On a beach.

During my time on production I was on holiday in Cyprus.

Whilst I was away I felt I could create some imagery based on the idea of our Medieval old school 2D hack and slash platformer. I felt the game should start in a warm friendly environment and as the player travelled across, the lands around would become atmospherically darker in tone as they travelled further into the game and be accommodated by the increase in enemies and difficulty.

SCRUM

We have been tasked with creating a game pitch as part of our production course.

To do this I have been placed in a small team and we each have to decide what field we would like to work in.

Of coarse I chose art..

To begin we set up a series of scrum meetings to flesh out ideas for our game. What would it be? Does it have a story? What environment would it take place in?

These and many more question were discussed at the meetings.

Below are examples of how we documented the meetings.

Scrum Meeting

24/09/12

 

Present:

 Martin

 Harry

 

Discussion:

·         To create a game idea.

·         To decide on genre and target audience.

·         To create a basic story to help with development of ideas

·         Gather ideas for game mechanics and USP’s

·         Develop ideas from story to create environments

 

Scrum of Scrums:

Specific role assigned to each individual present at meeting.

Harry - To develop game overview and story

Martin - To consider USP’s and environment designs

 

Scrum Meeting

26/09/12

 

Present:

David

Martin

 

Discussion:

·         To inform David of game idea and so far assigned roles

·         Further ideas for game mechanics and USP’s

·         Further develop environment ideas before committing to task

 

Scrum of Scrums:

Specific roles assigned to each individual present.

David - To develop ideas on game mechanics and USP’s

Martin - To create environment designs.

 

 

How much???

Our first task for production was to research the field we are most interested in within the creation of a modern video game.

For me there is only one option.

Art.

Below is what I have gathered from my research:

Production Track

Assignment One: Discipline Areas and Roles

 

Discipline Area Chosen: Art

 

Roles within Discipline:

·          Art Director

·          Lead Artist

2D Roles

·          Concept Artist

·          Sprite Artist

·          Texture Artist

·          Interface Artist

3D Roles

·          Modeller

·          Animator

·          Environmental Artist

·          Cinematic Artist

 

Responsibilities of each role:

Art Director:

·          Responsible for the quality of the art incorporated in the videogame.

·          Background in fine arts, knowledgeable about technical aspects of drawing, texturing, and colouring.

·          Manage a team of both amateur and experienced designers.

·          Selects best suited designs and suggestions and develops them further with personal inputs.

Lead Artist:

·          Responsible for developing and driving an original and innovative art style

·          Work with other disciplines to determine the technical and aesthetic  guidelines for art in the game

·          Have effective communication with the team and outsourcing studios.

·          Inspire, motivate and mentor other artists in best practices, processes and procedures.

Concept Artist:

·          Responsible for creating a portfolio of images that clarify the artistic vision of the new game character or world.

·          Creates designs usually from a few key descriptive words.

·          Used to create detailed illustrations of weapons, environments, and props -anything that is seen in the game world.

·          Suggests colour palette and mood.

Sprite Artist:

·          Draw and create animated characters, tile sets and special effects on a pixel basis.

·          Responsible for 2D graphical assets from first concept phases to the completion of the project

Texture Artist:

·          Create and apply textures to the game characters and environments

·          Able to work in a style set by the Art Director to maintain overall game vision.

Interface Artist:

·          Responsible for creating and implementing the graphic elements of the interface and the menu.

·          Work closely with the game designers an UI programmers, respecting the functional objectives and the creative direction.

·          Find design solutions to allow easy navigation of the menu and make the game user-friendly.

Modeller:

·          Creates three-dimensional models of any asset used in the games visuals.

Animator:

·          Work alongside designers on the overall visual style of the game.

·          Work primarily on the moving aspects of game characters and elements.

·          Work closely with programmers to ensure the different elements of the game remain compatible.

Environment Artist:

·          Models maps, textures and lights game environments in order to meet the aesthetic, creative and technical quality standards of the lead artist.

·          Communicate solutions to technical and design issues related to the environment model.

Cinematic Artist:

·          Create compelling cut-scenes and interactive dialogs using animation libraries.

·          Set up cameras and actor staging

·          Work with designers and art director to establish continuity of the story with game play.

 

Salary prospects for each role: (Average)

Art Director $76,000

Lead Artist $76,000

Concept Artist $66,000

Sprite Artist $35,000

Texture Artist $42,000

Interface Artist $46,000

Modeller $56,000

Animator $67,000

Environment Artist $70,000

Cinematic Artist $66,000

 

Key Discipline Developers:

Yoji Shinkawa - Metal Gear Series

Daigo Ikeno - Street Fighter Series

Derek Watts - Mass Effect Series

Yusuke Kozaki - No More Heroes

Robh Ruppel - Uncharted Series

 

 

 

 

I cant help but notice the wages. Lead artist here I come!

The key discipline developers I have listed are responsible for some of my favourite imagery in games. Especially Mr Shinkawa, whose Metal Gear Solid illustrations are works of art.