films as lectures

At first i wasnt too sure about showing films in lectures, considering that i work in a cinema when i go back to my home town, means that i see quite alot of films anyway. I usually enjoy when outside lectures are brought in to give their input about the industry. so it was quite a change when we suddenly started watching films almost every week. I even thought about bringing in my own drink and popcorn then relax.

but then after a while i forgot how we are all influenced, by films and how they can inspire us to produce interesting pieces of work. I can relate to this as i realised that watching films like city of lost children and dark city which are films that have more vibrant colours in, that kinda breach the reality of the sort of colours that you would normally see. Films help us artists in many other ways aswell like for example camera angles and the way in which these films create atmospheres and perspectives.

However this has now lead me to think about other ways in which films have influenced us and our lives. I admit at times i do steal phrases from films and imitate them in general conversations at times, wheather its phrases that express philosophys on life that i relate to or even if its just silly little phrases that you can relate to with friends. It just reminds me how much our environment determine the way we grow and help to shape us into the people we are, as it effects all our sense to inspire us and evove different emotion.

week 24 assignment

I feel that this year has been a great learning experience for me, as i think that Criss's classes have been especially helpful as alot of the things taught have magnified my drawing ability.

However there are always ways of improving my work. I really like the idea of introducing a medical artist to the course, as it will help to break down the anatomy of the body, making it easier to draw in perspective. I have recently found that this type of process is very useful in creating something in perspective, as it really makes you think about the object observed in a more three dimensional manner.

I think it has been great to learn about art in a scientific perspective, like for instance with colour theory. I feel that this process gives a greater understanding of how we see colour. I would therefore like to see a scientific explaination on other subjects like on lighting and how light moves over the body or objects.

I would just like to note a little bit of critisism that when thinking about spatial foreshortening that there should be a mentioning of perspective as well. As anyone who is finding it difficult to understand this concept may find it easier if they use lines of perspective as well, just as a method of breaking down the figure. I generally feel that the use of perspective lines when applied to a character is something ive only just discovered through a book i bought.

But all in all i think ive learnt alot this year with drawing and the use of new programs like 3d max and photoshop.

Week 23 assignment

sweet i like the sound of no blogging this week. just means that i can focus more on my drawing studies!

week 22 assignment

the expansion of businesses has always been an interesting topic to me, the most interesting part of expanding companies is the way in which they try to get ahead of the competition by identifying niches in the market. its this original idea that helps the business grow and if it is successful this one idea can propel the business to a new frontier resulting in high profits. A great example of this is with the inventor James Dyson, who created his own business because of his revolutionary idea of removing the bag in a vacuum cleaner. This one idea made the Dyson a home brand name that became leader of the market in the UK alone.

It is this ability to reach these new frontiers and the competing businesses to adapt to the change that helps the market to increase further. These are factors that are present in most industries, this includes the gaming industry. Examples of this currently in the market comes in the form of the Wii with its interactive qualities and in the case of PS3 and XBOX 360 with its technological advancements.

I therefore find it interesting to wonder what will be the next new frontier for gaming be, as potentially there are multiple ways in which the gaming industry could advance, but not all ideas are feasible or even successful, which means any idea has its risks.

Therefore the new idea put forth at the GDC by Michel Guillemot that games will now be a firm presence in the mobile industry is a little sceptical. Games on mobiles have been around for quite some time now, I remember playing the game snake on my mobile when i was a school, which was a popular game at the time. It will therefore be interesting to know how Guillemot will attempt to exploit this new territory. I am aware that currently Games like Sonic the hedgehog are available on mobiles. But with technology advancing further could games that are PSP standard be placed on mobiles?

The main advantage for games on a mobile is that firstly everybody in the 21st Century has a mobile phone. Mobile phones are now a necessity of life and even have a wide range of diverse tools. Mobile phones can now access the internet, used as a calculator, used as a camera and may now be used for games.

However there are still risks that need to be considered. Games that can be accessible on mobiles, will still be available on other platforms like the PSP. Like the mobile I know that i can put the PSP in my pocket, so therefore if a mobile reaches the standard of games which is of PSP quality, why should I get a mobile that is primarily a gaming device, when i already have a PSP and a (non gaming) mobile already?

There are many different frontiers that the gaming industry could approach to increase the already growing market. However I am unsure as to whether the mobile industry is the correct route, but only time will tell if gaming will be common among mobiles. Who knows they may even introduce multiplayer gaming over Bluetooth or the internet!

week 21 assignment

I find that reflection is a general necessity in life even in situations that life places us, you find that if you think about the event that sometimes revelations can appear to you. Even if its just a simple result like learning from your mistakes. A great example of something like this is in the case of my brother. When he was younger he would make friends with a kid whose personality would clash and would therefore inevitably lead to arguments and fighting. However after a while my brother would then become friends with the kid again and the result would be exactly the same. It still amazes me that there are people like this in everyday life and all they have to do is think about what they are doing.

In my case I find that sometimes I reflect too much at least when applied to general situations of life. Usually when a problem is at hand I will assess the situation and think of outcomes that range from the optimistic to the most pessimistic of results.

