PROJECT INTRODUCTION
In this project we have been asked to create an asset or diorama in the style of a game made by a company which we aspire to work for some day. During this project we will research game design companies and and find out what games they have published and the style of their games and find out what makes them unique. I will be looking at five different game publishers and then choosing my favourite.
GAME COMPANIES
Rockstar Games
Games
produced:
Grand Theft auto series, Red dead redemption (1,2), Bully, L.A Noire and manhunt
Location:
The main headquarters of Rockstar Games are located on Broadway in the NoHo neighbourhood of New York City, part of the Two-Take interactive offices. It is home to the marketing, public relations and product development departments.
Why were they created?
The Rockstar Games label was established in December 1998, rockstar were avoiding first person shooters and said in an interview that 'it's in our blood to avoid what other companies are doing' you can see they had a raw passion for it right there as they wanted to do something new and intuitive.
Artists:
British video game producers; Sam Houser, Terry Donovon, Dan Houser, Jamie King and Gary Foreman
BLIZZARD
In this project we have been asked to create an asset or diorama in the style of a game made by a company which we aspire to work for some day. During this project we will research game design companies and and find out what games they have published and the style of their games and find out what makes them unique. I will be looking at five different game publishers and then choosing my favourite.
GAME COMPANIES
Rockstar Games
Grand Theft auto series, Red dead redemption (1,2), Bully, L.A Noire and manhunt
Location:
The main headquarters of Rockstar Games are located on Broadway in the NoHo neighbourhood of New York City, part of the Two-Take interactive offices. It is home to the marketing, public relations and product development departments.
Why were they created?
The Rockstar Games label was established in December 1998, rockstar were avoiding first person shooters and said in an interview that 'it's in our blood to avoid what other companies are doing' you can see they had a raw passion for it right there as they wanted to do something new and intuitive.
Artists:
British video game producers; Sam Houser, Terry Donovon, Dan Houser, Jamie King and Gary Foreman
BLIZZARD
Games produced:
Overwatch, World Of Warcraft, Diablo series and Starcraft series
Overwatch, World Of Warcraft, Diablo series and Starcraft series
Location:
In 2007, Blizzard moved there headquarters to 16215 Alton Parkway in Irvine california.
In 2007, Blizzard moved there headquarters to 16215 Alton Parkway in Irvine california.
Why were they created?
Starting from the beggining, Blizzard developed a host of classic games that are held in high regard by retro gaming
Starting from the beggining, Blizzard developed a host of classic games that are held in high regard by retro gaming
Artists:
Samwise Didier, Allen Adham, Jeff Kaplan etc.
Samwise Didier, Allen Adham, Jeff Kaplan etc.
Electronic Arts
Games produced:
Mirrors Edge, Battlefield series,Fifa series, skate series.
Location:
Electronic Arts studio is located in Redwood Hills, California founded in 2006.
Why were they created?
Founded and incorporated on may 28th, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting designers.
Artists:
Trip Hawkins
NINTENDO
Games produced:
Super Mario Bros series, Zelda series, Donkey Kong, Final Fantasy series, Pokemon series and Mario Kart
Trip Hawkins
NINTENDO
Games produced:
Super Mario Bros series, Zelda series, Donkey Kong, Final Fantasy series, Pokemon series and Mario Kart
Location:
Nintendo Software technology is located in Redmond, washington U.S.
Nintendo Software technology is located in Redmond, washington U.S.
Why were they created?
Nintendo is founded, September 23, 1889. founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, Japan, The Nintendo Playing card company was a small business that would go on to revolutionise gaming around the world.
Nintendo is founded, September 23, 1889. founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi in Kyoto, Japan, The Nintendo Playing card company was a small business that would go on to revolutionise gaming around the world.
Artists:
Shigeru Miyamoto
Mojang
Games produced:
Minecraft, 0x10c, Minecraft Pocket Edition, Scrolls, Minecraft Story Mode, Crown and Council and Colbalt.
Shigeru Miyamoto
Mojang
Games produced:
Minecraft, 0x10c, Minecraft Pocket Edition, Scrolls, Minecraft Story Mode, Crown and Council and Colbalt.
Location:
Located in Stockholm,Sweden, Mojang currently has 58 employees
Located in Stockholm,Sweden, Mojang currently has 58 employees
Why were they created?
Markus Persson is the founder of mojang, he was a game develepor for most off his life, as he made his first game when he was 8.
