This was a perculiar film.
I watched it on TV before I went to America, so early Summer 08. To me it was just a shitty 80's looking film. I started watching it just past the half-way mark, and i diddn't really get it, at the time I was just relaxing on a summer afternoon infront of the tv with the bay windows open.
But after watching it, and paying attention to it, there is something about it, something, I can't put a finger on it, but I like it. I enjoyed the film, it was kinda uplifting, made me feel happy in a way.
But I don't even know why, the story is about some people who stand the chance of getting rich, them some smelly selfish bastard who lives on a shack on the beach ruins it all for them.
I suppose its the friendships, or something. It can't be the Scenery though, I fucking hate Scotland, its cold and shit, with lots of hard rocks to fall on.
All in all though, I liked it, it made me happy, and I don't know why.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Sir Ken Robinson - Creativity
My University lecturers have directed me to a video, of a speech on creativity, by Sir Ken Edwards, at a TED meeting in Los Angeles.
Here is a link to the video:
I want to do a quick review, as this video has effected me, in the way I think, in the way I want to approach tasks, and has motivated and inspired me in ways I feel are quite rare.
This video reminds us, that all humans are equal, and are capable of anything. If we aren't good at maths, chances are its because that part of our brain, a muscle don't forget, has not 'worked out' in a while. Essentially, to get better at something, all we need to go is take that part of our brain to the proverbial 'gym' and give it a work out.
I've sometimes felt slightly stupid when around other people, my maths skills are getting exponentially poorer, my handwriting not as neat as other peoples, sometimes I say silly things. And I can't help but sometimes get a little down about it. I don't like being ridiculed because I don't know the square root of 98, I felt kinda upset when a 'friend' gave me a grammar competition and kicked my ass. It made me feel a little shit, like I was a 'worse' human than them. That they were better than me.
But the Ken reminds us, that we are all diverse, and that while we might be a little rusty at somethings, we are all good at something. And I think thats why I like the video, because it reminds me I can be good at something, dare I say it, I AM good at something.
We all want to feel like were good at something, like we have a niche, and we all are.
A friend of mine at school, 'Dean May' wasn't really awesome at much, he could communicate quite well, but we both sucked at maths, and I used to laugh at his science book. He was regarded as one of the 'poorer performing' pupils in our year. But at what? poorer performing at academic skills invented by other humans?
Dean left school after GCSE, and started a business selling motorbikes with his brother. I don't know how the business is going, I'd love to be able to tell a story comparable to Ken's Balet dancer story. But I'm sure they are doing well. He is happy, earning an income, and from what I could tell, not too bad off for money.
We're all good in our own little way. I love 3d Art, thats why I'm here, and I'm gonna work that brain muscle till it bleeds (but not too much because that might kill me)
Here is a link to the video:
I want to do a quick review, as this video has effected me, in the way I think, in the way I want to approach tasks, and has motivated and inspired me in ways I feel are quite rare.
This video reminds us, that all humans are equal, and are capable of anything. If we aren't good at maths, chances are its because that part of our brain, a muscle don't forget, has not 'worked out' in a while. Essentially, to get better at something, all we need to go is take that part of our brain to the proverbial 'gym' and give it a work out.
I've sometimes felt slightly stupid when around other people, my maths skills are getting exponentially poorer, my handwriting not as neat as other peoples, sometimes I say silly things. And I can't help but sometimes get a little down about it. I don't like being ridiculed because I don't know the square root of 98, I felt kinda upset when a 'friend' gave me a grammar competition and kicked my ass. It made me feel a little shit, like I was a 'worse' human than them. That they were better than me.
But the Ken reminds us, that we are all diverse, and that while we might be a little rusty at somethings, we are all good at something. And I think thats why I like the video, because it reminds me I can be good at something, dare I say it, I AM good at something.
We all want to feel like were good at something, like we have a niche, and we all are.
A friend of mine at school, 'Dean May' wasn't really awesome at much, he could communicate quite well, but we both sucked at maths, and I used to laugh at his science book. He was regarded as one of the 'poorer performing' pupils in our year. But at what? poorer performing at academic skills invented by other humans?
