25 year old chasing his dream

#3

XSI is also an major player in Game Dev. now also…
:arteest:

#4

It is?

Anyway to answer the original poster, I wouldn’t worry to much about the software you are specifically using. I would focus more on getting your stuff into a real time engine and looking GREAT at 60fps. If it is too difficult to export to a game engine using Lightwave then yes, learn something else.

#5

Hi… hey im in your same situation… I was 24 for when decided to follow my passion… Im 25 now and I am still learning as much art , 2d, 3d, game industry info etc as I can… I am learning Maya and hopefully soon get to learn some 3D studio max.

Dont worry about your age. You are too old when you are dead… other than that age should not be a limitation… plus 25 is really so young… we are at our prime :smiley:

(edit: you should allow PM and emails to be sent to you so people can communicate with you outside the forums).

#6

oops I only joined couple days ago,have emails and PM’s allowed now:)

Hopefully jumping around from one 3d package to another shouldnt be a problem? I’v only ever tried Lightwave,. I’ll get Studio Max soon, just signed up for the learning edition.

#7

Once you have a good understanding how things are working in a 3d application, jumping from one application to another would take only a couple of months, so I wouldn’t worry about that aspect.

What I noticed is the following: Most studios use 3DS max, indeed, but lately Maya came into business pretty well. The Team responsible for HalfLife2 are claiming that they did their stuff in Softimage XSI.
If you open a DoomIII or Quake4 resource file with WinRar, you will see all the geometry as Lightwave geometry (.lwo, I think).

I don’t know exactly how things are working in a game development team, but the import export issue should be your concern only if you want to. If you are a modeler, you should focus on doing reel worty models, keeping in mind the limitation of a game engine (low poly, good triangulation, etc). If you want to focus more on texturing, you should show decent models with very good texturemaps (diffuse, specular, Self Illumination and normal maps). And so on.

However, If you plan to make in-game tests, find a game wich supports modifications (Half Life (1 and 2), DoomIII, Quake (3 and 4), Unreal Tournament series).
You can also find several free game engine sources (Crystal Engine, QuakeIII), or compiled free engines (Unreal Tournament Runtime). You should also find out if your software of choice can export for the targetted engine. Just make sure that the sofware you are using supports plugins and scripting. Usually the export formats are .obj or .ase.
But I repeat: You should keep this in mind only if you want to make tests, to see how it works in a game

#8

No. 1 >>> Please bear in mind I don’t mean to be patronising… I didn’t get all of this right recently when i was trying to get into games…

No.2 >>> Never ever ever too old … as long as you are able, enthusiastic and have an eye for ‘it’ you can get into games industry.

Basically …y it doesn’t matter which 3d app you learn in - you will learn all the right principles and when you come to another app you will know to ask the right questions and be able to pick it up very quickly in comparsion to your first app.

However, to minimise time it is best to learn maya or 3ds max … simply as a matter of percentages - this is what people use - it also means people can relate more exactly to the way you talk about the process of working in an interview which can help too.

I learnt max first and then maya. I would not say that that max is the giant anymore. In fact its more or less 50/50 … despite discreet having bought maya I think you will see max adopting more maya-isms than maya adopting max-isms…

Lightwave is marginal in games simply because most people know and use max/maya, lightwave is used quite a bit in commercials and vfx though - theres nothing wrong with it as a package - its just that most people are max/maya literate… and majority rules for games where generally bigger teams are involved.

I would advise not to worry at all about actually setting up realtime tests. By all means look through stuff and watch videos from places like 3dbuzz.com to see the kind of setups and technics games use for operating and pulling data from 3d apps but don’t worry about technically getting it working yourself - your interviewers in games just want to see that you can create and animate well - back it up with a passion for games and you’ll be there!

To be honest making/loading/viewing/recording a test is often more hassle than its worth and you want to avoid hassle. It will suck up your time and will add v little value to your demoreel (most companies have their own conversion/input/management tools - some of which change on a game per game basis!).

Having a showreel in dvd format is what people want; its nice easy and a decent res - perhaps with an alternative quicktime movie (can be opened and viewed by pc/mac + downloaded or transfered across a network + no codec problems). By all means include some budget polygon work to show you can create character with limited resources - if you can show off understanding of normal/specularity/bump maps all the better.

