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| 5 NOV 2002 at 6:14pm |
PharosGamesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 18 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By mbc841 (5 NOV 2002 5:59pm)
Sometimes education may be overrated and sometimes not, but one thing I've most definately learned, is that 99.9 percent of all job ads in the technical field that I see listed REQUIRE a degree. Since I don't have one, making a career change has been next to impossible. :'(
I know the feeling. I didn't quite get there either, though I spent enough years in university courses, I should have a degree. I picked up a couple of 2 year degrees from correspondence courses (engineering and electronics). Hey, I am certified by the FCC to run a radio station. But nothing that qualifies me to do the creative work I want to do.
You'll just have to make it on your own, then. A friend of mine dropped out of school, even though he was a National Merit Scholar. He has always been an independent, and has a successful career now as a medical animator (completely self-taught).
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| 6 NOV 2002 at 6:19pm |
mbc841Space Cadet
Posts : 194
Joined: 10 OCT 2002
Status : Online | I picked up a couple of 2 year degrees from correspondence courses (engineering and electronics). Hey, I am certified by the FCC to run a radio station. But nothing that qualifies me to do the creative work I want to do.
I took a correspondence course many years ago - a Journalism course through the Newspaper Institute of America, and am certified with them.
But hey, what better way to succeed, than on your own?
The ironic thing is that making the game I am now making, I'm discovering that I have a whole new world of expression - much more so than just writing. It's like writing a 3D story - you not only have words to convey the story, now you have pictures, movies, and sound - a whole new world ! ! ! It's like making your own movie.
[url=http://www.justadventure.com/IndependentDevs/TheArrangement/index.htm][[img]http://www.justadventure.com/IndependentDevs/TheArrangement/Graphics/banner1.jpg[/img][/url]
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| 6 NOV 2002 at 10:31pm |
PharosGamesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 18 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By mbc841 (6 NOV 2002 6:18pm)
But hey, what better way to succeed, than on your own?
That is so true, and many successful people, like Bill Gates, were drop-outs.
My friend was telling me he has so much work as a medical animator that he has to turn down jobs, and he told his last client he is ONLY going to work 12 hours a day, 6 days a week.
This is not to underestimate the advantages, and headstart, a good education can give you though!! Doing it without the formal education is more difficult, but it still can be done. You just need determination.
The ironic thing is that making the game I am now making, I'm discovering that I have a whole new world of expression - much more so than just writing. It's like writing a 3D story - you not only have words to convey the story, now you have pictures, movies, and sound - a whole new world ! ! ! It's like making your own movie.
It's a FANTASTIC opportunity to express yourself, and it doesn't cost much for an independent to get started.
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| 9 NOV 2002 at 3:19pm |
SkyeSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 348
Joined: 20 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Hmmm, looks like I am also in the minority of folks who are not involved in a computer based job. I've been a lab technician in a dairy for the last 24 years.
Anne
PS. But I do have a keen interest in computers - even wrote a text adventure in Assembler 'cuse it was the only language compiler I could get a hold of back in the early eighties!!!
Indie Developer of Scavenger Hunter&&The Replayable Adventure Game!&&- 4,446 scenes, 5,796 overlays,&&- First Indie Adventure Game&& To Use A.I. Randomizer Technology,&&- 7 years in the making!!! RELEASED !!!&&&&Order yours now at:&&[url]http://www.Sagewood-Software.ca[/url]
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| 10 NOV 2002 at 5:41pm |
ray_bIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 6
Joined: 22 OCT 2002
Status : Offline | Brain Surgeon. Once I perfromed a prefrontal lobotomy on myself. So good so far. I think this was midway into the Riven game.
Ray
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| 11 NOV 2002 at 12:20am |
PharosGamesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 18 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By ray_b (10 NOV 2002 5:41pm)
Brain Surgeon. Once I perfromed a prefrontal lobotomy on myself. So good so far. I think this was midway into the Riven game.
ROFL!! "Brain and brain: what is Brain!?"
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| 12 NOV 2002 at 2:43pm |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By PharosGames (31 OCT 2002 5:27pm)
From everything I am reading in this forum, I think I am a LOT older than most of you.
