Contextual Studies homework: 2 Games Companies

Last week we were asked to research 2 games companies we would be interested in working for, as homework. Although I would be interested in working for any video game company, to work for two major game companies that would be a dream complete for me, would be Jagex and Rockstar Games.

Jagex Games Studio


Examples of games Jagex have made: 
RuneScape, 8Realms, Stellar Dawn (coming soon)

Tips I found out on how to get employed by Jagex: 
Peter Lovell (Jagex-employed Talent Acquisition Specialist) - Jagex love creative skills and encourage use of them. They love opening CVs that are different because most of the time they only take quick glances at the thousands of CVs they are sent.
Taken from: http://www.develop-online.net/news/39641/NEW-YEAR-NEW-JOB-Craft-a-perfect-CV

Also, as I am a fan of Jagex Jobs' Facebook page, I managed to find out about a CV guide that Jagex had created especially for people looking to be employed by the company, which of course will be extremely helpful!

Picture and info taken from: https://www.facebook.com/Jagex.Jobs

Rockstar Games


Examples of games made by Rockstar Games: 
GTA series, Red Dead Redemption, L.A. Noire


Tips I found out on how to get employed by Rockstar Games: (AKA R*)
All infomation I found out on Rockstar Games employment comes from an interview with three different employees from R* studios from across the world (L-R: Joshua Bass, San Diego, Gordon Hall, Leeds, and Robert Spampinato, New Orleans.)



With the help of the tips given in this video, I discovered that the main things R* look for in an art portfolio is that the potential employee is the best artist out there and should show no weaknesses. They should have a clean reel and the first 15 seconds has to have a 'spark' to it. It has to be amazing, as Josh said "if it looks good to you, it will probably look bad to us". He also said that work completed during your degree probably won't get you a job, you should use your best work only.

The video also showed that there are 2 main camps of art portfolios:
The "fantasy" side: shows creativity and work flow. How ever, the problem is that it's about what's in your head and in a company like R* you have to use someone else's work.

The other side is the "life" side, which they placed strong emphasis on it's importance. This camp shows textures, animation and art examples in realistic form. This was an element that is vital in R* employment, as it shows ability to work in a realistic style.

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Research: Examples of sculpts made in Mudbox

Before we had the Mudbox induction, I decided to have a look at some Mudbox sculpts in order to understand what sort of quality sculpts this program can produce.
After 30 minutes of looking at showcases across Autodesk, CGTalk and other 3-D websites, I discovered that the only barrier that holds you back in Mudbox is your own imagination. The sculpts could be extremely detailed and realistic, but some were made 'Pixar-style' and were quite cartoony.

Here are some examples I found that used Mudbox as part of their process:

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Life drawing #4

Above: A two hour life study.

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Main poses marked out for animating in Maya

After researching animation cycles and drawing some draft sketches of Moom, I have now chosen the main poses for each animation cycle which will help make the animation look more smoother, rather than choppy. So far the poses seem to be working well, how ever I will need to adopt the pose-to-pose animation principle rather than let Maya fill in the gaps in some places because I seem to find problems such as the feet going under the plane at stages.

Walk cycle

Run cycle

Jump cycle

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Animating a character rig

 Recently we were given a task to animate a character rig given to us, we had to perform 3 different animations on this rig: walk, run and jump. Since this is just a test for animation, we aren't expected to model the character, texture it or light the environment.

Above: "Moom", our character.

During the lesson, we had time to familiarize ourselves with the rig, learning what joints moved parts and how toggling the IK and FK settings affected the movement of a rig.

At first it seemed like an easy task to do, how ever, I began to notice that it wasn't as simple as moving a leg or arm and setting a keyframe. The animation had to look believable, and I faced many problems with the rig's movement being very robotic. To aid this problem, I went through as many key frames as possible to tweak the movement that made the animation look robotic.

After this problem, I decided to go home and research animation cycle storyboards and video clips, so I could get an idea in my head on what sort of positions the body would move in. This proved incredibly helpful as I animated the same positions on the character rig. After this research I decided to make quick storyboards (30 secs per piece) to allow me to have a rough idea what the vital positions were in each animation cycle.

I am also facing a problem with rendering using the playblast feature because no movie codecs are appearing. I have tried to search this problem online, yet have had no luck in finding an answer, so I might have to ask Mark in the future how to fix this problem (incase we have to submit the clips at a later date.)

