A big change in GTA 5 before and after shots - updating an already exisiting game

http://www.kotaku.co.uk/2014/11/13/gifs-compare-old-new-gta-5

Several gifs of how the developers at RockStar managed to change alot of the already existing asset and upgrade the graphics to make it even more beautiful.

This could motivate people to bring their old Environments for older versioned engines to the newer ones like UE4 and make them next gen.

WEEK 9 - Recreating interviews with students

We were told to recreate an interview with a 3 man team, we had to choose a job at a studio that we wanted to apply for in the future, then our friend would ask us questions.

I chose Guerrilla Games in Cambridge as an example, Prop artist.

I was asked a series of questions which I tryed to answer to my full ability.

I then asked questions to a character artists who wanted to work at Rebellion as a Junior Character Artist.
Here were some example questions I asked him:

Are you able to work within a predefined art style?

Are you able to deliver work to a high quality standard within time constraints?

Do you show enthusiasm and the drive to learn new processes.

What tool could you not live without?

Name a time where you took control of a situation with games development

What game inspired you to come into the games industry??

How do you think you could improve 'example of work' if you were given 1 more month

Why do you want to work here?

What games are you playing at the moment

Whats the best game of all time and why

What will you bring to the team? why do we need you?

How do you feel aobut crunching?

In 5 years where do u want to be?

What do you do in your own time to extend your skills?

Whats your favourite bit of character art?

What programmes do you use most commonly for character creation?

Some of these questions also applied to me.

This was a very useful task to the hard questions that may be asked in the future.

Working at Jagex

So how did I end up at my favourite games studio?

Well, after taking my third year out to make a video game with some friends, we came across a slight problem where one of our programmers had left and we couldn't carry on with the game.

At the time I was playing a game called Old School Runescape, (I have been playing Runescape since 2001) and they had a job going for a 3d Artist, so it was litterally fate and I applied for it there and then.

Unfortunately I couldn't do part time and finish off my degree whilst working at Jagex, so I decided to come back finish my degree and hopefully return then after graduation.

Whilst working there I had a great experience and learned alot from the artists and employees there, I was working within a small team so that had its beneficial side to it.

Working within a small team was great as ideas and development floated around endlessly, and not needing to go and talk to any of the senior or art directors was great as we could make art how ever we pleased as long as the player base was happy, this was a great time saver and we could do alot more work this way. Almost as if it was a little indie team.

I learned how ideas turn into concept, then development then finally ingame.

Old School Runescape is a community driven game, so asking what the players wanted was an essential piece of the development cycle, using twitter and social media kept the players interested in what the developers where actually doing, kind of like an update page.

We also had Twitch streams every Thursday at 5pm for an hour this was a Q&A session with the developers so the players could ask them anything they wanted.
http://en-gb.twitch.tv/runescape/profile

I also started using Max which I had to learn in under month luckily it was alot like Maya, so I got to grips with it pretty fast, Max has alot of cool functions Maya doesnt have.

We also used perforce to keep all the work we did in organised folders, it also meant that we could update revisions or roll back to old revisions if we had a bug in a current update.

I had worked on alot of updates, from 3d models to animations to graphics to concepts, it was an all round generalist job. Here is some of my work, approved by the community and put into game, the most fun I had was bringing back the Corporeal Beast boss into the game, alot of the players loved this update.

Here is my Twitter that I used to communicate to all the players of OldScape, good social media to know what the players wanted along with Reddit.

https://twitter.com/JagexAlfred
http://www.reddit.com/r/2007scape/

Quixel update

So I am an avid user of the Quixel suite and the artists manage to impress me so well, Georgian Avasilcutei has managed ultra realism with this one, keeps me inspired and motivated.

A nice tutorial on how to make proper metalness using Quixel, nice bakes and breakdowns!

References:
http://quixel.se/dev/issue03

AC Unity Art Dump looks amazing!

http://www.polycount.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144111

Some people who have worked on AC unity have posted up their Art, and I'm not going to lie it looks great! Possibly some of the best Video Game work I've seen to date!