Dean left school after GCSE, and started a business selling motorbikes with his brother. I don't know how the business is going, I'd love to be able to tell a story comparable to Ken's Balet dancer story. But I'm sure they are doing well. He is happy, earning an income, and from what I could tell, not too bad off for money.
We're all good in our own little way. I love 3d Art, thats why I'm here, and I'm gonna work that brain muscle till it bleeds (but not too much because that might kill me)
What DO games companies want from a graduate?
This is an interesting question, funnily enough I was thinking about it the other day, before I even read the brief for this blog (:| I know, but I'm catching up fast!).
If ever games company produces different games, what do you show them in an interview? What do you specialize in? What do they need to see to want to employ you?
With questions like these whirring around my brain late on a Sunday afternoon, I decided to find out, from the horse's mouth so to speak, and e-mailed a games company.
Here is a copy, verbatim, of the e-mail I sent:
Dear RTW
My Name is Guy Thomas, I am a student studying game art and design at Demontfort university in Leicester.
I am enquiring as to what you would like to see on a portfolio.
I'm still a first year student, and while I feel that I am quite capable (to produce 3d content) due to my long modding history, I would love to know, what you as a company would like to see on a portfolio for a 3D Artist. What skills you consider important, what is good, and what is bad. This will allow me, over the next few years, to build a portfolio based on knowledge gained not only from lecturers, but from industry itself.
One day, I would love to apply for a job at real-time worlds, I have played most of your released titles, and love things like the art direction on 'Crackdown'., Not only the Cell shaded shaders, but the oranges of the city contrasting with the blue of the player characters.
I hope you understand the nature of my enquiry, and I wish you all the best of luck in the future!
Thanks
Yours Faithfully
Guy Thomas
And, being the good company that RTW (real time worlds) are, they hastily sent me a reply, once again, printed verbatim:
Hi,
Thanks for your interest in Realtime Worlds.
In a portfolio from a graduate we would be looking for their best work, please don’t include everything you have worked on at uni as your earlier stuff is unlikely to be as good as your most recent stuff, and would lead the Hiring Managers to conclude the work as inconsistent. Also do as much work as you can that is not course work and state which pieces of work and course related and which aren’t.
Also, if you are applying for a specific art role eg Characters ensure there are characters in your portfolio. People often apply for roles but don’t have examples of that type of work.
It’s also important to try and have different styles of artwork for different companies ie your showreel for us would look very different to one you used to apply to a company who make WII games. If you don’t some companies might not take your application any further, or others might send you an art test, which just takes longer for you to get to an interview.
I hope this information helps. If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to ask.
Regards,
Susan
So, a fairly generic reply, but worth noting that she stated 'It’s also important to try and have different styles of artwork for different companies'. Meaning that if a company specializes in mobile phone games, they want to see low poly artwork. if a company is making a cell-shaded game, they will probably want to see very stylized models, or images, depending on your area.
So, companies want to see something that 'suits them'. But with so many different and varying companies, how can a university offer a course that is set to satisfy all different areas?
It is dangerous to say that 'universities need to teach it all', for fear that being a jack of all trades makes you 'good' in all fields but 'excellent' in none. But it is also dangerous to suggest that a course specializes in a certain art style, e.g realism, as this will make 30 doppelganger graduates, of whom only one gets a job.
Personally, I believe that a University course should give the students the skills they need to use software and understand how to create good, low poly models efficiently, and to texture well. Give the students the tools that they need, to develop their own personal style.(sound familiar?, its not a kiss ass, I genuinely agree)
For a student to 'develop a new style' they need to be fearless of being wrong, they need to try new things, break away and be creative. Remember, there is no logical way to be creative, and as a result it really cannot be 'Taught', rather, it just needs to 'happen'. It can, however, be aided, by images, movies, and general 'stuff', which is all a university course can really hope to do. To set a brief task, and see what happens, let the students loose.
By developing this personal style, and niche so to speak, students will find a job that suits them. If a student falls in love with realism, and creating realistic characters from photo reference, they can apply at a company that also specializes in realistic games.
