XGC Brittany
New member
What role did you play in the Gears project?
Lead Artist. This incluede managing anywhere from 10 to upward 20 artist at certain points throughout the project. Interfacing with an art director, producer, engine programmers, gamplay programmers, and level designers on a regular basis to make sure everything runs like clockwork. I was also responisble for a great deal of artwork, lighting, and visual prototyping for th project.
Give the readers an idea about your day-to-day tasks.
Keeping the art team motivated and inspired so that they contiuously churned out top-quality work within strict scheduling deadlines was a top priority. On top of that, I has to keep up with the insane pace set by the artist be creating artowrk myself. Outside of meetings and scheduling concerns, my main tasks were character and monster skins, some weapon materials, environment models, materails and textures, lighting levels, and the visual prototyping of certain areas throughout the game.
What was your favorite aspect of the project?
I'd have to say it was getting to interact with such a taleneted team on a daily basis. It was truly a pleasure to work with the entire team from art to engine, level design, to gameplay programming and design.
After the complete the game, what so you expect (or hope) players will say?
"WOW!"
I really hope that they have a fun little escape from the daily grind. as an artist, I'd love to hear people saying how nice the game looks, but I also want then to enjoy the whole experience. Gameplay design and sound is also top-notch, and I really hope that people get into the story as well, because it's outstanding.
What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you solve it?
Getting a massive amount of content complete without sacrificing quality was probably the trickiest thing for art. We solved this by outsourcing some content, but most of it was labor of love for the artist on the project, so long hours and extremely talented professionals in-house did an outstanding job.
What did the Unreal Engine 3 allow you to achieve in Gears that you couldn't have accomplished without it?
UE3 allowed us to push the graphics envelope further than ever before. the sheer amount of polygons on screen is mind-blowing, as well as the texture resolution, shader complexity, and animation.
Despite the advanced XBOX 360 hardwar, were there any gameplay elements that just weren't feasible with today's current state of technology?
Not that I'm aware of. Graphics and AI will continue to evolve as we get more familiar with the hardware, but I think we're pretty satisfied with what we have.
What originally attracted you to the video game industry, and how did you get your start?
I started drawing monsters when i was very young (like 2 years old). Growing up, that's all I wanted to do. My teachers told me I'd never make a living doing that. I listened for awhile and did a few years in advertising and graphic design.Eventually, I started seeing games coming out with cooler and cooler graphics and I decide to give it a shot. That was around 10 years ago and I haven't looked back. It was games of movie effects, and games were easier to get into.
What keeps you in the game industry?
I'm still that little kid who wants to draw monsters ans this is where I can do it and bring them to life.
What titles have you worked on?
Lots. Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004, Anachronox, Deus Ex, Daikatana, and now Gears of War.
What can we look forward to in the future with the Gears franchise?
Fun, fun, fun.
Do you have a pet tactics or any tips you'd like to share with the readers?
When in doubt, smash it with a bat.
Favorite movie?
Alien
Favorite food to snack on while gaming?
I don't snack while gaming, too many crumbs.
Current gaming obsession (aside from Gears)?
Star Wars Lego 2
Favorite All-Time game?
Diablo II
Stranded-on-a-desert-island CD?
Anything by Slayer
Favorite Magazine?
Fangoria
Favorite Book?
Brian Lumley's Necroscope
Hobby?
Sculpting
Secret?
Wouldn't be a secret...
Lead Artist. This incluede managing anywhere from 10 to upward 20 artist at certain points throughout the project. Interfacing with an art director, producer, engine programmers, gamplay programmers, and level designers on a regular basis to make sure everything runs like clockwork. I was also responisble for a great deal of artwork, lighting, and visual prototyping for th project.
Give the readers an idea about your day-to-day tasks.
Keeping the art team motivated and inspired so that they contiuously churned out top-quality work within strict scheduling deadlines was a top priority. On top of that, I has to keep up with the insane pace set by the artist be creating artowrk myself. Outside of meetings and scheduling concerns, my main tasks were character and monster skins, some weapon materials, environment models, materails and textures, lighting levels, and the visual prototyping of certain areas throughout the game.
What was your favorite aspect of the project?
I'd have to say it was getting to interact with such a taleneted team on a daily basis. It was truly a pleasure to work with the entire team from art to engine, level design, to gameplay programming and design.
After the complete the game, what so you expect (or hope) players will say?
"WOW!"
I really hope that they have a fun little escape from the daily grind. as an artist, I'd love to hear people saying how nice the game looks, but I also want then to enjoy the whole experience. Gameplay design and sound is also top-notch, and I really hope that people get into the story as well, because it's outstanding.
What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you solve it?
Getting a massive amount of content complete without sacrificing quality was probably the trickiest thing for art. We solved this by outsourcing some content, but most of it was labor of love for the artist on the project, so long hours and extremely talented professionals in-house did an outstanding job.
What did the Unreal Engine 3 allow you to achieve in Gears that you couldn't have accomplished without it?
UE3 allowed us to push the graphics envelope further than ever before. the sheer amount of polygons on screen is mind-blowing, as well as the texture resolution, shader complexity, and animation.
Despite the advanced XBOX 360 hardwar, were there any gameplay elements that just weren't feasible with today's current state of technology?
Not that I'm aware of. Graphics and AI will continue to evolve as we get more familiar with the hardware, but I think we're pretty satisfied with what we have.
What originally attracted you to the video game industry, and how did you get your start?
I started drawing monsters when i was very young (like 2 years old). Growing up, that's all I wanted to do. My teachers told me I'd never make a living doing that. I listened for awhile and did a few years in advertising and graphic design.Eventually, I started seeing games coming out with cooler and cooler graphics and I decide to give it a shot. That was around 10 years ago and I haven't looked back. It was games of movie effects, and games were easier to get into.
What keeps you in the game industry?
I'm still that little kid who wants to draw monsters ans this is where I can do it and bring them to life.
What titles have you worked on?
Lots. Unreal Tournament 2003 and 2004, Anachronox, Deus Ex, Daikatana, and now Gears of War.
What can we look forward to in the future with the Gears franchise?
Fun, fun, fun.
Do you have a pet tactics or any tips you'd like to share with the readers?
When in doubt, smash it with a bat.
Favorite movie?
Alien
Favorite food to snack on while gaming?
I don't snack while gaming, too many crumbs.
Current gaming obsession (aside from Gears)?
Star Wars Lego 2
Favorite All-Time game?
Diablo II
Stranded-on-a-desert-island CD?
Anything by Slayer
Favorite Magazine?
Fangoria
Favorite Book?
Brian Lumley's Necroscope
Hobby?
Sculpting
Secret?
Wouldn't be a secret...