I choose left, which looks more interesting than right but take me the same way anyway...

Level design is a very interesting concept in itself, one in which does perk my attention. It is a job which requires much artistic understanding, similar to the writings of my previous blog, yet at the same time it requires a technical understanding along with an understanding of what the characters can and cannot do. It is a job that I would probably be moderately interested in and be willing to widen my range of skills to do this should my current career path turn out to not be for me. The level designer must consider how to guide the player intelligently through a technique called, “flow control”. Much like channelling water through a pipe line with valves to control which way the water goes when. In modern 3D environments for games, besides free roam R.P.G.s like Bethesda’s Elder Scrolls and Fall Out franchises, games these days create the illusion that the player has the ability to go where they want but in the end, whichever side route or passage they chose, their goal is the same at the end of each area which will channel the player towards the main plot’s direction.

After doing only a small amount of research into the position so far, it is painfully clear how much time goes into just the planning of each level. Particularly with modern online games. Games like Call of Duty or Halo need to be interesting and fun to play in, but at the same time they need to be in terms of vantage points, weapons and load outs, shelter from fire and have a range of close and ranged combat options i.e.: indoors/outdoors to keep things interesting. Quite often games do do symmetrical maps which is very O.K in my opinion, but just o.k. In terms of the campaign, the designer needs to consider what would happen when to trigger a certain part of a level to be accessed, what N.P.C.s are visible from where, and when they would interact with you. However, This applies mostly to modern F.P.S games. The Type of game will result in varying types of level design. For example, a platformgame R.P.G level designer would have to consider obstacles, mental challenges, where enemies are placed and the difficulty of each areaA game which is a brilliant example of how this is done is Rayman for the PS1. A game which has brilliantly well designed levels which challenge the player constantly, yet is balanced enough for the player to have fun with. Yet not one person I have ever spoken to has completed it. Strange how it’s so hard yet so loved. Once again, not that I mean to use this as another good example again, it is such an amazing game, but Abe’s Oddysee/Exodus use visual stimulations in the background to hint where secrets are in the foreground for the player to find.

Fortunately, I haven’t come across a terribly, omg I want to kill the designer, over my past 15 gaming years, but I have come across some which are just god damn lazy, and It’s easy to see how this can affect how much the player enjoys the game. Kingdom Under Fire: Circle of Doom for the 360. Oh dear. Recycled levels in a game doesn’t bother me too much when they play well and interestingly each time you go back through them. However, KUF:COD was composed of about three or four different lay outs, each lay out was just topped with a different texture and one or two different assets to make it either a jungle, desert, snow or volcanic mountain, AND the levels were recycled. This just about made for the most BORING game I ever wasted my money on. Literally the only reason I didn’t take it back after an hour or so of playing was because it made my 360 game stack equal the size of my original xbox game stack at the time. Looking back I really had my priorities wrong.

In any case, when done well, level design can produce a well enjoyed and memorable experience of a game which is always good for a game companies reputation. The original Fable had no marketing and spread souly by word of mouth and now look how big it is. Equally, poor level design can leave a player frustrated, angry and leave a player wanting to forget their experience as quickly as possible.

The Lay of the Land

Although many games have their own individual art style, there are very few which use their art style for any compositional purpose to add to the quality of the game.


Although, it’s becoming a cliché to use this as an example of how the industry does something well, the Halo franchise actually uses composition very well and has developed a reputation its views and compositional land/sky scapes. In the first game, Halo: Combat Evolved, it has become an iconic moment at the opening of the second level when you step out of the escape pod from the Pillar of Autumn, and you find yourself on this alien planet it almost seems until you look up and realise you’re on this ring. Even though with this example you have no choice but to notice your environment and be in awe of what lies before you, throughout the Halofranchise, they’ve become very good at getting you to step over a ridge or turn around a corner to what is often a very atmospheric and well laid out piece of scenery. Particularly the Sky backdrops which have been emphasised in Halo Reach for the space battles.


Not that I mean to make a habit of using this franchise as an example for every one of my blogs this year, but the first two Oddworld games: Abes’ Oddysee and Abe’s Exodus both use, composition, and a mixture of complimentary and contrasting tones to not just create a nice back drop, in keeping with the games own charm, but to get the player’s eyes to go where you want them. For example, the image below with the green background, the bridge that heads off into the distance channels the player’s eyes towards the sign which shows the player their progress so far and the repercussions of their current actions. These days we see very little thought going into backgrounds and scenery like this and they are there purely to stop the character from floating around in nothingness.



