PE: Game Development Interviews part 1!

hi and Welcome

Project Educate: Game Development Interviews part 1!

I have some amazing interviews of 3 great Artists today, today I have interviewed - HazardousArts, sangheili117 and Dudz, they are all from the game development industry and they all do different roles in that industry. They have all answered some questions, that should help and inspire you!

Interview with HazardousArts

HazardousArts
Name: Jon Troy Nickel
Age: 31
Country I live in: Australia
Occupation: Video Games Character Artist

Q1 - Just tell us a bit about your self
I'm a pretty self motivated artist, have always wanted to do my own things, on my own time, right back since I was very young. I didnt really get into seriously working in 3d art until around 2004 / 2005. I taught myself 3d, with help from friends, and the generous contributions by other artists to various onlines forums like cgtalk, polycount etc. A little before I started art I was actually a DJ, I toured around a bit and played electronic music in various clubs and raves - Music is still a big part of my every day life. I'm married to an awesome lady Anuxinamoon who is without a doubt my best friend and biggest inspiration Ive worked on about 30 games, most of them small and nothing that anyone would really know anything about, but most recently I was the Lead Character Artist on the MMO Rift, and in a few months time will be able to talk about where im going next and what ill be working on!

Q2 - What software do you use or have used and for how long?
Zbrush - 4 years, 3DSMax - 8 years, Maya - 2 years, Photoshop - 8 years, 3dcoat - 1 year, Topogun - 1 year, Xoliul Shader - 2 years, xnormal 3 - years, Unreal Engine 3 - 4 years, Gamebryo - 4 years.

Q3 - How long have you been doing Game Development?
Professionally since 2004, but I've dabbled in indy game dev since early 2003.

Q4 - How did you come across Game Development and why did you chose do it professionally and/or study it?
Ive been playing and programming games since I was very young around age 5 - 6. Mostly RPG's heh, and I still make time to play games, though, nowhere near as much as I used to! It was a natural progression that I gravitated towards i think, there were a few bumps along the way, I started pretty late, not until I was around 24 did I really get interested and serious about the games industry as a way of life.

Q5 - How did you learn to do Game Development art? All completely self taught via whatever I could find. I basically spent all my time trying to copy the good guys out there, I still do this today when im trying to learn something. I think thats super important. If you're a young artists trying to find your way, dont waste time doodling random things - study and copy, try to do what the masters do, and focus your learning, otherwise years can go by and you wont have learned anywhere near as much as you could have.

Q6 - Anything you struggle with in the Game creation progress?
Many things these days, keeping up with new tech, always finding new ways to communicate with people etc. I would love to learn japanese or korean languages so i could read, write and communicate better with some of my favourite artists!!

Q7 - If you wasn't sitting at the computer making Art for Games, what could we find you doing?
Either, in my garden growing food, or listening to music, playing games, watching anime - basically super nerd stuff

Q8 - Any Advise for new Game Artists just starting out?
Attack with all your might. Give this 150% and exhaust yourself every day by learning and constantly growing as an artist. Focus on your weaknesses and don't get comfortable, If you can do this - its only a matter of time before you become mighty.

Finally - What's the funniest thing that's happened to you in Creating Games?
Oh so many things, you have to realise when you work with a bunch of game developers, they are a crazy bunch of people - strange things can happen on a day to day basis. People coming to work in strange costumes - practical jokes by the dozen - the police showing up because people in surrounding buildings believed there was a hostage situation in progress outside our studio ( nothing but a simple live scene mockup by the animation team using weapon props etc )

Here is some of his works!

Interview with sangheili117

sangheili117
Name: Joe Pykett
Age: 23
Country I live in: UK
Occupation: Video Games Artist (generalist)


What software do you use or have used and for how long?
I manly use the following (in order of workflow):
Zbrush, 3D Coat, 3DSMax, xNormal and photoshop i also use after effects as well. i started my 3D experience in maya back in the days of collage which was about 6 years ago I believe, however while attending university i decided to learn 3DS max and am very glad that i did, its a program that I use heavily for work though as of late due to all the advancements that zbrush is getting i tend to spend more time using that than max or most of the other programs.

How long have you been doing Game Development?
I started taking work on back in university and since then my client numbers and contract numbers have grown greatly. I'd say I've been in games development around four years now and moving into five soon. its one of those types of jobs though that you don't really count the years, just have a fun time doing it, and in my job I find myself doing something different every day and this keeps me really motivated and challenged and makes me wonder what ill be doing next.