Hope they keep this thread updated!

GTA 5 First person! :O

http://kotaku.com/yes-you-should-play-the-new-version-of-gta-v-1659433742

GTA V in first person looks amazing just take a look at all these screenshots, clever how RockStar have decided to do something different and make even more sales!

I personally have not been able to play GTA 5 yet I am still awaiting it to come onto the PC, but GTA 5 is probably the worlds first real like life simulator.

Refernece:

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNn1LwJTmHdz4kJ8VNWl8nQgGrE34u-LAGx4ga5MzOa8q_g5dH3QOF0paXdUJgi2lgfnBaJpFT3mEmaJXmDwfEFjNAjxiCcjARIXtTcbN3gWE9ZmXFCrugWySZ4OxH1GiRr1LYHrJ4M_Sx/s1600/gta_5_fp-5.jpg

People complaining about bugs I witnessed none - AC unity

http://www.kitguru.net/gaming/matthew-wilson/ubisoft-reveals-assassins-creed-unity-patch-3-notes/

So I have had the chance to play AC Unity, the art is amazing, but their have been alot of complaints.

Alot of people have complaining about bugs and glitches within the game, even Kotaku have written up a report on the game pretty much saying how bad it is, I totally disagree, such a good game!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertcoin/2014/11/12/congratulations-ubisoft-youre-the-new-ea/

Leaf Generator and PolyCount recap

Awesome leaf generator, shows how detailed next gen is becoming.
https://www.facebook.com/pipes.environmentartist?fref=ts
I may ask to use this in my dissertation idea, of making ultra realistic environments.




Awesome Polycount pictures posted up this month, some cool environment and prop stuff.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/1514937/JasonLavoie_KinSlayer_01.jpg

Love this one the most.

http://www.polycount.com/2014/11/17/polycount-recap-34/
I liked this because I was also making props for the chivalry contest, this was probably one of the best submissions

Some videos that have inspired me through out this year

http://sourcefed.com/seven-students-create-a-badass-unreal-engine-4-short-in-seven-weeks/

Here is a similar project these students have made a Gothic environment with a team of 7 people in just under 2 months. It's awesome to see the work they put in such little time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjHiC0mt4Ts

A video showing how far facial rigging has come, this looks so dam realistic!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=DYJRVUDuZvo

This video again shows how far rigging has, the SSS on the hand looks great and it looks so realistic, the movements.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmI_Ndrxy14

Here is a video I came across, whilst scouring the internet, its good to see Games are making it big in the E Sports, are they are being recognized more as a sport then just a game, that people sit at home and play!

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154543554685471

After I finished making the corporeal Beast I was needed to make a video for Rune Fest as that was going to be the next major event, Rune est is a bit like Blizz Con, after making the video the editors decided to put together a show reel, of me swearing. Great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcggxhqcFCE

I was looking for some cool original game ideas and here is one awesome!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tkfs3zIfpPg

I was pondering youtube looking for Tutorials on how to make thunder storms and look what I came across. This is amazing considering its going to be on the Occulus Rift.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVHPSnBlIrU&list=PLcrTKPVBAF6LxFJkj0i0B8ysuHIrA-NQc

Awesome tutorial by one of the developers working on The Division!

Showreel blockout for my Website

So here is my blockout show reel - I didn't have much work so I just posted my most recent work - so here is the scene I was working on and a helmet I did for a different project.

The reason I chose my most recent environment was that my past environments had not been next gen and were very outdated.

Some feedback I got from Jon (tutor):

'Bring a lot more to blog. Blog often about small bits'

'Work more on the PPD showreel'


This is my portfolio at the moment - I have bought the domain 'Alfredgolovanov.co.uk'
this is how I would like it to look once I am finished.

http://johnvalentiart.com/

PPD - WEEK 5 - How it all started?

Week 5 we learned how computers first started out and the history behind it all. And also how the games industry started out.

The games industries first started out in the late 70's were people made very cheap kits for people to buy and programme their own games.
Learning about microchips and how to put computers together was the norm back in the 70's.

