Showing posts with label DD2000. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DD2000. Show all posts
20130416
Futures : The Plan
After reading through all my research and taking a step back and seeing where I am actually up to in terms of a career within the games industry I have been able to make a few informed decisions at what I would like to do when I finish the BA next year.
Currently I work three jobs (part time) outside of University, two are Barista based and involve me being very hands on, fast paced and communicating with a wide assortment of people. The other involves designing environments, assets and gameplay/game mechanics in the role of a game designer on an array of different projects, ranging from Browser based viral flash games to fully polished iOS/Android 3D games.
What I have realised by juggling all of these things is that I do enjoy the variety of multiple jobs, and that perhaps being an indie developer will give me the opportunity to balance my time infront of a screen with the communcation based role of being a Barista. Becoming an environment artist at a AAA gaming company slightly worries me in terms of creativity, I'm scared that a) If it pays well I may end up stuck creating other peoples ideas for a long time. b) It may taint my naive view on games development and turn me in to someone who recreates very 'samey' pieces of work. I understand that working in the industry would teach me numerous invaluable skills, but I also believe the majority of the tecnical skills I would learn would be company specific and not easily transferred to a different companies workflow.
Income from working as a Barista will fund my Indie endeavours until the team is strong enough to gain real funding and backing. One of the main reasons for having jobs outside the games industry for me is to keep me moving, and to hold back the possibility of eye strain/RSI.
There is always the possibility of applying for an internship (hopefully California?) to work in industry for a year without the immediate pressure of having to know everything and have a really smooth workflow, I believe that is something that can only really be learned on the job and is something that takes time to gain.
Currently I work three jobs (part time) outside of University, two are Barista based and involve me being very hands on, fast paced and communicating with a wide assortment of people. The other involves designing environments, assets and gameplay/game mechanics in the role of a game designer on an array of different projects, ranging from Browser based viral flash games to fully polished iOS/Android 3D games.
What I have realised by juggling all of these things is that I do enjoy the variety of multiple jobs, and that perhaps being an indie developer will give me the opportunity to balance my time infront of a screen with the communcation based role of being a Barista. Becoming an environment artist at a AAA gaming company slightly worries me in terms of creativity, I'm scared that a) If it pays well I may end up stuck creating other peoples ideas for a long time. b) It may taint my naive view on games development and turn me in to someone who recreates very 'samey' pieces of work. I understand that working in the industry would teach me numerous invaluable skills, but I also believe the majority of the tecnical skills I would learn would be company specific and not easily transferred to a different companies workflow.
Income from working as a Barista will fund my Indie endeavours until the team is strong enough to gain real funding and backing. One of the main reasons for having jobs outside the games industry for me is to keep me moving, and to hold back the possibility of eye strain/RSI.
There is always the possibility of applying for an internship (hopefully California?) to work in industry for a year without the immediate pressure of having to know everything and have a really smooth workflow, I believe that is something that can only really be learned on the job and is something that takes time to gain.
Futures : Indie Developer Case Study
Attempted to write this blog post THREE times today, it has taken me two hours and each time it has over-wrote my post with a previous blog post.
The post looked in to an indie development studio called Whole Hog Games and how they used Kickstarter to fund their project. The key information I gained from this research will be included in my presentation, but I do not have the time to retype the entire post for a fourth time... I blame Firefox.
The post looked in to an indie development studio called Whole Hog Games and how they used Kickstarter to fund their project. The key information I gained from this research will be included in my presentation, but I do not have the time to retype the entire post for a fourth time... I blame Firefox.
20130414
Futures : Environment Artist's Portfolios
Here is a list of portfolio's I have looked in to, there seems to be a wide range of ways to showcase the work created and there also seems to be no 'set' themes or consistencies through the websites (other than showing an entire environment as a piece of work), they don't seem to go particularly in-depth with individual models or explanations on the development process which is something I would have expected.
I think if I am to pursue a career within the games industry as an environment artist I will want to produce a digital (and printed) portfolio exploring a diverse range of environments. I also believe showing some of the more exciting models on their own would be advantageous to show my modelling skills, and perhaps some more organic work produced in Mudbox or ZBrush as these programs seem to appear more and more on these job application requirements.
www.timspanjer.com
www.andybaigent3d.com
www.jonarm.com
www.michaeldunnam.com
www.roelcoucke.com
www.ryandao.com
I think if I am to pursue a career within the games industry as an environment artist I will want to produce a digital (and printed) portfolio exploring a diverse range of environments. I also believe showing some of the more exciting models on their own would be advantageous to show my modelling skills, and perhaps some more organic work produced in Mudbox or ZBrush as these programs seem to appear more and more on these job application requirements.