For a university to produce good artists, it needs to give them a 'reason to work' a.k.a Assignments. The Skills with which to work a.k.a 3d modeling tuition, perspective classes, Anatomy classes. Fill the students brains with cool stuff a.k.a movies, pictures, investigate all different fields. And then let the fuckers loose.
If ever games company produces different games, what do you show them in an interview? What do you specialize in? What do they need to see to want to employ you?
With questions like these whirring around my brain late on a Sunday afternoon, I decided to find out, from the horse's mouth so to speak, and e-mailed a games company.
Here is a copy, verbatim, of the e-mail I sent:
Dear RTW
My Name is Guy Thomas, I am a student studying game art and design at Demontfort university in Leicester.
I am enquiring as to what you would like to see on a portfolio.
I'm still a first year student, and while I feel that I am quite capable (to produce 3d content) due to my long modding history, I would love to know, what you as a company would like to see on a portfolio for a 3D Artist. What skills you consider important, what is good, and what is bad. This will allow me, over the next few years, to build a portfolio based on knowledge gained not only from lecturers, but from industry itself.
One day, I would love to apply for a job at real-time worlds, I have played most of your released titles, and love things like the art direction on 'Crackdown'., Not only the Cell shaded shaders, but the oranges of the city contrasting with the blue of the player characters.
I hope you understand the nature of my enquiry, and I wish you all the best of luck in the future!
Thanks
Yours Faithfully
Guy Thomas
And, being the good company that RTW (real time worlds) are, they hastily sent me a reply, once again, printed verbatim:
Hi,
Thanks for your interest in Realtime Worlds.
In a portfolio from a graduate we would be looking for their best work, please don’t include everything you have worked on at uni as your earlier stuff is unlikely to be as good as your most recent stuff, and would lead the Hiring Managers to conclude the work as inconsistent. Also do as much work as you can that is not course work and state which pieces of work and course related and which aren’t.
Also, if you are applying for a specific art role eg Characters ensure there are characters in your portfolio. People often apply for roles but don’t have examples of that type of work.
It’s also important to try and have different styles of artwork for different companies ie your showreel for us would look very different to one you used to apply to a company who make WII games. If you don’t some companies might not take your application any further, or others might send you an art test, which just takes longer for you to get to an interview.
I hope this information helps. If you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to ask.
Regards,
Susan
So, a fairly generic reply, but worth noting that she stated 'It’s also important to try and have different styles of artwork for different companies'. Meaning that if a company specializes in mobile phone games, they want to see low poly artwork. if a company is making a cell-shaded game, they will probably want to see very stylized models, or images, depending on your area.
So, companies want to see something that 'suits them'. But with so many different and varying companies, how can a university offer a course that is set to satisfy all different areas?
It is dangerous to say that 'universities need to teach it all', for fear that being a jack of all trades makes you 'good' in all fields but 'excellent' in none. But it is also dangerous to suggest that a course specializes in a certain art style, e.g realism, as this will make 30 doppelganger graduates, of whom only one gets a job.
Personally, I believe that a University course should give the students the skills they need to use software and understand how to create good, low poly models efficiently, and to texture well. Give the students the tools that they need, to develop their own personal style.(sound familiar?, its not a kiss ass, I genuinely agree)
For a student to 'develop a new style' they need to be fearless of being wrong, they need to try new things, break away and be creative. Remember, there is no logical way to be creative, and as a result it really cannot be 'Taught', rather, it just needs to 'happen'. It can, however, be aided, by images, movies, and general 'stuff', which is all a university course can really hope to do. To set a brief task, and see what happens, let the students loose.
By developing this personal style, and niche so to speak, students will find a job that suits them. If a student falls in love with realism, and creating realistic characters from photo reference, they can apply at a company that also specializes in realistic games.
For a university to produce good artists, it needs to give them a 'reason to work' a.k.a Assignments. The Skills with which to work a.k.a 3d modeling tuition, perspective classes, Anatomy classes. Fill the students brains with cool stuff a.k.a movies, pictures, investigate all different fields. And then let the fuckers loose.