I have a son who's about to have (with his partner) his first child.
On topic:
I'm producer and designer for Revolution Software.
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| 12 NOV 2002 at 9:12pm |
PharosGamesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 18 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Diamond (12 NOV 2002 2:42pm)
I have a son who's about to have (with his partner) his first child.
It's good to know not every game developer is 22 years old the way I sort of pictured it).
On topic:
I'm producer and designer for Revolution Software.
Wow, that's really beautiful work. I looked through the screenshots on the Revolution Software site. I love your cartoons too.
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| 14 NOV 2002 at 3:58pm |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By PharosGames (12 NOV 2002 9:11pm)
Wow, that's really beautiful work. I looked through the screenshots on the Revolution Software site. I love your cartoons too.
Thanks, but I can't claim credit for EVERYTHING.
We have a very talented team which is a great pleasure to be a part of.
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| 14 NOV 2002 at 4:00pm |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By PharosGames (12 NOV 2002 9:11pm)
I love your cartoons too.
I just realised that you probably meant the Juniper Crescent cartoons (me being a bit slow). Thanks, that really means a lot to me.
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| 15 NOV 2002 at 7:34am |
PharosGamesIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 50
Joined: 18 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Diamond (14 NOV 2002 3:59pm)
I just realised that you probably meant the Juniper Crescent cartoons (me being a bit slow). Thanks, that really means a lot to me.
They are great! I like the animals -- especially Scout, with his cool eye patch.
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| 15 NOV 2002 at 10:01am |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Scout was the original character and as I developed my ideas and visual style more and more characters kept surfacing. I don't know if you've taken a look at The Sapphire Claw, where I'm taking the characters from Juniper Crescent and putting them into a longer storyline.
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| 28 NOV 2002 at 6:08am |
| Deleted User | Finishing my bacc. in biophysic (biochem if you like, nobody knows what biophysic really is - I'm not being snob). 2 weeks and I start my master.
Sciences is not very popular around here... :'(
No background in computer tech; but NOW I understand why I'm still a newbie and that a lot of you are pratically always here. You work on your leisure computer...must be hard
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| 29 NOV 2002 at 8:25am |
| Deleted User | Isshh It sounded arrogant didn't it?
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| 30 NOV 2002 at 8:06pm |
| Deleted User | Well, folks... I suppose I'm a creative person rather than a programmer. The furthest I got was designing games on SEUCK on the C64 back when I was 14 or so.
I'm now a storyboard artist for animation working freelance for Telemagination in London, with some developmental stuff coming up in the near future I can't really divulge.
Steve Ince - tell me how to get into computer games creation - I've been trying for ages! Bearing in mind I've directed for TV and how filmlike most games are, I though it'd be a bit easier to get at least a toe in the door...
Oh, and pleeeease don't put Broken Sword 3 any further back if you have to - I don't mind downloading a huge patch if needs be...
Also, BRING BACK SIERRA ADVENTURES!
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 12:29am |
ratracerIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 41
Joined: 21 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Can I assume that more than one people here are or were MVS system techs???
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 11:58am |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By monkeybone (30 NOV 2002 8:06pm)
Steve Ince - tell me how to get into computer games creation - I've been trying for ages! Bearing in mind I've directed for TV and how filmlike most games are, I though it'd be a bit easier to get at least a toe in the door...
I've been working at Revolution for ten years, which is where I started in the industry. I started out as an artist working on background paintings and sprite animation and it all moved of from there. In many ways I was in the right place at the right time, but I've been fortunate enough to prove that I can stick with it. I'm now heavily involved int he design side and less so in the art side.
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 1:31pm |
| Deleted User | Steve, thanks for getting back to me. Your job sounds like a dream! A lot of people think my job sounds interesting, although a lot of the time I get a bit frustrated drawing other peoples characters and bg's and wouldn't mind doing my own occasionally.