Futures : Indie Development Platforms & Licensing
As an indie developer one of the first things that needs to be decided upon is the types of games that will be made, I have collated a general list of what I perceive to be the broad spectrum of platforms that indies currently develop for -
Steam
PC
Mac OS X
Unity
PC
Browser
Mac
Mobile - Android/iOS
XBLA
Wii
PS4
UDK
PC
Mac
PS3
Xbox
Mobile - Android/iOS
Game Maker
PC
Mac
Indie developers tend to use pre-existing 3D engines as producing a unique engine from scratch is time consuming, expensive and generally won't be able to match UDK, CryEngine, Frostbite and Unity (which have been designed specifically for developers). Developers tend to tweak existing engines to tailor them to their needs, coders create both in-editor scripts (to assist the design team with things the engine doesn't already do for their unique pipeline) and specific code for in-game that the original engine does not offer.
The companies that develop the game engines and continue to keep them up-to-date with fellow competitors and upgrades in technology make their money through licensing fees to development studios. Dependant on the platform the studio decides to develop for can affect the licensing price from anything between £150 all the way up to £5000. Other methods of the game engine companies making money from the developers can be through individual sales of the game or allowing games to make X amount of sales and then begin to take a cut of any additional sales.
Steam
PC
Mac OS X
Unity
PC
Browser
Mac
Mobile - Android/iOS
XBLA
Wii
PS4
UDK
PC
Mac
PS3
Xbox
Mobile - Android/iOS
Game Maker
PC
Mac
Indie developers tend to use pre-existing 3D engines as producing a unique engine from scratch is time consuming, expensive and generally won't be able to match UDK, CryEngine, Frostbite and Unity (which have been designed specifically for developers). Developers tend to tweak existing engines to tailor them to their needs, coders create both in-editor scripts (to assist the design team with things the engine doesn't already do for their unique pipeline) and specific code for in-game that the original engine does not offer.
The companies that develop the game engines and continue to keep them up-to-date with fellow competitors and upgrades in technology make their money through licensing fees to development studios. Dependant on the platform the studio decides to develop for can affect the licensing price from anything between £150 all the way up to £5000. Other methods of the game engine companies making money from the developers can be through individual sales of the game or allowing games to make X amount of sales and then begin to take a cut of any additional sales.
Futures : Indie Development Salary (UK)
It is very hard to put an amount that I could potentially earn being part of a small indie development team, many factors will affect the revenue from the games we will create : team size, licenses, software, distribution, publishing and how well the game actually performs.
I recently looked in to forums where people were attempting to setup their own indie companies to no success, people had individually released games but without the correct marketing and deployment knowledge to gain enough 'hype' or attention to cause a snowball effect of downloads. An example is a forum user reporting after having his game on the market for over six months, only receiving $1.37 in total from Kongregate.
There seems to be split opinion on what makes up a successful indie game, many people argue that indie games can push the boundaries of the industry and thats what makes them appealing to gamers. Other people suggest that being innovative is not enough, and for the game to 'make it' it needs to have up-to-date graphics and replicated much of AAA titles with a team not even 10% of the size.
It appears much of the research I could do particularly on iOS/Android market platforms would just lead to 'clone games' where a particular game mechanic which proved popular has been replicated and slightly modified/reskinned by small indie studios in hope of cashing in on a quick buck. (see Angrybirds, Plants Vs Zombies etc).
It almost seems impossible to work out any figures to what a studio could be expected to earn, with games such as Temple Run which sees 13 million people play their iOS/Android game each day and the introduction of in-game purchases being a major part in Imangi Studio's sequel Temple Run 2.
The market is constantly shifting - with mobile devices ever increasing (more users) the more apps saturate the market (less visibility for developers), the new push on independent studios to produce games for the PS4 and XBLA, Unity and UDK becoming more popular and accessible and the ever mounting spotlight on indie devs releasing titles in succession to previous games that made a major impact on the gaming market itself.
