PPP3 - Ian Livingstone Lecture

Ian Livingstone (CBE) at Creative Networks

Topics:

• Setting up Gamesworkshop
• Fighting Fantasy
• Lara Croft

- Ian Livingstone started in digital games through EIDOS (Tomb Raider).

Why Games?

We learn through play. Kids learn through games and playing. Gaming is important for us to teach each other, try things out and gain insight.

- Originally started small, publishing a newsletter (Owl and Weasel) for Gamesworkshop.
- Struck a deal with Gary Gygax for Europe exclusivity.
- In 1977 ditched Owl & Weasel, made "White Dwarf".
- Warhammer came into the scene.
- Ian & Steve sold Gamesworkshop in 1991.

Tip: If you want your IP to go far make sure it's yours legally. The revenue follows. 

- Media has always worked against games.
- The media hated Fighting Fantasy:

A vicar threatened to chain himself to the rails of the Puffin Publisher building due to Fighting Fantasy and a woman also said her son started to levitate after reading Fighting Fantasy. The media also said that interacting with ghouls and monsters in Fighting Fantasy would allow the devil to possess players.

Ian had some commentary on the games industry that I fully agree with:

"Games are a safe environment to fail in."
"Games can be art."
"Games can be educational."

- The game industry has grown. Projected to be a £90b industry by 2016.
- The game industry is in constant transition. Explosion of 2nd Golden Age is now.

he also backs the last part up by mentioning 3 things he feels are very important to the popularity of games as entertainment: eSports, MMOs and Apps.

I definitely expect MMOs and Apps to be listed but I'm really pleasantly surprised that he recognizes the popularity of eSports is climbing constantly at a rapid rate. I've noticed myself games such as League of Legends have gone from 80k-10k viewers during championships on Twitch.tv to now 500k-600k viewers. And that's only recording live-viewers that are watching from individual IP addresses on just that one website.

- The 3 biggest problems small studios will come across will be: Marketing, Monetisation & Margin.

In terms of game design, Livingstone says:

"Gameplay is the only thing that truly matters" - Pong used as an example.
 On top of this, IP's have always been important in games.
- Building your own brand and owning it is key.
- You can make revenue from collaborating in marketing with other brands.
E.g. Lara Croft & Lucozade adverts.

The 5P's of Games:

- Perception. it's a real industry.
- Pipes. Internet/broadbaned allows to share (Upload/Download)
- Property. IP Ownership.
- Pounds. Convince those with money/ Crowd fund through Kickstarters.
- People. Skilled workforce & communication.

PPP3 - Interview with Loish

Loish, an artist who I first found when I was around 14 on Deviant Art, has really developed into a successful designer over the years and it's been nice to see someone grow from just a pretty well known name on a website like Deviant Art to a big-time artist that is known through the creative industry.

I've found a cast interview that Chris Oatley has held with Loish (Link), which I;ve found very 'real'. That's really the best word I can find to describe it, her comments on how she got started, the ups and downs in her journey and what's realistically expected of you has been refreshing because they've felt very honest and direct. I was particularly interested to hear the discussion between the two about how they think artists always feel like they have to do more and learn more and be better at everything but its very normal in the industry for people to be specialists and that they  don't have to be the best at everything.

It's also interesting to hear her say that she doesn't like looking at a lot of great work because it's almostl ike "sensory overload" and that instead of inspiring it her it can do the opposite. It can affect her mentally and cripple her creativeness because she may not be able to recognise what she should take away from it and sometimes she forgets to "admit defeat". I think it's something that isn't talked about enough...that consuming so much can make you feel and perform worse when you work rather than inform and inspire.

PPP3 - How to Build a Fictional World by Kate Messner

Kate Messner has done a short animated video for TED-Ed which briefly goes over some key questions writers should be asking themselves when they're aiming to go about world-building for stories. I think it's important to be aware of these questions and try to answer as many as possible when writing. I often find myself getting caught up in a specific character or place in a story when really I should be concentrating more on an over-arcing storyline and the details of why the story is how it is.

Some questions that popped up during the video:

- Start with a basic place in Time. Where & When is the story?
- Timeline. What made the world the way it is now?
- Details. What rules/laws are in place? (Physics, Societal)
- Government? Who has power? Who doesn't? Hierarchy? Religion?
- Culture? What do they eat, the weather?
- Technology? Resources?

