These questions are for those who have spend a few year in the game industry.. please answer them if you feel that you can. these questions are also being e-mailed around some stuidos in australia so i'll post what i can gather.[:D]
1: A question that has come across in my head.. As an artist I wish to create game art? but somewhere down my career I want to pursue my own original game ideas. Can a person who starts out being a game artist come to designing and producing there own game ideas after a few years of being in the game industry?
2: pay and money is one thing. I think I speak for many when I say I wish to get into the game industry for reasons other then money. From your experience is the work you do satisfying and fill you with a sense of achievement?
3: on a survey it says that about half of people working in the game industry wont be seeing themselves working in the same industry 10 years form now.. Could you collaborate in this please?
4: Finally, The Australian game industry is considered to be at a medium point. Nether tiny anymore nor big enough to attract mass international attention? what do you believe that the Australian game development scene will be in the future. Thriving or keeping to the sidelines or something else..
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1: A question that has come across in my head.. As an artist I wish to create game art? but somewhere down my career I want to pursue my own original game ideas. Can a person who starts out being a game artist come to designing and producing there own game ideas after a few years of being in the game industry?
Ah the wish of every games artist :P
Look anything is possible if you work hard enough but you will need to do just that, its not a common occurence.
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2: pay and money is one thing. I think I speak for many when I say I wish to get into the game industry for reasons other then money. From your experience is the work you do satisfying and fill you with a sense of achievement?
Well I'm glad you're wanting in for the money because if you are this is the wrong industry. :P
Speaking for myself the work is satisfying but who knows what you'll be working on next, Halflife 3 is one thing, Monopoly Madness is another.
You really just need to find challenges in everything you do and if bettering yourself as an artist is a primary goal then you're going to be happier than someone whos just after the glory.
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3: on a survey it says that about half of people working in the game industry wont be seeing themselves working in the same industry 10 years form now.. Could you collaborate in this please?
Alot leave because they had very skewed views on the industry to begin with, its not all LAN's and booth babes, hell it practically never is.
People may want in because they just want to make games but once they've had a few crunchtimes and can't remember the faces of there friends and family they soon have to reconsider that as sole reason to stay and if they can't find another reason they may decide its not for them.
Others find they are overworked, underpaid and undervalued and just burn out, burn out counts for a great deal of those who leave. (games are seen as the entertainment sweatshops alot, just look at the mess with EA).
Finally alot just find the film industry and other creative industries way more tempting.
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4: Finally, The Australian game industry is considered to be at a medium point. Nether tiny anymore nor big enough to attract mass international attention? what do you believe that the Australian game development scene will be in the future. Thriving or keeping to the sidelines or something else..
Well there is a tonne of potential in Australia, we are cheaper than alot of European and US based companies for one thing.
I don't really have much knowledge on that side of the industry as I'm just a pleb [:P] but Australian companies seem to be getting better and better on the international playing field.
Burn out.. Yep heard of that when i did work experience for wicked with software.. Nice blokes they are.
Burn out and undervalue from the outside point of view seems to be an ever growing concern for those wanting in on the industry.. i mean.. yeah overtime is overtime but to kill all artistic and creative talent isn?t a fun game to play.. (PUN! CALL THE PUN POLISE!!)
none the less.. im a stubborn bastard and I?ll continue my quest into the game industry. And i believe i got what it takes to get to the point of producing my own ideas.. but i know it ant gonna happen for a loooooooonnnnng time.
when you think about it.. game production over the decades has gone from a handful of people to when the next gen consoles come out were looking at teams of 100+ easily... how does one maintain such a complex environment.
as for EA (evil arts) games.. I?ll put myself on limb and i agree with Malus.. they seem to be monopolising and if something isn?t done well all end up working for the exact same man.
Just going to add a little on the game design thingy..
You say "your own original Ideas" I guess this can be taken two ways. A. your own Game idea as everything bassed around your idea.
Or.
B. Ideas thrown into a game as it is being created.
So far I have had alot to do with B. and I know of a number of companies who get ideas off artists and who ever wants to have a say in the matter.
quote:1: A question that has come across in my head.. As an artist I wish to create game art? but somewhere down my career I want to pursue my own original game ideas. Can a person who starts out being a game artist come to designing and producing there own game ideas after a few years of being in the game industry?