I recently looked in to forums where people were attempting to setup their own indie companies to no success, people had individually released games but without the correct marketing and deployment knowledge to gain enough 'hype' or attention to cause a snowball effect of downloads. An example is a forum user reporting after having his game on the market for over six months, only receiving $1.37 in total from Kongregate.
There seems to be split opinion on what makes up a successful indie game, many people argue that indie games can push the boundaries of the industry and thats what makes them appealing to gamers. Other people suggest that being innovative is not enough, and for the game to 'make it' it needs to have up-to-date graphics and replicated much of AAA titles with a team not even 10% of the size.
It appears much of the research I could do particularly on iOS/Android market platforms would just lead to 'clone games' where a particular game mechanic which proved popular has been replicated and slightly modified/reskinned by small indie studios in hope of cashing in on a quick buck. (see Angrybirds, Plants Vs Zombies etc).
It almost seems impossible to work out any figures to what a studio could be expected to earn, with games such as Temple Run which sees 13 million people play their iOS/Android game each day and the introduction of in-game purchases being a major part in Imangi Studio's sequel Temple Run 2.
The market is constantly shifting - with mobile devices ever increasing (more users) the more apps saturate the market (less visibility for developers), the new push on independent studios to produce games for the PS4 and XBLA, Unity and UDK becoming more popular and accessible and the ever mounting spotlight on indie devs releasing titles in succession to previous games that made a major impact on the gaming market itself.
Futures : Environment Artist Requirements
Gameloft
Qualifications
1-2 shipped titles, AAA preferred
OR
5 Years of professional environment art experience, any genre
OR
5 Years of prefessional 3D generalist experience, any genre
Skills
Proficient in 3DsMax, Photoshop, ZBrush or other 3D software.
A keen eye towards form, shape, structure and silhouette in regards to modelling.
Good understanding of scene composition, colour and atmosphere.
Excellent eye for quality 3D work.
Ability to model and texture high quality low-poly environments.
Advanced understanding of current gen graphics,
Ability to create textures for use with various shaders (Specular, normal maps etc.)
Good sense of volume, lighting and materials.
Ability to give precise and constructive feedback on 3D game arts.
Ability to work as a team player with designers, developers and producers.
Pluses
Experience developing for iOS.
Familiarity with nextgen asset production pipeline.
Background in academic drawing, traditional arts, sketching or illustration.
Creative Assembly
Key Responsibilites
As a member of the buildings/architecture team, create game ready buildings/props/siege equipment and settlements from initial concept to final released asset in game
Respond quickly and intelligently to gameplay changes and tests
Work within constraints and requirements of the engine
Work with the designers to create visually stunning settlements and maps.
Required
Visual flair, talent and creativity
Good knowledge of low poly modelling techniques for games, using Max, Maya etc.
Good knowledge of texture creation for games, including hand painting, baking and photo referenced texturing
Sculpting using Mudbox / Z-brush
Knowledge of games development pipeline/environment/engines
Self motivated, good communicator, positive can do attitude, team-player
Love of visual environment creation and a good understanding of gameplay
Demonstrable problem solving skills
Ideal
Proven experience implementing game environments
One or more shipped AAA game
lighting and composition skills
2d painting and texturing skills
An interest in architecture and the built environment
Crytek
Should have either a Degree or 3 years relevant experience in creating digital art.
Demonstrated history of
Actively supporting Art Direction.
Working as part of a team to produce a single goal.
Demonstrate a strong ability to create outstanding photorealistic environments within a games engine.
Have had experience of the full production process from conception through to beta and mastering of a product.
All 3d Artists must demonstrate in their portfolio
Keen eye on detail and realism
Creation of highpoly assets and then their conversion to an in game resolution.
A clear understanding of the normal mapping process.
A strong understanding UV layout and how to get the best of your textures.
Perspective for the overall scene and the bigger picture for the current task.
Well structured composition within work shown.
Basic examples of lighting and how to make the most of the assets you create.
Responsibilities
Takes initiative and is willing to expand own horizon.
Passion for making games.
Works together with other Level Artists on defining and creating environments and assets for the game.
Knowledge and skills
Ability to contribute innovative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development.
Expertise with 3d software, Autodesk Max, Maya preferred.
Expert with Photoshop.
Preferred experience with Cryengine 2 or similar engine.
Qualifications
1-2 shipped titles, AAA preferred
OR
5 Years of professional environment art experience, any genre
OR
5 Years of prefessional 3D generalist experience, any genre
Skills
Proficient in 3DsMax, Photoshop, ZBrush or other 3D software.