Sound in games
Sound is prominent in all computer games, whether it be a title theme, or a distant ambient heightening your senses, its there. It engages more of your body's senses, and increases the believability of the game, drawing us into the virtual world. Sound Effects, give us a believability of whats happening, after all what is an explosion without the sound? What is a gun that doesn't go 'bang' (or 'sift' for silent guns). What are humans that speak with only subtitles? Without sound, games would just be fancy graphics, users would be given a nice interactive color show, but wouldn't be drawn in. Sound makes us scared, makes us tense, and makes us feel like we're there.
Just as in films, there are well known game composers too, the people who create the awe inspiring title themes that we hum in our heads for days. Video game composers are no less talented than any other kind of composer.
Here are a few well known composers:
Jeremy Soule - technically, the Soule Brothers, and they comosed the 'Oblivion' theme 'Reign of the Septims' (and the rest of the soundtrack). The Soule Brothers also composed the 'Morrowind' Sound Track, here are the links to the two main themes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWuNf4gxwuM
http://bethblog.com/index.php/2008/02/26/oblivion-theme-performed-live/
Harry Gregson-Williams is also a well known composer, who composed the theme to the 'metal gear solid' series. The Mgs2 theme tune has always stood out in my mind as being an all time favorite, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUHJsU_ooWQ&feature=related
There is also Nobuo Uematsu
, who composed for the final fantasy series.
The most defining moment for me, which I still remember vividly was my first few hours playing 'Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind'. The setting, feeling, visuals and most notably soundtrack struck me. I almost felt compelled to stop playing and just BE part of the game. The music drew me in, made me feel not only see. its hard to explain the effect a good soundtrack has on you, and your memories, but Morrowind still remains one of my all time favorite games, and the soundtrack was a huge factor in that memory.
Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards - good times. most influential recording of the 20th centuary?
This is a hard question to answer, but I'd have to disagree, as much as I love the bassline to such an iconic song, it is worth taking into consideration to many other popular bands and recordings of the time. Lets not forget the Beatles, quite possibly responsible for a whole new genre. Other songs like the classic pop song 'I will survive' along with other major artists have also had a massive effect on the music industry as a whole and the industry is constantly being shaped by the songs produced from different bands.
The song 'good times' has had a massive impact , the fact I know the bass line from heart, and I wasn't even born when it was made. Is tribute to that fact, but there were also many other influences that shaped the industry today.
Just as in films, there are well known game composers too, the people who create the awe inspiring title themes that we hum in our heads for days. Video game composers are no less talented than any other kind of composer.
Here are a few well known composers:
Jeremy Soule - technically, the Soule Brothers, and they comosed the 'Oblivion' theme 'Reign of the Septims' (and the rest of the soundtrack). The Soule Brothers also composed the 'Morrowind' Sound Track, here are the links to the two main themes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWuNf4gxwuM
http://bethblog.com/index.php/2008/02/26/oblivion-theme-performed-live/
Harry Gregson-Williams is also a well known composer, who composed the theme to the 'metal gear solid' series. The Mgs2 theme tune has always stood out in my mind as being an all time favorite, here it is:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUHJsU_ooWQ&feature=related
There is also Nobuo Uematsu
, who composed for the final fantasy series.
The most defining moment for me, which I still remember vividly was my first few hours playing 'Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind'. The setting, feeling, visuals and most notably soundtrack struck me. I almost felt compelled to stop playing and just BE part of the game. The music drew me in, made me feel not only see. its hard to explain the effect a good soundtrack has on you, and your memories, but Morrowind still remains one of my all time favorite games, and the soundtrack was a huge factor in that memory.
Nile Rodgers/Bernard Edwards - good times. most influential recording of the 20th centuary?
This is a hard question to answer, but I'd have to disagree, as much as I love the bassline to such an iconic song, it is worth taking into consideration to many other popular bands and recordings of the time. Lets not forget the Beatles, quite possibly responsible for a whole new genre. Other songs like the classic pop song 'I will survive' along with other major artists have also had a massive effect on the music industry as a whole and the industry is constantly being shaped by the songs produced from different bands.