However when considering my work i must admit that at times I wont do too much reflection. As I would usually just create a design and move on to my next subject instead of attempting to improve the previous design. Nowadays though there seems to be a lot more reflection especially at least from Chris's class. I believe that the tutorials that Chris gives to us is a form of reflection and even the tasks set like the layout project, aided me to think in more of a reflective manner.

One of the main reasons I came to university was to grow and evolve as a person. I know that most people think of university as a place where you party and lounge around, but you find that in life the things we enjoy the most are usually bad for you. Even when you just consider food, you find that chocolate, takeaways and fatty foods all taste great. but the food that’s actually good for us like salads and vegetables don't excite the taste buds like the other foods.

There is a quote from the film 'Weather man' which relates to my general concept of life 'Do you know that the harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing? Nothing that has meaning is easy. "Easy" doesn't enter into grown-up life'. When you look around you at wildlife in general, life for them is survival of the fittest. But when i look at the human lifestyle you can see that many of us aren't thinking of life and death situations consistently. I think that the hardship of the human lifestyle is to keep challenging ourselves and gaining more knowledge.

I believe that if the potential is there that you can do anything. That is why I’m here to challenge my own artistic abilities and attempt to make them stronger!

week 20 assignment

When the word creativity springs to mind i would define the word as a constructive process that doesn't necessarily have to be an original idea, which would contribute to a finished result. Therefore i believe that anyone has the capacity to be creative. It is therefore interesting to me that the definition for creativity has changed over the years and that there still is varying views on the meaning of creativity.

I also believed that creativity is something that people are usually born with, however according to Jeffrey Baumgartner there are 10 steps to increasing creativity. which would include steps like listening to Bach, writing ideas in notebook, don't watch TV, exercise, reading etc. Whether or not any of these conclusions are true or not i cannot say, however when it comes to steps like writing ideas in notebooks i think that this concept is more about maintaining your creativity ability and collecting your ideas. Along with steps like reading i believe that this doesn't necessarily boost creativity, but rather fuels creativity with the production of new ideas.

Even when considering technical constraints in games, there are still ways of being creative. For instance lets think about old games like sonic and compare them to games like Halo. both games are popular and have their creative differences. whereas one game relies more on its gameplay for creativity like sonic reliance on speed, then you have games like halo which also has a creative gameplay by its use of equal effect of damage by use of weapons, melee combat and grenades. but Halo is also creative by taking advantage of the console that it was designed for making the game more visually effective, at least when considering its latest instalment. So even though one game has one technological advancement over another they are still both creative for different reasons.

it is also interesting to find that creativity has a close relation to mental disorders like schizotypal, which shows that even though some people can't function properly in society that they make up for it through their creativity, proving that people with mental disabilities are just as valuable to society as well as everyone else.

However i'm starting to think that for one to be creative the ideas that they generate have to be original. Beforehand my thoughts on creativity would lead me to believe that a child playing with coloured brick creating interesting shapes and patterns as a creative process, even though any child can create interesting patterns with coloured bricks but the question of, is this process creative still eludes me. So i started to think about this question from points of perspective.

I know that anyone can place coloured bricks in the same pattern as a child would and from an adult perspective this wouldn't really be considered as creative, as many people have witnessed children playing with coloured bricks creating shapes and forms that they may have seen before. I’m starting to believe that because adults have gained more knowledge and been influenced by their surrounding environments, that some of the processes they witnessed aren't original from their perspective. Whereas with a child their knowledge and influences are very limited and the shapes and patterns generated may be a new concept from their perspective may be an original idea.

so therefore creativity may just depend on perspective and thinking of an original idea that you personally never thought of and exploring that concept further down other avenues.

week 19 assignment

There shall always be advantages and disadvantages on the varying educational systems for students in the gaming industry. like for instance a trained graduate entering the game industry would be in a position where they are more industry ready, as they have been trained to handle the situations that employees of the game industry face all the time like working in teams.

Whereas someone with a liberal arts background of education wouldn't necessarily be an industry prepared candidate, as the education they would of received is more generalised. This then means that a liberal arts education candidate has an advantage of diversifying the work that they commit to in the industry. An example of this in the industry is that some companies look for artists that can also do programming, With an education background that includes mathematics, computer sciences and design, this strongly suggests that a liberal arts program is more suited to this diversifying of work.

However like I mention before these courses also have their disadvantages. the biggest drawback for the liberal arts candidate is that this person hasn't actually been trained to work in the industry, this would therefore mean that companies would have to spend money on training these new employees to integrate these candidates into their new working environment. Then when it comes to trained graduates who have basically become trained specialists in their field, it becomes a lot harder for them to diverse into other areas like programming.

I feel that it depends on the company that is hiring and what they are looking for. Just like many other businesses and franchises, companies will always try to find ways of beating the competition. Whether its finding specialists or generalists or even both, you will always find that parts of the industry will be in different positions. Say for instance that one company has difficulty in producing ideas, then they may be advised hiring an employee with a liberal arts background as in the games industry it is common for producers in the industry to have this type of education. Whereas another business may not have a strong enough workforce to cope with the demands of the industry and may look for trained graduates. Therefore ultimately i believe the industry is composed of a mixture of the educational backgrounds to become successful.

