Industry Roles and Contexts
Contextual Research
Response 1 - Chris Green: The Role of a Game Artist
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We were asked to write a short response to lecturer Chris Green and his talk on the role of a game artist.
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Chris begins by explaining how the games industry is at the forefront of the global market and is continuously growing as technology evolves. The overwhelming figures shown, for example the estimated $19bn market increase from 2016 to 2019, give evidence of the popularity of the industry, putting real weight and importance behind the title 'Games Artist'.
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He then goes on to present four leading game studios (Riot, Ubisoft, Blizzard and EA) with their yearly revenue and number of employees in comparison with three independently developed games (Minecraft, Braid, Super Meat Boy) with their revenue and founders. Seeing this contrast makes it clear that a game needn't have an extremely large team to be popular and do well by an individual's standards; the fact that Minecraft sold to Microsoft for nearly half of EA's yearly revenue, baring in mind that EA has over a thousand published titles, is extremely rare, but proves that the possibility exists.
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Next he lists some of the varying roles than a 3D artist may need to undertake within a company, for example modelling, rigging and animation. Larger companies provide more specialist job opportunities, like vehicle/weapon artists or texture artists, which allow the artists to play off of each other's strengths for precise production; the nature of these roles make them extremely bespoke and are rarely found in smaller independent studios whose artists are required to take on a more generalised art role.
He briefly demonstrates that 2D roles are integral to 3D artists and that having both skills allows for varying benefits. Producing work in both formats allows for increased workflow, understanding of scale and composition along with possible thematic icons and patterns to be used within a texture.
Chris later explains how 85% of all industry roles are filled and how the community is small and familiar, with news of poor performance spreading quickly; just some of the realities he listed about working within the games industry. Knowing this is paramount to the success of employment for students who are ready to go in to the very real world of the games art industry.
Response 2 - Megan Rice: Games Industry Wayfinder
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting lecturer Megan Rice from UKIE and her talk on the games industry and it's roles.
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She begins by briefly explaining her history within the game industry and introduces the idea that the industry is tough, but always requires new talent. Rice presents a screencap of gamesindustry.biz, listing 706 art/animation positions available at the time of the screenshot; with such a number of roles available on one website alone it shows that the industry is constantly looking for new talent. Recruiters like Amiqus Games are specifically for introducing artists in to the industry with support from UKIE. However, with all of the universities currently providing games art courses and talent overseas, there is considerable competition when it comes to entering the industry straight from education, so there is certain strengths that would make an application stand out.
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Next a chart depicting the typical make-up of a games company is displayed, but Rice makes it clear that these titles can vary from studio to studio and therefore it would be illogical to focus on one specific job title. She expresses that it would be best to focus on a job that allows an artist to develop their skills and flourish whilst they work. She also says
"...no one person works on one piece of work".
Describing how all roles within the industry will be a collaboration of varying artists, programmers and designers that rely on an artist who can perform.
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She goes on to list a few roles and their essential skills and requirements taken from live job advertisements and how important it is to be aware of these when beginning to apply for companies. Any abilities further than essential are considered desirable and then put one at an advantage compared to other applications.
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Rice drills the importance of preparation for the industry, like researching roles and identifying missing skills to work on them until it's possible that an application could be successful. The importance of networking is described as a desirable aspect in such a sociable community, with the foundation of an online presence being a good starting point. These simple skills and tasks will make it easier to successfully get a job soon after graduation, and people met through networking can also be links to jobs directly.
Response 3 - Aiden Lesanto: A Career in UX and UI Design
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting alumni Aiden Lesanto from Sprung Studios and his talk on a career in UX and UI design.
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Lesanto begins by introducing himself, his background in UX and UI design and explaining the basic principles of each; user experience is more design orientated whilst user interface is based around artistic elements. Artists and designers for these aspects of game development must combine multiple skills and abilities to create intelligent interactions within a game.
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He works as the art director for Sprung Studios, an agency that collaborates with other developers to create UX/UI for their games. Originally he joined as an intern during his studies which allowed him to get an income whilst using the work he produced for university submissions. He was later promoted to art director, showing the potential available to those who work through agencies rather than working in-house.
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Next he goes on to explain the importance of both user interface and user experience, with one being just as crucial as the other. Both are integral to the flow of the game and allow the player to interact and connect with the game's mechanics. In addition, they present ways of invoking different emotions through cleverly integrated on-screen interfaces, directly incorporated into the game-play itself.
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Having skills in both areas is extremely valuable to employers, although they will usually hire for both roles individually. However it is possible to specialise in one area, collaborating between different roles to create an overall more effective design. If the interface within a game appears clunky or laborious it can halt a player's gaming experience and cause them to stop playing the game entirely, making the jobs of UI/UX designers just as necessary as 3D modelers and other artists.
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The roles shouldn't be mistaken for graphic design; there are many skills that can be adapted from graphics, however it requires much more effort and creates greater influence and impact on a player.
