Questions about the Gaming Industry and Careers

[Gugeyewalker]

I know we have a variety of different artists here who use a variety of different design packages, and hopefully one or two of you have had some experience (and hopefully positive experience) in the gaming industry.

I am pretty sure the gaming industry is were I want to work; especially after spending hours learning how to mod games, dissecting them, trying to add to them or make them better.
I don't burn many games, and I am not rich so I dont buy a whole lot either, so I find some I like a lot, play the f*ck out of them, and when i get bored I start trying to take them apart with a vision of improvement in mind.
Finally a month ago i saw an obscure ship design in the game Star Trek Legacy that I have modeled myself incidentally (no no its not my mesh, just one I did also).

My raw skills at the moment are with 3dsmax, and I still have sooo much to learn, mostly to practise at this point - although I am looking at some work thats out there and thinking, "hmmm, yeah I could mesh that character or that ship or level."
So if modeling is where I am going to start in the industry thats all fine and good. Ultimately though I want to design games from the ground up.

So I have some questions about the industry. So far the 'horror stories' have not daunted me because I know where I would fit best, and nothing is going to stop me from trying doggedly to break in.

So....My education is purely in electronics, as is most of my experience. No art education, no media or graphics training, the only thing I will have to show is a portfolio that will hopefully be kick*ss. Whats better? Having some education in the field or having the raw skills as well as being able to demonstrate openly you have the skills?
And say I am applying for a job as a...character modeler; would I need to be able to demonstrate conventional concept sketching abilities too?
Ok and now regarding the horror stories - and this is where I am in the dark because I don't know what kind of positions are inside a good gaming studio. As an entry level modeler could I be stuck doing nothing but say...legs all day? Or hands? Or face texturing?? EEck!
Furthermore - i know its deadline oriented, will I be expected to work 60 or more hours a week? Would I have time to get out and get a breath of fresh air, go to the beach, and actually get some excersize??

Finally, say I land a good modeling gig with some design involved, from there how would I become a lead game designer; someone who oversees the whole shindig, and has a vision, like George Lucas haha, and makes it happen?

Okay and now, some gaming companies make terrible products...What are some rules of thumb to avoid a company that is making both great stuff and crap, where you are working a deadline to produce some stupid pokemon game, or something like the sims....

Thing is, i dont wana be an IT helpdesk person for the rest of my days. I want to be where I know I am fully utilized and all the strange visions in my head are allowed to be released, because ever since kindergarten they have been supressed by all these grownups who want me to be a dull, uncreative, cyborg drone like them.
Sometimes I just wanna scream when I get a call from another insurance agent who hasn't got a clue how to plug a network cable into his laptop, I'm 30, and I am no closer to doing what I really want to do than I was 10 years ago. (sorry for the rant, just blowing off some steam guys) So you young guys take this as a warning that you better get your butts in gear and get the job you want before you get too old.


Reply at will.

[spudmonkey]

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

I know we have a variety of different artists here who use a variety of different design packages, and hopefully one or two of you have had some experience (and hopefully positive experience) in the gaming industry.

There aren't that many kicking around here who have pro game dev experience, but there are one or two. I would strongly recommend asking the same question on CGchat or the Polycount forums as that's where most of the game pros tend to hang out online

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

So....My education is purely in electronics, as is most of my experience. No art education, no media or graphics training, the only thing I will have to show is a portfolio that will hopefully be kick*ss. Whats better? Having some education in the field or having the raw skills as well as being able to demonstrate openly you have the skills?

Experience is the main thing, as with most jobs. It's that wonderful catch-22 where you need the experience to get the role, but you can't get the experience without having the role in the first place! Obviously your portfolio is going to be a major selling point, but getting any experience that you can would stand you in good stead. If you can find a game art course then that would be a good way to go, though again I would recommend checking with the pros on which courses carry weight in the industry and which don't

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

And say I am applying for a job as a...character modeler;

Let me stop you right there. DO NOT go for character modeling as the basis of your first portfolio. I cannot stress that enough. You are more likely to get a starting role doing the slightly more tedious work around scene assets. If you go for characters you will be competing directly with the senior artists in the business and your work will probably not even be looked at. Concentrate on modeling real or pseudo-real world objects as best you can. You can then beef things up with some more creative work.

In terms of concept art, smaller houses will need both skills from individuals. Larger houses may need dedicated modelers. If you can draw it would add to your appeal, but the most important thing is to show that you can take a concept and create a viable game model from it.

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Furthermore - i know its deadline oriented, will I be expected to work 60 or more hours a week?

The games industry is notorious for anti-social hours. The deadlines are tight and projects can be canceled more-or-less with no notice at any point in their dev cycle. Do not expect an easy time of things and definitely expect long hours.

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Finally, say I land a good modeling gig with some design involved, from there how would I become a lead game designer; someone who oversees the whole shindig, and has a vision, like George Lucas haha, and makes it happen?

I'm not sure how many people go this route to get there, but as with most things in life, experience counts for everything. Maybe some other people will know, or perhaps will be able to better advise you on how to get started in that area without going the graphics route...

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Okay and now, some gaming companies make terrible products...What are some rules of thumb to avoid a company that is making both great stuff and crap, where you are working a deadline to produce some stupid pokemon game, or something like the sims....

You can't afford to think that way when you are trying to break into a new role. Suck it up and do stuff you don't like doing. Get the experience, get the reputation, get the better jobs.

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Thing is, i dont wana be an IT helpdesk person for the rest of my days. I want to be where I know I am fully utilized and all the strange visions in my head are allowed to be released, because ever since kindergarten they have been supressed by all these grownups who want me to be a dull, uncreative, cyborg drone like them.

