2011: Professional New Years Resolutions!

Hey Guys,

This year I have three new years resolutions that I thought all of you should know:

1. Release a full game on the internet: I want to release my own full game that people can enjoy and give constructive criticism back, especially other game developers. Whether it gains success or not, I don’t think I’ll ever feel a part of my industry until I do so. My prototype in 2010 was a big step forward, now I’m ready for the entire jump!
2. Strengthen project management knowledge: In 2010, my place in the game industry has gone back and forth between modelling, animation, and now project management. After a few short experiences, I’m finding myself happy with project management.  I hope to get more chances to do so this year, and develop some fantastic games!
3. Get G2 licence: Simply enough, I just want to be able to drive by myself in a car. It’s quite expensive to get some hands on training before my test, but I really don’t want a high insurance. I’ll let you guys know when I’m on the road.

However, 2011 will be an awesome year, regardless if I achieve all of these goals! 

Happy New Year!

Arthur 

Project Kyoto Update

Hey Guys,

About 10 minutes ago, I had a slight moment of “Eureka!” for my upcoming game. If you haven’t seen it, you can play test the very broken prototype here. As you can see though, everything in the game is placeholders with no real art. When I was looking through different styles over the internet, I came across something interesting from Impressionism.

One of the main contributors, and the founder of Impressionism is Claude Monet and during his career as an artist, he become blind. You can see this by looking chronologically through his work. Since my game is about stuff disappearing, I think it is a brilliant idea to use Impressionism as the art form for Project Kyoto.

I hope to get at least a solid test level and a menu screen by the end of holidays! Tell me what you think of the idea!

Thanks! Happy Holidays! :)

Arthur

Cool Upcoming Events

I’ve been wanting to post this for a few day’s now. Just to let people know what cool events are coming up, and hopefully I’ll be attending them!

• Video Games Live - It’s video game music played live by a full orchestral with background visuals. They are only playing once in Toronto next year, so get your tickets soon. They aren’t too expensive either. $30 - $60. I believe it’s held May 2 just so you know. http://www.videogameslive.com/index.php?s=home

• Anime North 2011 - Big anime convention held in Mississauga, Ontario. If you’re interested in Anime (Or Manga), I suggest you go because it’s a lot of fun. I’ll be going with my usual group! Held at the end of May. http://www.animenorth.com/main/

• Gamer Camp Jr. - I’m helping Mark and Jaime volunteer again hopfully, just like Gamer Camp V2. It’s aimed towards a younger audience that are interested in video games. Should be a lot of fun and I believe it’s held March of next year. Not official though, join their mailing list. http://gamercampjr.com/

• TOjam 2011 - A game development contest held every year where individuals (or groups) must development a game in a weekend. Awards are given, food is eaten and you never sleep. Check them out! End of April, but date may change. http://www.tojam.ca/home/default.asp

• Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22 Screening - Not so much a big event or anything, but they are having only 1 screening of this fantastic movie in theaters January 20th, at 7:00pm. It’s a very popular mecha animated film that confuses the hell out of you. If you’re interested, check out Rebuild of Evangelion 1.0. Only to be shown with Cineplex. http://www.cineplex.com/Movies/MovieDetails/Evangelion-2-0-You-Can-Not-Advance.aspx

I may have forgotten an event or two like Family Day or Christmas, but those are okay in comparison to these events.

Thanks

Arthur

Untitled

Within fading buildings, and recognized places. 

Closed eyes, familiar faces.

This was the dream I had last night, and decode it as you may. You will never guess what I’m trying to say. The only thing I’m saying is that your dreams, and your games are almost the same. Your life, values, feelings, experiences all affect the games your create. Whether you intend to or not, it’s not a mistake.

If anything, I think you should make your games mean something more for the player. Interpret your feelings/emotions into your games so when the players experiences them, they learn something new when they can walk away from it. As developers, we have the power to influence gamers subconsciously, just like music, movies, and books.

In relation to my dream and my game. This has given me a burst of inspiration for the current title I’ve been working on. It has helped me develop that feeling I want to give it, the story (if it ends up having one), and some designs for levels.

Of course there was more to my dream than what my little poem told. I encourage developers of all kinds to try and remember their dreams or visions. Write them down. Let your creativity sleep, and wander, because not all those who wander, are lost. 

Thanks

Arthur

Dear Diary….

I had a good day today! That is all!

Thanks

Arthur :)

Gamer Camp - Day 1

Just to clarify before reading, this is part 1 of a 2 part post. I want to put as much content as I can about this wonderful event, so instead of cramming it all into one GIGANTIC post, I’ll make it two based on the days. Anyways, Enjoy!

I don’t know if other cities or even country’s know it yet, but Toronto is becoming a very populated city for Game Development. Big studios like Ubisoft and Rockstar have  both set up studio’s here, while many independent companies are really showcasing Toronto’s skill to make great games!

Not only does Toronto have the skill to make really solid titles, but the tension between fellow developers is outstanding; there is none! All of the developers I’ve spoken/listened to have been pretty relaxed and calm about the city they develop for. Because of this, game centered events throughout the year are seen more with enjoyment and community, rather than competition or prizes. I believe that the one event that demonstrates this the most is….