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Inspiration taken from games for the Maya animation

I decided that before jumping straight into animating, research was key. If I researched animations from video games, I would be able to understand the different styles of walking, running and jumping in games.

Examples of jump animations in games:


- I quite enjoy this jump animation, not only for nostalgic purposes but also because it's not a generic style of jumping seen in most games today.


- This style of jump is quite interesting, with how one arm raises above the character (Mario), and I will remember to make the arms fairly flexible when making Moom jump, because most natural jumps don't include stiff arms raised.


- I feel that this jump style is fairly similar to the GTA style posted above, it adopts the same pattern with one leg raising before the other, instead of both legs jumping at the same time. I feel that this makes the jump look more realistic and natural (rather than the style of a jump a gymnast performs, in which their body is very stiff and pointed.)


- I didn't like this jump too much, simply because it was a simple translation upwards with slight slow-in, slow-out. Despite the use of this principle, it was not incredibly realistic. However, since the style of the game is 'cartoony', I feel this style of jump suits the game.



Examples of run animations in games:



- The run animations in this game are incredibly realistic, and the slow-mo effect whilst the characters are running in this trailer definitely helps and will provide further reference for my animation work in the future.


- The style of run in this trailer suits the style of the game much more than what it would in a game such as Battlefield 3. The animation of the character running has a lot more bounce and feels a lot more suited to the game's cartoony style because it's quite comical rather than realistic.


- I've added this trailer because it has great shots of atheletes running from the front view. Another positive point to add about this trailer is that the shots are in slow-mo and will allow me to recognise how atheletes such as the characters in these might run in certain situations of pressure - as this style would differ greatly to the style of a casual jog e.g. the body parts are much more stiffer in pressured scenarios such as football games.

Examples of walk animations in games:


- The style of walking in GTA IV looks realistic because the body flows naturally e.g. the knees bend and stretch with each pace and therefore doesn't make the character look robotic and stiff. How ever, I'm not sure if the speed of this walk looks entirely natural, despite humans being able to walk at this speed, I think I'll prefer my animation cycle to be a little more slower.


- This style of walk animation from Runescape might not look particularly realistic because the feet sometimes slide across the floor without any joint movement on the foot and therefore looks like they are just sliding across the ground. This clip will remind me to make use of the different features on the toes on Moom's rig.

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Contextual Studies homework: 2 Job Roles in the Games Industry

NOTE: For an optimum viewing experience, please click on the images to view.

Job roles in the Games Industry: 

For our Contextual Studies homework task, we were asked to research 2 job roles from a list (to be specific, job roles which we are desirable to us.) We have been asked to prepare this homework for Thursday, and have notes ready to discuss our choices and any findings. 

The job roles I decided to research are:

'3D modeler' - creates 3-D models using high and low poly counts and in-game resolutions. The 3D modelers help determine the style, look and quality of the characters.

'Level editor' - defines and creates the interactive architecture segment for the game e.g. landscapes, buildings and objects. They also develop gameplay through deciding on challenges the characters face e.g. obstacles, places to hide and tests of skill.

I chose these roles because I am incredibly interested in CGI, I feel that it can push boundaries in factors such as aesthetics in film and video games to a great extent. For example, it can be suggested that film and games are driven by the possibilities of CGI - modelers and animators can make anything we can possibly desire happen on screen, this can be seen through the constant evolution in graphical detailing (16bit games compared to the level of graphics we can see in video games today show great difference in how realistic the graphics are.)

As I researched different companies' vacancies for these particular jobs, the level of experience required gained greatly. How ever, the majority asked for on average, 5 years of industry experience and placed great importance on a strong, varied portfolio.  


