Draft of Contextual Studies Report

Today I finished my first draft of the Contextual Studies Roles and Practices report.
Unfortunately (or fortunately in some other peoples' opinions) I am 500 words over the limit, and intend on cutting down the words later on this week.
Naturally, I feel that this job will be particularly hard, as would anyone because I feel that all content within that essay proves useful in understanding the current games sector. So I have e-mailed Sharon my first draft, with the hopes that she will offer an insight on how I can improve my writing style and the content within.

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E-mails sent out for research

Today I sent out e-mails and messages via Social Media websites, to various gaming studios with hopes that some will reply back with invaluable advice. In turn, this could aid me in fulfilling the researching elements required in my latest Contextual Studies essay because this advice will come from pros that already work in the gaming industry.

Let's hope they will reply.
If not, I shall have to go back to researching interviews online.

Note: I have blurred out personal pieces of information to respect other's privacy.

Edit:
10th February: Already received an e-mail back, woohoo!
15th February: No other e-mails received since the 10th, proving to be very tricky for both indie and larger studios to respond, it appears. Decided to send out another 10 e-mails to indie companies, with hopes that maybe they might be able to respond instead. I'll update again soon.
16th Februrary: Received 2 new e-mails this morning that were in response to my e-mail - yay! I am now beginning to collect a balanced amount of e-mails to provide evidence for both indie and triple A studios.

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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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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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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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