Gamer Camp V2.0 had 26 speakers, 1 concert, and 2 days of pure epic awesomeness! Mark Rabo and Jaime Woo have definitely out done themselves again from what I’ve heard from Gamer Camp V1.0 reviews. If some of you don’t know what Gamer Camp is, it’s basically an event held every year that celebrates the overall creativity and fun that games have over players. It welcomes developers, enthusiasts, and anyone who enjoys playing a video game. Gamer Camp celebrates the essence that video games!

(The crazy crowd at Gamer Camp 2.0)

As a member of the Game Developers Club at George Brown College, I was one of the many students who volunteered for many of the positions needed before and after the event. I assisted attendees’, developed their badges and program, and did anything Mark and Jaime asked of me (yes, anything). It was a very rewarding experience and working under Mark and Jaime didn’t feel like work at all. Both days were moment of my life I will never forget.

(One of the 3 Badges and the Program I helped Design (Ahh the colours!!) )

Day 1

Day 1 in short, was filled with new faces, big presentations, large crowds, and dropping jaws. I got to the Underground Cinema a few hours hours early to set up on Saturday(I put up crooked sponsor posters)! Just before the doors finally open to the public, some other students and I placed the infamous VS sign which added a nice touch to our gaming culture.

(She’s a beaut, aint she?)

Afterwards, the keynotes began and the magic started! In fact, the first keynote that was The Sword and Sorcery Team talking about their new pixelated game! It looks absolutely stunning and beautiful, providing soothing music, and an interesting concept. The team consisted of Kris Piotrowski (Capybara Games), Craig Adams (SuperBrothers), and Jim Guthrie. There are no other words I can use to describe this game, please check it out right here.

Stepthane Boutin talked about the art behind Scott Pilgrim VS The World: The Game. In which he gave some info on some of the problems the company had during development. He also went through a step by step process with how some of the art was created. Very inspiring seeing the work flow from quick concepts, to fully polished assets!

(Woot Toronto!)

Another developer that spoke at Gamer Camp was Jim Zubkavich from Udon. In which he spoke about some of the projects they have completed with Capcom specifically, and their rise to fame! He gave tips to the audience about how to achieve success in the gaming/comic industry. Really interesting, but not so much practical for the common game developer in my opinion. 

With the end of the day coming to a close, the final keynote was by a freelance journalist called Mathew Kumar. He has published articles for Edge Magazine and websites Gamasutra. During his speech, he spoke about the filth that populates video game  journalism. Using hilarious metaphors, and excellent examples to explain his theory (Godspeed Quote <3). It changed my view on my blog, and has influenced me to focus it on game development, instead of non-sense. His presentation certainly had a charm strongly moved the crowd!

(We are trapped in the belly of this horrible machine, and the machine is bleeding to death)

Throughout the day, a series of demo’s were presented and discussed in-between each keynote. Here are the links so you can check them out! They are all very cool and deserve a read!

• The Depths To Which We Sink by Big Pants Games
• Zombiedots by Form and Method
• City State by Normative Labs
• Dyad by RSBLSB

Overall a very exciting day! If your looking for more of an insight on DAY 1 events, I suggest going to GamerCamp’s offical website, or check out Dork Shelf’s review of the highly anticapted event!

A day 2 blog post will be posted soon, a long with a portion dedicated to the prestigious 1UP Bash!

Thanks!

Arthur

How does I manage Games?

When a studio is given a challenge to develop a triple A title video game, one of the determining factors that makes that game great is having a solid project manager. During the production stage of development, teams can reach over 200 people. The modelers, animators, riggers, programmers all need to communicate effectively within to function properly. Project Managers help strengthen that gap between departments and make sure everyone is doing their task correctly.

Keep in mind, the title of “Project Manager” changes from company to company. It could be more of an artistic position, or technical in terms of just organizing employees. Even though the position can be different anywhere in the industry, every  project manager must be able to lead their team and capatalize on it’s size.

On November 4th, 2010, the Toronto Chapter of the IGDA hosted an event on Maximizing Capacity in Project Management. They had three speakers come from three very respectable companies. Rhys Yorke (Producer on The Secret World at Funcom), Lesley Milner (Producer on Bioshock 2 at Digital Extremes) and Alex Parizeau (Producer on Splinter Cell Conviction at Ubisoft). All of which have plenty of experience in the industry, and with teams of over 100 people.

One important thing each of them stressed was that as a project manager, you always need to re-think your plan/pipeline when starting a new project. You might need to use different tools that you aren’t familiar with, or use a different method of organizing people. They all use the basic tools like Outlook, Excel, Project Management, Database, Alienbrain and a few others. Rhys and Lesley both use a Waterfall model for their projects, while Alex uses Agile.

Finally, here are a few tips I found to be interesting (and that you might too!):

• Count on the people in your team.
• Assign appropriate tasks/resources to the right teams.
• Plan Milestones very broad (near future).
• “Measure where you are, and where you want to be”
• Have a clear goal/ vision.

I strongly recommend you come out to future Toronto IGDA meet ups if you can. If you are an aspiring game developer or if you want to learn something new, these are the events to go to!

Thanks

Arthur

Gamer Camp (Nov 13 /14) ARE YOU GOING?

(gamercamp.ca) (@gamercamp)

If you are attending (which you are) , give me a shout if you see me!

What you all have been waiting for: Kinect + Dance Central + Arthur

http://www.epixome.tv/o/view?t=17ab0365e5eb034

http://www.epixome.tv/o/view?t=17ea1c062120fd9&at=168b62b552a9fce

http://www.epixome.tv/o/view?t=179e81fa084efb0&at=1651f9461f24f28