The games industry is booming, yet saturated with 3D modelers and artists, with UI/UX roles creating a unique opportunity to join the industry, either through agency or in-house work.
Response 4 - Shayleen Hulbert : How to Break into Freelance and Build an Online Presence
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting freelance artist Shayleen Hulbert and her talk on how to build a profile and go freelance as a 3D games artist.
She begins by introducing herself and her history in the industry: how she struggled to find a specialism during university and spent a year after graduation looking for a related job. This is common for most people and is failed to be mentioned by a lot of well-known games artists. There is no time limit in looking for a job you want and no one thing will guarantee someone a job in such a competitive industry.
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By her experience Hulbert explains that freelancing is not something that suits everyone, as some find structure in the social collaboration of working in-house.
Freelancers also deal with a great amount of uncertainty, as Hulbert asks herself 'will there be work?' and suggests saving up money for these unpredictable times. In addition, they must learn skills like how to organise taxes and software licenses - things that sound intimidating to students at this point but are tolerable.
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She describes that self-motivation is a key aspect of freelance work and the importance of keeping a consistent work ethic. She suggests taking breaks, even when it doesn't feel right, and to reevaluate current ambitions in to more achievable goals. Changing from official work to personal projects can help to overcome artistic blocks and creating schedules and checklists allow for good time keeping and tracking accomplishments.
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Building a portfolio is essential to getting work as a freelance artist, however this can be challenging as different studios have different conditions for hiring. Hulbert illustrates that the way to gain a job in an area that is preferable is to show case work that was enjoyable to work on, deterring studios that would rather artists work on something completely different.
Likewise, online presence is crucial to freelancing as Hulbert receives much of her work from employers finding her online. Twitter and Artstation are key websites to use, with consistent posting keeping an account relavent.
The role may be liberating, however there are some more dull aspects, like calculating rates and claiming for tax, that she suggests an accountant to help with. Although an accountant does cost money themselves, this is outweighed by the amount they may save in taxes and expenses overall.
Response 5 - Robin Milton : How to Graduate Like a Boss
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting lecturer Robin Milton and her talk on networking, professionalism and work ethic.
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Milton begins with a brief look at her background and illustrates that all of her advice is relevant before graduation and should ideally be initiated by the end of second year.
She explains that more can be achieved through planning, working back from a deadline to figure out the minimal amount of work to be completed each day. She goes on further to disclose how the most celebrated artists in history practice somewhat every day. Practising can lead to some amazing unpredictable work and allows development in areas away from studies. Regardless of lack of motivation, achieving at least a small amount of practice in a day allows for progression, with 'little and often' producing the utmost advancement in abilities.
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She then continues to clarify that original work can be curated through inspiration from varying sources; by using a range of influences from outside of video games it can cause a portfolio to become more unique by evolving simple work through backstory and environment.
Putting work out on social medias allows for feedback and prevents over analysis, with active responses to constructive criticism being a major way of developing art work. Producing work for opportunities like Polycount competitions allows art unrelated to university to be created, which is interesting to employers when shown in a portfolio.
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Milton makes it clear that there is a process for interactions whilst networking: trading business card, adding people on LinkedIn and having a professional portfolio.
A business card is viewed as a physical representation of an artist during networking, so it's design must be legible and clear on good quality card-stock: a business card is a first impression, making it a worthy investment.
On LinkedIn she recommends that students endorse one another for their skills and ask for recommendations from any previous collaborations to make an account more desirable to recruiters. It should also link to a professional portfolio.
This portfolio should show case a small selection of an artist's best work, with links to social medias available. Contact details should be clear, making it easy for recruiters to acknowledge someone during their busy schedules.
She makes it clear that the games industry is about relationships, not results, as it's normally network connections who provide job opportunities.
Response 6 - Christian-Peter Heimbach : Business is Evil ​
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting lecturer Christian Heimbach and his talk on the big picture of the games industry and where to find the artist's place.
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He begins by introducing himself, his experience in marketing and eventual move to publishing. He explains that cooperation is required from both publishers and developers as each field has different aspects, what Heimbach calls the 'DNA' of an industry.
The industry is currently split in to three major sectors: studios, publishers and services, with the latter being a new addition within the last five to ten years. Each has their own equation for 'input + operation = output', demonstrating their 'DNA'.
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Studios
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Input Operation Output
Talent Ideation Game
Capital Production Intellectual Property
Intellectual property
IP adds value to a company, making it better to pitch an idea of a brand or franchise to game investors rather than a singular game as it will make them more money in the long run.
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Publishers
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Input Operation Output
Talent Marketing Game
Capital Distribution Brands
Access (their retail relationships etc.) Return of Investment
Their finance team must have skills in market forecasts which can be difficult. They also allow for varying language options and collector editions to be created, all available for distribution: something that studios would struggle to organise without support.