The first computer that made the big computer boom was the ZX80 this was for sale for under £100.
The computer games industry back in the 80's had alot of competition as people were releasing different computer systems at very high speeds, in 1982 the ZX spectrum came out and over 5 million units were sold, it rivaled the BBC Micro Computer which then reviled the Amstrad CPC.

Some of the more famous games back in the day were made by Mathew Smith (aged 18) he made games such as Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy, these games made alot of money.

But later on during the years came the Home Computer crash which caused the death of the UK hardware industry. But the UK managed to survive by creating titles for big American Systems such as the Commodore and the Atari.

The UK games industry today is going very well!

Lots of big studios are still up and running and have lots of employers also the rise of indie has come about which means alot more smaller companies are employing people too.

The UK has also had some very good Tax Breaks, where you can get a 25% corporation tax relief rate and an additional investment of £188m.

On the conversation of Tax we were also set a task of researching a given country on the basis of how the games industry and tax are applied and differs to other countries.

Our task was to research Canada, we found that there were 329 different games companies dotted around.
Some of these included:

●UBISOFT●WARNER BROS●BIOWARE●EA CANADA●ROCKSTAR●CAPCOM

Canada has great education institutes along with great people and a great atmosphere, although the downside it is very expensive to live there.
Canada is successful because of its Tax Breaks and government grants.

How to get to Canada?

       
Two main methods of immigration to Canada:


        ●Temporary Work Visa:
oJob offer mandatory
oEvaluated based upon qualifications, subject of work
●Skilled Worker Immigration:
oPoint based system to meet immigration requirements
oSkilled people with ‘in demand’ qualifications and skills
oJob offer ready in Canada still quite important
oWork Experience, high qualifications and linguistic abilities in English and/or French
oOverall cap of  25,500 applications for immigration. First come first serve basis of application
oCap of 1,000 applications can be accepted in each priority occupation
●Sponsorship from family within Canada also an option (not necessarily citizens)

Reference:

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jun/16/uk-video-games-tax-breaks-expected-to-protect-more-than-10000-jobs

http://www.cic.gc.ca/englisH/immigrate/index.asp
http://oldcomputers.net/zx80.html
http://oldcomputers.net/
http://maps.speccy.cz/maps/JetSetWillyBulgarianRequiem.png

PPD - WEEK 4 - Interview follow up

In week 4 we were given feedback in last weeks interview.

We first assessed how we presented ourselves, were we confident? Calm? Were we positive?

These were quite important as there were alot of things we should and shouldn't do whilst in an interview. But the main thing was just to be yourself.

You also need to be articulate able to speak clearly, have a good response time and show that you know what you are doing.
Things you shouldn't do would be to give short answers and have alot of pauses, also not elaborating.

Some more feedback from the interview were to make sure you understood you knew your area when speaking to the interviewer, you needed to be good at explaining your work, researched the company and be flexible/adaptable.

Not understanding your position is detrimental to you getting the job or not.


We were also given a personal SWOT analysis to do in our own time.

This was to assess our Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Strengths - 
What do you do well?
What advantages do you have over other people?
What software are you knowledgeable in?
Do you have good time skills?

Weaknesses -
Do you have a lack of expertise?
Are you unorganised?
Are you uncomfortable or awkward in groups?
Are you a poor listener?
How often do you procrastinate?

Opportunities -
Collabaration
Networking
Selling yourself
Training others

Threats - 
Competition
Economic downturn
Disruptive technology
Other candidates who have more experience than you.

SWOT analysis proved very helpful in knowing how to improve myself.

Reference:
https://canvanizer.com/images/canvas-thumb/swot-canvas.png
http://articles.bplans.com/how-to-perform-swot-analysis/

PPD - WEEK 3 - 'The Interview'

This week we were put into groups of 3, one of us was the interviewer, one was the interviewee and the last person was the note taker.

It was a 10 minute interview where the interview could ask any of the 3 questions, but could also ask his own questions, this was good because we were put on the spot and made to actually feel like we were in a real interview situation.