Include the regular walk and run cycles - these maybe standard but every employer wants to see them. Include as well some lifting/weight transfer animations.

Also - if you want to broaden your appeal - don’t forget to include some scenic or envornmental modelling - these can be very simple models but with good textures and its v handy to show you can pick up this kind of work too for games.

Anyway I’ve kind of run away with this post.

NOW TO THE IMPORTANT POINT:

My only concern if I were you is the course you are on. Multimedia.

There is a saying about multimedia students in the games industry; ‘jack of all trades, master of none’.

It may seem a bit harsh but beware this: (especially if you want to get into games asap) do not let your own focus become too side tracked by your course. Some courses are very rigid and modular and basically spend only a small percentage of time in 3d programs and spend relatively a lot in print/web/video apps and deliveries… whilst very useful to have such skills do not lose sight of what you are ultimately trying to acheive.

You see to a multimedia can be comprised of so many areas - often 3d, 3d animation, 2d creation, vector work, 2d animation, photography and film … media delivery for such content then gets applied to; web, film and print … Now as you can see 3d creation and animation is only a small part of what the course is attempting to cover.

In addition the course will have an ‘academic’ side meaning spending time on dissertations and the histories of media. These can be useful and interesting (especially if you can center it around ‘play’, society etc.) , but it isn’t vital in getting you a showreel for games…

Far from fearing the time it will take to learn the ins and outs of how 3d packages work, you should be more wary of how much time you will actually get to apply and practice your own personal experiecnes in modelling and animation… No ones first walk cycle is as good as their 5th… or even 10th…

Now it may be that your course will enable you to say exclude a lot of modules in favour of more time in 3d but i know for a fact that some do not…

Then again if you think you would simply benefit from a rounded learning experience then by all means go for it!

Just don’t expect to necessarily have a games ready showreel by then end of the course… working in 3d takes up time :stuck_out_tongue: … learning a 3d app actually is not that time consuming (as long as you are famailiar with the principles).

Anyway… wow… bit of an essay… but it comes from personal experience… I’ve know so many of my friends on multimedia or design courses and despite a decent skill set they lack a focus in their work - even if they posses it in their own heads … which is another matter entirely)

#9

25 too old, now I have read it all…Trust me, you still have time.
And yes you can get into the industry, but you have to think
in a LOGICAL fashion to get in.

The best way to get into a game studio is using a back door.
For now avoid the front door, because EVERYONE is knocking on it.
Look for game testing positions, unpaid internships, database backup, customer support etc.
Check with your school and the IGDA database to se what are the local studios in your area.
If your school has a job placement center…USE IT.

I would advice to learn as many packages as you can, because the market is so liquid.
Download the PLE of most 3d packages and try to at least familiarize yourself with them.

BUT if you want the FRONT door,
Well start winning forum GAME ART constests. That is a very quick way to get attention.
-R

#10

Hi, I have 26 years old and I don’t want to stop. I always try to do my best. Look Antropus for exemple, he won 2 chalenges of CGTalk. He started to work with more or less 32 years old, before that he worked on a bank. I think it´s just a case of talent, study and work. :thumbsup:

#11

There wasnt many courses on 3d around my where I live,…I guess I took the next best thing:/ Its a HND course im on, on my final year. I plan to camp at home for a year or 2 learning the ins and outs of Lightwave and try learning the basics of smax n maya.

Wow I really didnt expect as many replies, Thank you guys:) hopefully I’ll get as far you pros in a few years:) Thanks everyone for taking your time to give me advice:)

#12

My Tip: work for game Mods and Total Conversions. But try picking out only the best and most anticipated of them (being hired by topmods works only tho if you have real talent and got already something to show). Collect amateur experience in game development there and work on nice portfolio. Its imo the best backdoor to get a industry job. The Modding scene is also great to get industry contacts.

to give you a starting point:
www.moddb.com

#13

Nah, never too late in my eyes, just as long as you can grow to appreciate the art and love doing it, and wouldn’t mind spending 16 hour days of just breathing this industry, then there should be no problem, good luck dude, Just enjoy it!:love:

#14

Wow thanks for link:)

#15

Dont worry about your age

#16

I honestly wouldn’t worry about working on mods as much as I would just stay focused on your development as an artist. Your an artist first, game artist second. Don’t get bogged down with the in’s and outs of exporters and specific engines as most studios use thier own proprietary engines so you’ll have to learn new tools anyways. Just stay focused on your art. Always keep a firm rooting in traditional art. Color, value, composition etc. etc. I see so many recent grads come out of programs with an understanding of a 3d app, but no eye as an artist.

