked on at least one released title
• Strong artistic skill set, a good sense of scale and proportions, materials and color/light
• Well experienced in Maya, Photoshop and Z-Brush
• Ability to work in a team, communicate well and being proactive
• Thorough understanding of architecture and nature
• Great with time estimations, assessments and prioritizing

Portfolio:

• Your portfolio must be provided through a webpage

References

Figure .1 Facepunch (N.D) Face punch studios (Website Screencapture) Accessed at -
<http://www.facepunchstudios.com/jobs/> on 15/11/14.

Week 7 - 03/11/14 - 09/11/14 Feedback on my first showreel attempt and a look into

This week I got feedback on my progress as a whole, and changed my show reel based on my feedback.

Progress so far feedback

• Made good start to blog
• Has own portfolio website
• Made a good start to show reel

• Go beyond what we cover in class in the blog. Bring more of yourself into what you learn. Learn more about the games industry/ show reels/ portfolio creation. 

• Add more to the show reel

Based on my feedback I need to add more environments to my show reel, and I think Im going to use my hand painted bar from the poly count monthly challenge, and my temple environment from the second year module.

I also need to get closer into the detail when showing my bell prop.

Week 6 - 27/10/14 - 02/11/14 Starting on my showreel

This week I made my block out for my show reel. I wasn't sure if I should put my previous years environments in because they are old work, and my environment this year (hopefully) will look better.

For now I just have my fly through of my Alhambra level from the advanced 3d module. I then want to show a turntable and breakdown of my fountain center piece, and after that show a bell prop I did over the summer.

Here is the block out for the show reel currently. I will get some feedback next week on my blog, website, and current show reel, so it will probably end up changing.

There is no music yet either.