Table of Contents

1.Getting into the Video Game industry…………… Pg.4

2. Video Game Writer ………………………Pg.8

Page 3

Page 8

Getting into the Video Game industryI wanna get into the games industry!!, but how??

The question posed in the title is probably one of the most frequent we get here at Animation Arena and one you could write pages and pages about, but I’ll try and keep things fairly succinct >:^).

First off you shouldn't try starting up your own game development team. Game development is no longer the kind of thing that you can just do in your bedroom with a few friends, it's a big money industry run by professional people who demand quality or the heat will rain down on you and you'll be lumped with a mass of debt. If you want to make your own game development group that makes games you might see on a store shelf then you should get a few years experience in the industry at least. If you want to do it on a hobbyist level to get some practice in I’d suggest looking for mod teams to join. There are hundreds of mods out there and most are always on the look-out for fresh talent.

So that leaves getting a job with an existing developer...

In order to be a video game artist you have to have a good mix of traditional art skills and modern computer based art skills, the balance of which will depend on the eventual specialization you go for. Within the title "games artist" are many sub-categories of artist

including animators, texture artists, character modelers, object modelers, concept artists, etc etc. While it's ok for now to look at your target career simply as a games artist or game designer, the eventual specialization you do will have an impact on what you should be learning in the mean time, so you should start out by sampling everything and then concentrating on the bit/bits that you enjoy doing the most. For example, a concept artist will do purely traditional art, so they won't need to know much at all about computer based art. You can find out more about what each specialization of artist should be learning in the Animation Arena Video Game Design section, which is pretty much dedicated to answering the question posed in this title.

So once you've got in mind what you need to be learning you need to go about doing it. Unfortunately with all art the only way you're going to get

better at it is through practice. Some people maintain that people that are good at art are "naturally artistic", like artistic ability is somehow genetic, but ask any good artist how they got good and they'll tell you how they got where they are by practicing their asses off.

Traditional art wise you should be drawing at least one thing every day. Whether it's a cartoon or a still life or whatever, it doesn't matter, but making sure you draw at least one thing a day will improve your drawing dramatically. Doing an art night class would help alot too. Considering this is for games, you need to be drawing lots of people, so learning to draw anatomy will be greatly beneficial too. One thing I would suggest is steering clear of anime. Looking at the portfolio work of other aspiring games artists just goes to show where this generations art influences are coming from, and learning the anime style won't help you stand out from the crowd at all when it comes to getting a job.

For 3D you should worry less about

learning a wide variety of programs and more about learning the general concepts of modeling. All the 3D packages work differently but the core concepts are all the same, so it's best to choose one program and get to the point where you can be creative within that, than trying to learn all the different programs at once. There are tons of books now on each package, or they typically have decent tutorials in the help files. As for which program you should go for, that used to be simple, but it's getting a trickier choice by the day. It used to be that everyone used 3D Studio Max, because it was powerful, reasonably easy to use (as 3D programs go), was well suited to games, and yet it didn't cost the earth. Recently however Discreet who make 3D Studio Max have started aiming their product at the movie industry, while Alias|Wavefront that make Maya and Avid that make Softimage have recently switched their focus from the movie industry to the games industry. If it was me personally I'd still recommend you start by learning 3D Studio Max.

For 2D computer based work, such as textures, you should be learning Photoshop. Photoshop is like the mack daddy of industry standard 2D art, and absolutely everyone uses it. Again, it's best to just get a book on it.

If you want to be an Animator then it's important not to get too carried away with what the computer can do. Motion capture is getting bigger by the day, and games are now

beginning to really take on stuff like physics simulation, but while games still require stuff like monsters and big robots there will always be a need for animators, since you can't motion capture say... a dragon. You should be learning the principles of animation first and foremost, things like squash and stretch and the wave principle, and some traditional animation will always help with that. For animation principles The Animator's Survival Kit by Richard Williams is the absolute best animation book you can lay your hands on, although be warned that it has nothing in there about animating with computers (books about 3D programs will have that).

For all of these there are a number of courses at universities and vocational schools that you might look at (see Animation Arena's list of Video Game Schools in your area). While some game developers are particular about their artist having a degree, most places are more concerned that you can demonstrate ability through a portfolio rather than a piece of paper, so a degree isn't needed if you have the talent. That said art schools and vocational schools are a good place to spend time working on developing your skills and creating a portfolio, and most people with the talent are the kind of people that could have got a degree fairly easily anyway. The Animation Arena Video Game Design section also has a section on

how to get into the industry, which includes a list of all the universities and vocational schools in the country that do games development degrees.

