51thingseverygamestudent

shouldknow
OrThingsthatreallyirkedmewhilemarking
KayeElling
twitter@K_0
2013
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Vertex(Singular)
Vertices (Plural)
NOT:vertexes,vertise,verities,
verticy,vertisee,vertexs,
vertees,virtons orvirgins.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Quad:facewith4sides
Triangle:facewith3sides
Polys:canrefertoeither
Polycount:themaximumnumberof
trianglesallowed.Evenifquadsareused.
(Thisisaninitiativetest:RollaD20now.Bonuspointsifyou
knowhowmanytrianglesareinaD20.)
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Yourportfolioisonlyasgoodas
theworst pieceofworkinit.
Ifindoubt,leaveitout.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Polycount:Itsatarget,notalimit:
Ifthebriefrequires15,000
triangles,youwontwinthe
AMAZINGFRUGALITYAWARD
with1500.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Youmaylovetoplaygames,but
doesntmakeyouadeveloper.
Ilovetoeatdinner,butthatdoesntmakemeachef.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Developersdontsaymobs.
Theysay:
NPC
Enemy
AI
Bot
UnlesstheyreNotch.
AreyouNotch?
Noyouarenot.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Usetheopenbriefsinyouruniversity
modulesstrategically.
History&Conventions:TheHistoryoftheJRPG
EnvironmentDesign:JRPGCathedral
TechnicalSpecialisation:WeaponeconomiesinJRPGs
IndustryAnalysis:RPGDevelopersinJapan
CharacterDevelopment:RPGSamurai
WorkingGameDemo:theRPG
Electivemodule:JapaneseLanguage101.
Ifyourportfoliolookslikethis,howmanyentrylevel
jobsareyouqualifiedfor?Inyourcountry?
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Gamedevelopmentisateamsport
forGeeks.
Thismeanscommunication.
WithgrammarNazis.
thedifferentwaystheydoneitlikeinthe
gameplayandthescenesadtheprops
isnotcommunicatingandwillincurtheirwrath.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Studyinggamedevelopmentat
universityisstilluniversitystudy.
(citationneeded)
Damnrightitis(Elling,2013).
UsingtheHarvardMethod.
Elling,K.,100ThingsEveryGameStudentShouldKnow(1
st
ed),UniversityofBradford,2013
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Dontbreakthefourthwallin
assessments.
ButIthinktherewillbeenoughmaterialonthe
webtousetogetadecentamountofinformationto
produceanessaytoahighenoughstandardtopass
this.
Thedevelopmentequivalentofthisis:
DearSony,wethinkwecanfindenoughideas
fromothergamestopassyoursubmission
requirements.
saidnosuccessfuldeveloperever.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Everyonelovescreativitybytypo
Youcancustomiseyourcharacterwith
scaring.
Toscareyourcharacter,press!Trololol!
laughthedevelopersatyourjobapplication.

KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Thethingsyousay,maysaymore
aboutyouthanyourealize.
ThereismuchgreaterdepthinAlice:
MadnessReturns thanintheoriginalAliceIn
Wonderlandby LewisCarroll.
0_0
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Ifanapplicantsportfolioisbad
enough,developerswillsavethework
toaGALLERIEABOMINATI.
Whentheyneedcheeringuptheywill
gatherroundtolookatitandlaugh.
DoNOTbethatapplicant.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Readthebrief.
No,seriously:
READ.
THE.
BRIEF.
Alreadyreadthebrief?READITAGAIN!
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
D
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.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Yourfirstyearatunishouldbereallytough.
Thisiswhereyoulearnhowlearn,howto
selfmotivate,andgenerallygetyour****
together.
(makesureyouhaveyour****togetherbytheendofthisyear,or
repeattheprocessatsignificantfinancialcost).
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
CROPPING
IS REALLY
IMPORTANT
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Understand
Brightness
&
Contrast
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
IFYOUARENT
CONFIDENTIN
YOURWORK,
ITSHOWS.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Beinclusive:Dontassumethedeveloper
reviewingyourportfolioismale.
Orwhite.