A keen eye towards form, shape, structure and silhouette in regards to modelling.
Good understanding of scene composition, colour and atmosphere.
Excellent eye for quality 3D work.
Ability to model and texture high quality low-poly environments.
Advanced understanding of current gen graphics,
Ability to create textures for use with various shaders (Specular, normal maps etc.)
Good sense of volume, lighting and materials.
Ability to give precise and constructive feedback on 3D game arts.
Ability to work as a team player with designers, developers and producers.
Pluses
Experience developing for iOS.
Familiarity with nextgen asset production pipeline.
Background in academic drawing, traditional arts, sketching or illustration.
Creative Assembly
Key Responsibilites
As a member of the buildings/architecture team, create game ready buildings/props/siege equipment and settlements from initial concept to final released asset in game
Respond quickly and intelligently to gameplay changes and tests
Work within constraints and requirements of the engine
Work with the designers to create visually stunning settlements and maps.
Required
Visual flair, talent and creativity
Good knowledge of low poly modelling techniques for games, using Max, Maya etc.
Good knowledge of texture creation for games, including hand painting, baking and photo referenced texturing
Sculpting using Mudbox / Z-brush
Knowledge of games development pipeline/environment/engines
Self motivated, good communicator, positive can do attitude, team-player
Love of visual environment creation and a good understanding of gameplay
Demonstrable problem solving skills
Ideal
Proven experience implementing game environments
One or more shipped AAA game
lighting and composition skills
2d painting and texturing skills
An interest in architecture and the built environment
Crytek
Should have either a Degree or 3 years relevant experience in creating digital art.
Demonstrated history of
Actively supporting Art Direction.
Working as part of a team to produce a single goal.
Demonstrate a strong ability to create outstanding photorealistic environments within a games engine.
Have had experience of the full production process from conception through to beta and mastering of a product.
All 3d Artists must demonstrate in their portfolio
Keen eye on detail and realism
Creation of highpoly assets and then their conversion to an in game resolution.
A clear understanding of the normal mapping process.
A strong understanding UV layout and how to get the best of your textures.
Perspective for the overall scene and the bigger picture for the current task.
Well structured composition within work shown.
Basic examples of lighting and how to make the most of the assets you create.
Responsibilities
Takes initiative and is willing to expand own horizon.
Passion for making games.
Works together with other Level Artists on defining and creating environments and assets for the game.
Knowledge and skills
Ability to contribute innovative and original ideas towards all aspects of game production and development.
Expertise with 3d software, Autodesk Max, Maya preferred.
Expert with Photoshop.
Preferred experience with Cryengine 2 or similar engine.
20130404
Futures : Environment Artist Salary UK/US
Aside from the benefits of experience and skills I would gain from working in a AAA company, I was interested to see how much the pay would differ from the UK to the US. I also am interested to see how the pay would compare to working and the potential pay offs of being an indie dev (which is a very hard thing to nail down seeming as any good game has the potential so spiral out of control when it is released, particularly iOS and Android apps currently... Angry Birds, Temple Run to name a couple).