I have to agree with USF & Malus on this one, it really depends on the company and how well you grow with them. If it feels like your ideas and designs are fitting in well and are being implemented in some situations, then keep at it and maybe start introducing ideas on a grander scale.
Either way - dont expect this to happen, youll most probably need to go well above and beyond the call of duty to even get your ideas heard in a larger studio.
quote:2: pay and money is one thing. I think I speak for many when I say I wish to get into the game industry for reasons other then money. From your experience is the work you do satisfying and fill you with a sense of achievement?
My answer to this is probably different to what you expected.
How long have you been actively and solidly doing 2D / 3D work aimed specifically at games? If its anywhere less than 12 - 18 months keep going until you hit 2 + years, then work on a piece, finish it and ask yourself "How do I feel about this piece?"
Whats even more important is comparing that piece from 6 months - 1 year ago and see how far youve come, compare it to similar pieces created by other artists. Are you catching up - or are they leaving you behind?
If you still have fire in your belly, are still eagre to better your skills, are still checking on your artistic idols on a daily / weekly basis for updates of their new work.
Chances are your feeling pretty good about what your doing [:)]
Personally - I feel a sense of achievement for every stage of a 3D Model. Overcoming 3DS Max / Zbrush 2 anomalies seem to rank rather high at the moment on my list.
I'm never quite happy with my work, I see so much talent on CG Talk / RAPH I feel Im fighting a mighty battle with near impossible odds to even begin to compete with some of those guys - But its what keeps me going, and every time im able to express a new idea or technique it re-ignites the flame.
quote:3: on a survey it says that about half of people working in the game industry wont be seeing themselves working in the same industry 10 years form now.. Could you collaborate in this please?
10 years from now I dont see myself doing the same thing im doing right now - but I still see myself as doing something industry related.
I hope to one day establish a place of higher learning for those graduating from places like QANTM, which deals with real projects, real money, and very real deadlines, pressures and day to day runnings of a Studio. But more on that another time [:0]
quote:4: Finally, The Australian game industry is considered to be at a medium point. Nether tiny anymore nor big enough to attract mass international attention? what do you believe that the Australian game development scene will be in the future. Thriving or keeping to the sidelines or something else..
Whow really knows - my thoughts on it are that Australia will continue to grow at about the same rate as it has, so far its been pretty good, few lumpy bits but in a general trend toward growth which is positive.
There are some promising things on the horizon for AU - its a great place to work - especially if you have a view out over a beach! [8D]
Some very helpful info from some insiders here?
Caroo, maybe if your ultimate goal is to get into game design, getting into the industry as an artist may not be the best move? As an artist you certainly will not be working professionally on your own game idea for a very long time. Possibly a better way into game design would be to work on as many *unpaid* projects as possible, like mods and indie games, building your experience and expertise. By concentrating on getting into the industry as an artist, you won?t really be able to concentrate on developing your game design skills.
Basically there are three main areas of game development: programming, art and production. It?s probably a good idea not to try and be an expert at all of them... *Palantir looks at all his programming books on the shelf and wishes they were art books...*
It sounds like possibly you would be better off focusing primarily on learning the production side of things if it?s the coveted position of game designer that your after. Though that?s not to say a change from art to production is impossible. I don?t want to talk you out of the art direction! I?m just saying that focusing on production and design is a more direct route.
Here?s an interesting article (Education of a game designer) that you may find helpful:
[url]http://www.erasmatazz.com/library/Game%20Design/The_Education_of_a_Game…]
palantir... i see.. i guess my situation is that i wish to creature orginal games.. but i want a be a producer who can bring is artistic and creative skills to the table as well. and more so being someone who lead by example.. i still think i'm gonna do the AIE art coruse becouse of its links to the industry, but you do have a point..
i am studying the production of game making through test.. i got a book called. "secrets of the game business" which is very interesting..
but well just have to see in time.
Oh yeah Caroo, going to AIE is defiantly a good idea. I'm not saying you shouldn't, just that it's good to be aware of the different areas of the industry and the job of game designer isn't an easy one to attain. That's not to say you won't get there one day. Maybe after a few years working in game art you might have the "right stuff" to get into production. Or maybe you might even go into business for yourself? It's certainly possible to become a game designer, and knowing about the industry from first hand experience has to help, right?
