Today I had the opportunity to visit Codemasters and Rebellion game studios. We were given an extensive tour of both studios and it was nice to have a direct comparison between Codemasters, who specialise in racing games, and Rebellion, who are more action game oriented.
We started with Codemasters and I was both impressed with the size of the studio and the amount of people they have working there, which numbered in the hundreds. I received an in-depth break down of their production process, starting with their research phase and running all the way through to the technical artists who bring everything together into their custom game engine.
I think what left the biggest impression on me was the sheer amount of research the art team put into designing each track for the game. I was shown mood boards and research presentations with hundreds of reference photos for a single level. The team were given an ample amount of time for research and they even invested money into outsourcing photographers to collect reference for them.
As I have been working on my major project, it made me realise how useful it would have been for me to have the design of my environment completely ironed out during the production phase and should I ever find work in a professional studio, it is nice to know that every aspect of a level’s design will have gone through a tremendous amount of scrutiny. I think I would have benefited from this assuredness in my design, as I tend to second guess myself and change design elements as I am working which has cost me a lot of time.
I was keen to see how the environment art team went about creating assets and was pleased to see that everyone was using 3DS Max which is my 3D modelling application of choice. The chief reason they cited for this was the use of splines which allow geometry to be manipulated along a set path. As they are creating racing games this makes a lot of sense because they can create a road using a spline and then make their assets conform along it. This is the same technique that I used on my carpet to create the intricate pattern along the trim.
I was also pleased to see that the environment artists created modular pieces within 3DS Max and rather than export them separately into their game engine, they would piece them together beforehand in Max. This is something I do as well because I find that Max gives you greater precision when it comes to piecing assets together in certain situations.
Overall I really enjoyed seeing Codemasters and I went from not being interested in working on racing games at all, into seriously considering applying for a job there. Given that I am already familiar with 3DS Max I feel the transition to their pipeline might not be too severe.
From there we went to visit Rebellion where we had a presentation from the Oliver twins who have been in the industry for over four decades. They gave us a look at the production process for several of their games as well as some career advice. Andrew Oliver said it was a good idea to apply for work in an area where there were multiple game studios operating. He said that often times when an artist leaves one company they are very likely to get snatched up by another in the area. Both Codemasters and Rebellion are based in Leamington Spa, and from everything I’ve seen it looks like a good area to start applying for work.
Whilst at Rebellion I also received a one to one portfolio review from environment artist Ryan Astley. I showed him my work and he told me how I could improve my presentation for some pieces. He really liked my newest asset, the leather armchair and told me that it was exactly how I should be presenting my work. This was great news as it is my latest piece and I feel reassured that I am making steps in the right direction from an employability stand point. He also told me to organise my work into categories which I have done by separating my game art work from my architectural visualisations.
On the whole it was a very insightful experience and I have gained a new appreciation for how much talent and resources go into creating triple A games. I feel I have been given a good jumping off point to start applying for work thanks to the feedback I received, as well as the Oliver twin’s presentation on finding employment.
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