How did you come across Game Development and why did you chose do it professionally and/or study it?
I came across game development way back when i was just thirteen and the good old days of the nintendo 64. At that time my love for games was so much that i decided that i wanted to make art for games as my skill in art wasn't half bad either if i do say so myself, but i was a kid, and easily impressed. it was then the research began, how to get into the industry? what was the work structure? how do 3D programs work.

originally i only planned to go to collage and was gonna leave it there but after seeing that more and more studios required their possible job candidates to have a university degree it seemed the right thing to do to take the 3 year dive into university. and that led me to where i am today.

How did you learn to do Game Development art?
game development art is just like any other art at the concept stage there just pictures but the difficulty was texturing and 3D at first. It was just a case of learning what programs developers use and then learning to use those tools to a very high standard. speed isn't much of an issue as everyone seems to think though its just the rushes that really require buckling down and working extra hard.

As for learning university is a great place to do so, more because it gives you the time and challenge to practice all the time, and the lecturers teach you new techniques as they learn as well.

I guess what I'm trying to say is the learning never really ends because as long as there are programs and people to make them, they will always be updating to make the development process easier.

Anything you struggle with in the Game creation progress?
because of the nature of my job i cant say that i do truly struggle with anything really, not art wise anyway, it might make me sound big headed but if there's a job that needs doing I will at least give it a go and perhaps learn from it before even considering not doing it as this gives me the opportunity to learn something new and add it to my ever growing knowledge of art. There areas that I'm weaker at that aren't art related yes but nothing that is particularly troubling per-say

If you wasn't sitting at the computer making Art for Games, what could we find you doing?
oh there's many things i do out side of work, watching anime/cartoons, building gundam models, playing video games or even just chilling with some tunes maybe a combination of all four. Though when seasons/ games finish I'm never quite sure where to put myself at the time so i end up back on the computer making personal art

Any Advise for new Game Artists just starting out?
the world is a mess right now and there isn't many jobs going, you have to think that for every one job there could be anywhere up to 100 other people applying for the same job, so practice practice practice and make your art and knowledge better than everyone else's, get a blog or website, promote yourself on youtube and livestream, get your art all over the internet and sign up to job sites and professional networks like linked in to keep yourself in the loop, and most importantly don't give up. remember what Walt Disney said:

"all you dreams can come true, if you have the courage to pursue them"

and you know what, he's right and if you know somebody in the industry personally, there your best bet to get in easily, but don't pester them.

Here is some of his works!

Interview with Dudz

Dudz
Name: Will Dudley
Age: 22
Country I live in: UK
Occupation: Facial Animator at Lionhead.

Q1 - Just tell us a bit about your self
I guess you could almost call me a 3D Generalist (If only i could do character animation). I graduated in 2010 with a degree in Computer Animation from the university of Portsmouth. I then got my first job as a 3D artist at Rare working on Kinect Sports: Season Two. Now i find myself working at Lionhead doing Facial Animation for Fable: Journey.
When i’m not sitting at work, bewildered at how I manage to get such awesome jobs, i spend my time drawing, playing any video game i can get my hands on and spending too much money on Lego.

Q2 - What software do you use or have used and for how long?
I used 3DS Max for three years at University. Then Maya for 9 months when I was a Rare. I’ve dabbled in zBrush, and used Motion Builder briefly. I’ve been using Photoshop forever.
As primarily a modeler i think I’ll always have a soft spot for Max, it’s where i have the deepest knowledge. When you learn to use a software package as part of a job you tend to only learn what you need, so with Maya and Motion Builder I only know a detailed but small area of the software.

Q3 - How long have you been doing Game Development?
I started working for Rare in March 2010. I spent 9 months there and the contract ended when the game was finished. I then lucked into a job here at Lionhead through a friend from university and I’ve been here for nearly 3 months. Everyone always says it’s who you know, and i guess that was kind of the case here. But you still have to be able to the job, or you won’t find yourself there very long, and your friend will look like a fool to his boss.

Q4 - How did you come across Game Development and why did you chose do it professionally and/or study it?
Since i was about 15 I’ve been playing with textures in Counter Strike and Call of Duty (Yeah, that COD 1 ya whipper-snappers!) I wouldn’t want to count the amount of hours I spent “playing” with these games. I eventually got fairly proficient with the level editors for each (Hammer and Radiant). If you want to get games then playing with level creation tools is a great way to start. It’s a great way to get a basic understanding of the whole process, and from there you can start to decide whether you want to start creating your own art for the levels, or start scripting new features.

When I was looking at what to do at university i was really stuck. I was looking at courses for things i had done alright in at college. Then a friend pointed out some courses in 3D art and game development. I’d never really thought about it as a career, it was surely too fun to get anyone to pay you to do it.