Common requirements for both jobs included:

Strong relevant knowledge around the job e.g. Computer game fundamentals, rigging and animation principles, anatomical detail, video game art pipelines



Skill e.g. In software such as: Maya, Max, Nuke, AAE, Unity 3D engine, Mudbox, Zbrush, Photoshop, Ability to work in a variety of styles


Experience e.g. Working in the industry particularly with concept work, modeling, texturing, shading, light and colour


Commitment to the work at hand e.g. Being organised, work to a deadline, verbal and written skills, collaborative work ethic, problem solving abilities



Senior 3-D modeler:
http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/viewjobrss.asp?cjid=17561&accountno=20282


3-D modeler and texture artist:
http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/viewjobrss.asp?cjid=26027&accountno=107784


Senior 3-D modeler and texture artist:
http://jobs.gamasutra.com/jobseekerx/viewjobrss.asp?cjid=23308&accountno=48212


Character modeler:
http://jobs.gamasutra.com/JobSeekerX/ViewJob.asp?JobID=q41wMZmU1axrrQaPzMsttW0kQHJ5&Keywords=3d+AND+modeler

3-D artist - Character and head specialist:
http://www.gojobsearch.co.uk/job/8145/3d-artist-character-face-and-head-specialist--Derby

3DS Max Artist:
http://www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=52633903


Senior 3-D character artist:
http://www.datascope.co.uk/job-details.html?jobid=943


Senior character modeling artist:
http://www.datascope.co.uk/job-details.html?jobid=933

3-D artist:
http://www.totaljobs.com/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=52581106

3-D artist:
http://www.3dmd.net/forum/3d-discussion-8172.html


3-D artist:
http://www.ukstaffsearch.com/jobs/details/834348/?a_aid=jobisjob


-------------------------


Senior 3-D Environmental artist:
http://www.cwjobs.co.uk/JobSearch/JobDetails.aspx?JobId=52582589


Architectural 3-D visualiser:
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/job/architectural-3d-visualiser-cgi-artist-941758369?utm_campaign=jobisjob_cpc_feed_ukmarketing&utm_source=jobisjob_cpc&sisearchengine=601&utm_medium=aggregator&siproduct=941758369&amp=&tid=748086


3-D Environment artist:
http://www.datascope.co.uk/job-details.html?jobid=965

Senior Environment artist:
http://www.datascope.co.uk/job-details.html?jobid=934


Senior 3-D Environment artist:
http://www.datascope.co.uk/job-details.html?jobid=944


Environment artist:
https://www.rockstargames.com/jobs/position/699bc3effad30537506ec7e43bff5b78/rockstar-leeds

Environment artist:
https://www.rockstargames.com/jobs/position/418f709db8534102e223092fe76609ee/rockstar-toronto

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Animating using Photoshop

I was never aware that Photoshop is actually quite a handy program for learning the basics of animation. I enjoyed using layers just like how you would when photo editing/touching up renders and found the UI very easy to understand because I am familiar with Photoshop already.

I was excited to get home and start work on an animation that I could spend more time on (rather than just one hour 30 minutes like earlier), how ever I was incredibly disappointed to find out my Photoshop doesn't offer this feature... Looks like this will be a skill I can only nurture using the PCs in the Media lab :-(

Examples of animations made using Photoshop:

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Animating a bouncing ball

After a couple of inductions on animating in Maya, we have been given a task to animate a ball that is bouncing on the floor.

Having not taken too much interest in animation in Maya before, the inductions proved very handy and taught me a lot in combination with animation fundamentals, such as the 12 principles of animation.
At first, the graph editor looked complicated, and to be frank, I still have to trouble in approaching the XYZ axis' and where they fit with the virtual space in the view ports, but hopefully that will come with experience in using the graph. 

We have learnt that in order to make the ball animation look as realistic as possible, we have to incorporate principles such as 'squash and stretch' into the animation, thus adding volume and good flow to the clip.

Above: A screenshot of my bouncing ball animation.

Tomorrow we have a group critique, so it shall be interesting to watch other students' animations and learn how I can make my animations better through taking others' comments into consideration.



Above is a clip repeating the animation over three times. Unfortunately due to repeating the clip (I felt that I should repeat the clip over because the original animation is only 1 second long) there is parts where the animation seems to lag. How ever, this is not part of the animation, it is simply because I finish the cycle with the ball translated lower than the original height it is dropped at (to represent weight in the animation.)

I did originally change the texture of the ball, but changed the texture back to the original, as I didn't think the tutors would appreciate a gigantic moving ball of fluff!

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Life drawing #3

Above: Sketches of a lady in different positions, mainly taken whilst she was laying on the floor.

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An introduction to Maya (sort of)

Recently, we have been having a few inductions on how to use 3-D modeling, texturing, rendering software 'AutoDesk Maya', which have proved incredibly handy for many members of the class who have not used this program before.

