Long time no see, IR

[D3luxe]

Sup guys?

Figured I'd post to clue everyone in to my extended absence.

Life and school has been killing me lately. I've been insanely busy with all the work I've had, and havn't had much time to have any fun online. Things are calming down some-what recently though, so I plan on contributing to IR again.

I've recently started working with a pretty decent studio. We have around 20 artists and 20 programmers working on a game that is going to be released on Xbox Live. Our aim is pretty low, as we have a ridiculous time constraint on the when this project has to be playable and released, but it should till be a pretty fun game. The biggest thing is that my name will be on a released title, which will help exponentially in me getting into a bigger studio. I can't release much info of the game yet, but I'll be posting some models I'm working on and what-not soon.

I'm headed to California in the beginning of March and will be attending the GDC. I'm getting my portfolio together right now to show off there. I don't expect a job out of this adventure just yet, I'm mostly going there to feel everything out and see what certain companies specifically look for. Our game won't be released by then, so I won't have a "released" title on my resume when I go there, but I plan on going back next year with a much more flushed out portfolio and resume, and the released title will be on by then. Should still be pretty awesome, none-the-less.

I quit using 3DS Max all-together. The license is too ridiculously expensive to get a commercial license, as opposed to the restrictive student license I have now, and I am just sick of the workflow of Max. I've since moved over to using Luxology's Modo. It's an amazing program, with a fairly cheap license. I have a "student" license of that, which is $150 for a year, and after 2 years you can upgrade to the full commercial license for $300, which totals out to $600 IIRC. Much better than Max, and the workflow is of it is AWESOME.

I'm also expanding my modeling abilities out to include character modeling. It really gives me a much better idea for poly flow and animation, so overall I think it'll help my environments out a lot. Character(s) will be posted up soon as well.

That's about it..Just expect to see me a lot more in the future.

[SpiritWebb]

Thats awesome, and congratulations D3luxe. Glad to hear things are going well for you. Keep us updated on your endeavors!!

[Last Known Hero]

Congrats D3luxe! Glad to see things are going well for you and can't wait to see some of your art.

I am surprised you took the switch to Modo, I don't see too many game companies using it, its always Maya or sometimes Max.. I heard that Modo is really good for hard surface modeling too, which I guess would be great for you.

I can't believe you got onto a team for a game release, having a release under your belt is a major leap forward, I'm proud to call you an IR member

I just recently inquired about an internship at a local game developing company about any intern positions (at Dark Sector's creators called 'DigitalExtremes') I hope to get a position there, even if I don't get pay for it.

[PaxBritannia]

Welcome back D3luxe!

Congratulations on what you've achieved so far. Great to see someone here on a game slated for commercial release. The 20 artists to 20 programmers ratio seems surprising considering there are normally a lot more artists compared with programmers.

On the switch to modo: it is the best when it comes to workflow, but as you probably already know, and as Last Known Hero has said, most bigger studios tend to stick with either Autodesk's maya or 3ds max.

The workflow of Maya is a bit different to 3ds max when used in a corporate setting since the larger studios will have plug-ins and such already prepared. Maya gives them that flexibility when it comes to scripts and plug-ins so you will see most bigger studios opt for Maya, though it still doesn't make it's price tage any easier to swallow than 3ds max's.

pax.

[hallsofvallhalla]

very awesome to hear! Dont forget about us little guys when you are rubbing shoulders with the big boys!

[D3luxe]

Thanks Spirit!

LKH - Well, Modo is still a fairly new product (and is getting huge upgrades very often). The only downside to it right now is the animation tools aren't the greatest..but I have no doubt in my mind that that will be changed in a near future update. Everyone I know has been switching over, including a studio I work with once in a while. They recently got a full commercial license, and are all using it now. And yeah, I'm super excited to have a released title with my name on it. Good like with your internship!

Pax - Yeah, our team makeup is pretty interesting. I'm not in charge of any of that though, so whatever they want to do is fine with me. I'm not sure how the programming team is made up, but I know for the art side we have 3 technical artists (getting our stuff into the engine), around 8 character modelers, and around 8 environmental modelers. I'm on the environment side, myself.

Halls - No way could I forget about you guys! You're what made me what I am today.

[Jackolantern]

Welcome back!

Congratz on getting the game together! Xbox Live Arcade is a very fertile ground for smaller studios to get a hit and expand. For example, Limbo's developer, Playdead, is no doubt expanding rapidly after having a XBLA mega-hit that may have made them as much cash as a mid-popularity shelf title, but with probably less than 10% of the development costs. They may be looking towards a boxed title next. And being one of the "guys who was there from the start" can pay off big, so always keep an open mind to not just stepping-stone the smaller developer if things start moving for them.

As for the change over to Modo, as others have said, the vast majority of commercial studios are all Max or Maya, all the time. Using something else at another studio I am sure would be fine, but I could be pretty sure that staying up with Max and/or Maya so as to not get rusty with them and their interfaces as they evolve over time would be a good thing.

[D3luxe]

Welcome back!

Congratz on getting the game together! Xbox Live Arcade is a very fertile ground for smaller studios to get a hit and expand. For example, Limbo's developer, Playdead, is no doubt expanding rapidly after having a XBLA mega-hit that may have made them as much cash as a mid-popularity shelf title, but with probably less than 10% of the development costs. They may be looking towards a boxed title next. And being one of the "guys who was there from the start" can pay off big, so always keep an open mind to not just stepping-stone the smaller developer if things start moving for them.

As for the change over to Modo, as others have said, the vast majority of commercial studios are all Max or Maya, all the time. Using something else at another studio I am sure would be fine, but I could be pretty sure that staying up with Max and/or Maya so as to not get rusty with them and their interfaces as they evolve over time would be a good thing.

Thanks man. I definitely agree with you on all points.

In regards to the max/maya, I'll still be using max or helping with max occasionally at my school, so no worries there. Mostly it'll be modo, but I'll stay fresh with max. And I've found modeling programs are like riding a bike..once you know it, you never really forget that program. I'm not too worried.

[Jackolantern]

I hear you! I actually have no modeling ability, and can only compare it to programming, which is the exact opposite of riding a bike. A programming language is more like a foreign language. As soon as you stop actively using it you start forgetting it lol.

[rockinliam]

I hear you! I actually have no modeling ability, and can only compare it to programming, which is the exact opposite of riding a bike. A programming language is more like a foreign language. As soon as you stop actively using it you start forgetting it lol.

A bike that often has the handle bars on backwards and square wheels.