Q5 - How did you learn to do Game Development art?
University was a great place to learn the skills needed, outside of lectures the key was time. Spending as long as you can with your head shoved deep into whatever program you’re using. If you love game developement then you’ll never stop having ideas for things to create, and through making these ideas into reality (well... virtual reality) you’ll learn more and more.
When I started my first job i was shocked at how little I knew. Every company does things a little differently, and it’s all completely different to how things are done at university. You can learn so much in industry just by talking to the people around you, especially if you buy the right people the right drinks.


Q6 - Anything you struggle with in the Game creation progress?
I really should say ‘No’ in case any future employers might be reading.
I often find myself getting distracted when deep into a personal project. I don’t have a particularly short attention span but game art can take a long time, especially if you like to push yourself. So once i’ve got into a project and it’s started to become a bit repetitive i always start thinking of new ideas and it’s always more fun to start something new than to keep churning through polygons.

I never tend to have this problem with work in industry. Perhaps because so far i have always worked on lots of smaller things, level props and cutscenes, rather than grand sprawling levels. There’s also the effect of sitting in a room with 50-200 people who all love game development too. There is always someone doing something new and interesting, or someone who finds what you’re doing new and interesting.

Q7 - If you wasn't sitting at the computer making Art for Games, what could we find you doing?
I find myself wanting to play every video game that comes out. Any game that has anything new to contribute to game development has to be played. It’s gotten so out of hand that there is a spreadsheet involved.

I can’t remember who i first heard this from but to be a game developer any piece of knowledge is useful, because anything can become a video game. So i find myself forever trying to keep on top of the latest movies, books and games, while still trying to track down the classics and watch/read/play them. Anything that might spark off an idea.

Q8 - Any Advise for new Game Artists just starting out?
Be malleable. As a starter it can be very tempting to get stuck in a certain art style, and this can make it hard to get a job. A lot of games these days have started moving away from striving for realism, it’s just too expensive. So if you show that you can tackle any art style and work within limitations then you are extremely hireable.

Finally - What's the funniest thing that's happened to you in Creating Games?
It would probably have to be when an art lead decided to teach me to skateboard during a cocktail party inside the Rare offices. I ended up flying straight up in the air, the skateboard flying off at at least 200 miles an hour towards someones computer. Luckily the computer was fine, I bust up my knee but still managed to kick everones arses and Dance Central.
Either that or doing the Snoopy dance when I got my first job, at the company which made Banjoe Kazooie, my favourite game from my childhood.

Here is some of his works!
:thumb195748254: :thumb153413136: :thumb175853949:

Whats happening and whats happened in the week!

Hi and welcome to Project Educate, I'm WillowXD and I'm the Community Volunteer for the Game Development! and this week I'm going to try and Educate you and help you learn and understand more about Game development here on DA! so what I have planed for this week is:

Game Development Intro and Contest Day - on the Monday (21st May)
- For this day I will be running through whats happening in the week and I will be running a week long contest, the contest will only last for this week and well be for both 2D and 3D game dav creators, the prize will be 2000 da points! for more info click the link below!
Monday 21st May blog - projecteducate.deviantart.com/…

Game Dev Info Day - on the Tuesday (22nd May)
- For this week I'm going to be gathering info about game art, like what is Game dev all about, A recap on what goes in the game dev category, some articals on game dev and some tips and hints on how to make it big in the game dev side of dA and how to get your work noticed. for this I list all the info on a blog.
Tuesday 22nd May Blog- projecteducate.deviantart.com/…  

Interviews part 1 - on the Wednesday (23rd May)
- I have about 5-6 interviews from people in industry I will split them up for both parts and I will post them in a blog.

Game Dev Feature day - on the Thursday (24th May)
- Yes I will be gathering artworks from artists and post them in a big blog. I will also be asking for people to contribute to the blog by listing their art gatherings in the blog comments, there is a prize up for grabs of 500 da points for the person, who lists the most and amazing artworks of that day (from the game dev category and/or out sources ONLY! it must be game dev related in some way!)

Interviews part 2 - on the Friday (25th May)
- I have about 5-6 interviews from people in industry I will split them up for both parts and I will post them in a blog.

Game Dev Resources and Tutorial Gathering day - on the Saturday (26th May)
- Yes I will be gathering Resources and Tutorials for Game envelopment usage, I will try and find some beginner and expert material, so if you want to get into game dev, this blog will help you achieve that. I will be posting all this in a big blog. I will also be asking for people to contribute to the blog by listing their Resources and Tutorial gatherings in the blog comments, there is a prize up for grabs of 500 da points for the person, who lists the most and useful Resources and Tutorials of that day (They must be game dev related in some way!)

Contest Results and Recap - on the Sunday (27th May)
- This day I will be recapping on what went on in the week and will be announcing the contest winners and giving out the prizes!
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