PPP3 - 'Write About Dragons' Learning to Write

I've been looking for ways to improve my writing skills when it comes to creating script and character ideas for stories that I may want to develop in my spare time or to inform projects that could possibly occur. I came across a great series called 'Write About Dragons' (Link) that has a huge lecture playlist of talks presented by Brandon Sanderson - famous for writing the The Wheel of Time series after Robert Jordan.

Watching these lectures have inspired me massively in writing and has given me a lot of insight into how writers approach writing stories differently such as; Character Building vs World Building.

For me, although I've not finished the series yet as there are a lot to  get through, so far I have enjoyed the lessons on 'Magic' the most. It's something I've not found easy in this past as I always want to fantasy genre stories so magic often plays a big part in stories and I've always thought of it as a difficult task to make a 'Magic system' unique.

However, Sanderson explains that you can be extremely unoriginal with magic, you can go with typical stuff like:

- Elements
- Magical Creatures
- Supernatural

But the way you make them interesting is with limitations. He says the thing that sets different fantasy story magic systems apart are their consequences and downfalls, not necessarily what the power actually is.

Examples:

- Harry Potter. Can only use magic through Wands.
- The Wheel of Time. Men lose their sanity when they use Magic.
- Lord of the Rings. The Ring corrupts you the longer you hold on to it.

I had never thought of magic systems in stories like this until Sanderson explained it and it has opened my eyes to how to think of really creative ways magic can be made interesting just by what it can NOT do and the limitations it presents to users of it in a story. I should also point out, that it's not actually just 'Limitations' but 'Costs' too. The difference being; Superman can't see through Lead - this is a limitation. In order to cast a spell in the Saga comic series, you must tell a secret nobody knows first - this is a cost.

Sanderson's writing lectures have been incredibly inspiring and informative and I think even someone such as myself could create some good ideas for magic systems and story arcs through writing even though I am not trained at all in literature or very experienced at writing.

PPP3 - Unreal Engine 4 Released

So a couple of days after my application to GitHub for the Student Pack got approved so i could have a years subscription on Unreal Engine 4, they released it for free! (Link)

Besides that I'm happy it's gone completely free now along with full access to the source code and GitHub. Just as Valve and their Source Engine 2, I think Unreal Engine 4 will be a great benefit towards the gaming industry as it allows design to be much more accessible.

I think the trend of companies releasing software to the public and being much more accepting of players, beginners and casual hobbyists getting involved in creative design is a step in the right direction. The harsh truth for companies is that if people want your software, they'll find a way to get it regardless of what you do. You may as well welcome people with open arms to collaborate through your software and  both sides win that way. I think Valve are the greatest piece of evidence of this as they've built their reputation around players getting involved in making content for their games with their software and it's only made them more popular and successful while maintaining a good relationship with its community members. I hope companies  continue to delve further in this direction as I think only good can come out of it.

PPP3 - Source Engine 2 Released

Valve have announced that they're releases their Source Engine 2 for free to 'content creators'. (Link) There's a bit of mystery around how exactly free it will be and if they'll be any fees for licensing at all. Also the murky description of 'content creator' - licensed studio? successful modder? bedroom developer?

I like that software is becoming more and more accessible because it means more people get to create things more often and with greater ease. This just allows for gaming communities to share and make ideas of their own among each other and brilliant things can be made from it like we've seen with huge successes like DayZ, Team Fortress 2 and Garry's Mod.

I know Valve really like to hand control over to their player-base and it's a very strong part of their work ethic as they've said in talks previously and it's clear to see from their business model how welcoming they are of community developments. Using their Steam platform and now their established Workshop system, they have really done good for the modding and game development community within the gaming world and now with another freebie for players to get their hands on I believe content in games can only get more and more creative.

PPP3 - Advice from Blizzard Lead Systems Designer

I was looking around for advice and commentary on ways to get into the game design industry and see what other people working within the industry have said about what they want from artists and what is expected.

I came accross an old thread from the forums of Blizzard which is apparently a very famous read on the internet as 'Ghostcrawler' - the Lead Systems Designer of Blizzard (at the time, he now works at Riot Games), replied to a father asking about what he should tell his 8 year old son who wants to grow up to become a game designer. (Link)

I thought there was some really great honest advice in this post as Ghostcrawler says some key stuff that stick out to me as valuable commentary.

*  If you can’t get a job as a game designer, you can try to get a job in a game company and hope to move sideways into game design. We have several designers who worked in quality assurance and customer service. You just have to get your foot in the door. 