Just my 2cents take’em for what thier worth to you.

#17

I have to agree. Focus as an Artist, not a 3d artist. Don’t be afraid of traditional skills, especially drawing. Drawing will open up your mind as an artist. 3d apps are fun to learn, but they won’t MAKE you an artist.

#18

Im happy I fell upon this post.

I’ve followed the same dream as you, been gaming since I was a kid but I chose a diffrent career path. I studied as a computer technicien / network administrator and find my self as have told me very capable of my job but I seems to be pushed out of the market as many others because I dont have enough exprience.

Im looking into doing courses in 2d / 3d animation and 3d modeling, some extra courses in creative thinking and photoshop. I have done my own concepts and designs fallowing my own style for years.

What I can tell you as others have told you or may have told you… be original dont get put down by what you may see from diffrent artists because there are many that are just like you and would like to persue there dreams and make it there living though it may be hard it is not impossible but requires a lot of determination.

cheers!

heres a little sketch to show my work, If you’d like you can help me improve my 3d and I could teach you some 2d or what ive learned over the years.

Techsketch@gmail.com

Kevin “Peppy” .R

edit: almost forgot the most important part, when it comes to 3d tools i think as long as you get the concept of how to model your character you can do it in any type of 3d character creater it will only be a diffrent interface with some diffrent options.

#19

I didnt read all the posts so excuse me if this is repetitve.

Basically learn whatever package you like to work in. Make cool art for your demo reel. When a company hires you learn the new software. I’ve done this twice now. If the company people are smart they realize that the package is totally unimportant. Unless of course you’re applying to a 3dsmax company to be their Maya scripter.

Maya and 3dsmax are the largest tools used in the industry. Maya is a programmers dream for customizing. 3dsmax is OK at everything and not great at anything. I prefer 3dsmax’s for character studios since I’m a character artist.

#20

I didnt read all the posts so sorry if this has been said before:

On your question and a reply I read that there is no game studios that uses lightwave.

ID uses Lightwave. they used it to create Doom 3 and Quake 4’s graphics
CroTeam ( Serious Sam games ) uses Lightwave
Valve uses XSI exclusively. yes max is more dominant…and I love max by the way… its very possible to come accross studios that uses Lightwave or Xsi.

#21

People are mentioning the “backdoor” to the indutry, here’s my suggestion about that.
check out companies that just do outsource work for videogame studios. There are starting to be ALOT of compnaies that do this now with all the next gen stuff being so complicated and the work is pretty simple, so it’s much easier to get work. I’ve been doing freelance work for Liquid Development lately.

there are a few others out there…check on gamasutra.com…i think they have quite a few of these outsource companies listed.

It’s definitly a good way to get a start out, and later on, pick up some good money on the side of your job at a video game studio.

#22

I did a course at MDS here in New Zealand.

Most of us who did the course were in our mid twenty’s or older & all of us where very passionate about making games.

I left school at 17 & did 1 year of a 3 year handdrawn animation course, simply I got sick at the end and my wrist still cracks from all the over use with the pencil.

Next I went on to do a Multimedia course and as explained before it only touched on 3D, I pretty much blew off my other work to continue the 3d portion and missed out on alot of the “credits” the course actually offered. So it was a failure it that sense, but I realised my passion for 3D and realised that with my video gaming addiction the two could meet in a wonderful symetry. ( cheesy I know )

I then spent three years with nothing to do and no direction, the course wasn’t available so I spent alot of time in crappy jobs, including cleaning toliets ( yeah crappy ). That of course changed when this course was started.

Doing the course was the best thing I’ve ever done & we have a great game demo to show the level of skill. While I mainly worked on the UI ( Renderware maestro is horrible ) & AI pathwork I did end up creating in game objects and worked on the terrain fixing problem area’s & adjusting value’s to get better results.

I got a pretty Diploma out of it, but the best thing was the experience & working in what was very close to the real industry environment.

Goliath was our result & we’ve won some awards. A mention on Gamasutra & won a place with the IGF competition.

Make sure to follow your dream, good things can happen if put in the effort.