Avoid:Pornelves.Undressedorunderdressedwomen.Unfeasiblylargeor
gravitydefyingbreasts(onanyone).Knickershots.Brutalizedordehumanized
womenwithsexualovertones.Homicidal8yearoldgirls(especiallyinghostor
AIform).Anyandalloverused,limitingandfranklyborderlineracist
stereotypesofcriminalmenfromnonwhiteracialbackgroundsincluding
triads,yakuza,mafia,bloodsorcrips (especiallyiftheyarealsorappers),
insurgentsand/orterrorists,middleclassBritishvillainsasvoicedbyAlan
Rickman,workingclassBritishvillainsasvoicedbyJasonStatham,French
mimesasvoicedbynoone,impoverishedMexicanvillagerswithstrong
regionalaccentsandapparentlimitedaccesstogroomingproducts,education
oranykindofempowerment.
Alloftheabovestillappliesifthecharactersareinzombieform.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Basicterminology.Youreallyshouldknowthis:
Q&A:
Questionsandanswers
QA:
QualityAssurance
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Also:
UsabilityTesting:
Gettingtargeteduserfeedbackand
playerresponsestogameplay.
QualityAssurance:
Bughunt.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
h
Yoursecondyearatunishouldbereallytough.
Thisiswhereyoulearnthemajorityofthe
requiredskillsforyourdiscipline.
Knowwhatthatdisciplineis.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Also:
QualityAssurance:
Acompletelyviablewaytogetyour
footinthedoorinagamescompany.
Butbeawarethatnotallcompanies
haveapathtodevfromQA.
Askfirst.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Ifyourworktakeslongertoload
thanitdoestoview,youre
wastingeveryonestime.
Includingyourown.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Mostdevelopersworkinshared
spacesanduseheadphones.
EvenLeads&Managers.
Keepthevolumeonyourshowreel
consistent.
Andtrynottoassumethateveryone<3s Skrillex.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Havingoneof
theseisa
minimum
requirement.
Atalltimes.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Attentiontodetial.
Itmatters.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Imreallygoodatideas.Thats
whatIwanttodointheteam;be
theguywhohastheideas.
Jointhequeue.
Attheback.
Behindtheguywhocandraw,thegirlwhocancodeand
theoneswhocanwrite,plan,create,evaluate,debug,
submitanddeliver.
Theyvegotideas,too.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Yourfinalyearatunishouldbereallytough.
Ifitisntalmost
breakingyou,
yourenotworkinghard
enough.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Dependenciesare
important,sodontpretend
theydontexist.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
DESTROYALDERAAN
BUILDDEATHSTAR
Nobodygetseverythingright
firsttime.
Noonelikestodoworkmorethanonce,butthatstheonlyway
youcanimproveit!
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
< < < E x pa nd your hor i z ons > > >
JustbecauseitdoesnthavethewordGAMESinit,doesntmean
itsnotgoingtoinspire,informorbeusefultoyoueverydayfor
therestofyourcreativelife.
Thisisespeciallytrueofnonelectronicinformationsuchas:
Books
Museums
Art
History
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Agoodruleofthumbforselectingworkforyour
portfolioisthis:
Ifsomeonewhodidntknowmesaw
thiswork,wouldtheythinkIwasa
serialkiller?
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Whenopportunity
knocksdoNOTignoreit
becauseyourecatching
uponcrapyoushould
havedoneagesago.
Thatshowregretsare
born.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Projectmanagement:
Notjustformanagers!
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Tokenism:thepracticeorpolicyofmakingnomore
thanatoken effortorgesture.
Tokeneffort.
Tokenfemale.
Tokenchanges.
Tokencomments.
TokenQApractice.
Tokendocumentation.
Doesnotbelongindevelopment
practiceofanykind.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Atajobinterview,rememberthatyoure
beinginterviewedbyaprofessional<insert
disciplinehere>,notaprofessional
interviewer.
Youcandistractthemfromany
awkwardmomentswithshiny
work!*
*Thisdoeswork.Ivebroughtmysketchbooks,wouldyouliketoseethem?islikebaublestokittens.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Changerequestsrequirechange.