* We like to see completed games because it shows you can finish something. One of the dark secrets of game design is that good ideas are cheap. Nobody gets hired because they had a great idea for a class ability or a raid encounter let alone a great idea for a game. They get hired because they can take those ideas to the next level, foresee problems, come up with solutions, and otherwise put in all of the hard implementation work long after the shininess has worn off of the original idea.

* Try and keep up with industry news. Understand the upcoming platforms and the hot new genres and technology everyone is talking about. This is much easier in the internet age than it was a dozen years ago. It’s not always feasible, but attending game conventions can help. Companies often use those events for recruiting and you can ask a lot of questions and get a lot of information once you’re talking to someone face-to-face. 

* The fun part is playing a lot of games. Don’t just play them though – devour them. Understand why they’re fun. Think about what you’d change if you designed the game. One question we frequently ask in interviews is: what is the worst part of your favorite game and how would you fix it?


I particularly like the point of interviewing, be prepared for a question such as "What would you change about our game?"  Think about ways to improve and resolve issues or re-design things that you aren't 100% happy with. I really like the vulnerability in this comment as Blizzard actively ask applicants, "Hey, pick something in our games that you don't like and tell us what you'd do to make it better?", it picks the brain of the applicant of how they'd approach an issue and tests them if they're informed about the game.

PPP3 - Jabbar Raisani & 3D Prototyping

I've gained a big interest in Zbrush as I really like how fluid it can be once you have the basics down and understand how the program works. Other than he obvious 3D Modelling for games/film/animation I also like to see Zbrush used for other uses like 3D/paint-over concept art, turntables and also digital 3D prototyping.

Jabbar Raisani shows in this article (Link), a really nice quick development of how a digital 3D prototype model in Zbrush can develop into a real world asset.

Raisani refers to the fact that the first thing they do is open up Zbrush and sculpt out quick ideas to get a feel for something they want to work towards. I suppose this is a great way for churning through ideas for a costume as you get to move the idea around rather than just view it on a 2D plane. If you can move the concept around and see how it looks and feels from different angles it helps the artist gain a better understanding. 3D prototyping like this can really inform good design choices in the concept stage because it offers a deeper understanding to a designer of the subject.

It's great that Zbrush can be used for so many different tasks in the design process for game & film and I think that's what makes it such a valuable piece of software to train in and use for design.

PPP3 - 'The Long and lonely death of Softimage'

Autodesk have announced that hey will no longer be continuing to update and release new version of Softimage ever year. (Link) Instead they've decided to focus their 3D Software related efforts towards 3DS Max and Maya.

Personally I'm quite happy to hear this as I think the industry seems to be too saturated with different kinds of software that do very similar jobs to each other. 3DS Max & Maya seem to be the most popular 3D modelling softwares within the gaming industry - Zbrush being the other, mainly used for different uses in conjunction with the former two.

I think this news is important for the VFX and gaming world though as any Softimage specialists are going to have to retrain and gear their skills towards different software from now on. It will also affect artists financially as they people will have to now switch products and invest time, effort & money into learning new software in order to keep up to speed with the standard the industry will be running at.

I've never worked in Softimage myself so none of this should affect me at all however I feel it's important t keep up to date on the direction technology move within the industry as it's constantly progressing and artists always need to be able to have the key skills as well as the portfolio in order to find work.

PPP3 - 'Get started in Video Game Art'

Found an article with insight from Jason Pickthall, a concept artist working in the game industry. He gives a quick run through of key software skills that people are looking for in artists and briefly explains some pros and cons to different software depending on the job. (Link)

2D Software

- Photoshop 

Programs like Photoshop CS6 are used in a multitude of ways in the gaming industry.

"It could be visualising concepts in the early stages. Or, if you are working on a real-time 3D game, then a 2D art package may be used create the texture maps that wrap around your model to give it colour and detail.

Texture maps are usually created by manipulating photographic reference, or painted from scratch. "

3D Software

- Autodesk 3DS Max

- Autodesk Maya

Surfacing Tools

- Zbrush

- Mudbox

"Think of the process like moulding with clay. It’s here that all the fine surface detail is added. When you’re done, texture maps of various types can be exported out to be used with the original 3D model.  Sculpting tools are essential for any character artist.

The industry standard is Pixologic Z Brush and Autodesk Mudbox."