My research is based off numerous game development salary surveys to reach a more general and accurate picture of the games industry, it is important to note salary can vary dependant on the size, location and type of company (and what titles have already been succesfully released by them). Its also interesting to point out there seems to be a 4k different between the North and the South (The latter being the better paid...) :
UK (Environment Artist) 2009-2012 (p.a)
0-3 Years Exp (Junior)
£18,000
£18,475
£20,000
£26,707
£28,879
£29,285
3+ Years Exp (Normal/Senior)
£35,833
£37,352
£38,636
£51,137
£70,000+
£100,000
US (Environment Artist) 2009-2012 (p.a)
0-3 Years Exp (Junior)
$41,611
$49,009
$75,780
$79,000
3+ Years Exp (Normal/Senior)
$75,009
$80,817
$84,337
$97,206 x
*Research
US
http://www.edge-online.com/news/average-us-game-developer-salary-down-4/
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/980/game_developer_salary_survey_.php
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/27/game-developer-salaries-in-2010-tracked-fills-us-once-more-with/
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/average-2012-us-dev-salary-84000-6406397
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167355/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/03/how-much-do-game-developers-make
UK
http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Designer/Salary
http://www.videogamescourses.co.uk/tg-salary.php
http://www.develop-online.net/features/429/The-2009-UK-Games-Development-Salary-Survey
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/games_developer_salary.htm
http://www.develop-online.net/features/1529/Develop-Salary-Survey-2012-The-results
My research is based off numerous game development salary surveys to reach a more general and accurate picture of the games industry, it is important to note salary can vary dependant on the size, location and type of company (and what titles have already been succesfully released by them). Its also interesting to point out there seems to be a 4k different between the North and the South (The latter being the better paid...) :
UK (Environment Artist) 2009-2012 (p.a)
0-3 Years Exp (Junior)
£18,000
£18,475
£20,000
£26,707
£28,879
£29,285
3+ Years Exp (Normal/Senior)
£35,833
£37,352
£38,636
£51,137
£70,000+
£100,000
US (Environment Artist) 2009-2012 (p.a)
0-3 Years Exp (Junior)
$41,611
$49,009
$75,780
$79,000
3+ Years Exp (Normal/Senior)
$75,009
$80,817
$84,337
$97,206 x
*Research
US
http://www.edge-online.com/news/average-us-game-developer-salary-down-4/
http://www.gamecareerguide.com/features/980/game_developer_salary_survey_.php
http://www.joystiq.com/2011/04/27/game-developer-salaries-in-2010-tracked-fills-us-once-more-with/
http://uk.gamespot.com/news/average-2012-us-dev-salary-84000-6406397
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/167355/
http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/04/03/how-much-do-game-developers-make
UK
http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Video_Game_Designer/Salary
http://www.videogamescourses.co.uk/tg-salary.php
http://www.develop-online.net/features/429/The-2009-UK-Games-Development-Salary-Survey
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/games_developer_salary.htm
http://www.develop-online.net/features/1529/Develop-Salary-Survey-2012-The-results
Futures : Starting an Indie Studio
The idea of being part (and hopefully running) an independent game studio, with the ability to develop what we want to create, with the software and skill we have is a very desirable one. The idea has grown on me through a combination of Matmi's small-group based projects - where everything relies on only a few people doing multi-role work, and the growing skillsets and relationships between fellow students within my class.
I think an indie-development studio relies heavily on work ethic, the ability to multi-task, manage time well and having a real passion to succeed from concept to realization. I believe with what I know (3D Modelling, 2D Texturing, Basic Scripting (Kismet & Javascript), Unity3D & UDK engines, timeframes and my work ethic) I have the foundation to start a studio at the end of next year with a few similar minded people.
I think one of the main problems with starting up from such a young age is not particularly the lack of industry experience ( I personally think being naive could in fact help us create something more unique ), but the money we would need to rent office space, afford industry standard software and earn enough to allow us to spend enough hours working on the project as opposed to having it side-lined to evenings and weekends.
They are a range of ways to help fund the start up of an independent game company that have come around in recent years. The first port of call is the indie-fund - a project that supports the growth of games, allowing developers to become financially independent and stay financially independent. It was created by a group of succesful indies (Jonathan Blow, Ron Carmal, Kyle Gabler, Aaron Isaksen, Kellee Santiago, Nathan Vella and Matthew Wegner) looking to encourage and support the next wave of game developers, via a method that is a serious alternative to the traditional publishing model. The model works by offering a flexible budget with no 'set' milestones, an easy repayment scheme that is only effective if the game begins to make enough money to keep the company creating and begin to pay back the first investment. There is also no long term obligation - if after two years the game has failed to hit the estimated sales targets, the agreement expires and any revenue the game generates from that point onwards goes 100% to the indie development studio.
The second option is through Kickstarter - a recent creation which allows crowdsourcing to bring in enough money to begin development of a game. It requires the developers to produce a video and written explanation with concepts as to what the game aims to be, what it will involve and what supporters will receive for their money. Supporters can offer from a minimum amount to whatever they feel they want to. There is an initial 'target' that the indie studio sets as their goal, and if it exceeds the amount they set new goals that they could achieve with additional funding. The only down side to this method is there is no gurantee that the pitch will generate enough money to allow development, and if the minimum budget is not met then the studio will receive no money from Kickstater (and the supporters will be re-reimbursed).
The final option is to be self-sufficient with the project, with each member having a part time job to afford to rent an office (or work from home which is less productive and harder to communicate), to pay for software and any other costs that will be incurred throughout the production (developer fees, licenses, distribution, marketing). What I have learned through this method though is how easy it is to get a big-name publisher on board, how easy it is to just send them either a demo or a bunch of screenshots and a description of the game and it result in an actual meeting with companys such as SEGA, EA and Rovio.
