Zach T - Game Design Journey

  This weeks industry talk was by Carly Craster and Peter Dimitrov from Rebellion.  Peter told us about his experience, after graduating, working on the game Sniper Elite 5, a game by Rebellion. He told us the interesting workflow that went into creating a multiplayer level for the game. Showing us timelapses of different areas while explaining the thoughts and processes behind them. This was interesting as it showed us a more in-depth look at how the industry is after graduating and the workflow for a level. The part I found most interesting was how the different departments worked together to create a level without impeding the others. From artists to level designers, they all had input into the level in some form. Carly didn't have a talk but she did chime in on Peters presentation and answer any questions we had about her journey in the industry. She gave people guidance on how they could work in other countries, like she had, and how to stand out to those recruiting as she has

  Week 5: This week we had an industry talk by Louise Andrew. She is the Head of Art at d3t and Coconut Lizard. Both of these company are co-development studios that offer work-for-hire services to help other studios create their games. She has worked in the industry for over 20 years and is credited in over 20 published titles. Louise's talk was interesting as she told us about her journey through the industry, starting in fine art and eventually progressing into the game industry. She also talked about how their companies work on many games with many different styles and how they've won a lot of awards. The most interesting part of the talk was when she was talking about the 'work-for-hire' that d3t and Coconut Lizard use. I found the practice of work-for-hire to be really interesting, especially with the mass layoffs that have happened this year. Work-for-hire seems like a good thing for multiple reasons. One big reason is the experience. Those at the companies that

This week we had an industry talk by  Jake Taylor  who is currently a Senior 3D Artist at White Paper Games. The talk was fairly informal compared to the others as Jake is a graduate of the course as well as a returning speaker. Jake told us about his journey through the industry after graduating and his roles within the industry. Jake first started at Cloud Imperium Games, eventually becoming a Senior Weapon Artist before moving to his current role at White Paper Games. Jake gave us tips and advice, using his own experience in the industry, on how we could look at progressing through the industry and what he would do differently if he could. Overall, I found the talk with Jake to be alright. It was fairly informing and gave me some things to think about and remember whilst my own journey into the games industry progresses.

 I ended up missing week 3 so lets talk about week 2 and 4. We had two industry talks during these weeks, one from Lucid Games Ltd and another by White Paper Games. Week 2: The people from Lucid Games Ltd came into the university to give a talk during week 2 which was cool of them. We had 4 speakers that day, they were:  Sarah Akers , Kristjan Zadziuk , Amy Scott , Lianne H.  and Rebecca Kate Hutt .  The talk showed us some of the different sections in a team and how they worked. I thought this was great as we were able to see how different disciplines work as well as how they fit in with each other to create games. What I found most interesting about the talk was the animation side. I thought it was cool to see the different ways that animations are created in games and how the technology works behind it. I also found it interesting to learn more about the production side of games and how it works with the creative side. This was because it was a part of games that I had never c

This week we had an industry talk by Michelle Chapman. Michelle is the Technical Design Director at Sumo Digital, a large company that has worked on many successful titles such as Forza Horizon 2&4, Forza Motorsport 7 and Hitman 2. Michelle's talk was about their journey through the industry and how the role of Technical Designer has developed over time. This was interesting as they described the unconventional way that they have progressed into their current role and how the industry itself is still growing and learning how to make game creation more efficient. The part I enjoyed the most was how they were honest about their experience of the industry, telling us about the ups as well as the downs of their journey and how they dealt with the all too common struggles within the industry. These being, a company Michelle was working for closed down which meant they were out of a job and when they first entered the industry they were subject to unwelcoming conditions, becoming vic