Comic Con 2010 Friday!

Sorry, but today was for me! I hung out with friends and ended up not making it to the panels I wanted to see. HOWEVER, my sister went to Marvel VS Capcom 2, so I will link her article here when she writes it! :)
p.s. Best costumes of the day? Manos, the Hands of Fate! (pictured)

Dirty Little Secrets of the Videogame Industry

Although Alex Jimenez, videogame designer behind Darkstalkers and Enigma, was the only industry veteran at the panel, he offered reaffirmation and new insight as to how to begin your career in games. He focused on what he called the "trinity" of videogame development: programmers, artists, designers.
Programmers, he commented, were always secure in the sense that jobs will be available, whether or not we get them is the problem. He also emphasized the necessity of registering with gamasutra.com, a website which he frequents every morning. When applying for a job, we should have an example of a videogame we coded. Make sure it is presentable, though; hire an artist and make it BRIEF!
Artists should bring their sketchbook...ALWAYS! Even if you specialize in computer animation , bring a sketchbook. Many times, the game designer will require the artists to draw impromptu sketches while in the meeting room! Also, if you bring a reel, don't just have the character walk in place. Have him or her do specific movements and keep it BRIEF!
Mr. Jimenez argued that the most common mistake of people applying for videogame designer jobs is that they do not really know what a videogame designer does! When applying for the job, do not tell them about your idea for a videogame that will change the world and sell a billion copies the first day. The 1st big secret is that the people hiring you want you to design THEIR game; they have no interest in yours! Maybe after 30 years in the industry they will give you a shot, but that is still rare. When going to the interview, bring mods and basic design documents. These design documents need to be from the beginning to the credits, with plenty of detail as to each step of the game. Apparently, videogame designers do a bunch of writing! Mr. Jimenez said that writing is the first thing he does each morning.
After addressing each "class," Alex Jimenez emphasized the greatest secret of the videogame industry: YOU MUST BE VERSATILE! You could come in and say you are the best C++ programmer in the world, and you may be, but if you do nothing else, you won't get the job. A variety of talents means that you can be shifted to different positions throughout the videogame's development. Artists should be able to do 3D, 2D, and computer art. One type of art can be your specialty, but you should be proficient in the others. A game goes through many stages, and the ability to transition with the game makes you irreplaceable.
Other advice:
- get a website (even blogs are ok)
- NEVER break a NDA (nondisclosure agreement) // It will black list you.
- Employers are impressed by talent, not paperwork!

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood

Fortunately, today I was finally able to test out Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood the demo. I can't wait until November. The multiplayer game demonstrated was called wanted and was incredibly fun. The object of the game was to find your target and assassinate them, however, you were the target of a different assassin as well. Due to replicated characters in the game, it was easy to hide, but any attempts you make to attack another player or civilian immediately draws unwanted attention. The best aspect of the game was the "Humiliation," which was displayed in bold letters across a player's screen when he or she was assassinated by his or her own target. To state it plainly, I want this game and will probably preorder it this week :)
{I saw a mighty fine Ezio walking around the Con. I'll try to stalk him tomorrow and get a pic! }

38 Studio's Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning

My first full day at the Comic Con was amazing!
The first panel I attended was the world premier of 38 Studio's first videogame endeavor called, Kingdom of Amalur: Reckoning, which is brain child of former baseball star, Curt Schilling, R.A. Salvadore, Ken Rolston, and Todd McFarlane. The game is an RPG with hopes of becoming a MMO in later years. Reckoning will be available on PC as well as consoles, so there is hope that the XBox 360 will actually get this RPG. As lead artist, Todd McFarlane is VERY passionate about making the game aesthetically pleasing as well as including realistic movements. Standing on top of the panel table, he yelled, "We will kill some people better than any other game!" And I believe him; let's hope he doesn't disappoint.
Although man plot lines and character races of Reckoning could not be discussed at the moment, we did get to see a few models. The picture on the left is one of the less-friendly types. They also hinted at a few standard classes including my favorite, the mage. Due out in Fall of 2011, I can only hope the game doesn't lose any of its integrity. Each lead seemed to offer bright ideas for the way a game should interact with the gamer. I hope they can include all those aspects in the final product.

A New Look...

And a new theme. This blog will now be dedicated to the nerdy/geeky things I do. The first item I will be regaling you with is the San Diego Comic Con! More posts to come soon!