The song 'good times' has had a massive impact , the fact I know the bass line from heart, and I wasn't even born when it was made. Is tribute to that fact, but there were also many other influences that shaped the industry today.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Games Engines
Games engines are vital, but often overlooked by your average gamer. Games engines are the code that makes things work. They keep a track of health points, keep a track of collisions, send 3d models to the rendering controller so they show up on screen. Basically Engines are code.
Games engines can essentially be broken down into different areas, for example; Graphics rendering, Physics calculation, Networking controller, etc. These different parts all work together in conjunction with each other to produce the games we play. Depending on the skill and knowledge of the programmer that designs them, different games engines vary in quality.
The way in which a games engines creates and displays its 3d matrix varies, but generally is either considered 'subtractive' or 'additive'. The difference between these two rendering methods is quite simple. In games such as 'Half-Life 2' there is a 'void' in which you put objects into. The void is infinite, and in such an environment, the designers need to close the level off from the void. (this is because lighting information cannot be calculated in the void, due to its infinite distance, if the engine tried to calculate the distance traveled by a 'light ray' into the void it would never stop calculating, and the game would hang).
In subtractive environments, such as the 'Unreal engine', rather than having an infinite 'void' there is an infinite cube. Rather than the developer placing objects into the void and closing it off, the developer must first carve out an area in which to place objects. The benefits of this are that the developer does not need to spend important time checking the level to ensure there are no 'leaks'. However, the developer does need to keep carving out space to use, so it is two sided sword.
Developers have an option whether to buy a new games engine, or write their own. There are pros and cons of both.
Games engines are big, fucking big, not to mention complicated. Its very easy to write a poor game engine. It is also very time consuming to write a new games engine. In today's industry where 'time is money', this can often be seen as a risky move. However, if a game being developed, requires features that are not well supported in a current games engine developers can be forced to write or modify.
It is also worth noting that while writing new games engines may be quite rare in the current state of the industry, many developers are building upon old engines that they have used for previous games. For example Bohemia Interactive have been developing their 'posideon' engine for three game generations now, improving upon it, rather than writing a new engine.
However, some developers choose just to purchase the license for an engine that has already been written by either another studio, or a private company. Many engines are commercially avaliable, for example the 'Torque' engine can be purchased for a very small price. Other more well known engines such as the 'Unreal' engine are also commercially available, however, for a much higher price.
As time goes on, so do engines, and they must improve along the way. As new games demand new features, the new engines must provide them. In current engines there is a definite exchange between playing space or detail. For example, 'Operation Flashpoint 2' being developed by Codemasters requires large playing areas, while still trying to remain aesthetically pleasing to its audience. it will be interesting to see how Codemasters overcome this challenge with their new engine.
Online games are starting to look 'old', but without improved networking controllers, the developers won't be able to add newer features and higher levels of detail. (the more 'packets' an engine needs to send to the server, and then receive, the slower the latency, online games try and optimize this as much as possible).
There are many more small challenges that confront engines, and it is the resolution of these challenges that keeps the industry progressing graphically, and in many other ways.
Games engines can essentially be broken down into different areas, for example; Graphics rendering, Physics calculation, Networking controller, etc. These different parts all work together in conjunction with each other to produce the games we play. Depending on the skill and knowledge of the programmer that designs them, different games engines vary in quality.
The way in which a games engines creates and displays its 3d matrix varies, but generally is either considered 'subtractive' or 'additive'. The difference between these two rendering methods is quite simple. In games such as 'Half-Life 2' there is a 'void' in which you put objects into. The void is infinite, and in such an environment, the designers need to close the level off from the void. (this is because lighting information cannot be calculated in the void, due to its infinite distance, if the engine tried to calculate the distance traveled by a 'light ray' into the void it would never stop calculating, and the game would hang).
