Roles in the Games Industry
For the contextual studies assessment this term, i need to research into the roles people take in the games industry. Researching into what these roles are and how they have developed with the evolution in the games industry. Using my blog, i will be able to use primary and secondary research into what my essay will be about. Like before the essay will be 1000 words, and it will mainly focus on the role i wish to take in the future of the games industry.Right now I have an idea of where I what to go in the games industry, however I did look at the major game job roles to get an idea of everything that is needed to make a successful game.
Source of list: http://creativeskillset.org/search/59?tags%5B%5D=Games&tags%5B%5D=&q=
1.Animator: Bringing the characters to life through movement and behaviour.
2.Assistant Producer: Works with the production staff to make sure the game is realised on time.
3.Audio Engineer: Creates the sounds for the game, like character voices and music.
4.Community Manager: Tells the public about the game, and gives the team the public's thoughts on the game. (this wasn't on the list, but after Hollie Bennett's talk, i wanted to put it in)
5.Creative Director: Responsible for the overall look and feel to games.
6.External Producer: Makes sure that the game is delivered successfully to the outside.
7.Game Designer: Defining the core elements, and what a game should consist and how it should be played.
8.Game Programmer: Creates and writes the codes that run the game.
9.Game Artist: Creates the visual items of a game, such as characters, scenery, and textures.
10.Lead Artist: Responsible for the overall look of the game.
11.Lead Programmer: Lead the team responsible programming the code for the game.
12.Level Editor: Creates the architecture and landscaper for the game.
13.Marketing Executive/Manager: Creates campaigns to raise the awareness of the game.
14.Project Manager/ Producer: Ensures successful delivery of a game.
15.QA Tester: Tests the game for bugs, then suggests improvements before the public.
16.Technical Artist: The bridge between the programmers and artists.
This list would mainly be used if the game was being developed by a AAA level. Indie level games combine a few to reduce costs, still my favourite out of these so far is the Games Artist title.
Games Artist
Games Artist's create the visual elements in the games, such as the character's, clothing, props, vehicles, objects. e.t.c..... They also do concept art or storyboards that show their core visuals in pre-production. By doing this, the artist creates a style that suits the games concept through the models and textures, meaning that their job on the whole is a lot more important than first thought.
All artists in games have to be able to know the technical limits of a games target platform and the audience throughout development. However when looking at AAA, artists would be guided by a lead artist, who has the responsibility of making all of the decisions and designs for the game. At the same time, they must also be able to take feedback from the QA testers, who test the game before it's released to make sure it's suitable for the public.
Most of the time artists specialise into a section of the game making e.g. 3D modelling, character design, environments, textures e.t.c. However, this may become different depending on what role you want to go into in the industry, e.g. at AAA it would be normal for the studios for hire in specialists to work in a specific area of the game, whereas in indie-level studios, artists would have to take on more than one role.
I broke down the role into 3 minor roles....
Concept artist: creating a visual representation of the games ideas through characters, objects, environments, and clothing e.t.c.
3D Modeller: building the character's and environments, while keeping it to the targeted platforms technology ability.
2D Texture Artist: creates the textures, then applies it to the created characters, environments clothing. these artists have to know about the visual effects that get planted into the game.
My favourite out of the 3 is Concept Artist, though they are very similar in ways, they each have very different responsibility's in the games industry role. It is possible to get the role of games artist and be able to use all three roles, but where I am now that seems like a bit of a long shot as I still find 3D software very difficult at times, however practise makes perfect and it the future I may choose Concept Artist, but use all 3 roles to show my work skills.
Media Lectures
These are the lecturers who spoke to us and a brief description about their job role:
Stef Bow: Junior 3D artist from Sports Interactive
She was originally a teacher, then she did an 18 month course to get a masters in Games Design. Afterwards have a 2 year gap where she spent the time job hunting and building up her portfolio, all the way up to where she is now, a 3D asset artist currently working for Sega on Football Manager.
She talked to us about the best ways to find a job, like keeping your portfolio up to date, online, and showing best quality work & WIP's. Also by going to conventions, conference's and meet up's are a great way to get contacts and build up relationships.
Her role is a junior 3D artist, her work mainly focuses on creating environments and assets; such as bins, chairs, water bottles and stadiums in Maya.
What was amazing about her work is that she taught herself how to use all the software, so that's why she was picked out of the 300 applicants is because she had the will to learn all of the software needed for that role.
Jake and Ryan Neal: competitive fighting game players, QA testers and PR assistants
They obtained a degree in Games Art & Design here at NUA, afterwards they started competing in Mortal Kombat competitions, and winning them, soon after becoming members of the injustice promotion team. Taking every opportunity they could get they made there way to Q and A testers for Rockstar, which in reality is a lot more fun than people think.
Their roles as Q&A testers involves them going to conventions, and playing the games with the public, which is a lot of fun, they detect bugs in the game and report it to the designers. Their most recent work involved them being part of the promotions team for the new Evolve game, potential sites for this sort of career are ASwift, Splatter Group...
