Work Review ~River One Point Perspective

This is my final piece done for the practices in one point perspective, drawing the river. Focused a lot on rendering in this piece, tying to balance the shading so darker shades were closer to the eye than further, though found it difficult to balance this with the dark shadows cast by the bridge. 

I also think a few areas could be improved, such as making sure ALL lines follow the vanishing point accurately (probably because I didn't make use of a ruler for this, which is a bit daft), particularly the middle support in the middle of the river, its a bit wonky to say the least. Need to pay attention to EVERY line when doing perspective pieces like this...more practice is needed so I don't have to make little mistakes like this later. 

Videogame History Part 4: 2000 ~ Now

The games industry and market today is now spilt into the three big companies: Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, all of which have solidified themselves as the cornerstones of gaming today. The costs of making videogames in today’s market are at an all-time high, with the cost of most high profile titles being in their millions. Today each company strives to compete with each other on every level, as has been seen with both Sony and Microsoft’s attempts at tackling the motion control market that the Nintendo Wii has had since day one. As more and more ways at creating games are being explored so is the platforms, so not only do we have console, pc and handheld consoles but also now most major smart phones are having games produced for them, fully developed games that are a long way from ‘Snake’ seen on the mobile phones I had when I was in school.

The issues of big business and mainstream company management means that today, even though the creative folk that actually make the games we know and love still do so, the people at the top are those that ultimately make the final decisions on the end product because they make sure that a game is going to make them money; at the end of the day they don’t care whether the game they make is the same as so many of its previous releases or those of the competitor, so long as it makes them money that’s all that matters. And yes, this is of course important, but it’s not the whole reason games are made, and I think the way the economy is being hit in today’s modern world, means that a lot of developers are too scared to take the chance on more original ideas in favour of choosing the safe option that they know their target audience already likes.

A popular example of how some companies like to play it safe to guarantee their success, the Modern Warfare series had such an impact on the games industry that instead of evolving from it, the series has remained near enough the same up to the latest release 

I think that as someone who wants to be a part of the industry in the future, it’s necessary to understand what skills that I will need to make my way in such a fickle business. The ability to not only have the passion for doing it, but also being able to adapt to the ever changing landscape that seems to be the case in modern gaming are also vital. It would be awesome to see some of the risks that used to be taken, by giving some of the power back to the game creators themselves, but unless the landscape of the current market takes a change for the better (which is unlikely to happen anytime soon) unless those producers are responsible for IP’s, then the power will continue to lie in the hands of those without the creative vision.

It’s intimidating to look at the future of gaming especially with where it is now, but I think from my perspective of someone with the passion to want to be a part of it, and the potential to develop my talents to industry level, then it’s more of an exciting prospect than anything else.

Videogame History Part 3: 1990's ~ 2000’s

Pokemon took the Handheld game market to new
levels with its unique feature of 'trading' Pokemon
between players. 

As the gaming industry headed into the new millennium it was already picking up a massive head of steam from the last few years of the previous century; throughout the nineties games would take another area of the market by storm in handheld consoles, and led the way by Nintendo’s Gameboy would mould how we play games today. It was also where we started seeing games that would either introduce game franchises that would revolutionise the industry, or create them anew. 
The likes of Metal Gear Solid, Resident Evil, Pokemon (pretty much the only reason I owned a Gameboy), The Legend of Zelda, Golden Eye, Sonic the Hedgehog, Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy VII (which is a game that practically opened the doors in the west for every other Japanese RPG that wouldn’t have seen the light of day over here, had it not been for the success of this instalment). 

Final Fantasy VII: The first instalment to make
it to the west, leading the way for other major
Japanese games to be released overseas

Its also interesting to see that a lot of these important games came along with the introduction of Sony in the games console market with the Playstation, a system that solidified itself as one of the major three forces in the console market in the future. Though the Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast were the Playstation’s rivals, it would only be Nintendo that would make it through to the next generation of games consoles, with poor sales of Sega’s Dreamcast meaning that Sega had to drop out of the console market and just stick to producing games instead.


It was the dawn of the new millennium that would shape the current market of games consoles; the Playstation 2 (2000) which would become one of the best selling consoles of all time, the successor to the N64, the Nintendo Gamecube (2001) and Microsoft’s first foray into the console market, the Xbox (2001).


