Where do you want to go, and how do you get there?

I originally had the vision of working in the game industry as games Artist; however recent struggles have pushed my vision off place and left me a little dazzled and confused on where i want to be.

However looking into the game industry more I’ve fount different interests, which lie in sound, and music, which of course can link with the making of games, but more the audio side, which makes me re think and question, where I want to be.

I don’t really know, what or where I want to be, but I do know I want to be doing something i enjoy that will put my talent to use and to be appreciated by others also working with people i like to be around. I want challenge every day so it doesn’t become boring or stressful, where im allowed my imagination to run wild.

I do want to be successful, i know i need to keep my head down and work for it, to hopefully one day i find myself there. I’ve found out recently I’m not very good at picking up technical skills quickly, which is really a pain and not allowing me to show my creativity, which i know i have.

So the motto, live, work and god will put me on the right tracks hopefully :S

Life changing or Career Building? week nineteen

‘Some game companies want highly trained graduate artists and programmers. Some claim they really prefer creative individuals with a good Liberal Arts background. They can’t both be right can they?’

I would say yes they can both be right as companies look for different talent in certain individuals to what they need on their current projects or upcoming ones. So the company has a mix of talents, which therefore would lead to a great game as all aspects are covered by the whole team.

Having a team full of highly trained graduate artists and programmers, sounds like music to the ears of companies as there all set and ready to do the job, so in Theory University is saving the companies money and time, training undergraduates to full potential.

Those with a good liberal Arts background are often rare and hard to find, someone who is major talented artistically, therefore the companies cannot rely on such individuals too come along as the industry needs to grow, so the better option would be for those, who know the up to date software and also have a arts background at the same time, would be better to employ.

So overall, I would say companies ask for a mix of talent, whether highly trained or major talented visually as those who are trained to use the software could teach an artistic person their skills and once that person acquires those skills he could be a great games Artist.

Jake Fowell

Sound for Games-week 18

Sound is an important factor, that we live with in our daily routine, maybe its the baby crying, which would cause different emotions, in this case stress. Sometimes sound makes you happy, with music of your own taste, its most common to find boredom, when it is quiet, but allows the brain to concentrate more. For example, when no sound surrounds myself i tend to concentrate more but when sounds from a different variety of levels, this is rather distracting,

So now, i have realised sound plays a major effect on a persons mood throughout the day, so this has made me realise that sound in a game does actually play a major factor than, I originally assumed.

Sound, when i play a game doesn't really come across to me, that I say, "wow that sounded cool!" its something that is automatic you expect the gun to make sound, when pulled on the trigger for example. For me personally to be impressed by sound, mostly happens when music is involved, whether is would be a chart hit, my favourite song, or a classical choir to run along with cut scenes in a game, gives it that extra edge.

Just recently call of duty modern warfare two was released, i noticed the song for the advert was by one of my childhood heroes eminem and this had a massive effect on the target audience; gave them excitement to buy the game.

As game audio has developed, so have the audio developers. Such as surround sound was not apart of gaming until certain composers introduced these factors. Which to me made a great impact on the game itself ,as I like to have the sound set to full, before playing a game as it introduces the game as a whole.

http://www.dolby.com/consumer/experience/interviews/game/richard-jacques.html

This is a link, with an interview with a composer, stating his background experience and also the effect of certain sound equipment and projects.

A game without music, its like a lost sheep without its herd! Every single game should have music involved, some way or another. I loved playing need for speed underground, while being able to tune my radio, in the car to play a favourite chart hit of mine, this key idea has been carried on through the years, i have noticed, as GTA IV has a similar more advanced system, where you can skip to different radio channels, to find the song you like, whether r n b or rock, whatever you fancy its there.

Xbox 360 and the ps3 both enable control over your sound settings, also to what music you would like to play of your personal collection! I've bin sat there playing a scene out of red faction while listening to prodigy and out of luck it matched the scene in the game and proper got me full swing into it. So there's another example or the dramatic effect sound can have. I personally play music, while im playing on a game with my surround system on, i can hear both the effects from the game and also my music playing at the same time!Sweeet!

Jake Fowell

Game Engine week 17

The game engine consists of certain modifiers to produce development in design and compacts a variety of tools to which the game Artist will find useful, when expressing his or hers ideas to detail.

Whatever make the engine is doesn't matter as long as its reliable and flexible to the artists around it, although it does however have to be a good engine to run in the competitive industry.

A game engine runs and supports different rendering designs created on software such as 3ds max. There are a variety of engines out there, as I have found out we use the unreal Engine on this course, which sounds fun to use. A game engine is like a language, which game developers use to write programs over, but it’s not limited to certain aspects like audio, rendering or graphics. So basically the game engine is a standard platform that developers write a game on top of, but the overall core is the same. Game engines use up a LOT of money, and the rights are distributed by the companies, which allow a certain budget to be spent.

An additive environment consists of empty space, which is usually named the void, it’s endless. So for example when a designer would want to create a room in the void, they would have to seal it off. Most design concepts within the environment are created using hollow boxes, for the sky, terrain etc. The void and the world should always be separate, sealed everywhere so the void doesn't leak in, known as a whole in the world.

A subtractive environment is the total opposite to additive. In a subtractive environment there is no void, so designers need to subtract bits from the infinite solid, to create worlds. Using the subtractive mode eliminates the issue of leaks, however most designers like to use the addictive environment as its easier to manipulate.

The next-gen game engines have issues because the software used has not been updated therefor it doesn't work so well together causing many errors which cause game engine breakdowns. Recently several next-gen game engines have been released, they have many advancements for the latest techniques, in computer graphics. These engines hold a lot of promise for the future of simulation and also the training industry. However many simulations are currently built in the previous gen, this causes most common faults.

Buying into proprietary technology has its ups and downs. Its advantages consist of further experimentation to improve engines and software, to keep the competitive market flowing, however this has more disadvantages as it costs money, developers will have to learn new technology skills therefor this is a major risk.

Jake Fowell