Hollie Bennet: Media and Community Manager for Sony
Hollie was once a midwife and frequent blogger, after going to a series of conventions, she managed to land a job as community manager for Namco Bandai before landing her dream job doing the same role at Sony.
Her role is a PR (Public community manager and Press Relations), she helps to promote games through events, social media and press releases. As part of her role, she speaks to the gaming community to get their opinions on the game she is selling, answers questions, responds to comments on the social websites (Twitter and YouTube) blocks out any harsh or negative comments. Her tasks on the social media websites is to look after Playstation UK, managing the Playstation Access YouTube channel, and managing the budget for ads. She also talked about how professional she has to be on social media, and how her daily routine is mainly emails and meetings. Overall I could tell that she very much loved her job for the amount of enthusiasm she had for it.
Chris Green: 3D Artist from Sony
He completed an internship during his 3rd year at NUA, which was incredibly demanding. He showed us how to construct a professional portfolio, and talked about all the social websites that professional's hang out in, as well as the meet ups, (the next one I believe is on the 8th March).
He also talked about working on building up your own social webpage, such as having a LinkedIN account, and subscribing to Vertex Magazine. His work was interesting and I may consider doing something like this in the future.
Robin Silcock: Community Manager and Game Developer
Robin had just finished her degree at NUA and also was a participant is the competition Dare to be Digital, she also reached her job through a lot of game jams. She is currently working with her team from DTBD on a game which I believe will be demoed at the Norwich Gaming Festival in April. She gave me lot's of tips of getting in touch with people and social websites to check out, as well as conventions and conferences to attend. NIGD meetups, Hot Source, Sync Norwich, UEA concrete Magazine, UKIE, Women in Games, Gamescon, Rezzed/BAFTA, London Indies... all of those and more.
Geraldine Cross: HR Consultant
Geraldine started her career in the Games industry in 2004, working as the HR director for Blitz Games studios until they closed down in 2013. She did consultancy work for Ubisoft & Payload studios. She went on to talk about how much the marketplace for games has become much more broader, and how rapid the chances are becoming of the industry.
She gave us advice on how to get into the games industry, like your attitude must be positive, you have to know the software,and be able to take feedback. She was also very helpful in pointing out the risks and advantages of work for large or small companies.
Concept Artists
The main role of a concept artist is to create characters and environments that will go into a game being developed or updated; (it is also be used in films) the process begins when the creative director comes up with an idea of how the characters should look in a game, they give a very vague description of that idea to the concept artist, he/she will create a portfolio with hundreds of images based on that idea. The initial ideas will mostly be rough sketched either traditionally or digitally, and then painted in more detail in 2D, before being creating as a 3D model. For example, if the artist was doing a fast character, they would draw them with less armour and clothing to move about fast. Whereas a heavy character would have more armour and weapons to defend themselves. Between these stages the artists will make suggestions on iterations, as well as characters concept artists will also be asked to create various props that the character may use during the gameplay. Depending on the overall development process would depend on how many final illustrations are made, say if a quick sketch took 10 minutes, and a full illustration would take 3-5 days to complete. The artist will also provide a colour palette, lighting, shading, texture techniques and materials best suited for the character and worlds; also be able to pay close attention to detail and have great observational skills, this process is repeated until a final outcome has been decided upon.
The main skill required is artistic talent; when going for a job interview, a concept artist must show a portfolio that shows their ability to draw, paint and create 3D models with the software provided to them (e.g. Photoshop, Maya, Zbrush). Having an education and good communications will also improve the chance a getting a job, as well as having access and knowledge about the software used at these companies. Most gaming companies use 3D graphics, so understanding the basic mathematical skills will also boost your chance, some studios will provide lessons if you are willing to learn them. A concept artist must also be able to communicate their ideas clearly and efficiently, and be able to take constructive criticism and apply it to their designs.
Concept artist is one of the most important parts of games design; it is a difficult job to obtain, due to the limited openings and tough competition. An artist will need a top notch, up to date portfolio, amazing drawing skills, and complementary skills. Their designs will have to be imaginative and creative showing that they can experiment outside their comfort zone. Interviewers also look for an artist’s personal art style, being able to use “variety and versatility” in their work.
Concept artist is one of the most important parts of games design; it is a difficult job to obtain, due to the limited openings and tough competition. An artist will need a top notch, up to date portfolio, amazing drawing skills, and complementary skills. Their designs will have to be imaginative and creative showing that they can experiment outside their comfort zone. Interviewers also look for an artist’s personal art style, being able to use “variety and versatility” in their work.
Concept art has become a field of its own. Online you will find forums, websites, and blogs dedicated to the concept of visual development. A quick Google search for ‘concept art’ will employ over 265 million web pages related to this keyword. Concept art has been embraced so much that there are fandom sites of people who create concepts for games that have been out for years. While searching for concept art, you will notice some images will come up of a super polished, breath-taking image. This is where the confusion is: illustration and concept art are not the same. Concept artists will use quick sketches to explore ideas, and an illustrator will take the concept and create an amazing looking, elaborate picture.
Sources:
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