So once you've actually learnt all this and you start apply for jobs, what next. Well you need to be able to demonstrate your abilities. When you apply to places you should send copies of your traditional work, and more importantly your reel. This is a videocassette, which has 3D model turnarounds and animations on it. These days even better is a CD containing examples of your work.

I said I'd try and be succinct and I've not been, so I should probably finish off and any more questions you might have then feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer them. Hope this has all been of help and good luck with the whole getting into the industry thing.

Video Game Writer

Writing for the Video Game Industry

In its infancy the video game industry did not have to rely on complex themes and stories for their games. Who can ever forget playing fun yet simple games such as Tetris or Super Mario Brothers on your consoles at home. These days are, however, long gone and considered a bygone era. A new age has settled upon us where the story and plot of a game is considered to be much more than just icing on a cake. It is what dazzles and catches our imagination as we sift through the many stages of our experience when playing a video game. Some are so convincing that we can hardly pause to take a much-needed break from playing; we are just too eager to find out what will happen next!

This dramatic change has made writing one of the most important elements in games right now. From comical themes to ones that are full of suspense and horror, a tremendous amount of effort is being poured into captivating gamers through adventures with outcomes you, the gamer, decide as you play the game. The complexity of creating such a diverse world for gamers to

immerse themselves in, with the numerous possibilities of different endings, is the one big challenge in the industry today.

So if your thinking writing for video games is easy then think again. With an audience that is increasingly becoming older, the need for a good storyline has become a monumental task for industry leaders. It is this demand for complex writing that gives those with creative ideas and passion for writing an opportunity to shine. The natural love and familiarity with video games are much needed ingredients one must possess to be a great video game writer. So do not try to bring your talent into this industry if you are simply looking for work. Talent may go a long way but most video game writers are successful in this job because they enjoy the work they are doing.

Having a background in other professions such as science fiction and fantasy writing will give you an added advantage too. This will help

you recognize the three important elements that are required for starting to write video games. These are the plot/setting, character development and the storyboard. Below you will find brief descriptions of each.

Plot/SettingCreating the plot and setting of a video game is like making a storyline. You will identify the theme of the game, characters, and the general plot. Making an outline for this will be the most time consuming part of your tasks. This will give the game developers an idea of what you are trying to create for them and decide if they like it or not. If they do the nature of the game will from then on be solely in your hands, you will have the artistic freedom to do as you wish. You will also be in charge of establishing where full motion videos sequences will appear in areas of the game, this is to enhance the storyline and give a visual representation to the gamer of what is going on as the game progresses. Consider yourself to be the author of an interactive book with its many possible outcomes all left to your vivid imagination.

Character DevelopmentCharacter development is essential in any storyline. I mean, who wants to play the role of someone who is mundane, boring and does not even evolve into something that can make your jaw drop down to the floor during the game. Giving special traits and abilities to characters plays an intrinsic part of this. A good background history can make your

characters more appealing to gamers as well. During the game try to make your character as interactive as possible, dialogues with AI (artificial intelligence) characters in the game plays a great part in this. Offer choices during these interactions, which can put the gamer in, charge of his/hers characters destiny.

Remember that the more choices you open up for the players, the more they will be interested in playing the game over and over in order to find out what could have happened if they did this or that.

The StoryboardOnce the story line is developed and the character development is in place, it is time to create a set of storyboards. A storyboard is a collection of still drawings, words and technical instructions that describe each scene of the game. These still drawings are rough sketches done by the graphics department working with your coordination. It will include storyboards for the full motion video sequences that introduce the story and continue it between the periods of actual game play. Questions like how your characters will move, look and sound like in the game will be covered. The interactions between other characters in the game and their surroundings are also included. A brief explanation of every action should appear on each panel of the storyboard to interpret the sketches for everyone to read. The storyboard serves as your visual aide for writing the video game.

Therefore, these are some of the key elements you need to take note of if you are planning to become a writer for the video gaming industry. It is a job that many aspire for but also many fail at too. It is not an impossible task, yet it has its moments of difficulty and hardship. All you really need is a bright imagination and the guts to undergo grueling hours of work to create what could be the next hit in the gaming market.

To get the job try starting out small by writing articles and reviews for

different video gaming magazines as a freelancer. Once they have taken notice of you and you have built up your list of contacts then you can work your way up to getting the job. Showing experience and a portfolio of achievements will augment your chances in this highly competitive market.

Now, if this is something you love to do and have fun doing then its time to give it a shot!