Succeeding in Game Development

Tools for Success

Who Am I?

• Born and raised in The Bronx, NY• CMU SCS 2008• Interned at EALA on Medal on Honor

Airborne• Worked at Demiurge Studios for 2 years• Started Ananse Productions in

November 2010• No Art background!

Today’s Talk

• Not how to get a games job• Things you should know to be

successful• Ask questions!

Three Models - Large

• Given very specific jobs• Can deeply specialize• Managed by another Artist

Three Models – Medium

• Less specialization• More cross-pollination amongst

other disciplines

Three Models - Small

• Jack of all trades• Talking directly to other disciplines• Probably working remotely

Focusing on Small

• Most of my experience• Prepares for all other levels• Feel free to ask about other models!

Source Control

• Stores different version of files• Makes it easy to share files with rest

of team

File Layouts

• Relative Pathing• Learn where files should go• Be able to easily find artwork

Test In Game

• Catch a lot of feedback yourself• Flag down things that slows down

your process

Moving Target

• Requirements change all the time• Try to shield yourself from wasted

work• Understand sketch vs. final product

Task Management

• Keep track of what to work on when• Double check (at least daily!)• Much more important in Small

model

Working Remotely• Face time in the start is important• Co-working became our most

productive days• Emails can hurt more than help

Working Remotely

• Reference photos, image sizes, formats and filenames

• Waiting for email wastes time

Feedback from Non-Artists

• You see a masterpiece• I see a pretty lady

Feedback from Non-Artist

• Get used to feedback from non-artists

• Drill pass the suggestion and get to the reasoning

• Bad feedback: “Use a circle instead of a square”

• Good feedback: “That should be a circle instead of a square because I think it offers more variation”

Feedback from Non-Artists

• Feedback isn’t questioning your skill• Things are never right the first time• Make sure you have a clear idea of

what needs to be fixed

Team Communication

• Engineer: if( hungry ){ eatDonut(); }

• Producer: We need to eat to stay on schedule. There’s no external dependencies on donuts since they’re already here.

• Artists:

Team Communication• Everyone communicates differently• Picking up a little of others lingo

really helpful

Summary

• If anything’s unclear ask questions!• Manager’s can’t read minds. Keep a

two way dialogue

Jen’s Corner

• Jennifer Kanis, Stem Stumper’s Artiste Extraordinaire and NEIA alum

Q&A

• Question time!