Rise of Massively Multiplayer Online games

World of Warcraft, whatever your opinion of the game,
pretty much sums up how MMO's have taken the gaming
world by storm. And its hard to argue with its success,
recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary and still
going strong

With the new millennium came the rise of the MMO, games that utilised the internet to allow gamers to enjoy massive online worlds and games with thousands of others from around the globe. The game that would lead the way was Ultima Online (1997), a concept created by Richard Garriot, where he would create fantasy world that many players could interact with one another, basically setting the benchmark for all future games in the MMO genre. 


Many other games would follow, some matching the success of Ultima Online, whilst others fell by the wayside….The likes of Everquest (1999), Final Fantasy XI (2002), Phantasy Star Online (2000), and of course the ridiculously popular World of Warcraft (2001). Final Fantasy XI and Phantasy Star Online were games that showed that games consoles had advanced so far that they were able to run online games, and cross-platform MMO’s at that. Though Phantasy Star was fated to fall alongside the Dreamcast, and the Playstation 2 version of Final Fantasy XI practically didn’t sell outside of Japan due to the terrible nature of the PS2’s network adapter, they both showed what was possible on the generations consoles and what was to later come. 

A History of Computer Games Part 2: 1980's ~ 1990's

~THE GOLDEN AGE OF VIDEO GAMES ~


The decade that spanned between the 1980’s and the 1990’s was one of the most important in gaming history, not only because of the publishing companies would start to establish themselves in the industry (Electronic Arts), but because of the pushes in technology both in arcade and personal computing. It allowed for truly original games to be produced that were able to be unique and experimental due in most part to the low publishing costs of the time.


With the success of Space Invaders in 1978, the arcade machine would begin to spring up all across America, and early figures would show that the arcade videogame industry was generating a revenue of $8 billion in quarters at the peak of its popularity (1982)….which is interesting to note was more than both the annual gross income of the Pop music and Movie industry combined at the time.
Crazy stuff……basically was a good indication of where the gaming industry was heading in terms of sheer scale and influence on the entertainment industry as a whole.


Not only were arcade machines taking over in the 80’s, but this decade also saw the evolution and rise of the personal computer, which alongside the continuing development of home games console would more and more bring the magic of the videogame into our home. Though the technology that was being pushed for the creation of these computers was impressive at the time, pretty much every game that first appeared on a home game console was 1) Pong. 2) A variation of Pong. Or 3) some other game, that still managed to play like Pong. 
As the gaming evolution started heading into the 80’s however, genre-defining games would be developed that would not only inspire a generation of gamers (like me), but would also be a major influence on all future games. 
The likes of Action Adventures, Role-Playing Games, Beat-em-Ups, Platformers, Racing and even Survival Horror Games (amongst many others) would all begin to be defined with the release of original and classic games; The legend of Zelda (1986), Dragon Quest (1986), Prince of Persia (1989),  Street Fighter (1987) and Donkey Kong (1981)….and well, the list just too long to stay within my word count limit. Basically any major game you’ve heard of today was either created in this decade or was influenced by a game that was, showing why it was known as the ‘Golden Age of Videogames’.


1983 ~the Great Crash


As successful as the decade was, it was also when one of the biggest setbacks in the games industry occurred, with the 1983 Crash that would last for two years and was so serious that most people at the time doubted that video games consoles had the long-term viability that they originally thought. 
There were numerous reasons that caused the crash, but the sheer amount of poor games and consoles that were fluctuating the market at the time, as well as increasing competition from ever-advancing home computers were a couple of the main reasons that led to the main companies going bankrupt. Also the fact that one of the leading companies, Atari lost its publishing control after legal battles with Activision, only led to further degrading of their products.

A History of Computer Games Part 1: 1950's ~ 1970's

'It is important that we know where we come from, because if you do not know where you come from, then you don’t know where you are, and if you don’t know where you are, then you don’t know where your going. And if you don’t know where you’re going, your probably going wrong.'

I thought id start off this latest blog entry with a quote that’s one of my personal favourites by the author, Sir Terry Pratchett. Its relevant, as im going to be looking into the history and origins of videogames and the technology that was critical in laying the foundations of the games industry we know today. Knowing the history of something is pretty much a must if you want to work in the industry of your chosen profession, and so here I begin with my look into the Videogame history 1950’s - 1970’s.

Before the idea of videogames was even comprehended there were those who were already making steps towards early computing devices; one of the most important being what is called the ‘Difference Engine’ Created by Charles Babbage in 1849. This wasn’t technically a computer, more a mechanical device powered by nothing more than a crank handle, that’s main purpose was to remove the human error from calculating mathematical tables.