Week 18 assignment

Sound has always been a factor that has been present in computer games. Even when considering the earliest of games like pong. However sounds used in computer games today have evolved vastly in comparison to pong where sound would be used to indicate an action or effect, also the sounds created would be basic one or two tone sounds showing that at this time only simplistic sounds were implemented into games. Whereas in games of this generation music and sound is essential to gameplay as sounds are not only used for an action, but music is also incorporated into games to set the mood of the game.The film director Danny Boyle has even quoted that 70% of a film relies on sound and music to become successful, which just goes to show how much films rely on sound, and as more and more computer games of today come closer to simulating films the more they shall rely on sound to create a mood making a more effective gaming environment.

Even looking at the credentials of composers like Bill Brown you can see that their music varies over to different genres of games much like they would for films. Like for instance Bill Brown has composed horror music for 'return to castle wolfenstein' and then composed more action based music for C & C Generals. However i noticed that this composer has also crossed over into film and composed dramatic music for the film Ali, which just goes to show that professional composers are used in both film and games of today.

It is also interesting how music also influences other artists, like the song good times has been an influence to artists like queen, sugarhill gang, grand master flash and even Duran Duran. Showing that music can be taken and evolved into new forms and used for other mediums like games and films.

moments in my own gaming history where sound has played a vital role has been in the game Alien Vs predator as the marine class. This class of the game was easily the scariest and most exciting role, as the sound of the movement sensor that the marine has usually panics the player especially when nothing can be seen visually. these occasions would usually occur when battling aliens in a dark corridor!

Week 17 assignment

All computer games needs the fundamental core software that is the game engine to run the game. Game engines are an important aspect of gaming and is essential piece of software needed to monitor and control the way a game looks and moves.

There are many different key technologies that are associated with game engines that range from model shaders to HDR. However as the game industry is an increasing competitive market, businesses must find ways of adding more to their game engine, espically now that we have next gen gaming.

for instance an upcoming game called project offset is designing its own game engine to implement more graphic technology into their game. Offset is leading the way for introducing their new mothod of capturing motion blur into their engine. this along with technology like voulmetic lighting, sub-surfacing scattering and physics proves that quite alot of programs are used in games of today. Then you have textures from specular and normal mapping which adds more detail to games.

as for subtractive and additive editing, the difference between the two is that subtractive takes away from a fill space, whereas additive introduces objects to an empty space.

the main advantage to game engines is that once they have been created, they can be used again by other game developers to create new games, which is an effiecient and low cost method of making a game. A great example of this is in the game half life as the engine was used to create various different mods like CS and Day of defeat. However the disadvantage to using a game engine is that once it has been created its more costly to change the engine and would be cheaper and more effiecient to start from scratch.

week 16 assignment

Gaming these days seems to be part of an everyday lifestyle. Even if at some stage of your life you may drift away from gaming, it seems that games is an essential part of life. The article on gambling helps to support this claim as this activity has been around for generations. Its also interesting to know that gaming isn't only used for entertainment purposes, but can be used to improve abilities like hand eye coordination.

I personally am more of an internet gamer, and enjoy online game play and the interaction with other online users. though i have occasionally been places where i can participate in a LAN match with local friends, i personally like the fact that i can play with people from around the world. Playing games online is so quick, easy and don't have to be played at length unlike a story based game. By this i mean that i can play games like counterstrike, that doesn't have a storyline and rounds last at a maximum of 5 mins, which can be useful when i want to blow off some steam. however games with storylines can sometimes make you inmmersed in the story and you end up playing long than you planned.

Another interesting part of online gaming is becoming part of clan. during my experiences on online gaming i have been apart of clans on different games. Clans are a great way of meeting new people and then getting to know them. For instance i have a friend in Sweden that i meet during my time in a clan for the game jedi knight jedi outcast, with which i am still in contact with today even though i haven't played the game in years.

Gaming has also been a medium used for other purposes, like for instance america's army is an online game used to recruit potential candidates for the army. Which shows that game culture is powerful enough to be used for purposes other than just entertainment.

Week 15 assignment

At the moment it appears that the game industry is a growing industry especially when considering that in the past this industry employed less people then currently. This shows that more money is being invested into the industry, then you also have the increased sales of games at 76.3 % by the retail firm Game over the Christmas period, which further indicates the growth of this industry.

As for the employees of the game industry, so far the only links I have found seem to be mainly negative comments on the industry. Common faults on the industry noted by employees have been that there is no sense of ownership over their work and that there is less room for creativity. It is factors like this which can effect motivation in this industry and could be another reason as to why this isn't quite a stable industry for employees to work in. However comments made aren't entirely negative, as the prospect of working on big hit games can be very rewarding knowing that the employee has been directly involved with shaping the game.

I think that the biggest challenge that the games industry must face is the ability to retain its employees, as it seems the industry struggles with pleasing areas of the industry like for instance programmers. The impression I get about programmers is that they usually work in the industry for short periods of time. Then you also have the problem of loitering employees after a project has been completed, which once again proves that this isn't an entirely stable industry.