Blitz Open Day

I just got back in to Dundee today after traveling down to Leamington Spa in England for Blitz Open Day. It was an absolute blast! I highly recommend the experience to anyone currently at University and planning to go into the games industry.

The day was packed full of awesome stuff, all basically designed to educate students about the industry and Blitz in particular. Going into the weekend, I must admit that while I would have been happy to work at Blitz simply because they are a game company, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic about them as a studio. That has definitely changed! The culture and opportunities that Blitz represents are intriguing to me. First, they have many teams working on different games, so there's a lot of variety going on at any given time. Second, they create their own engine, giving an opportunity to try tool programming. They even have an R&D department for cutting edge research. Finally, the company allows it's employees to work on their own games on their own time - many other companies make you sign away your right to any IP you create while employed there, but not Blitz! One of the programmers I spoke to had just released her own game. Blitz even has an indie store where they will publish your games. In addition to all this, Blitz seems very focused on education, both for their employees and to better the industry in general.

After learning how awesome Blitz is as a company, I got to speak in small groups with several Blitz employees about the industry and breaking in. It was a great opportunity to discuss what needs to go into a portfolio, CV, and interview, as well as what to expect when actually working in the industry. After the open day, we went out for drinks with Philip Oliver (one of the founders of Blitz) and several employees. The other open day students eventually went home, but since I was staying in a hotel in town, I didn't have to. The developers invited me to second bar, where more Blitz folks and some indie devs were hanging out. It was a great night full of meeting new and interesting people and chatting with folks already in the industry. I had a blast!

I can't stress enough how awesome this event was, and I'd definitely recommend anyone currently in university for game development in the UK to try to go next year. You'll need to apply before January to get a place, so keep an eye on Blitz's website for when applications open up.

PS4, Travel, Bleh

There was a big thing tonight. It involved the PS4. I watched it. I want to talk about it, but I'm tired and still sick and need to travel tomorrow.

Blog posts may or may not happen while I'm in England visiting Blitz Games. That's tomorrow, Friday, and Saturday. I'm super excited!

Now sleep. G'night all!

Pimp My Twitter

I don't have much to say today, being both busy and quite ill. However, I just spent the last few hours re-designing my Twitter page, so I thought I'd share what I've done.

Photo

Previously, I was using an actual photo of myself on my twitter. I decided to change to my personal logo, the "bounder" for my Bounder Studios team. I may actually switch this back to a photo of myself, though I need to get a nice professional one done.

I chose this for my photo because I have started using it in several places around the web (most notably, on my github profile), as well as including it on my business card design. I've decided to go all out on this "visual branding" thing, and I'll be using a similar color scheme, font, and this logo as much as possible.

Background Image

Up until now, I've had a cute Totoro image in the background of my Twitter. While nice and reasonably visually appealing, this wasn't very professional. Today I customized my own image, which includes my logo again, my name, my title "Game Programmer", and the address of my portfolio and blog websites. The font used is the Manaspace font I use on my resume and business card, and the colors are all shades of orange. The idea is to create as many points of connection as possible, to make myself memorable.

Header Photo

For my header photo (empty until now) I decided to use a simple orange background. I may make it more interesting in the future, but this simple background looks nice enough and still makes my page stand out.

Bio

I updated my bio. It was somewhat unfocused previously, and didn't make it clear that I was, in fact, a game programmer. Now it says simply: "Studying MSc Computer Games Technology at @AbertayUni", linking to the university twitter. I may try to indicate more strongly my interests in AI programming later on.

Conclusion

Overall I think this will unify my image online. Next up in my online makeover is this blog - the background and favicon both need updating! As mentioned in the photo section above, I also plan to get a professional photo taken and include that both here on the blog and as my twitter and github icon.

Pollinator, Flower Defense - Design and Prototyping

This week I've been working on prototyping some designs for my team's GDS game, Pollinator - Flower Defense. It's a tower defense game where you play as bees defending their hive. The target platform is mobile (of all types, but most immediately Android phones).

