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"HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE GAMES INDUSTRY?"
When I was a kid my dad was a teacher in Electrical & Electronic Technology so he used to bring home a wide variety of computers and consoles starting with the classic Pong and ZX81, and progressing through the ZX Spectrum (best game: Fantasy Island Dizzy), Amiga 500 (best game: Alien Breed?), and a 386 PC (Monkey Island for the win!).
It was on the Amiga that I found an outlet to express a talent for art in digital form with Deluxe Paint. I started creating animations and images of all my favorite NES/Megadrive/Amiga characters like Sonic, Zool, and anything by Team 17 (those guys rocked every genre no?!)
With such a healthy start and appetite for games (especially since I am an only child) I then got pretty much every console/computer thereafter (SNES, N64, Gameboy, Sega GameGear) and knew I wanted to do ‘something in games with art’ when I grew up. Every choice I made academically was towards that goal therefore - I took Graphic Design for GCSE and Fine Art for A Level.
It was on the Amiga that I found an outlet to express a talent for art in digital form with Deluxe Paint. I started creating animations and images of all my favorite NES/Megadrive/Amiga characters like Sonic, Zool, and anything by Team 17 (those guys rocked every genre no?!)
With such a healthy start and appetite for games (especially since I am an only child) I then got pretty much every console/computer thereafter (SNES, N64, Gameboy, Sega GameGear) and knew I wanted to do ‘something in games with art’ when I grew up. Every choice I made academically was towards that goal therefore - I took Graphic Design for GCSE and Fine Art for A Level.
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It was around this time though that amazing films like Jurassic Park and Toy Story were on release though and I got distracted from games toward film and applying to the National Center for Computer Animation at Bournemouth University for a course in Computer Animation & Visualization (one of the best courses in the UK at the time and the only one in Europe officially recognized by George Lucas). There, I learnt a mix of programming languages (Pascal, C++, Python etc..), advanced mathematics, art history, animation techniques, film history, and software (Maya) eventually ending up with a BA(Hons) 1st degree.
Towards the end of the course, amazing games like Metal Gear Solid and Final Fantasy VIII had been released and luckily drawn me back to my first love of games and upon graduation I was headhunted by Sony’s Cambridge studio and joined as a Junior Artist on the strength of my University portfolio and experience with Maya. Nowadays, there are a ton of degrees available, and specialist courses in either specific software packages or areas of game development. Outlets like the iTunes App Store or Xbox Live Indie games section offer many different ways into the games industry now so there’s never been a healthier time or more opportunities to make your work public. |
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"WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR JEANS FROM?"
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LOL, so I guess I’ve become synonymous with my love for fancy pants right?
Well if you want your strides to be totally on fleek then you should check out the following brands. Most are only available in the States (there’s a great place on Melrose in LA if you’re ever there) but you should be able to find many online nowadays... |
"WHY AND HOW DID YOU MOVE FROM ART TO DESIGN?"
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As a Lead Artist, you are responsible for all art content that goes into a game. This can be anything from the clothes on a character to a tree in an environment, or the logo on the box art.
On one particular title I was tasked with the design of the user interface having had a graphic design and product branding experience previously. During this task I was working closely with the Lead Designer at the time asking him the requirements of the interface, what buttons were needed, how big menus should be, and also one continual question - “why”? “Why” was that button needed? Wouldn’t a better player experience be to do *this* instead? “Why” is this feature even needed if it’s going to be buried this deep down in the interface? “Why” is it going to fun clicking that and what’s the emotion I’m going to feel from doing it? In the end, I was ultimately asking “Are the game design and the interface to it actually fun?”. And that was the turning point where I realized I wanted to do more than just make games look pretty, but to make them enjoyable to play. User Interface (or UX for ‘User Experience’ as it’s termed more nowadays) was the discipline via which I transitioned from Art to Design therefore, but I’ve known others that have transitioned via Animation or Cinematics (ie.. into Narrative Design) so there are definitely options if you’re considering the same switch. |
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"WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE GAME?"
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This is an impossible one to answer since both your tastes and technology change so drastically over time; what was once The Best Fucking Thing In The World' is now unbearably hideous by today’s standards.
So should your ‘favorite game’ be one that transcends the barrier of technology or graphics therefore? One that can be enjoyed no matter what age you are? Well if I were to apply those rules I’d have to say things the one game that I can still quite happily play to this day is “Bubble Bobble” by Taito. I remember waiting in line at the arcades for this more than any other (including NARC, Chase HQ, StreetFighter, and Time Crisis) and I purchase each iteration that comes out still to this day. But my 'favorite game’? Hmm... probably not. It’s a fantastic blast but compared to Final Fantasy or Command & Conquer? Unfair to judge to be honest. If I were to pick a series it would be “Resident Evil”; I’ve played every version of it with the highlights being the original, the sequel (only one of a few games I’ve played twice through), and the more recent "Village" If it were the game that’s had the most profound affect on me it would be “Final Fantasy VIII” (and yes I know everyone prefers VII). I found every last secret in that game, it’s still the only game that’s made me cry, the characters were memorable, and the soundtrack was epic; I’ll never forget it. The following Top Tens therefore relate to a specific ‘era’ of my gaming life. The criteria I used was simple - which games did I look forward to purchasing most, which do I still own to this day, and which did I have in the system for the longest time? I haven’t numbered them as, again, that was too hard ;-)
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ZX SPECTRUM/C64 Fantasy Island Dizzy Last Ninja 2 Batman: The Movie Skool Daze Green Beret Salamander Continental Circus Rainbow Islands Robocop Super Hang-On |
ARCADE Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Chase HQ Bubble Bobble Police 9/11 NARC StreetFighter Alpha 3 Salamander Operation Wolf Ghosts & Goblins 1942 |
AMIGA Flashback Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge Supercars II Sensible World Of Soccer Turrican 2 Chaos Engine Project X Lotus Turbo Challenge 2 Superfrog Pinball Dreams & Fantasies |
SNES/MEGADRIVE Super Mario World Desert Strike StreetFighter II: Turbo NBA Jam Tournament Edition Mortal Kombat II Super Bomberman 2 Turtles In Time Road Rash Lost Vikings Strider |
N64/DREAMCAST/PSONE Goldeneye Shenmue/Shenmue 2 D2 Project Justice: Rival Schools 2 Marvel vs Capcom 2 Phantasy Star Online Gran Turismo Final Fantasy VIII Resident Evil 2 Time Crisis 2 |
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GAMEBOY/DS/3DS/GAMEGEAR/PSP/PS VITA Super Mario Land Shinobi 2: The Silent Fury Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Wonderboy in Wonderland Mickey’s Castle of Illusion God Of War: Chains Of Olympus Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin Super StreetFighter IV 3D Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town Mario Kart: Super Circuit |
PC SWAT 4 Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars Dune 2000 Counter-Strike Half-Life The Sims X-Wing vs TIE Fighter Star Trek Online Grim Fandango Diablo III |
GAMECUBE/XBOX/PS3 Steel Battalion Resident Evil 4 PN03 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Capcom vs SNK 2 EO Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty God Of War Grand Theft Auto III Project Zero II: Director’s Cut Super Smash Bros Melee |
WII/XBOX 360/PS3 Soul Calibur IV Bioshock Resident Evil 5 Ace Combat 5 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare3 Mass Effect trilogy Shadow Complex Gears of War trilogy Red Dead Redemption Splinter Cell Conviction |
WII U/XBOX ONE/PS4 Coming soon! |