Markus Persson is the founder of mojang, he was a game develepor for most off his life, as he made his first game when he was 8.
Artists:
Markus Toivonen, Mattis Grahm, Henrik Pettersson, Martin Johansson.
In depth studio research
After this research into game developers/publishers, I have narrowed it down to the one developer I would like to further research.
RockStar
rockstars games:
These are the games that Rockstar have made across the broad range they generally are very action-adventure based. Take Grand Theft Auto for example, this series are based in fictional locales modelled on American cities. This is the prime example of the best selling action-adventure based game, in which they focus on a certain set of protagonists who attempt to rise through the criminal world.
Visually unique?
Rockstar has a very visually pleasing way too make games they are able to stick to a style perfectly, which in turn sets the mood they want you too feel when they play there games, just like this screenshot from GTA the way they have added a dusty filter over it to give it more off a grotty feel, because in a way what they are doing is illicit, so they try to portray that through visuals.
In this screenshot they have focused very few colours, which are white,red and blue they want your eyes to focus on the police cars and they draw your attention as it is in a very dull suburban area, they have also composed the way the cars are layed out in a pattern, it makes the picture more visually pleasing to see an even amount of cars. Something I noticed in this screenshot unlike the others is that they have a grey sky instead off a blue clear sky, this really sets the mood for a police chase.
The colours in this screenshot on the lighthouse and speed boat are the same, I believe they did this too give off an effect on the audience, as it is only really composed three main colours it draws the viewers eyes to the main assets. I believe that rockstar are trying to portray the feeling of freedom, money and wealth you can tell this by the simplicity off everything.
In this screenshot I think that the trees were put in this image very intentionally because as you have all the city skyline in the back looking very minimal compared to the trees this is a good use off compistion and really portrays the scale which as we have seen in the other screenshots rockstar have tried to push as much as they can.
This screenshot that rock-star have taken is trying to portray the scale off the game as this grand theft auto has the biggest map that rock-star have ever made, the game map is even bigger than New York's Manhattan in real life.
Mood?
I think rockstar have been able to portray mood/emotion through games perfectly, take Red Dead Redemption for example the game is set in 1911, through this screenshot you get the impression off loneliness and someone trying to find there self and there ideal life, as the american dream is partially imputed into the game, which is all about the ideal life and trying to aspire to the highest of your aspirations and goals which I can see straight from this screenshot, through the camera angle showing mass amounts off land and just a man on his own you really get a scale off you got to look out for your self, because in the end its just you.
Who plays there games?
Rockstar generally focuses on thrill/action-adventure games so the general audience is people that are looking to be thrilled and excited when they play a game. From experience I know how well Rockstar makes games and how you can be drawn in to play for hours. The general age for people that play Rockstar games is around 15-30+ they really do reach out to there audience which makes it even more desirable.
A desirable feature about grand theft auto is that they have varied radio stations that have different styles and types off music, this again opens up there market audience as they will appeal to everyone, this choice off being able to chose what music you listen too and if you want to listen to music or not.
A massive aspect off the game is the story-mode and in-turn the story-line, rockstar's GTA series has built up a reputation for having one off the most thrilling and engaging story-lines, the variety off the missions and levels are all differently unique which makes you feel like you are not just playing one game.
Artists?
Stephen Bliss is someone I am going to focus on because he did a reasnoble amount of the artwork for GTA vice city, my favourite artwork for a game.
I love the way he is able to portray the 1980's through his cartoon style artwork, with simple shapes and light and bright colours he really gets across the 80's vibe, as they have a whole sparkly and bright persona around the whole 80's as everyhting was 'over the top' but simple at the same time.
What software do Rockstar use?
GTA for example was used making RAGE engine, they used Euphoria middle ware for character animation and they have tweaked bullet physics on Digital Foundry. They will also use Photoshop for tweaking textures, characters, cars etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockstar_Advanced_Game_Engine
Here is my link to the research I found, this is where I found most about what software they use.
What process do Rockstar use?
As I couldnt find out every single proccess for every game they made I got an example of how they made GTA 5, they would have got all there reference they needed and textured and uv'd everything they needed, after this they would have tested everything thye have made in Euphoria and Bullet engines for further animation and environment rendering tasks.
How do they create there style?
Rockstar are able to create there unique style by really focusing on the audience as that's one thing that they do is cater to there intended audience, they always come up with fascinating new and interesting ideas and always pull through with games, an example off them creating a cool style is the way they incorporates how much customisation you can add to your character in GTA online/offline, it really just gives it another level off feeling like you really are the person.