This is defiantly something I should look more into to improve the layouts of not just my final piece but also my prep sketches. If I get myself into a regular mindset of trying to find the best composition for every photo I take the outcome will work to the benefit of all my artwork, including my personal surreal works.

After taking a look at some masterpieces, of my favourite artists, it’s only just become clear now, how the Rule of Thirds and the Golden Mean are actually useful in composition. In all of the examples above it is clear how these images have been thought about compositionally from that particular view point using one or both of these techniques. However, not even in my previous education did I learn about these two compositional rules. Only from my own studies did I come across them, but now after doing research for this blog has it just clicked how I can actually use these techniques in my own work as appose to just using them as reference when analysing a piece of art. Now that I think about it, It’s actually quite ridicules how as an art student, this has never even been mentioned to me, and I would still be none the wiser if it wasn’t for my own extracurricular studies.

Big face showed up; taught me about planning and concepting.

The most obvious example of planning a project or not, having a successful or unsuccessful outcome is most defiantly myself. As with the abysmal quality of my first project this year, that in itself was the result of basically non-existent planning, which I am still, genuinely embarrassed to call the result of a second year project. Too self critical? I’ve been told that but refuse to accept its standards are welcome on this course in the second year, let alone industry.


Moving on from that though, a brilliant example of industry quality planning, would be to look at a returning childhood favourite of mine, Oddworld Inhabitants. Although, they’ve been focusing on film production, television and online space over the past 6 years, it is well worth looking back over their beautiful work in games. Take their first game, Abe’s Oddysee. Plot: you play as a hero who breaks the mould of your typical bad ass hero, by basically being a weak, retarded alien whose mouth is stitched shut and dies from a single hit from ANYTHING. Manages to overcome the most freaky and equally retarded looking enemies to over through the planet’s biggest slave business and save his even more retarded and lazy friends. But if you take a look at every aspect of the game, everything fits, everything works and creates quite a believable world, all be it freaky looking. The creatures, including the hero Abe, are all caricatured and twisted in the same way . After reading the “Art of Oddworld Inhabitants first ten years” it’s clear that they took every day concepts and exaggerated them in a way which is damn creepy and hilarious at the same time.


Take for example the Kento. Not actually in any of the games but this example is as good as the rest. One of the artists took the concept of body builders. Guys who work all day on their upper body and get huge, but their legs get tiny. Exaggerate this, and you end up with a Kento. Obviously it’s not as smiple as that. They worked how far to take it and exactly what it would do, move like, it’s roll in the world, natural habitat etc. But just about everything in Oddworld has this kind of “what the hell is that” kind of look about it. Almost all enemies don’t even have eyes. Oddworld itself is supposedly 7 times the size of earth and as I’m sure you can imagine the diversity across the world in both flora and fauna, yet all the Oddworld games are set in different locations but all maintain the same kind of out landish charm which brings the world together. I am truely glad to see them returning to games and looking forward to what other wierd and wacky creations they can bring to Oddworld.

With my future projects, I am aiming at putting more time into prior concepting. I found that in my first year when i was doing preliminary sketches for 2D, they were just sketches for the sake of doing sketches, I wasn’t actually gearing my work towards my final piece which resulted in an often sterile, personalityless piece of work. If I take a page out of Oddworld Inhabitant’s artist’s book and actually gear my work towards working my style, not only will my outcomes be better in schooling, but in industry it will put me in good stead for aiming my work towards that particular project’s aesthetic.

Aerith gave her life, hopefully i won't have to go quite so far.

Although there is much more to learn, which is glaringly obvious as far as my 3D work is concerned, I came over in leaps and bounds in my first year. Even though I wasn’t up to the standards of the best in the class, and still, am not, to go from not ever using any software packages other than Microsoft word and paint, to being able to model and texture in 3Ds Max using Photoshop as a texturing tool to the standard I did in only a year, it’s safe to say I’m pleased with my progress and hope that my rate of learning only increases over the next coming year.

However, I’m well aware that this year there is more emphasis on autonomous learning than there was last year. In the first year we had our hands held quite a lot, even more so than my second A level year for art and design so It’ll be good to get back into the habit of getting on with it and being expected to just produce it. I can honestly say though, this year I am terrified of the second year slump that Mike has mentioned a few times during our critical studies sessions. In the first year I met a few, rather a lot of bad humps that could have potentially had me fail the first year and I’m doing all I can to avoid those through a crippling fear of failing. This new calamity however, oh dear, I can already feel it. My time management for my first 3D project went right out of the window, it crept up on me, and it shows. Why did I let it? I don’t know. Pure stupidity? Or the lackadaisical attitude of being a second year?