It wasn’t until nearly 100 years later until other notable devices started to appear that each focused on more specific areas, but would each show early signs of computing. The HP Audio Oscillator 200A was a device that was experimental at testing audio levels, though was only really utilised by the entertainment industry (Walt Disney being a big client who used these devices). This device was notable at being the first creation of Hewlett & Packard, a well established company in today’s computing market.
Many inventions were being pushed between 1940’s and 1960’s, though these were aimed at government and military matters more than entertainment. Failed flight simulator ‘Project Whirlwind’ (1943), the now famous ‘Colossus’, a code breaker utilised to try and break the enigma code during World War II, and the UNIVAC (1951) the first computer to allow users to store and retrieve data on magnetic tape.

The 1950’s were an important decade in the beginnings of computers as a form of entertainment, as in 1951 Ralph Baer who worked as a TV engineer at the TV company Loral was challenged with creating the best television set in the world. As designing TV sets was an easy task to Baer, he decided to take it further, and implement playing games on the television set. This was the first instance of the ‘Videogame’ concept that we know, though wasn’t created at the time due to Baer’s boss refusing the idea.
In 1958, another computer game was created called ‘Tennis For Two’ by Willy Higginbotham, which could be played by two people using hand controls, a sign of things to come. Then in 1961, what could be called a ‘proper’ precursor to videogames was created at the MIT (Massachusetts Institute Tech), ’Space war’ utilised vector graphics to create an authentic space themed environment with which you had to battle it out against a rival spaceship.

Many innovations in the next few decades would lead up to what we know as the ‘golden age’ of the videogame industry, such as the streamlining of computers to form the first ‘desktops’ (HP 2115 - 1965), Computers aimed at hobbyists (TV Typewriter - 1972) and computers that enabled the use of image processing (Super paint - 1973). 1972 Was the year when ‘Pong’ was created, and became the trademark game to all new ‘Games Consoles’ that would go on to be created in the following years. As Soon as Atari entered this new market became instrumental in bringing games into our homes, on such consoles as the; Atari VCS Prototype’ (first games console) and the Atari 2600, as well as the classic game ‘Space Invaders’ (1977).

Introducing Me!

Hi everyone! For those that don’t yet know me, my name is Daniel Hill and I hail from a tiny village in Stoke-on-Trent called Scholar Green. Born on 24th January 1989, even though im no longer in my teens I don’t really act that mature; don’t get me wrong, I can be serious when I need to be, but I find it easier and a lot more fun to enjoy myself as much as possible through the medium of obscure noises and even more obscure conversation.
I enjoy drawing, playing videogames, spending time with friends and family, reading, walking, throwing mean shapes on nights out, eating pizza, and using some/all of the above to fuel my imagination to create original ideas and stories. Ive been drawing since I was old enough to hold a pencil, and observational work has definitely always been one of my strongest skills and has driven me down the educational path of art and design. Ive done a lot of original work and Fan art as well, as its kept me in drawing and I find it a really amazing way to just zone out from the chaos of the world in my own little artistic bubble.
I started to get into videogames from the Sega era onwards, Sonic the hedgehog being the game that first truly captured my interest in them. I always struggle when people ask me what my one favourite game is, there’s been too many that have inspired and captured my imagination over the years. I think the series that has pushed me in the direction of wanting to work as an artist in the games industry the most, is the Final Fantasy games; I was never really into RPG’s before them, and when I first played FF7 it completely blew my mind that games could have such an amazing focus on story and character that these games had, to the point where you felt emotionally connected to the characters you were playing as. My favourite out of all of them id have to say is FF9 though, as to me, it captures the very essence of what these games do best (and was one of the last that had all of the ‘key’ creative people working on it that made the series what it was in the first place). Other games that I love are Okami, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Kingdom Hearts 2, and….others too numerous to mention.
I come from a Graphic Design background, having studied it for four years prior to starting Game Art here at Dmu, and even though it was something I found that I was really good at, I didn’t really have the passion for it as much as I did for anything game related. Pretty much every time we were given an open brief, id always choose to create a games concept, a sure sign of what direction I really wanted to head in.
I think I want to focus on improving my skills at observation, perspective and anatomy the most, as my dream goal is to become a Concept/ Character Artist, and I think these are the abilities in which I want to really hone during my time on this course.
Also, learning how to use 3DsMax wouldn’t go amiss either.