How do they communicate tone, mood and emotions?
Rockstar have a performance director that is how seriously they take getting there voice acting the perfect tone with the right emotion. They really enhance and refine original ideas into final products. Rockstar have a clear and direct creative vision for cinematic.
In this screenshot you can see the over exaggeration off how they try to portray the game and everything alternative reality. The bright blue sky and bright orange car everything is trying to be over the top for no reason, as they really just want people to project a good mood toward this game. I also believe they are trying to project hard man
characteristics for Trevor, this gives an interesting vibe as everything is all colourful and he is just glaring down the camera looking bitter.
How do they attract the right audience?
To be able to get such a substantial audience as big as Rockstar let alone retain it is a massive task in its self, but the way Rockstar attracted there audience/fans was through listening to what they want, Rockstar massively live on hype as they told there fans grand theft auto was on the way in 2011 and was released two years later!
How do their artists work?
There artists work really well, there artists are some of the best in the world, they have such inspiring creativity they are able to pull of some off the most amazing models in the world.
As you can see this is there work space they all have two monitors, with there own space but they are still all together its a perfect way to relate ideas but when you need to get to work you can easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj8YAxCC3Ew
Here is a small interview in which the talk about what it is like working at rockstar also about how to join rockstar and what they look for in a portfolio.
Also in the srceenshot above you can see that they seem to be in tables off 4 which seems to me that they work in these groups so you would have a table for, character sculpting, game testers etc.
How do you use the software to create work in the style of Rockstar?
here are industry standard software that rockstar would use for there needs, 3DS max, photoshop and mudbox these software's would suit and cater to rockstars needs.
This software will in turn enable me to create an art piece to an industry standard with a great degree off detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2jQZ4Wmp2M
This is another short 10 minute video going over briefly how they use software and what they use in general.
Reference
Before I start building my project I need to find reference off the assets I am going to make and put in a scene.
Concept art
MODEL CREATION TIME
I then exported my assets as fbx. and put them into a flat biom, I looked across all the textures I could put onto this barren land and added a sand texture I was very happy with this, so then I continued to mold the scene the way I wanted I added rough hills in the back and smoothed them over with the smoothing tool. I am very happy with the way this finished as I believe it gives a better look off and shows it off a lot better than what it would off if I left it in max.
Evaluation
Company: Rockstar games
Age range: 15+
Key research: My key research was to find the style in which rockstar create there games with beautifully enhanced textures and themes, I had to research Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto,this was two of there most popular games and in turn will give me a lot off context for there art work. This was important for me to be able to make the most clean and professional looking project and final piece.
I am very happy with my final product as it was very simple but this in turn gave me more time to make sure the texturing and lighting and camera angles were all perfect. I knew from the start off this project that I wanted to make this in the style off the company but I also wanted to add my own implements off artistic style.
what have you learned from this project that will help you develop as an artist?
In this project as I have not had to model and or texture, I have been able to give attention to detail by doing this I have had time to not rush and try out different textures different UV maps and try out different ways to do things in general. I believe that I did choose a very good choice for this project asset wise as I was able to make it my own but also stick to the Rockstar theme, I feel like I have developed as a artist as I have really pushed myself to try and do the most work to the best quality I can do.
Markus Toivonen, Mattis Grahm, Henrik Pettersson, Martin Johansson.
In depth studio research
After this research into game developers/publishers, I have narrowed it down to the one developer I would like to further research.
RockStar
rockstars games:
Visually unique?
Rockstar has a very visually pleasing way too make games they are able to stick to a style perfectly, which in turn sets the mood they want you too feel when they play there games, just like this screenshot from GTA the way they have added a dusty filter over it to give it more off a grotty feel, because in a way what they are doing is illicit, so they try to portray that through visuals.
In this screenshot they have focused very few colours, which are white,red and blue they want your eyes to focus on the police cars and they draw your attention as it is in a very dull suburban area, they have also composed the way the cars are layed out in a pattern, it makes the picture more visually pleasing to see an even amount of cars. Something I noticed in this screenshot unlike the others is that they have a grey sky instead off a blue clear sky, this really sets the mood for a police chase.
The colours in this screenshot on the lighthouse and speed boat are the same, I believe they did this too give off an effect on the audience, as it is only really composed three main colours it draws the viewers eyes to the main assets. I believe that rockstar are trying to portray the feeling of freedom, money and wealth you can tell this by the simplicity off everything.