Seriously I cannot and will not let this beat me. As Aerith gave her live, and Cloud fought both Sephiroth and his own identity crisis to defend Gaia from the Dark materia calamity, I will battle with all my might to remove this equally colossal attitude defect.

In moving on from food of my nightmares, this year I very much hope that I can fully get to grips with 3Ds Max and sort out my time management so that I can put myself in good stead for an impressive intern student over the summer. So far as far as that’s concerned all the places I have looked are only really interested in about 5 month Internships or longer. Although we had a really long one between year 1 and 2, I don’t think we have that longer summer this year so I’m still on the look out for a game art based internship that is only 3 months or so. Though in all fairness, I have been looking at pretty grand places so far, I need to look at smaller companies, it’s getting to the point where I just need somewhere to get the experience under my belt. If I fail miserably at getting an intern I’ll end up doing Camp America again next summer, and as much of an amazing experience as it is, it’s not exactly conducive towards my ideal future career.

This for me is to work for Blizzard as either an environmental or character artist. Not too sure I’m mature enough yet to handle a managerial position yet but then my skills aren’t mature enough for that either, nowhere near. They’re recruiting now, and I have been looking long and hard for what they’re after. mostly programmers, but in art the main thing that caught my eye apart from the fact I’m learning programs they want, +1 for Game Art DMU, they want a minimum of 3 years industry experience and 3 games that have reached it onto the shelf. MINIMUM. Oh dear. What they also consider as a massive plus is having a strong art background, +2 for Game Art DMU, and being able to work low poly with high quality textures, +3 for Game Art DMU. Unfortunately right at this moment in time they’re not doing internships, which is a shame because they’re based in France just 40mins away from where my parents live, which would have been all too convenient. But Blizzard is my target and their standards are high. I’m under no disillusionment of what my chances are of getting there, and most blind monkeys with a stick want to be there too. I must become the monkey who doesn’t have his eyelids sewn shut and has a longer stick than all the rest.

I still don't know the Lecturers!

To be slightly more concise than my last opinionated blog:

I’ve found pretty much all aspects of the course this year to be useful or rewarding in some way or another. As Critical studies goes, writing these blogs has helped me take a step back and actually consider not only what it is I’m doing, where I’m going, what I’m walking into, but It’s helped me reshape my time management, hone my presentation skills and learn to assess myself and other things properly. Part of that is also due to the brilliant idea of having a Facebook account strictly for work. The amount of constructive criticism from peers caught me off guard at first and it took me a certain Giygas incident to appreciate it, but it has been vital in the improvement of my Photoshop skills and has also provided a source of competition. It’s always good to keep an eye my peers to make sure I’m stepping up to the mark. Lol.

As far as 2D is concerned, I can defiantly see where it links into developing your skills into transferring 3D information into 2D and back again for the 3D module, but I would like to see more emphasis on this as appose to the 3D module, particularly as far as Photoshop is concerned. Before I came onto this course, my software skills stretched as far as Paint. To suddenly be surrounded by all these people who know how to use all these programs was a bit of a shock and to then realise that this was a program I needed, I busted my balls to try n get it to work but I’m still nowhere near as good as most people on the course with it. Maybe it’s just that I’m more traditional minded but this over use of Photoshop seems like a bit of an easy way out. I can see that in industry, Photoshop and other software like it will be used for many concept sketches and merchandise but it clashes with the ethos of the 2D part of course: to train your brain into transferring 3D into 2D and vice versa. No one who used Photoshop can tell me that they do their work on sight.

Unfortunately, it seems that the whole point of developing the 2D is to get good at 3D. I do appreciate that having skills in 3D as well as 2D is important in selling yourself, and I’m having great fun with 3D, as much as it nearly killed me at the start of the year, I don’t want to actually be a 3D modeller. It makes sense that the first year developers the ground skills for all aspects of being a Game artist, but it would make equal sense for the second year to allow you to begin to specialize your skills in the direction you want to go into. As we first years all desperately need Heather time, we all know that she can’t possibly see all of us one on one all the time, so it’s a god send that she’s posted up all her demos onto blackboard, but I still don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to put into a design document. If she was to go through it just once with the class then I’m sure that would help on people’s final grades.

