Posts Tagged ‘Animators’

Rewarding Careers In Video Game Design

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

Companies are interested in hiring those people who have a natural instinct of what makes a game good or bad, someone who knows how to design good games, a person who is passionate about playing video games. Secondly, while designing, one comes across many problems so they need someone with good problem solving skills. Last but not the least, companies need a person who can do things efficiently in a very short span of time, because of the fast paced competition in this industry.

Training Requirements

Not everyone can become a video game designer. It requires very specific training from a video game designing school. Many degrees are available online.
Colleges and universities offer degree programs and technical training in video games designing. These programs help you to develop various levels in the game from the beginning till the final stages. Technical training includes drawing, characterization, editing, interactive media and game design which strengthens your foundation for video game design.

Working Environment

Working as a video game designer involves working with a team of people from different fields who coordinate different aspects of the game to create a new video game. If you are interested in making a career in this industry you could choose from a wide range of positions. A storyboard or character artist works out the skeleton with sketches and paintings of the different elements of the game. For this you need advanced technical training in graphic design and computer animation, which helps you to put your ideas through.

Animators and character artist produce the characters of the game and give it a real look and feel with the help of 3D programs. Creating a new game is a long process and designing is one of the major stages. The team is made up of a lead designer and other level designers. It is the responsibility of the level designers to create the right environment at different levels of the game for the player. They perceive the design team’s vision of the game and create the necessary impact. They have to make the game exciting and engrossing. As the levels change, environment designers give the game a three dimensional quality. Texture artists give the flesh and skin to the various elements of the game. They see to it that the textures are convincingly fitted to their characters.

Programmers make the video game engine run. C++ is the preferred programming language. This is an essential part of video games. AI is helpful in creating different elements of the game. Interface designers create menus heads up display in the game. Sound and audio experts create the required dramatic sound effects of the game and set the right mood. Professional testers deal with bugs and other related problems.

With the help of specialized training in advanced graphic design and your passion for video games you will be able to bring your video game characters to life and use your conceptual skills to bring out the concept envisioned. This will prove to be a valued asset for creating new video games and give you the required cutting edge to succeed in this competitive industry.

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Animation And Game Design Going To The Movies

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Animation and game design have, for the most part, fallen into two categories in the past. You either worked on animation for children’s movies or you focused on animation for video games. Today, however, many young animators are realizing that their opportunities are becoming much more diverse as the movie graphic novel and video gaming industries have begun to overlap.

Merging of Media

Today more and more video games are becoming movies. Successes in the last decade include Doom, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider. All of these movies were based on popular video games that had been created by animation and gaming professionals. The movie directors discovered that, in order to maintain the look and feel of the games, they had to get to know these games inside and out. They often called on game design experts as consultants to help them achieve this. There are few people as loyal as gaming enthusiasts, so capturing the proper look and feel was essential to the success of these films.

Graphic novels, a writing genre known for its highly graphic illustrative style, have also spawned movies recently. The two most notable are Sin City and 300, both based on violent, action-packed graphic novels. In both instances, the movies were directed with actors but relied heavily on computer graphics, computer design and, in some instances, animation, to enhance particular scenes and enrich the details. The success of these two movies in turn created video games based on the movies (which were based on graphic novels)…are you seeing the pattern now? Anyone with animation and game design credentials these days can go into a wide range of fields, not just game design. When the genres overlap, so do job opportunities.

Where the Talent Lies – Animation and Game Design

Hollywood is also producing more animated movies that ever before for family consumption. Cars, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story, Finding Nemo, Happy Feet, and the list goes on. Disney Studios continue to produce the traditional “princess” movies, but a dozen other studios also produce quality animation.

While a generation ago animation was done using thousands of artist’s sketches put together to create action, today’s animated movies are created with computer animation, and individuals with Animation and Game Design degrees are hot properties. Studios know that those with game design experience have an understanding of the complexities of movement, from the way the wind ruffles your hair to how someone lands when they fall, that no one else can match. Gamers are tough customers. They expect realism and accuracy and they get it. This has translated into increasing attention to detail in animated films. The more sophisticated the audience becomes, the more these industries have to work at giving the public what it wants.

The Future of Animation and Game Design

With the growing overlap of so many genres of entertainment, graphic novels, movies and video games, it is obvious that the need for professionals with both animation and game design skills will only increase. Whether you want to work in Silicon Valley or Hollywood, a degree in some kind of animation and game design area will get your foot in the door.

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