In subtractive environments, such as the 'Unreal engine', rather than having an infinite 'void' there is an infinite cube. Rather than the developer placing objects into the void and closing it off, the developer must first carve out an area in which to place objects. The benefits of this are that the developer does not need to spend important time checking the level to ensure there are no 'leaks'. However, the developer does need to keep carving out space to use, so it is two sided sword.
Developers have an option whether to buy a new games engine, or write their own. There are pros and cons of both.
Games engines are big, fucking big, not to mention complicated. Its very easy to write a poor game engine. It is also very time consuming to write a new games engine. In today's industry where 'time is money', this can often be seen as a risky move. However, if a game being developed, requires features that are not well supported in a current games engine developers can be forced to write or modify.
It is also worth noting that while writing new games engines may be quite rare in the current state of the industry, many developers are building upon old engines that they have used for previous games. For example Bohemia Interactive have been developing their 'posideon' engine for three game generations now, improving upon it, rather than writing a new engine.
However, some developers choose just to purchase the license for an engine that has already been written by either another studio, or a private company. Many engines are commercially avaliable, for example the 'Torque' engine can be purchased for a very small price. Other more well known engines such as the 'Unreal' engine are also commercially available, however, for a much higher price.
As time goes on, so do engines, and they must improve along the way. As new games demand new features, the new engines must provide them. In current engines there is a definite exchange between playing space or detail. For example, 'Operation Flashpoint 2' being developed by Codemasters requires large playing areas, while still trying to remain aesthetically pleasing to its audience. it will be interesting to see how Codemasters overcome this challenge with their new engine.
Online games are starting to look 'old', but without improved networking controllers, the developers won't be able to add newer features and higher levels of detail. (the more 'packets' an engine needs to send to the server, and then receive, the slower the latency, online games try and optimize this as much as possible).
There are many more small challenges that confront engines, and it is the resolution of these challenges that keeps the industry progressing graphically, and in many other ways.
Thursday, 5 March 2009
Gaming Cultures
Gaming is awesome, in more ways than one. Not only do you get to while away the wee hours of the morning, shooting new players on De_Dust, but you also meet people, and chat to people, gloat, taunt, and for some people, fall in love. Thankfully, I don't think I've ever done the latter, but I've definitely done the rest. Cultures in the 'fake' games world exist just as they do in the 'real' world (whever that place is). In the world today we have many different races, religeons, dress senses, accents, Broad cultures. In the games world we have consumers, n00bs, l337's (elite players), modders, developers, fan boys. They all exist, and can be seen in many of the different games played online today.
I personally feel that online games have the best cultural variety. On most single player games, we never really communicate with other people, and so we aren't able to express our views, and find our niche that we fit into.
Peronally, I consider myself a modder, when I play games, I want to put new stuff in them, I love fiddling with things. I'm part of different mod communities, I spend my freetime modding games, just as much as I play them. I'm definitely not a 1337 player, and I'd be shocked if you called me a n00b.
Modding occopies a lot of my life, dangerously consuming my time avaliable to do uni work, but I enjoy it, and its my leisure activity. its safe to say it takes up most of my freetime.
Through my time on the net, whether it be playing games, or modding games, I have met many 'virtual friends'. People I only know through the chat pane of MSN, some I have met while playing games. Take one of my friends Jack for example. Jack and I met on Counterstrike when I was fourteen years old. We stayed in touch all this time. Jack lives in Leicester, and when I came to university here, we met up and went for a drink. We're now good friends.
But most of my internet friends come from modding. We work as teams, on the internet to create content, but most I have never met in the flesh before. Its strange that I consider them my friends, when the only contact I have ever had with them is via text being entered onto a screen.
I personally feel that online games have the best cultural variety. On most single player games, we never really communicate with other people, and so we aren't able to express our views, and find our niche that we fit into.
Peronally, I consider myself a modder, when I play games, I want to put new stuff in them, I love fiddling with things. I'm part of different mod communities, I spend my freetime modding games, just as much as I play them. I'm definitely not a 1337 player, and I'd be shocked if you called me a n00b.