Finally, the last thing I’d want to add is...I still don’t know the lecturers! I’d like to see more banter time with the staff and hopefully over the next 2 years I will see some.

Once bitten twice shy

Ok, of all games at GDC 10, Fable 3 got the biggest emotional reaction out of me. I’m not entirely sure whether I should even discuss this game but here goes anyways.
As a mahoosive fan of the Original Fable, which I still love and adore today, I literally died inside at the release of Fable 2. I followed it intently throughout its production, every interview and video about it was under my belt. Clearly Peter Molyneux is renowned for being able to talk about something and make it sound good, but during all his interviews and speeches he spoke of things being in the game which got such a good response and then never made it into the actual game. Although I do appreciate how some things must naturally be cut from the game, I couldn’t help but feel lied to. Yet that wasn’t the beginning of the slide.

It was said that the world was going to be so much bigger, and so much more of it could be explored, when in actual fact, the explorative areas in fable 2 were so much smaller and much more linear. It also completely contradicted the original geographically. They really should have thought about it a little more. The Clothing variety was also much more limited, even though you could change the colours of items. The spell system was so much more flawed in the second Fable that there was a limit to about 8 spells in the entire game. The childhood scene seemed as if was placed in the game purely because it was a hit in the first one and no real emotional connection was made with your sister like was made with your best friend Whisper in the first one before you choose Whether she lived or died. The crucible was a blatant waist of time, nothing on the coliseum in Knothole Glade and they even toned down physical changes to your character according to your alignment. The emotional connection just wasn’t there.

Granted there were many improved things like: the work and shopping system, buying things and the way actions with the NPC’s takes place was improved. Marriage, and children along with homes and the tax system was improved. Even though the dog thing was an improvement and it was well done, I’m not a dog fan, and I didn’t like how it was compulsory. I was sick of cheering it up or having to feed it/heal it when it jumped in front of a gun. It didn’t quite add to the plot and the emotional value of the game like the first one did. It felt too commercial and forced unlike the first one which clearly had a LOT of passion put into it.

When Fable 3 was announced I wasn’t sure how to feel. As usual, it sounds good, They’ve taken into account what fans like myself have thrown at them, brought things back, added other things, removed some things which should never have been added. What looks rather good, potentially better than the original is the way you physically change in your alignment through emoticons. And the way when your dating someone you can hold their hand etc. I very much get the impression that will add greatly to my emotional involvement. However, the concept of spells being applied through rings seems the biggest pile of shit ever. What’s the point of being a Hero if everyone can put on a ring and do a spell. That was the whole point of being a hero, you’re the only ones who can use Will. FFS. I also don’t like the idea of being King but we’ll see how they work it. The general overtone to the plot seems simple enough but I’ll be interested to see what they do with it.

No doubt that I will buy it just because of my love for Fable and the sound track which I also fell in love with at the Original Fable. Peter Molyneux has the uncanny ability to chat on and make anything sound good, but I am still sceptical from the betrayal I felt at Fable 2. We will see...

When i grow up, I wanna see the world, drive nice cars. I wanna have boobies!

“When I Grow up I want to be a palaeontologist” I used to say. I used to want to scour the world looking for dinosaur bones and discover the biggest and most fascinating of them all. But even then I knew that that kind of lifestyle would mean compromising family and social life at home. Yet having a job that I enjoyed and made me happy is what always counted the most for me. Now however, that my mind is...more grown up, my priorities in terms of wanting a job that I am passionate about over anything else hasn’t changed. The only thing that has is where my passion lies, and that is well and truly as a games artist, specifically a character designer, above all other specialisations in the game artist’s world. As much as I would still enjoy the development of environments, or to do actual 3D work, I find the design process and development of a character, in thinking about what they would wear, why, what items they would have etc so much more interesting.

As a fan of games, there is obviously things that I would like to change in the industry and improve; countless games these days are released in a state which if given a few more months of love and attention, would have been so much more satisfying to the gamer to play. Yet like all industries, I can’t expect to graduate and within a few days be Jr. vice president of Microsoft’s entertainment department. I will have to work hard a graft my way into the position I want, yet equally, I do expect the skills that I work on over the next few years to point me very much in the right direction.

10 years from now, ideally, I see myself working for a major games industry, on a team of artists working on the game which will generate as much hype as Halo: Combat Evolved did. However, other than working my ass off to get there and maybe stepping on a few people’s toes, I don’t exactly know how to get there. Only time will tell and hopefully I’ll make all the right decisions.