While I haven't completed a prototype yet, I do have a concept diagram I can show you (warning: programmer art incoming).

The green area at the bottom will contain UI info later.
I'm not sure why the background came out so pixelated. Needles to say, the final version will look much better.

Here you can see the play field, which in this design is a hex grid. Each level starts with flowers strewn around the field. The user assigns bees to flowers, and the bees use the flowers as an attack base and also "work" the flower, producing resources.

Resources include the following:

• Pollen. Produced often, used to buy more bees.
• Nectar. Produced rarely, used for "tech" style upgrades between levels.
• Seeds. Produced rarely, used to plant new flowers.

There are still a lot of variables up in the air, design wise. For example, we don't know exactly how the enemies will move, whether they attack bees or simply fly past toward the hive, and whether they can fly over flowers or are blocked by them. We are hoping prototyping will help us determine the answers to these questions. Ultimately I don't have to worry about these decisions too much, since we have a dedicated designer on the project.

It's also awesome having a real artist on the team. She has come up with several concept sketches for the bees and wasps so far, and they are looking awesome.

Next week, we are hoping to have at least on playable prototype done. Additionally, we're looking to have a few enemy and bee designs from the designer so the artist can start producing game art or at least more targeted concept art. It's amazing to see it coming together, and I'm really excited! It's also good to know that everything I learn through this project will help me when it comes time to make my team's Dare game.

Learning Unity

I've got two big projects coming up where I'll be using Unity to make a 2D game. Because of this, I've naturally begun looking into Unity tutorials. Though I have some experience with the engine from the Scottish Game Jam and my team's game Denizen Pop, I still have a lot to learn.

To that end, I've started going through the 2D Unity tutorials by Tim Miller of Rocket 5 Studios: http://www.rocket5studios.com/tutorials/make-a-2d-game-in-unity3d-using-only-free-tools-part-1/

So far the tutorials have been excellent, and have introduced me to a lot of great, free tools I would otherwise never have found. I definitely recommend them to anyone learning to use Unity for 2D game development!

I don't have time to write an in-depth article today, but I hope to post later this week with an update on my team's progress with our game Pollinator: Flower Defense.

Busy Busy Busy

Post frequency has fallen off here quite a lot lately, and I thought I should let y'all know why. I've got LOTS of projects going on, so I'll share what I've been up to.

Procedural Terrain Generation

One of my modules this semester involves procedural terrain generation. I'll be using my space project from last semester and building on it for this coursework. I've been working hard on restructuring my DirectX project from last semester into a class structure that is more pleasing to me. In the process, my knowledge of DirectX is deepening considerably. Where before I understood the existing code well enough to use it, now that I'm restructuring the rastertek framework I am really sinking my teeth into how everything is done.

Unfortunately, it's much slower going than I had expected. I had hoped to have the code restructure done this weekend, but I'm still around halfway through it. If possible, I'd like to finish it by next weekend.

Current Status: Restructuring old code.

This Week's Goal: Complete code restructure, so I can start adding new features.

PlayStation 2 Programming

My other taught module this semester is console programming. Our coursework, and most of the module, is about programming for the PS2. At this point it mostly involves doing tutorials in class, so this is actually my least stressful project currently.

Current Status: Just finished the first 3d graphics tutorials.

This Week's Goal: Keep up to date with weekly tutorials, get ahead if possible.

Havok Team Project

My third module this semester involves two main focuses, the first being a team project in Havok. This is a team of around 10 people, working on a game using the Havok engine, which will be completed at the end of this semester (May). We don't have an external client, so we've been able to pitch our own game ideas, based on the prompt of "physics-based destruction". I think it will be a lot of fun!

Aside from taking up time with meetings, there hasn't been a lot of work for this project yet. I do need to spend some time brushing up on working with the Havok engine - while we became familiar with it last semester, it's easy to forget over the holidays.