Brands are important to publishers as they can become more valuable than a game by itself, with players recognising the quality that comes with certain franchises due to publisher investment in previous game instalments.
Services
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Input Operation Output
Specialists Business Development Non-exhaustive list due to
Contacts Service the increasing variety of
Briefs Execution outsourcing available
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It is key that they understand a client and keep contacts alive to maintain a presence.
There are also self-publishing studios that focus on art over money, indie publishers that are digital only and free-to-play/live services. An example of the latter is Riot who constantly develop League of Legends, giving them a different 'DNA' to games that have a singular, important launch date.
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Heimbach later explains the main differences between working in-house, freelancing and contracting, although there are many crossovers. Full time work has more security than freelancing and can have extra benefits such as a pension, however within the industry hiring rolls with the work flow of projects, resulting in larger studios letting people go as games are released.
He demonstrates that understanding the journey of working allows for planning for the long term in the industry and that it's best to be open minded towards both sides as each comes with their own challenges.
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Response 7 - Nick Carver : Levelling Up Your Career Through Personal Projects ​
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting lecturer Nick Carver and his talk on how to use personal projects to develop skills for industry practice.
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Carver begins by expressing his 14 year experience in the industry through multiple art roles, beginning as a texture artist and resulting as a part-time concept artist for Riot.
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He explains how working during personal time can greatly benefit a full-time job as a lot can be learned from extra projects, no matter the scale. Before picking a project it's important to identify areas that require improvement and base a brief on how this can be achieved; being liberal with time-scales as there's no deadline like with work.
He briefly describes how he used to do a lot of photo studies but struggled in the areas of colour and proportion, resulting in him being able to replicate to a high standard but could not create original work to the same level. This lead him on to begin entering competitions and setting himself a personal project, both great reasons for motivation and developing specific skills.
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In his opinion improvement requires three elements: a skill that should be improved, a subject for putting said skill into practice and a reason for doing so. Whilst his work at Blizzard didn't completely fulfil him creatively, the self project allowed him to develop and improve skills outside of his comfort zone. Once the foundation of a personal brief has been layed it becomes much easier to build upon the world, gradually incorporating areas of skill that can be considered daunting.
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All personal work participates in an artist's overall education, allowing them to always improve in some way. Not every piece of work has to be the best to date, it only needs to develop a skill. Breaking down tasks in to manageable goals grants a greater understanding of a larger project, like creating assets for 'kit-bashing'.
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He illustrates how creating stylised studies creates self dialogue, meaning active engagement with a study rather than copying within a 2D space. In addition to this, he goes on to demonstrate that visual vocabulary is crucial when creating new ideas, taking existing subjects and giving them new meaning. Visual interest can come from typically 'ugly' subjects that are rich with story-telling potential.
Carver drills that any brief can be made interesting through consideration of secondary design or shape language, turning potentially boring objects into fun designs that are cohesive with the rest of the game's world
Response 8 - Chris Filip : Games - A Propaganda Medium
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We were asked to write a short response to visiting lecturer Chris Filip and his talk on games as propaganda.
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Filip starts by explaining that ideas can be pushed as an agenda through propaganda, skewing view points to promote and manipulate others' perspective. This has been done through various mediums, including books like Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler, famous 'Rosie the Riveter' propaganda art from word war ll and patriotic films like American Sniper. In each of these examples it is clear which opinions they are trying to represent in a positive light, failing to depict opposing ideas in a similar way, if at all.
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This can be seen more recently during the Brexit votes, from both the Remain and Leave campaigns. Each wanted to stand for something different whilst influencing the public's opinion; Leave used buzz words like 'independence' and 'control', with Remain leaning towards 'solidarity' and 'diversity'. Both campaigns would promote their ideals whilst failing to mention any negatives of their mission, all the while slandering the competitor, omitting to present any positive aspects of their argument. This gave the entire Brexit ordeal a feeling of being 'right' or 'wrong', with the propaganda of each campaign preventing balanced discussions and swaying voters to one position or another.
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He demonstrates that games are effective tools of artistic expression, more so than other medias, by showing how many people had seen Marvel's Black Panther, a supposed corner-stone in cinematic diversity, in comparison to how many people had played Minecraft, a relatively plain game. Tens of millions more had played the latter, with Filip continuing to explain how gamers will spend hundreds of hours invested in games and their messages. The game industry is more fruitful than Hollywood and clearly receives more consumer expenditure, so Filip asks where is the game industry's 'Black Panther'?
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Games show propaganda through the presentation of mechanics, encouraging a player to empathise with a message or ideal. A lot of propaganda is created by what a designer doesn't show a consumer. Different games can display exactly the same mechanics but present completely different messages, solely influenced by the way the mechanics are 'skinned'. Their aim to to convince the player of their concept, however a developer must understand the responsibility that comes with doing so.