Game Engines

- UDK

- Unity

Interesting to note that ZBrush/Mudbox are the industry standard for surface details on established meshes imported from other software. I can think of another program that works very similarly Zbrush's material painter; Surface Painter. I'd argue Surface Painter does a better job too as it is a dedicated piece of software with the sole purpose of being for surface painting/sculpting on pre-existing meshes.  

An example workflow from what Jason Pickthall has recommended combined with Surface pAinter might look like:

Idea > Photoshop (Concepts) > 3DS Max (Base Mesh) > Zbrush (Detail & Topology) > Surface Painter > Maya (Animation) > Unity 

PPP3 - 'How to get into the Games Industry'

I've found an article on The Guardian which has some interview questions with a large panel of people working in the games industry. (Link)

The general advice in how to go about starting to make games is to simply: Start.
There's some debate over coding languages, some raised were C++, Python and C#. Some panelists also mention software that allows to create game logic with no/minimal coding - "Tool packages like Unity, Stencyl, Monkey X and Game Maker provide simple ways to build games and get them released."

- Besides Software and Coding, I've seen that game jams are highly recommended for beginners to attend once you've grasped a basic understanding of game development under your belt so you can partake in a team-based project and gather experience working with other people: forming opinions, taking an idea from start to finish with help from others and be able to work well with others in transitioning from the pre-production stage through to production.

I think game jams would be a good idea for me to attend, it might be worth me learning some coding basics first so I can get a better grip of a programmers limitations and to understand everyone's roles a little more.

- On the art side of things there isn't much said but an understanding of Photoshop seems to be fundamental.

I can understand this as Photoshop is used for presentational developments, concept art and 2D art assets as well. It's a piece of software that can cover a lot of areas that are a necessity in game design so it definitely is important to get and acquire a good understanding of. Also, Photoshop & Illustrator CS2 are both completely free of use now.

"If someone is looking to set up a small studio themselves - what advice would you give them? How do you know who to work with, and what skills does everyone need?"

"My heartfelt advice would be try an established studio first if you can."
"I'd actually say don't set one up!"
"The hardest thing about setting up your own studio is not the making of the game, that's actually the easiest part. Managing things like business finances, making sure you can all eat regularly, marketing, PR, legal stuff, QA and selling the game once it's done are the hardest."

I'm actually quite happy to see some recommendations and comments on the difficulty of setting up your own studio, I wouldn't feel confident setting up my own 'indie studio' myself because of the exact above reason. I don't feel like on top of creating a game I could also worry about studio finances, QA, legalities and marketing it too. it puts my mind at some kind of ease to read recommendations of getting some work experience under your belt at pre-established studios. I also think I'd learn a lot more if I were to be in an already established team design environment.



"Are there any key skills that people should have or things they should know that aren't obvious or aren't taught on design/coding courses?"

"Communication and vulnerability"
"Writing! Learn to write, write, write, write. Write."
"Don't be discouraged if you don't get a job in games straight away."
"Everyone needs to learn code. Everyone. Not necessarily to a professional standard, but to be able to understand what is going on under the hood of the project."

Really varied responses. I love the recommendation of learning to write - I'm very interested in becoming better at world-building and character design through writing rather than just visual design.

I feel like the response of "Don't be discouraged if you don't get a job in games straight away." is something I should follow but I most likely will feel discouraged as I know how very hard it is to fall straight into a job of the career and position you want after University.

CV/Portfolio Advice:

The reality is, a degree is effectively gravy compared to an actual portfolio. If I’m hiring you for a job I’m not interested in whether you did three years at University and were judged good enough to get a certificate by someone else, I’m interested in you being able to show me practical application of your skill.

I already pretty much know this, harsh but true.

 The hardest part of game development is finishing, so finishing a small project is way more valuable than plans and work-in-progress for a big, ambitious project, or tech demos or even portfolio work. Not that there shouldn’t be portfolio work, but no finished game to show is a big weakness. I think finished, polished projects, regardless of platform or format – even something like a little Tetris or Space Invaders clone – trump everything else.

I'm guilty of this, I need to start typing up loose ends when I get going. I definitely need to finish things I begin working on so I have a stronger portfolio for applications to vacancies.


I gained a lot from this article, it's refreshing to hear people in the industry be honest about where they stand with degrees and what is more important and key to getting your foot in the door. I'll definitely take this kind of stuff on board.