Current Status: Formative idea stage - pitching ideas tomorrow.

This Week's Goal: Get up to date with Havok technology.

Master's Dissertation

In addition to the Havok project, my third module also involves individual work on my Master's Dissertation. This semester, I need to choose a research topic, do a literature review around it, and write a proposal for the rest of my dissertation work to be continued over the summer and next fall. This is a huge undertaking, and I'm no good at coming up with ideas. I've been working with one of my lecturers to help develop a project idea, and so far I'm interested in something in the realm of AI. I will either be continuing my Fuzzy Controller / Genetic Algorithm work from last semester or starting on something new.

Current Status: Formative idea stage.

This Week's Goal: Brainstorm several ideas and discuss them with Dr. King.

Pollinator - Flower Defense

Not only do I have all those uni projects, but I also am part of the Game Development Society at Abertay and am working on a mobile game called Pollinator - Flower Defense. It's a tower defense game where you play as a bees defending their hive. I've got a team including a designer and artist, and I'm quite excited to see what we can produce. Unfortunately, I'd hoped I would get some work done on prototypes over the weekend, but that turned out not to be possible due to unexpected emergencies coming up. It's my hope to finish at least one prototype by this Thursday, our meeting.

Current Status: Several design possibilities fleshed out.

This Week's Goal: Produce at least one prototype to present at GDS meeting.

Dare Project

I'm also planning on applying to Dare this year. I've got a full team now, and we're working on solidifying a game concept. At the moment we have general gameplay ideas but need to determine the exact setting and flesh out controls and gameplay. Overall it's going well and I'm excited to work with this great group of folks.

At the moment I am making sure the networking plugin I found for Unity mobile will suit our needs, and getting up to speed on how to use it. Additionally, we are brainstorming ideas and settings, and will be deciding on something at our next meeting this coming Friday.

Current Status: Solidifying ideas, platform and engine research.

This Week's Goal: Complete Unity networking tutorial, brainstorm ideas to bring to the meeting.

Career Stuff

If all that wasn't enough, I've also been rushing around trying to get my CV, portfolio, and business cards up to date to show off at Blitz Open Day, which I'll be attending in two weeks. This involves a lot of iteration based on online reading, trips to Career Services in Abertay to get advice, reading a book on getting into the gaming industry, asking lecturers for feedback, and looking in to printing services. It's taking quite a bit more time than I expected, but I'm hoping the work will pay off. I'm excited to be attending the event, and I think if anything it will be good practice on networking and interacting with industry developers.

Current Status: Electronic copies of CV, Business Card, Portfolio.

This Week's Goal: After getting a last round of feedback, get CV and Business Cards printed.

Whew!

And that's about it! A ton of stuff, as you can see, but I still want to keep blogging once a day. I just have to accept smaller, progress-style posts instead of huge guides or opinion pieces. This post has already gone on a lot longer than I expected, but I'm hoping going over my different projects and goals will help me focus.

Sleeping Giants Wake - Console News

The last few months have been host to a number of interesting stories in the world of consoles.

There was a big announcement today - some details about Microsoft's new Xbox have been revealed. One of the most controversial features is the always online requirement. This is a clear move by Microsoft to kill the used game trade. Many people are up in arms about this, but I personally am fine with it. Used games were a leach on the gaming industry as far as I am concerned - directly stealing money that should be going to developers, and not even giving much of a discount to consumers. It is unfortunate that individual gamers won't be able to sell or trade among themselves, but I won't be weeping for the loss of brick and mortar used game sales.