Are you sure you want to be a game model artist then? You will be working on set assignments where you have little say in the creative direction or control over what you work on. Concept artists have more freedom, but again will have to ensure that their concepts fall within the overall remit of the project.

Hopefully that doesn't sound too depressing, but you need to know what you are getting yourself into! I genuinely wish you the best with your change in career and hope you get where you want to be.

[Jedilaw]

Tovette works full time in the industry, as a texture artist and conceptual designer for Sony Online Entertainment. He'd be a good person to ask.

[Charles Oines]

The big call for artists these days seems to be environment artists. Get good at building/texturing trees & rocks & buildings of all kinds.

[Unimatrix]

Coming in as an artist and trying to become a Game Designer is not the best combination at least what I've seen over the years.

My route came from being a tester, through to basic AI work, now I'm a Level Designer for Midway. Understanding the theory of how games are fun and the mechanics they use to achieve that is the way down the design path.

[Gugeyewalker]

Thats interesting Unimatrix...

I could do without being a modeler, but I happen to be okay at it.

Sounds to me its about knowing someone and acquiring the experience.

Texas doesnt seem to be much on games, nor fully paid game testers, Well there are gaming companies but game testers not so much, seems like all the game tester gigs are mostly in cali....will have to check that.

And spudmonkey, yes I would much prefer modeling something to what I am doing now, even if its a turd, I could feel some satisfaction out of making a nice turd....maybe not turds over and over, but you get the idea.
I see some concept art on here that is not my own creation, but would be very pumped to model and make it look as cool as possible.

Thanks for the tips so far guys...

Unimatrix, a question if I may...
What skills do you utilize to do your job? Do you layout any of the levels in a 3d program first? Or do you design them on paper?
And also I know you probably do tons of scripting work, trigger, entity, and object placement, but are you required to do any coding along with all that?

Most of what I know about level designing is through GTKradient for quake 3 engines.
Do you do something along those lines? Making levels out of 'brushes' etc...

Thanks! ;-)

[Gugeyewalker]

Originally Posted by spudmonkey

Let me stop you right there. DO NOT go for character modeling as the basis of your first portfolio. I cannot stress that enough. You are more likely to get a starting role doing the slightly more tedious work around scene assets. If you go for characters you will be competing directly with the senior artists in the business and your work will probably not even be looked at. Concentrate on modeling real or pseudo-real world objects as best you can. You can then beef things up with some more creative work.

Let me just make a comment about competing with the best in the industry; Of course!

When it comes to a demonstration of what I can, or will be able to do, character modeling will be included - along with everything else, even the seemingly mundane real world, which isn't really all that mundane.
But senior artists or not, I cannot let the idea of competition be discouraging, but rather empowering, or even inspirational.

[spudmonkey]

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Let me just make a comment about competing with the best in the industry; Of course!

When it comes to a demonstration of what I can, or will be able to do, character modeling will be included - along with everything else, even the seemingly mundane real world, which isn't really all that mundane.
But senior artists or not, I cannot let the idea of competition be discouraging, but rather empowering, or even inspirational.

I definitely agree with you there, but my advice is really based around trying to get your first couple of roles. By all means include some character work in your folio; it will show flexibility and variety. However, don't make it the focus or you will soon find that competing with the experienced guys quickly turns discouraging!

[DAve]

Originally Posted by Gugeyewalker

Unimatrix, a question if I may...
What skills do you utilize to do your job? Do you layout any of the levels in a 3d program first? Or do you design them on paper?
And also I know you probably do tons of scripting work, trigger, entity, and object placement, but are you required to do any coding along with all that?

I know you asked Unimatrix, but I'll offer an opinion if I may.

If you actually want to be a designer Max skills will help. Most level design these days is done in some form of 3D tool, be it part of the engne (i.e. Unreal Ed) or built by the company itself. I even know of some companies where all the the designers use Max (though this is rare, given the cost)

Often triggers can be placed graphically, but scripting is becoming more and more important. Again companies may use their own scripting language (particually if they have a long standing engine), but LUA is becoming a very popular scripting language to use. I'd recomend taking a lok at that. It's not too hard (but then again I'm a programmer... I'm never sure how you arty types think )

DAve
(Happens to be an Audio Programmer at Kuju Entertainment, but these are my thoughts - not theirs )

[Stev0]

I have a friend from my digital course who went the Gaming route instead of production. He got a job working for Ubisoft in Montreal. His skills were centered around character modeling and character animation. Now he's working in Australia for some silly reason and I don't get to chat with him online much anymore.

Pretty much kiss your life goodbye in regards to the separation of work and home. After the EA-Wife incident there was much talk about how some studio's work their artists like a child in a 3rd world country shoe factory. If you go into an interview and are told 40-50/week and the rate looks good then alarms should be going off in your head. I can easily see 60 hours/week pre-crunch time all the time.

Like any job if you remain interested in what your doing, be flexible as to what you can do and learn and excel at not only being a team player but show initiative to build on your own.

As for what you know? You can be a 3DMax master and it won't matter a hill of beans if you can't model with skill the simplest things to the most complex. I have seen artists trained in software and software people taught how to draw and neither can do the other's work right.

The best way to shine is to do it and show you have passion in what you do. Do something original. Don't copy what others have done. We see hundreds of games come out every year from private modder's to big name companys signing big name properties and how many games are truly worth playing? ... 5 ... 6? per platform.

Every game that comes out is a Quake Clone, Counter Strike Clone, Command and Conquer Clone, Warcraft Clone, Diablo Clone, and so on...

Be interested. Show ideas. Even a coder can produce something original despite the fact that it may look like a bunch of text and numbers. When the code is applied to what it was written for the effect maybe something someone has not through of or even revolutionize something already in place.