GAMES - pre production

I'l be investigating the pre production processes for designing games. I have researched the methods associated with film design and animation, for the purposes of the live brief (PICTURING TIME animation). I can make comparisons between these processes, the aim being to explore how the final animation would be converted into a game.

The 'Pre production' phase

The link below:

http://uk.ign.com/articles/2006/03/16/the-game-production-pipeline-concept-to-completion

goes through the production pipeline for making a game. The pre-production team usually consists of producers, designers, programmers, artists and writers. All the games design documents are created in this phase of the process.

High concept

 which will start with the 'high concept', often just one single line describing the game. Such as a futuristic racing game or ninja tournament game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_development#Pre-production

Pitch

After the 'high concept' has been established, the next step in the pre production phase is the 'pitch' a.k.a. 'concept document', 'game proposal'. This step is where the idea for the game and its profitability is pitched to a publisher. Often it will be pitched within a company to managers. This may be verbal, but publishers usually like to see a written documents. If the pitch is successful, then the game can do into development.

Concept 

Once the game reaches this stage of development the 'concept document' or 'game plan' is created, and is much more detailed than the 'pitch'. 

Game design document

Pre production artists role

the link below:
shows a job description for a pre production artist. Though its outdated, I found the job description to be quite useful in understanding the skills I would need to demonstrate, to progress as a pre production artist.
http://www.cgarena.com/job/3357

Key skills listed here include:

• the ability to storyboard
• Draftsmanship/ drawing skills
• knowledge of Photoshop, illustrator and flash
• knowledge of 2D animation
• Staging and composting skills

Another example here is a job descriptoon for a concept artist for a games company (Konami):

http://www.indeed.com/viewjob?jk=2c128e9e2c9154bb&qd=DgxYZa-nqPVrOtYWnIqDF9gkM9Udsrexu7YsWHdddbJoqzlmMZFZuANI_UXpbeUPi9ySgRR091YwtrWwLrVP9Jh2Af4EP_fuveFn4icmDTxb9Ho5RRIV4qLYqP_LX5FE&rjs=1&atk=17aejatj718a14tg&jsa=7527&inchal=apiresults&utm_source=publisher&utm_medium=organic_listings&utm_campaign=affiliate

Key skills here include:

• Drawing skills traditional/ digital
• Eye for light, value, weight, colour and composition
• Ability to understand and translate gameplay elements in visuals that enhance these elements
• strong visual story telling skills
• 3D skills here (maya,3ds max) are a plus

(I have not listed qualities such as experience, as I am focusing, at this point, on the skills I will need to develop as a pre production artist.)

It seems it is important to understand animation processes. Understanding 2D and 3D will be more of an advantage. 

Composition, colour and value can be all be developed by looking at paintings and other art (in particular art with a narrative) as well as work by pre production artists. Hans. Bacher claims (dreamworlds) a film that seems great is not usually so by accident. Most great films are composed and designed in a way that each scene will be able to communicate the mood, atmosphere and narrative through composition, colour, value etc. to the audience.


As an example I've chose a few well known paintings for there use of light and composition.

Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoires

The painter here uses light to show the people outdoors. You can tell its a sunny day as light seems to shine down in patchs, as though through the leaves of trees. Shadows are not dark in this painting as light would still shine through the leaves, so light/pale blues are used. Cool colours are used to represent shadows. The characters in the painting stand out more this way as they are contrasted against the background. The weight of the Painting flows from the right forefront, and appears to taper round to the horizon.

This quick sketch shows how I might be able to show this in a story board

 

Cafe terrace at night by Vincent van Gogh

This painting is done in portrait view, which works beautifully with the composition of the painting. Below I've tried converting the composition and lighting effect into a storyboard image. Storyboard images need to show images that wil be suitable for a screen format (landscape)
  I love this painting as it shows an effective method of using light to stage the action in a scene. Also the use of depth points the eye towards this part of the 'screen'

Sunday afternoon on the island of Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat

This painting divides the screen almost into three parts. 

The colour at the front is very cool, showing characters at the forefront in shadow, detail with block, contrasting shadows. The warmer colour make up the middle of the image.

I experimented with this composition of colour, so that the image moves from cool to warm in opposite order to how they are usually used. For example, when we see an image like this:


  We can tell by the tones and colours (as well as the depth and composition) that the car is sat on the grass in front of us. As the fields and trees extend into the distance, the colour we percieve these at become duller and 'cooler'. Cool colours are blues, greends, pale colours etc. Warm colours are reds, yellows, oranges etc. and bold