GameSpot, a large brick-and-mortar game shop in the US, has already seen its stock prices fall as a direct result of this announcement. Over 20% of its revenue comes from used games, so this is no surprise. Again, I won't weep over this - while I have nothing against brick-and-mortar stores, I also do almost all of my game purchasing online - either from Steam directly, or from Amazon when I do need a physical copy. The only reason I've even entered a physical game shop in the last year was to buy emergency accessories (power cable for my DS), impulse buys that I wanted to play immediately that weekend (when my roommate bought Pokemon White so I ran in to get Black), and when dragged in by a friend. Not that I want these places to go out of business - that means loss of jobs and that is unfortunate in general. But it just doesn't really effect me, and honestly I don't think it much effects the industry at this point. Major retail shops often have a game section if they have a film section, so there will be a place to buy games there if dedicated game shops go under.

It is interesting that this Xbox announcement comes close on the heals of Sony announcing their next gen console and its target release for the end of 2013. The imagery of two sleeping giants waking up and flexing at eachother plays out in my head. Nintendo jumped the gun with its Wii U, and while I find the asymmetric gameplay interesting, it hasn't been doing well in sales and it's just not powerful enough even compared to current gen hardware.

As a primarily PC gamer, all this news is somewhat less relevant to me. However, it's nice to know that the PC games will no longer be held back by the limitations of eight year old hardware.

The Ouya gaming console, with a fairly traditional style controller, runs Android OS. It is relatively low powered, but at the $100 price point is fairly reasonable.

Outside the three giants, other consoles are also in the news. The Ouya is on target for a June launch, and will be available through major retailers such as Amazon and BestBuy. This is actually quite exciting, as a new player in the console market will promote competition and freshen things up. Obviously the Ouya can not compete in power with the new consoles, but at its low price point its still an interesting choice, especially from a dev standpoint. The Ouya will be running Android, a very open platform for games.

Nvidia's Project Shield runs Android OS and features a traditional control pad input style with a clam-shell-like screen attachment. It can also stream from your PC if you have a high powered Nvidia card.

On a similar note, the Game Stick recently met its Kickstarter goal and will soon present another Android based console. Additionally, Nvidia is entering the dedicated gaming handheld market with their Project Shield, and Razer is creating a gaming-focused tablet with gamer controls. Last but certainly not least, Steam enters the console market in its own way, marketing a small computer as a "Steambox".

Microsoft's IllumiRoom projects another scene on the room around the TV. In this case a wider view of the in-game world, but examples also included spark effects coming out of the TV scene and other effects.

Aside from these core devices, there have been several interesting peripherals discussed lately as well, ranging from Microsoft's IllumiRoom and Valve's virtual reality experiments.

It's definitely an interesting time for consoles, and I'm looking forward to what the future holds.

Business Cards

Today I created my first design for my own business card. I kept it simple, but included what I've come to think of as my "personal logo", originally designed for my indie team Bounder Studios. I also incorporated the same style, font, colors, and dividing line I used in my CV and resume. Oh yeah, and I turned it sideways, because, why not.

EDIT: On the advice of some friends, I've now changed the name and title font to be more interesting. I tracked down the font from one of my all-time favorite games, Secret of Mana, and used that. I quite like the result.

I've put the card in my dropbox if you'd like a more in-depth look at it: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/11838203/Sarah-Herzog-Business-Card-Manaspace-Caps.pdf

Let me know what you think! I need feedback so I can present myself as professionally as possible - the job market is tough, especially with the added complication of being foreign.

Dare to be Digital - Team Forming

Short post today, as I'm feeling fried. Just wanted to share the news that I'll be applying (with a team, of course) to Dare to be Digital for this summer. For those not in the know, Dare is a huge competition in which teams create a game over the summer. Accommodation  a stipend, and a modest development budget is provided for each team - provided you get in. Applications consist of a 5 minute pitch video followed up by an interview.

So far we have 4 of the 5 team members chosen, and I think we've got an amazing mix of talent. I'm really looking forward to seeing what our group can produce, though I'm also very nervous! I'll definitely be posting updates here as we progress.

It's crazy how busy the next year is going to be, but oh so exciting at the same time!