Modding occopies a lot of my life, dangerously consuming my time avaliable to do uni work, but I enjoy it, and its my leisure activity. its safe to say it takes up most of my freetime.
Through my time on the net, whether it be playing games, or modding games, I have met many 'virtual friends'. People I only know through the chat pane of MSN, some I have met while playing games. Take one of my friends Jack for example. Jack and I met on Counterstrike when I was fourteen years old. We stayed in touch all this time. Jack lives in Leicester, and when I came to university here, we met up and went for a drink. We're now good friends.
But most of my internet friends come from modding. We work as teams, on the internet to create content, but most I have never met in the flesh before. Its strange that I consider them my friends, when the only contact I have ever had with them is via text being entered onto a screen.
Wednesday, 4 March 2009
The Games Industry
The games industry has grown since its small beginnings around the 70's. Its now a multi-billion pound industry, with many developers based all over the globe. The growth of the game industry, bar the small crash of 1983, has generally been steady. However in recent times things have started to looks unsightly, with the recent recession many games companies have gone bust, or been dropped by their publishers, and it seems that only the large firms have high hopes of scoring profits as we all stop spending money on luxuries.
For example, the games company 'Free Radical Design', once the proud developers of the 'Time Splitters' series of games, have found the economical shit storm too much, and have had to pack it in. A sad end to an interesting company. And this story isn't unique, its happening to many more, Take 'Pivotal games' for example. Pivotal Games, based in bath, UK have also had to cut jobs, and seek a higher power. In this example, the once privately owned Pivotal, are now part of the Eidos group, seeking financial security.
The games industry is still a massively high revenue industry, but of late it seems that even the big guys are under threat. The main challenge of the industry, is to see through this phase. When the recession is over, and people start spending again, the games industry will be able to take full advantage of the inevitable developments in hardware, and see an even bigger popularity and growth.
For employees, the games industry is a mixed place. I have been lucky enough to speak to a few people in the industry. People such as Ben mathis, Marcel Playster. Both are 3D Artists and both have varying opinions on their industry. Ben Mathis for example is a great fan of the games industry, and was adamant it was the most fun place to work. Marcel on the other hand, dislikes the pressures of working as an artist.
After questioning these people, it is evident that the company that you work for has a lot to do with your enjoyment of the industry. Some companies are more relaxed than others, some are very large and lack the personality of smaller firms, smaller firms are sometimes very spartan and don't have ample resources. Depending on your personal opinions, one firm will appeal more than another.
The pressure of the recent recession however affects the pressures faced as an employee, with no slack being allowed by the publisher, the industry must essentially get more done in smaller time. This can cause discomfort to employees.
For example, the games company 'Free Radical Design', once the proud developers of the 'Time Splitters' series of games, have found the economical shit storm too much, and have had to pack it in. A sad end to an interesting company. And this story isn't unique, its happening to many more, Take 'Pivotal games' for example. Pivotal Games, based in bath, UK have also had to cut jobs, and seek a higher power. In this example, the once privately owned Pivotal, are now part of the Eidos group, seeking financial security.
The games industry is still a massively high revenue industry, but of late it seems that even the big guys are under threat. The main challenge of the industry, is to see through this phase. When the recession is over, and people start spending again, the games industry will be able to take full advantage of the inevitable developments in hardware, and see an even bigger popularity and growth.
For employees, the games industry is a mixed place. I have been lucky enough to speak to a few people in the industry. People such as Ben mathis, Marcel Playster. Both are 3D Artists and both have varying opinions on their industry. Ben Mathis for example is a great fan of the games industry, and was adamant it was the most fun place to work. Marcel on the other hand, dislikes the pressures of working as an artist.
After questioning these people, it is evident that the company that you work for has a lot to do with your enjoyment of the industry. Some companies are more relaxed than others, some are very large and lack the personality of smaller firms, smaller firms are sometimes very spartan and don't have ample resources. Depending on your personal opinions, one firm will appeal more than another.
The pressure of the recent recession however affects the pressures faced as an employee, with no slack being allowed by the publisher, the industry must essentially get more done in smaller time. This can cause discomfort to employees.
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