My interest in computer games stems from when I was a kid, playing Repton and Elite on a BBC back in the '80's... It'd be great to get in on the creative side of a project. I have a friend, a BG artist, who's been working on storyboarding and design on a game and I was really jealous as he didn't see it as very interesting! :-/
Verrry talented guy though... I've been trying to get into the games industry for years, but without the required 3D experience I appear to be unemployable!
Speaking of which, please read the "The Future is.." post if you can and let me know what you think...
CheerS!
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 5:07pm |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By monkeybone (1 DEC 2002 1:31pm)
Steve, thanks for getting back to me. Your job sounds like a dream! A lot of people think my job sounds interesting, although a lot of the time I get a bit frustrated drawing other peoples characters and bg's and wouldn't mind doing my own occasionally.
... I've been trying to get into the games industry for years, but without the required 3D experience I appear to be unemployable!
Even if you get into the game industry, you often end up working on other people's ideas, characters, etc. With Broken Sword, I was in from the start and so feel that I've contributed in some small way from the beginning. Certainly with the current BS game, I've been working on the story/plot the game breakdown into sections, large parts of the section design, puzzles, character interactions and am writing much of the dialogue (prior to script editing). I also implement some of the game too.
3D has taken over in most areas as far as games are concerned. Even games that are played in a 2D manner are often created using 3D. I think that people who come from more traditional art and animation backgrounds and learn 3D can sometimes have the edge over people who have grown up with 3D. This is because their artistic skills have a more substantial grounding. For instance, there are many 3D modellers who can model tanks and planes and buildings wonderfully, but are a bit hopeless when it comes to people. This is because they have no background in life drawing and don't understand human anatomy and form.
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 10:16pm |
MichalNGrand Inquisitor
Posts : 7058
Joined: 14 SEP 2003
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Steve Ince (1 DEC 2002 5:06pm)
For instance, there are many 3D modellers who can model tanks and planes and buildings wonderfully, but are a bit hopeless when it comes to people.
I guess that's the difference between engineers and artists I'm the former myself I'm afraid (not that I do 3D modeling)... and I've always admired the artists whereas they claim that they don't understand any of what I'm doing. Each to their own I suppose.
I forgot my sig.
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| 1 DEC 2002 at 11:16pm |
| Deleted User | I think my point is, that although I may not do 3D I do have a lot to offer the games industry through my knowledge of filmic narrative. To many times I've seen some wonderful games with bad direction - Schizm for example, or even Giants; Citizen Kabuto, which had some atrocious line crosses and confusingly directed cut scenes.
As for doing other peoples character, I find it a chore, and I know I have to earn my place - perhaps more than most people. I'm just venting frustration - currently doing 200 pages of storyboard for an upcoming CITV cartoon. It's also on-model and particularly challenging. I love my job - it's just, like anyone else, I want to advance to something else soon. Games woulod be great.
Is there anyone at Revolution with film/animation experience? Looking at the old games, it certainly appears to be... keep up the good work.
Oh, and give me a job! ;-P joking!
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| 2 DEC 2002 at 2:51am |
overcomeSpace Cadet
Posts : 112
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Online | Good point about traditonally trained artists vs. 3D tech guys.
That is why I'm sacrificing 3-4 years and taking traditional animation before 3D. We do tons of life drawing wich I already know will help me greatly with characters.
I've heard some companies will even hire traditional animation students and train them in 3D on the job.
That said I've got this teacher (who is THE spider-man comic artist for Canada) teaching us perspective. So we are getting into some technical drawings.
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| 2 DEC 2002 at 2:54am |
overcomeSpace Cadet
Posts : 112
Joined: 16 OCT 2002
Status : Online | My Charlie Brown icon reminded me of something my perspective teacher told us. Almost anyobody can learn to become a competent artist with time, but it is what you come up with creativly that brings success or non-success.
And he gave the example of Charles Schulz as a mediocre comic artist who had a famous concept and marketing ability.
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| 2 DEC 2002 at 10:08am |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By overcome (2 DEC 2002 2:54am)
And he gave the example of Charles Schulz as a mediocre comic artist who had a famous concept and marketing ability.
The same goes for Scott Adams, though he's not as good an artist as Schulz in my opinion.
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