I think an indie-development studio relies heavily on work ethic, the ability to multi-task, manage time well and having a real passion to succeed from concept to realization. I believe with what I know (3D Modelling, 2D Texturing, Basic Scripting (Kismet & Javascript), Unity3D & UDK engines, timeframes and my work ethic) I have the foundation to start a studio at the end of next year with a few similar minded people.
I think one of the main problems with starting up from such a young age is not particularly the lack of industry experience ( I personally think being naive could in fact help us create something more unique ), but the money we would need to rent office space, afford industry standard software and earn enough to allow us to spend enough hours working on the project as opposed to having it side-lined to evenings and weekends.
They are a range of ways to help fund the start up of an independent game company that have come around in recent years. The first port of call is the indie-fund - a project that supports the growth of games, allowing developers to become financially independent and stay financially independent. It was created by a group of succesful indies (Jonathan Blow, Ron Carmal, Kyle Gabler, Aaron Isaksen, Kellee Santiago, Nathan Vella and Matthew Wegner) looking to encourage and support the next wave of game developers, via a method that is a serious alternative to the traditional publishing model. The model works by offering a flexible budget with no 'set' milestones, an easy repayment scheme that is only effective if the game begins to make enough money to keep the company creating and begin to pay back the first investment. There is also no long term obligation - if after two years the game has failed to hit the estimated sales targets, the agreement expires and any revenue the game generates from that point onwards goes 100% to the indie development studio.
The second option is through Kickstarter - a recent creation which allows crowdsourcing to bring in enough money to begin development of a game. It requires the developers to produce a video and written explanation with concepts as to what the game aims to be, what it will involve and what supporters will receive for their money. Supporters can offer from a minimum amount to whatever they feel they want to. There is an initial 'target' that the indie studio sets as their goal, and if it exceeds the amount they set new goals that they could achieve with additional funding. The only down side to this method is there is no gurantee that the pitch will generate enough money to allow development, and if the minimum budget is not met then the studio will receive no money from Kickstater (and the supporters will be re-reimbursed).
The final option is to be self-sufficient with the project, with each member having a part time job to afford to rent an office (or work from home which is less productive and harder to communicate), to pay for software and any other costs that will be incurred throughout the production (developer fees, licenses, distribution, marketing). What I have learned through this method though is how easy it is to get a big-name publisher on board, how easy it is to just send them either a demo or a bunch of screenshots and a description of the game and it result in an actual meeting with companys such as SEGA, EA and Rovio.
Futures : Environment Artist Overview
I think its important to note there is a definite difference between an environment artist and a level designer. There is a lot of confusion on the internet as to what defines each job role because the more complex game design has become the more designers/artists have been required to create a AAA standard title ready to be shipped within a timeframe, but there is a clear way to seperate these roles these days.
Level Designers (LD) create the actual gameplay and scripted events that are to happen within the levels - combining pacing with skill, ability and player knowledge to create exciting scenarios for players to play through. An Environment Artist (EA) will take an approved LD's level and 'art it up' using a combination of textures, 3D assets, particles, lighting and practically anything else that isn't gameplay specific or change the way the level is played.
There seems to be two workflows for an environment artist, one is that they go through a very basic level that has been constructed by an LD and use a variety of modular assets to craft around the blockmap. The second is to tailor make the scenery from the initial blockmaps, insuring that each section of the game is unique and handcrafted, this method has its drawbacks with additional textures and 3D models alongside longer artist/designer development time (having to create unique assets that are not reusable).
Level Designers (LD) create the actual gameplay and scripted events that are to happen within the levels - combining pacing with skill, ability and player knowledge to create exciting scenarios for players to play through. An Environment Artist (EA) will take an approved LD's level and 'art it up' using a combination of textures, 3D assets, particles, lighting and practically anything else that isn't gameplay specific or change the way the level is played.
There seems to be two workflows for an environment artist, one is that they go through a very basic level that has been constructed by an LD and use a variety of modular assets to craft around the blockmap. The second is to tailor make the scenery from the initial blockmaps, insuring that each section of the game is unique and handcrafted, this method has its drawbacks with additional textures and 3D models alongside longer artist/designer development time (having to create unique assets that are not reusable).
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