In this screenshot I think that the trees were put in this image very intentionally because as you have all the city skyline in the back looking very minimal compared to the trees this is a good use off compistion and really portrays the scale which as we have seen in the other screenshots rockstar have tried to push as much as they can.
This screenshot that rock-star have taken is trying to portray the scale off the game as this grand theft auto has the biggest map that rock-star have ever made, the game map is even bigger than New York's Manhattan in real life.
Mood?
I think rockstar have been able to portray mood/emotion through games perfectly, take Red Dead Redemption for example the game is set in 1911, through this screenshot you get the impression off loneliness and someone trying to find there self and there ideal life, as the american dream is partially imputed into the game, which is all about the ideal life and trying to aspire to the highest of your aspirations and goals which I can see straight from this screenshot, through the camera angle showing mass amounts off land and just a man on his own you really get a scale off you got to look out for your self, because in the end its just you.
Red dead redemption Grand theft auto 5
comparison in mood between these two games is entirely different, Red Dead gives this very grotty and hardship mood, through the many browns and grey and blacks that are in this screenshot it gives a very gloomy effect off, where as GTA has a very expensive car and light blue and white colours showing a more vibrant and uplifting mood, the way the blue comes through in the sky really shows that its in a big city in America, as you can see from this reference
As you can see rockstar really portrayed Los Santos very well with the weather, the way this would make the audience feel is happy to play the game as the weather is relatable to them.
Rockstar generally focuses on thrill/action-adventure games so the general audience is people that are looking to be thrilled and excited when they play a game. From experience I know how well Rockstar makes games and how you can be drawn in to play for hours. The general age for people that play Rockstar games is around 15-30+ they really do reach out to there audience which makes it even more desirable.
A desirable feature about grand theft auto is that they have varied radio stations that have different styles and types off music, this again opens up there market audience as they will appeal to everyone, this choice off being able to chose what music you listen too and if you want to listen to music or not.
A massive aspect off the game is the story-mode and in-turn the story-line, rockstar's GTA series has built up a reputation for having one off the most thrilling and engaging story-lines, the variety off the missions and levels are all differently unique which makes you feel like you are not just playing one game.
Artists?
Stephen Bliss is someone I am going to focus on because he did a reasnoble amount of the artwork for GTA vice city, my favourite artwork for a game.
I love the way he is able to portray the 1980's through his cartoon style artwork, with simple shapes and light and bright colours he really gets across the 80's vibe, as they have a whole sparkly and bright persona around the whole 80's as everyhting was 'over the top' but simple at the same time.
What software do Rockstar use?
GTA for example was used making RAGE engine, they used Euphoria middle ware for character animation and they have tweaked bullet physics on Digital Foundry. They will also use Photoshop for tweaking textures, characters, cars etc.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockstar_Advanced_Game_Engine
Here is my link to the research I found, this is where I found most about what software they use.
What process do Rockstar use?
As I couldnt find out every single proccess for every game they made I got an example of how they made GTA 5, they would have got all there reference they needed and textured and uv'd everything they needed, after this they would have tested everything thye have made in Euphoria and Bullet engines for further animation and environment rendering tasks.
How do they create there style?
Rockstar are able to create there unique style by really focusing on the audience as that's one thing that they do is cater to there intended audience, they always come up with fascinating new and interesting ideas and always pull through with games, an example off them creating a cool style is the way they incorporates how much customisation you can add to your character in GTA online/offline, it really just gives it another level off feeling like you really are the person.
How do they communicate tone, mood and emotions?
Rockstar have a performance director that is how seriously they take getting there voice acting the perfect tone with the right emotion. They really enhance and refine original ideas into final products. Rockstar have a clear and direct creative vision for cinematic.
In this screenshot you can see the over exaggeration off how they try to portray the game and everything alternative reality. The bright blue sky and bright orange car everything is trying to be over the top for no reason, as they really just want people to project a good mood toward this game. I also believe they are trying to project hard man
characteristics for Trevor, this gives an interesting vibe as everything is all colourful and he is just glaring down the camera looking bitter.
How do they attract the right audience?
To be able to get such a substantial audience as big as Rockstar let alone retain it is a massive task in its self, but the way Rockstar attracted there audience/fans was through listening to what they want, Rockstar massively live on hype as they told there fans grand theft auto was on the way in 2011 and was released two years later!