I have used this software before, so the inductions only reinforced methods that I am already used to, how ever it was comforting to know that the tutors use the same work methods as I do (thus far.) Despite this, I will continue to attend the sessions as the topics covered within them will prove incredibly handy for note-taking and learning more complex methods on how to animate and model - a skill I would love to learn more about.

I have decided to create a separate page on this blog named 'modeling references' as I tend to search into modeling methods quite often, but never seem to save any photos on topology, edge flow, etc, so I have decided this page could come in quite handy in the future.

http://capleass.blogspot.com/p/modelling.html

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Lectures with Drew Castalia

During the week, we were lucky enough to have script writer UEA-graduate Drew Castalia lead a lecture to the Games Art students, which proved helpful in allowing us to gain an insight into the roles and practices of a freelance writer.

He started off by showing us a short film named 'Click', of which he created with a group of friends. This reinforced how as a freelancer, he had the freedom to choose what sort of material he made, so this film basically presented certain elements of freedom he holds in his occupation.

Furthermore, he warned us of certain risks in the field of freelance writing, in relation to contracts, ownership, becoming sucked into producing material without gaining official achievements for them.
A good example he used is his contract for the 'Young Sherlock Holmes Adventure' books he wrote, in which the publishers stripped his name from the book that would be released to the general public.

More over, Drew relayed the importance of gaining experience in the fields through University, developing relationships for contacts and holding good internet presence in the form of blog-writing, presenting portfolios online and to relevant industries and most importantly, recognising that as a freelancer, they can't do everything and will often need help once in a while.

The lecture was incredibly helpful in reminding us how important the factors he spoke to us about are in a competitive industry such as video game development, and I would like to thank him for taking the time to visit us and shed some light on how his job works.

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Life drawing #2

Above: I decided to search into different types of frames (the torso and ribs area.) This will prove invaluable when I start to model characters in 3D.

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Animating using Flash

Recently Mark taught us how to animate on Flash, this was fantastic for me because I come from subjects that did not need us to learn Flash and therefore, this lesson was a great learning curve for me. I am aware that many games and clips have been made using this program, and therefore, the prospects of learning more about this piece of software is extremely exciting!

I thought the video below was very interesting to see what sort of artistic styles of animation can be used in Flash and generally just enjoyed watching videos using a program that I am being taught currently!

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Animation Fundamentals: The 12 Principles of Animation

The 12 Principles of Animation

So after successfully making it through the first term, we have returned back to NUCA to be greeted with a whole new line of projects.
The first being "Animation Fundamentals", which will be led by Mark. This project explores key principles in animation and introduces its symbiotic effect on concept design for game. We will observe and replicate moving objects in two and three dimensions using a mix of analogue and digital mediums to understand the relationship between form and function. Focusing on gestural expression, you will further develop skills in creative problem solving by animating a range of cyclical animations suitable for use within a next-gen pipeline.
Our first task is to research the "12 principles of animation" and to find some good and bad examples of each stage within different video games, then present these to the class.

To sum up, the 12 principles of animation are as follows:


Squash and stretch (good and bad examples):
This action gives the illusion of weight and volume to a character as it moves. Also squash and stretch is useful in animating dialogue and doing facial expressions. 

I believe that the Finding Nemo movie game sets a good example of the squash and stretch animation principle in the level where Marlin has to guide himself through the jellyfish forest. The use of this principle on the jellyfish in the background gives an illusion of weight and volume as they move. 

A bad example of squash and stretch could be 'Angry Birds' because when the player fires the bird towards the obstacles, despite a motion blur effect being added, the bird does not squash/stretch upon contact.














Anticipation (good example):
This movement prepares the audience for a major action the character is about to perform, such as, starting to run, jump or change expression. A dancer does not just leap off the floor. A backwards motion occurs before the forward action is executed. The backward motion is the anticipation. 

I feel that the scene in L.A Noire where Rusty punches a character is a good example of the anticipation principle. His reaction towards how the man kissed a dead lady coupled with his lean-back stance (to add power to his punch) prepare the audience for a major action to follow.





Staging (good example):
A pose or action should clearly communicate to the audience the attitude, mood, reaction or idea of the character as it relates to the story and continuity of the story line. The effective use of long, medium, or close up shots, as well as camera angles also helps in telling the story.  

