As we entered the 3rd and final year I was very excited to begin work on our final major project which was a group project. Initial conversations and pre production had already begun over the past few weeks during the summer break. As we finished the second year myself and the group had already started to consider working together for the final year. This resulted in what would, for now, be known as ‘Game 15’.
Setting the project into motion we began by discussing the roles and areas of interest that each of the team members had. During my time on the second year and working on the vertical slice I undertook a range of tasks. With that in mind I was keen to find an area I could work in during this project on a continuous basis. That in mind, and taking on board the interests of the group I went with my gut feeling and stepped up to the responsibilities of being the groups animator. Quickly though it became clear that this project would require more from us then we had put in before. Additionally, as the work we create for Game 15 was to become the foundations to our portfolios we need to step up. That said, and following some research and further discussions I became the groups technical artist and animator.
Being a technical artist allows me to step up from the initial role of being an animator and give myself a much greater challenge and goals. First and foremost, the role is more focused on areas that are additional passions of mine besides animation. Areas such as code and problem solving and new ones I’m yet to explore such as rigging and tool creation. As an extra I was always set to work on the particle effects for the game as well. Another reason for picking the role was to do with the employment. I felt that by undertaking the tasks associated with the role then I would be able to further my skills to a point as to improve my chances of employment both as a technical artist and an animator. Lastly, I like a challenge and enjoy being able to work on new things so ultimately the role was a perfect fit for myself.
Game 15 was set to be a different project than what I had worked on before. With a more focused and clearly agreed goal in mind. Though we expected this to change in the coming weeks ahead of the end of the pre-production presentations. We still all entered the project with enthusiasm. This was to be a labor of love if nothing else. The game itself was a third person action adventure game which would feature moving environment, big bosses and a broken world set in different timelines which were all falling on each other. Though a large project on paper the group had discussed workflows and efficiencies to ensure that we could all create quickly but still produce to the standard we were aiming for. These early discussions and decisions were already huge improvements over how we had worked last year and with them, we all felt ready to work towards this universally agreed goal.
With all that said. The following week will be filled with further discussions and meetings with the group. Along with further research into the role I have undertaken and the tasks that lay ahead of me. Moving on from here I aim to keep a record of this project every Monday. As we start off slow however it’s unclear what the following week will entail. Therefore next Monday I shall recap the coming days along with a plan for the following week. This pattern will continue for the remainder of the project.
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