How do their artists work?
There artists work really well, there artists are some of the best in the world, they have such inspiring creativity they are able to pull of some off the most amazing models in the world.
As you can see this is there work space they all have two monitors, with there own space but they are still all together its a perfect way to relate ideas but when you need to get to work you can easily.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj8YAxCC3Ew
Here is a small interview in which the talk about what it is like working at rockstar also about how to join rockstar and what they look for in a portfolio.
Also in the srceenshot above you can see that they seem to be in tables off 4 which seems to me that they work in these groups so you would have a table for, character sculpting, game testers etc.
How do you use the software to create work in the style of Rockstar?
here are industry standard software that rockstar would use for there needs, 3DS max, photoshop and mudbox these software's would suit and cater to rockstars needs.
This software will in turn enable me to create an art piece to an industry standard with a great degree off detail.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2jQZ4Wmp2M
This is another short 10 minute video going over briefly how they use software and what they use in general.
Reference
Before I start building my project I need to find reference off the assets I am going to make and put in a scene.
Concept art
MODEL CREATION TIME
From the time I have left (7 weeks) I have created a schedule to use through out the making off my model. As my project is minimalist I am going for the more detailed side this time. My barrell is going to be my main object and is what your eyes should be drawn too.
BARREL ON STAND - 1 1/2 WEEKS TO BUILD, UV AND TEXTURE
METAL BARREL - 1 WEEK TO BUILD, UV AND TEXTURE
DRAIN- 1 WEEK TO BUILD, UV AND TEXTURE
TRAIN TRACK - 1 1/2 WEEKS TO BUILD, UV AND TEXTURE
SCENE AROUND MODEL - 2 WEEKS TO BUILD, UV AND TEXTURE
State how you plan to overcome software differences
Bullet engine is the software that Rock star use to model and texture there assets and scenes for there games, on our computers we have the software's Photoshop, unreal and 3DS max this will not be a problem at all as they will still produce a professional end product.
State how you plan to overcome software differences
Bullet engine is the software that Rock star use to model and texture there assets and scenes for there games, on our computers we have the software's Photoshop, unreal and 3DS max this will not be a problem at all as they will still produce a professional end product.
When I first started my project I had a general idea of what I wanted to do, I started off by just mapping it out with white boxs you can see I added the platform for my water tower and the stand for the drain and I also put a flat box at the bottom off it to make sure that everything is on the same level, then continuing from there and add little amendments at a time, until I have my finished project.
I then continued to put my camera view in, because I had the idea off the view in my head and in my concept art, I then decided to put it in now so it is easy to reference off and make sure it still looks similar.
I then continued to stretch out the back of the plain to make sure that it looks long like a desert plain, I then added my train tracks to the scene to give the scene more depth and give the impression off how big the desert is and to try and focus your view on the water tower.
I then added the railway sleepers into the track and also gave some shape to the train tracks by making them into I beams, this will give a good effect when I put my lighting in and it will give me variety for texturing as I can add shadow to make it have more depth.
I then added a backdrop and started to texture my scene as all off my assets were together and my camera was set up, I then continued to texture all off my scene little bits at a time and I changed my barrel many times as I wanted that asset to be perfect as I wanted that to draw the most attention.
This was the last updated screenshot I took off my work before realising that 3DS max was not giving me the effective look I was looking for and the lights just didnt seem to work correctly with my textures, I didn't like my background as I did want it to be flat but the texture just looked too flat.
Evaluation
Company: Rockstar games
Age range: 15+
Key research: My key research was to find the style in which rockstar create there games with beautifully enhanced textures and themes, I had to research Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto,this was two of there most popular games and in turn will give me a lot off context for there art work. This was important for me to be able to make the most clean and professional looking project and final piece.
I am very happy with my final product as it was very simple but this in turn gave me more time to make sure the texturing and lighting and camera angles were all perfect. I knew from the start off this project that I wanted to make this in the style off the company but I also wanted to add my own implements off artistic style.
what have you learned from this project that will help you develop as an artist?
In this project as I have not had to model and or texture, I have been able to give attention to detail by doing this I have had time to not rush and try out different textures different UV maps and try out different ways to do things in general. I believe that I did choose a very good choice for this project asset wise as I was able to make it my own but also stick to the Rockstar theme, I feel like I have developed as a artist as I have really pushed myself to try and do the most work to the best quality I can do.
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