At the end we talked about what happened, and how people coped with the interview and what it was like to be an interviewer.

The job we were being interviewed for was a job at Mind Candy, for a generalist position.

This was a great chance to practice some hard and unexpected questions that could be thrown at us in the future.

PPD WEEK 2 - Art Roles

Week 2 we were set out to find out what different types of Artists there are in the industry.

Here are few.

Animator

Vehicle Artist

Object Artist

Character Artist

Concept Artist

Game User  Interface Artist

Environment Artist

SFX Artist

Technical Artist

Generalist

These jobs all have very different roles in the industry and all play a very important part in Video Games Development.

Animators need to know how to rig and skin characters/objects along with creating key framed animations for characters.

Vehicle Artist's need to be able to create vehicle exteriors and interiors, they need to work very closely to reference so everything is perfect. They need to be able to rig vehicles for physics, setup materials and need to be very mechanical minded.

Object Artist are very general in their role, they have to have different art styles, this job is good for varied work, when you are working on different things all the time.

Character Artist's need to be able to create characters of all shapes and sizes, work very closely from reference, be able to rig and skin characters an amazing understanding in anatomy, and excellent modeling and texturing skills, apparently this is one of the most hardest positions to get into.

Concept Artist's need to be able to concept anything from 2D to box art, they need to work very closely with the director or the creative lead, you need to be able to communicate well with 3D artists so they know what they are making, need to be able to be fast and work under pressure.

GUI Artist's need to be able to create and design menus and HUD's they also need alot of direction form the creative lead or director, they will also work very closely with programmers, is a very specialized position and you need good traditional graphic art skills.

Environment Artist's need to be able to create interactive functional environments, design levels from written breifs or sketches given by leads or designers, you need a very good eye for detail as well alot of research is involved in building environments.

SFX Artist's need to be able to create visual impressive effects for in game and cut scenes, they need to work closely with art departments and programmers, need an interest in cinematic techniques along with being very technical, this is usually part of another role.

Technical Artist's need to create solutions for art related problems they develop tools for other artists to speed up their workflow, and liaise with different code too, they need very good communication skills.

General Artist's has an ability with most roles, but still has an expertise in one area, this is the go to person in the team, and tends to be very experience in the industry, their skills are very good for smaller indie teams.

In summary:

Games are very complicated and need alot of people from all over to successfully make a good game, video games brings people together with very high skill sets.

In the future I would like to be an asset artist or a generalist - but then gradually become specialised in Environment art.

Reference:
http://www.slideshare.net/Thomas_Giblin_16/job-roles-in-the-games-industry-21097601
http://artforgames.com/file/2014/05/GavinGoulden_BioshockInfinite_HR_mopat1.jpg

PPD - Week 1

During the first week of our PPD module we were told to look at different portfolios online, and research what we thought were good and bad portfolios

Here are 5 good portfolios and 5 bad ones.

Good:

http://www.torfrick.com/
http://scotthomer.co.uk/
http://andrewahlgren.com/
http://www.clintoncrumpler.com/
http://christofferradsby.com/

Bad:

http://wesburke.com/
http://www.dylanrainville.com/
http://www.shaunsgallery.co.uk/Envselect.html
http://themajorportfolio.carbonmade.com/
http://www.cesaraltagracia.com/

We also learned the do's and don'ts of portfolios some of these included:

Your portfolio is only as good as the worst piece of work in it, if it has bad work in it take it out.
Making sure your portfolio is actually readable and stands out, not too colorful and bouncy but just right.

You have also got to remember that if your work takes longer to load than it does to look at it, your wasting the employers time and should think about maybe decreasing your image size or even using another host for your website.

Remember that your work needs to be Industry standard, that means your work must be on par as the best 3D environment Artist at the moment or at least close. Competition is always high for these positions.

I also learned that you need to manage your public profile, people are going to research you and see what your personal life is like along with any other work you have done. So beware!

Basically the main things to consider are:

Website Presentation.

The quality of your work.

How easy is it to access your work?

What do you like or dislike about your portfolio? Fix it.