Youmaygetaskedtochangesomething
many,many,many,many,many,many,
many,many,many,many,many,many,
many,many,many,many,many,many,
many, times.
Dealwithit.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Duznotlukgudonurwork.
Likeeva.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Allnightersmaymakeyoufeellikeareal
developer,buttheymakeitlesslikelythatyour
workwillbegoodenoughtobecomeone.
Getsomesleep,youllneedit.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Whenyougetsomefeedback:
Heedit.
Actonit.
Dontaskformorefeedbackuntilyouveactedonallof
thelastlotyoureceived.
Otherwiseyourealltalk.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Getusedtobenchmarkingyourwork.
Yourtargetis:
INDUSTRYSTANDARD

KNOWEXACTLYWHATTHATMEANS.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
DearSirorMadam,
Imarecentgraduateandamverykeenongettingajob
inthegames,animation,visualeffects,previsualisation
orwebindustries
Signedbyreject#732
Targeteachapplicationtothatjobonly:
Coverletter
CV/resume
Showreel
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
SCOPE
Sometimesyoujusthavetoreduceit.
SCOPE
Butbesuretodosoinascalableway.
Otherwiseyouendupdelivering
SCOPE
Whichiscrud.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Ifyourgameideastartswiththestoryitsnota
gameidea.Storiesingamesareoptional.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
THEWORLDISADARKPLACE.THE
GOVERNMENTCONTROLSOUR
EVERYMOVE!WHEN
OVERCROWDINGHITSCRITICAL,
THESECRETPOLICEJUST
DISAPPEARUS!ANDALLTHE
WHILEIFEELLIKEIMFALLINGINTO
THEVOIDOFDISPAIR
Youdon'tneedanyone'spermissiontomakegames.
Youdon'thavetowaitfor"anassignment"to
learnsomething.
Golearnsomethingnow.
Well?
Goonthen!
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Theofficeisnotliketheinternet,nomatterhow
relaxedtheofficeenvironmentmayfeel.
DONOT:
Troll.Lookatporn.Talkaboutporn.Bringpornin.Talkabout
anyoneasiftheywereinporn.Usepornterms/slang.Talk
aboutyoursexualconquests(realorimagined)inshared
spaces.Createrandomsexuallyexplicitcontent,eveninlunch
hoursorovertime.Displaynudiecalendars,ladmagsor
page3onyourdesk.Have/owntentaclepornaction
figures.
Manygamedevelopersfindtheirlifepartnerin
theoffice.Justthinkaboutthatforaminute.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Ifgamedevelopmentisn't
YOURPASSION
andyouthinkit'stediousandboringafterall,
pickanewindustryimmediately.
Wewontjudgeyou.OK,wellmaybejustalittlebit.
Buthonestly:Itsyourlife.Youneedtoliveit.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013
Kaye Elling is the grizzled veteran of nearly 13 years of game development in the
UK. Shes developed on pretty much every game console from the PS1 to the
Xbox 360, as a Character Artist, Art Lead, Art Manager, and Project Manager.
Some of the companies where Kaye has worked include Gremlin Interactive,
Sony Computer Entertainment, and Blitz Games Studios where she shipped
many games in the Premier Manager series, the Bratz series, helped out on
Formula 1 and had a whole ton of games canned before release including some
**really good ones she still cant tell you about**. In 2008 she got tired of the
volatile nature of the industry and went to teach at the University of Bradford.
Shortly afterwards the coalition government was elected and started to
decimate that sector too. She is very sorry about this, and it is probably not all
her fault. The games courses that Kaye runs at Bradford University cover games
art and game design, and many of the survivors of these courses go on to lead
rich and fulfilling lives. Some of them even in the games industry at places like
Frontier, Climax, Ninja Theory, Jagex, Lionhead and EA. If you are interested in
studying on one of our games courses at Bradford (we have games code courses
too but Kaye doesnt do code), you can contact ugadmissions@scim.brad.ac.uk,
because direct contact with Kaye is best avoided unless you can appease her
capricious nature with chocolate, LOLcats or live puppy webcams. Especially
when marking.
KayeElling@K_0,Spring2013