Unit 1 Assignment 1 - Careers Research

https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/game-development

Four career paths that I'm interesting in going into are Level Design, Environment Art, Game Programming and Asset Art. I plan on getting into these careers by going to university and studying Computer Games Development, hopefully at Bucks Uni, as their course will cover all of these areas in the mandatory modules, and I can chose to specialize into one of them, or one aspect of them through my choice of optional and opportunity modules.

Environment Artist:

Roles of an Environment Artist:

An Environment Artist would be required to create level layouts, points of interest and other major locations, and make sure that they fit into the themes of the game and that they are canonically accurate, fitting into the lore of the game correctly. During production, they would have to constantly update their levels to ensure that they maintain balance, readability, difficulty and accessibility so that they are an enjoyable experience for players and fit to the game they are a part of. An Environment Artist would also have to do prototypes of the environment that they create and make sure that the desired emotions and reactions can be gotten through interactive and non-interactive features of the world. Constant additions of new features would also have to be added into the levels that are created.

Skills Required for this Role:

An Environment Artist must possess a great understanding of how to design game levels, level layouts, drawing maps, architecture and any other design aspects required for doing level design in a video game. A good ability to create capturing narrative through the use of puzzles and gameplay and having a good understanding of the technical implementation within games, such as scripting languages and other basic programming concepts. Some level of artistic talents are required to visually communicate ideas. A basic understanding of 3D art, modelling, texturing and other areas of 3D art creation, use and conversion. Knowledge of interface and UI design is important as well for this role.

Other skills are required, especially experience and knowledge of how to use the software required for this role, such as Game Engines (Unity, Unreal Engine, or others), Microsoft or Google Office Software to keep track of documents, spreadsheets and presentations, Art software (Photoshop and Illustrator) for use with visual design and mind mapping, Bug Tracking Software and finally, Scripting and Programming languages and tools such as, Python, C#, C++, Blueprints and Unreal Script.

Industry Professional:

Joanne Tran is an Environmental Artist for Supergiant Games and worked on the game Hades. She previously worked for EA Visceral and Sledgehammer games on many hyper-realistic FPS games, creating concept art and making the environment for those games to be played in. They present themselves casually but also professionally on their social media, sharing their work but still showing their personality, what they enjoy and how they feel.

Level Designer:

Roles of a Level Designer:

A Level Designer will be required to create level layouts that include points of interest and hot spots for players to explore and make sure that they fit the themes and lore of the game they are being made for. They will have to iterate their levels throughout the production cycle, going from conception to a final product, keeping the balance, difficulty and readability of the levels to maintain a positive player experience. Prototyping environments and layouts and suggesting ways to make elements create desired emotions and reactions. Integrating new elements produced into the map and developing design documentation for progression, layouts and 3D block-outs for playtesting.

Skills Required for this Role:

Level Designers require lots of creativity and basic understanding of technical game development and programming. Great understanding of game levels and their layouts, map drawing, architecture and other design areas. Ability to well use puzzles and gameplay to create interesting narratives. Understand technical implementation within games and basic programming concepts such as scripting languages, and syntax. Drawing skills to communicate ideas visually and a basic understanding of 3D art, modelling, texturing, rigging, animation and other areas of 3D art. Knowledge of interface design and UI.

 Game Programmer:

Roles of a Game Programmer:

Communicating with designers and developers to set up technical resources. Researching and developing the required software and platforms that will be used to support the game. Ensuring game design is fully realized and performs to the maximum capacity. Creating procedures and production documentation. Working to tight schedules and keeping to budget. Prototyping in early stages of development. Conducting quality assurance and responding to the feedback received. Collaborating with all departments to iron out technical issues and create solutions during production. Provide continuing tech support after release and work on upgrades for the game.

Skills Required for this Role:

Training in computer science or programming. Problem solving skills and knowledge of 2D and 3D animation software. Familiarity with a production pipeline. Passion for video games and experience with playing them. Communication skills to deal with both creative and production teams. Expert knowledge of technical advancements in the industry and knowledge of genres and trends.

Knowledge of software and programming languages such as; C#, C++, Java, Nuke, Unreal Engine, Maya, 3D Studio Max, Adobe applications and Unity will be required also.

Industry Professional:

 Alice Lai is a Game Engineer and Designer for Supergiant Games. Previously worked for PopCap on PvZ Adventures and PvZ 2 for IoS, as well as Google as a Software Engineer. Lai has also created many personal projects over the course of her career. Lai keeps her social media (Twitter) more personal but still stays professional and reasonable. 

Asset Artist:

Roles of an Asset Artist:

Liaising with designers and animators to discuss the brief and scope of their work. Assisting the creation of both visual and audio assets. Researching references and resources for the production of assets. Designing and developing from concept art to the finished product. Creating organic and hard surface models. Curating asset libraries. Sound design or mixing. Developing prototypes of assets to use in testing. Producing high and low poly models, keyframe animation and motion graphics. Adding special effects and working with motion capture. Texturing 3D rigs and producing UVW mapping.

Skills Required for this Role:

Training in computer science, game art or computer graphics. Skills in systematic working and keeping to a schedule. Interpreting abstract ideas into thematic assets. Love of video games and knowledge of game genres and trends in gaming. Understanding of rendering and 3D scene layout. Knowledge of plate and image-based lighting. Solid understanding of visual language and strong illustration, digital painting and conceptual skills.

Industry Professional:

 Morgane Malville is a 3D artist for Supergiant Games, working in both Character and Asset design. She has previously worked on big franchises such as RollerCoaster Tycoon before joining Supergiant to work on Hades.

 SWOT Analysis:

Strengths:

I want to learn the skills required to reach where I need to be and am willing to work in my own time to do so. I am very passionate about Games Development and have a strong interest in many different aspects of it, such as Level Design, Environment Art, Asset Art and Programming. I also have a decent understanding of these areas and know the fundamentals.

Weaknesses:

I haven't learnt C# or C++, both of which are vital skills in the games industry and I can be quite a perfectionist and focus far too much on one part of something. I also tend to procrastinate and leave things until last minute. 

 Opportunities:

With the game industry growing quickly and new technology being created, as well as quite a lot of the game dev veterans getting older and retiring, there are a lot of job opportunities and openings coming into the sector. With my plans to go to university, I will be able to develop my skills and create a more appealing skillset to employees, which will further expand my horizons and provide me with more opportunities to get a job in the industry.

 Threats:

However, this growth within the sector will bring with it strong competition who are also going for the same roles as me. The new technologies will require more practice and training, and possibly more qualifications will be required for job roles. This would majorly slow progress in building up the skills required, as the list to learn is getting longer as more things are developed. Many of these new job openings are in other countries, so I may have to move great distances to get my dream job, or I may not be able to go for these opportunities due to financial circumstances.