Heavy Rain sets a good example of staging in this particular scene where Ethan prepares to commit suicide. As his facial expressions and actions clearly communicate his mood and reactions to certain situations (in this instance, the tragic deaths.) Furthermore, the use of mise-en-scene in this shot, in particular, the prison costume used, help to reinforce the attitude of the character by showing the audience how his life of misfortune has led to this event.



Straight ahead and pose-to-pose:
Straight ahead animation starts at the first drawing and works drawing to drawing to the end of a scene. You can lose size, volume, and proportions with this method, but it does have spontaneity and freshness. Fast, wild action scenes are done this way. Pose to Pose is more planned out and charted with key drawings done at intervals throughout the scene. Size, volumes, and proportions are controlled better this way, as is the action. 



Follow through and overlapping action (good example):
When the main body of the character stops all other parts continue to catch up to the main mass of the character, such as arms, long hair, clothing, coat tails or a dress, floppy ears or a long tail (these follow the path of action). 

Red Dead Redemption works well in using the follow through and overlapping action animation principles when characters get off a horse they have been travelling on. Despite the horses legs having stopped, their tail and mane carry on following the path of action for a short amount of time after. 





Slow-out and slow-in (good example):
As action starts, we have more drawings near the starting pose, one or two in the middle, and more drawings near the next pose. Fewer drawings make the action faster and more drawings make the action slower.

The principle shown above can be witnessed in GTA: San Andreas, where C.J has the ability to play snooker in a bar. The path the snooker ball takes uses this principle because it starts off slow, begins to pick up speed, how ever on impact with the other balls, it slows down again. 

Arcs (good example):
All actions, with few exceptions (such as the animation of a mechanical device), follow an arc or slightly circular path. This is especially true of the human figure and the action of animals. Arcs give animation a more natural action and better flow.

A good example of this principle can be seen in Sly Cooper and the Thievius Racoonus game, when Sly fights his enemies. Whilst 'swiping' Sly follows an arc, which in return adds an natural effect to the action and flows smoothly.















Secondary action (good example):
This action adds to and enriches the main action and adds more dimension to the character animation, supplementing and/or re-enforcing the main action. 

A good example can be seen in the GTA: 5 trailer where a woman is crossing the road. Whilst walking, the secondary action of her hands swaying either side of her body adds dimension and adds realistic elements to the character animation.





Timing (good example):
Expertise in timing comes best with experience and personal experimentation, using the trial and error method in refining technique. The basics are: more drawings between poses slow and smooth the action. Fewer drawings make the action faster and crisper. The variety of fast and slow movement in this game adds texture and spurs interest in the petals' movement for the player. 

The timing in animations used in the game Flower work well in my opinion, because no matter what speed the petals are flying, the animation flows smoothly. 









Exaggeration (bad example):
Exaggeration is not extreme distortion of a drawing or extremely broad, violent action all the time. Its like a caricature of facial features, expressions, poses, attitudes and actions. 

A bad example of exaggeration is in the game Crazy Taxi, for the reason that the exagerration is extremely exaggerated to the point where it loses it's sense of realism. This can be shown when the car crashes into another car and is just flung to the other side of the road without following a realistic path of movement or following a sensible height path.  








Solid drawing:
The basic principles of drawing form, weight, volume solidity and the illusion of three dimension apply to animation as it does to academic drawing. 









Appeal (good and bad examples):
A live performer has charisma. An animated character has appeal. Appealing animation does not mean just being cute and cuddly. All characters have to have appeal whether they are heroic, villainous, comic or cute. Appeal, as you will use it, includes an easy to read design, clear drawing, and personality development that will capture and involve the audience's interest. 

I feel that Ethan's personal development in Heavy Rain captured my interest incredibly well because every player has a loved one and fear losing them, so the fact that Ethan faces the prospect of losing another son interested me greatly because I wanted to know what will happen to his son and also to him. 

I feel that the revenant NPCs that used to appear in 'RuneScape' held bad appeal for a large amount of players (this could be seen at the time in the complaints section of the RS forums) that used the Wilderness for quests, runecrafting, agility and the achievement diaries because they would automatically freeze, tele-block and sometimes kill the players, even if the player had no intent on hunting the monster itself. 
Whilst playing the game, these monsters incredibly frustrated me on my path to 99 runecrafting, which often involved passing these creatures to get to the abyss because they stopped me from doing activities I wanted to do (lost inventory on death and couldn't teleport for a long period.)

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