I just think it's good to have a correct perspective on the industry. If you spend years working your arse off to get in as an artist thinking that you'll be working on your own ideas before long, then you'll probably be very disappointed when you spend the first five years or more of your career making game art that you think isn't particularly cool.
Personally I think the most important thing is to love what you do and realise that working in any capacity in the industry should be a lot better then many normal, mainstream jobs out there.
By the way, what's a dictor? Or do you mean doctor? Or do I just not get the joke? [:P]
well.. i'll tell you what i want to do and you tell me from your experiense what would better suit me..
<< My plans and ambitions is to create my own stories through a form of media.. I choose games as my desired medium because of there intractability and potential to show a story much larger then a movie.
Thus why I began to draw.. I draw to get these ideas out of my head and accessible for people to see.. but not just story ideas but game ideas.. like concepts and applyable features that make a game that little more rewarding to play and engage yourself..
Because in games that?s what its about.. Rewards.. you do a task or event and you get a reward.. and thus your engaged to keep playing to get more rewards.. this is a proven fact in some of our most popular games.. Diablo.. grand theft auto.. the sims even.. You?re always working towards getting rewarded. But of course this is only one aspect of what makes a good game.
I consider myself to be creative. And I desire to be a creator who doesn?t get others to do the work that the creator really should be doing himself.. As I said before. I want to lead by example.>>
So what suits me better?
IMO you picture yourself a budding creative director and you wish to lead by example - if this is the case its quite clear cut, although there could be many ways to go about it heres the approach I might have taken.
First of all I would set myself some clear goals about what I want, and how long I feel I require to achieve them ( get used to making estimations as soon as I can - this is a perfect opportunity to see if I really suck at it or not )
Then I would review the goals and start breaking them down into manageable 'chunks'. For instance, Animation, 3d Modelling, Concept art and so on. Read up about each of these things, and then have a crack at them myself, familiarise myself with every aspect. Purely to gain an understanding of what is involved for that specific 'chunk'. I don't need to MASTER all of these but having a good understanding and the ability to fit into any of those areas will definately be an advantage later on.
Once thats out the way - I'll need to research pipelines, engines, toolsets - to gain an understanding about how all of those specific 'chunks' need to go together in order for me to express my idea correctly.
In this day and age - theres almost Zero chance of being able to complete the expression of my idea alone. So no doubt I will need others to help out.
I will need to be able to clearly express my thoughts and ideas to my team, using pretty much any means necessary to get my point clearly across. Documentation.
Without having a creative reference point for my team to call upon to set them back on track it will make life interesting to say the least. I will need to learn how to create successful documentation, or any medium for that matter that bests interprets what my ideas are.
I will need to realise that creating a matrix like 'jacking in' mechanism for team members to download sections of whats in my head, is out of the question.
After I have achieved a thorough understanding of each of the artistic processes, are up to speed with the current technology / tools / engine trends, have my documentation all complete along with a plan of my idea, I can start looking for a team to help my idea come to life.
Team Building & People Management. Thats a whole new jack in the box.
Hopefully that provides some insight or at the very least the urge to ponder what lays ahead [:)]
Anux -
Well actually two days ago while on an excursion to melb uni i got a book called. "game design second edition" by Bob bates... its a relevant and very interesting book at a glancing. and its very resent so that?s a plus.
HazarD - thanks for the advice mate. My ultimate goal is to become a creative director... but im not totally sure how one gets to there... i don?t mind it being hard work.. my life was built on it.. but would the starting position of a designer, be the better choice from the artist?
I think you mean elaborate and not collaborate for number 3.
People tend to change careers because they have decided that they are more passionate about something else. Maybe the lifestyle for that career is not suitable for them after a period of time. There are many reasons; each person has their own story.
Depending on quality of the games and how they are marketed, the consumers will decide if they prefer Australian or imported games. In the end, it?s a matter of consumer demand and the financial risks that developers will make for industry growth to happen. If the majority of consumers doesn't like Aussie games then bad luck to local growth, but she?ll be right...lol