Unit 3 Professional practice

30/10/2018

Job roles in the gaming industry
There are many job roles in the games industry, but to better pinpoint which job you might be interested in, we can section them off into different departments. Design, Art and Animation, Programming, Audio, Production, QA and Marketing.

Hierarchy 

With this hierarchy chart, we can determine who's the boss of who, and which role we might strive to achieve.

6/11/2018

Job descriptions

We were tasked with researching two jobs in the industry and to write a job description and eventually an Ad for them.

3D Modeler

The 3D modeler reports to the Art Manager

Job Overview:

A 3d artist's job involves combining creative skills with knowledge of relevant software. This person uses specialized design and drawing software to create computer images of people, buildings, and/or objects. He or she may have some amount of latitude to adjust elements of the concept artwork or storyboards, but will likely be expected to execute figures and objects in 3d that generally adhere to the original designs. In some cases, the 3d artist plays an active role in the conceptualization stage. This may be important because various elements of objects or animations may be more difficult to render than others, and the 3d artist can provide guidance even at the early stages of development.

Responsibilities and duties:

• Collaborate with designers and developers to create simulations and final projects.
• Use software, lighting, and rendering to create textures and visual effects.
• Create and sculpt digital models, including video editing, 3D modeling, and animation

Qualifications:

Many 3d artists have postsecondary education at a technical school or university in a relevant field, and many employers prefer artists with extensive portfolios for completed projects. 3d artists must possess outstanding artistic skills, as well as fluent with relevant computer software. Additionally, artists must be proficient with creative hardware media such as light boards and stylii for drawing

Average pay per year:

£23,235

PayScale. (2018). Average Entry-Level 3d Artist Salary. Available: https://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=3d_Artist/Salary/026cfa5a/Entry-Level. Last accessed 6th November 2018.

Level editor

The Level Editor reports to the Design Manager

Job Overview:

A video game level editor creates the interactive architecture for video games, including the landscape, buildings and objects. Level editors get a description of how each level needs to look from the game designer, and will go in and make the necessary changes and variations that are needed. The elements of game play, the sophistication of the graphics, and the environment are all duties of the video game level editor.

Responsibilities and duties:

• designs levels, or portions of the game
• sketches and uses software tools for drawing to showcase creativity/innovation
• forms ideas in a sequence that are understandable to the game player
• creates 3D graphics and tests to make sure proper flow occurs
• makes necessary fixes to whatever is keeping the game from peak performance

Qualifications:

Specific qualifications aren't needed in order to become a video game level editor, however it is recommended that individuals study design, engineering or software development. One will need to be able to use industry-standard 3D modelling packages, and will likely be required to learn and use game editing tools developed by studios in-house. It is very helpful for level editors to be able to sketch ideas on paper and to model in 3D, and competency in programming principles and in higher-level scripting languages would be beneficial. Industry experience is usually essential, as is knowledge of games spanning all genres.

Average Pay per year:

Video Game Level Editors earn an average yearly salary of $88,880. Salaries typically start from $45,410 and go up to $133,890.

Sokanu. (2018). Video Game Level Editor Salary. Available: https://www.sokanu.com/careers/video-game-level-editor/salary/. Last accessed 6th November 2018.

Sokanu. (2018). How to become a Video Game Level Editor. Available: https://www.sokanu.com/careers/video-game-level-editor/how-to-become/. Last accessed 6th November 2018.

2018.Sokanu. (2018). What does a Video Game Level Editor do?. Available: https://www.sokanu.com/careers/video-game-level-editor/. Last accessed 6th November 2018.

8/11/2018
Job advert
Our task was to use our previously written Job descriptions to create a fake Ad from Stanmore, hiring these jobs.

20/11/2018

Skills Chart

For this lesson, we were told to create a chart, for our target job, listing the skills needed to be employed in this profession, if we have them and how we can get them.

Creative Media Companies

Today we learned about horizontal and vertical integration, how to differentiate between them and about some example companies.

Synergy: When companies work together well and can help each other with their unique benefits. (Music, licenses etc.)

Subsidiaries: "Child companies" i.e. companies owned by a bigger "parent company" like Sony.

Developers: Create/ develop the game (Rockstar, SEGA, etc.)

Publishers: Publish/ release the game. They also manage marketing. (EA, Square Enix, etc.)

Distributors: Sell the game (GAME, Steam, etc.)

Vertical Integration: When a company owns all the steps, from development to release, of a product, meaning they can make and sell whatever they want. For example, if the developers create a game that has already been approved by SONY, they can publish and distribute it through SONY, without having to worry about a publishing or distributing company refusing their game.  

Horizontal Integration: When a company owns several other brands of various products, allowing them to benefit from their companies synergy. For example, if SONY pictures is making a movie, they can use music from SONY Music without needing to buy a license, and can also get free advertisement for Xperia, by using those phones in the movie.