1st, realize that making games is not the rockstar job that lots of people make it out to be. The game industry keeps itself alive on the blood and sweat of people who love making games. You will work 10-14 hour days for weeks at a time (or years, as some cases may be). You probably won't get a bonus when the game is done. You probably won't be paid very well. You'll have to work with people who think they are god's gift to the world, and they will probably be your boss.
But, you will also work with really cool, creative people. You will get to do something you (hopefully) love to do. You will get to create games. If this small paragraph sounds better than the larger, first paragraph, then by all means, pursue a career in the game industry.
So... the nutshell I can come up with at 4:45 in the morning (yes, I've been working since yesterday morning).
Get a day job first. It's a different path for everyone, but odds are you won't break into the industry anytime soon (it took me a couple years). You might be able to get in as a tester or intern, but it's almost as hard to make the jump to the dev side as it is to just break in.
Grab the whatever latest version of Unreal2KX XMP Super Mega Championship Edition is out. Epic has done a good job of marketing their engine and tools to devs, and a lot of places have picked up the Unreal engine and it's editor, UnrealEd. This can give you a slight advantage just because being familiar with the tools can be a big selling point to some companies.
Next, learn how to use it. Not just part of it, all of it. How to make and import textures. How to make and import meshes. How to make and import sounds. Even learn the basics of unreal script. You may not be actually creating art assets/code in the position, but as level designer you are where 'the tires hit the road'. Everything has to come through you at some point to go into the level so you have to understand everything that is going on behind the scenes.
Make a few multiplayer maps of whatever flavor you want. Focus on a few key areas: 1. Look and feel. No BSP holes. No meshes intersecting each other at weird angles. Everything lines up. There is a good sense of 'space'. Lighting is good and reflects the mood appropriately but isn't overboard. Textures are aligned properly. 2. Wiring. Doors open and close when they are supposed to. Switches work the 'right' way. Events happen when they are supposed to. Areas are zoned or antiportaled correctly. 3. Gameplay. For learning, I put this last at this point. These maps your learning how to use the editor and trying to make them look as good as possible. In general, in gameplay the player shouldn't get lost or stuck anywhere. The next area to explore should be obvious. Paths are clearly marked. Framerate is good at all places in the level.
Now, you need to make some single player experiences. You probably won't get a job making multiplayer maps (I've never made one professionally) so you need to be able to create good single player experiences. This is the hard part (learning the tech just enables you, this is the actual work!). Even moreso than understanding the technology, you have to understand the game you are making and understand the game design.
To learn how to create good single player experiences, don't just play other games, analyze them. Watch how they create tempo and how the flow of the level works. When is the player challenged? How often? When is the player rewarded? How often? What types of challenges are present? How difficult is the game? Why were certain game and level design decisions made for that game? How would the level design be different if the character could jump twice as far? Shoot twice as fast? Once you start playing games with these sorts of questions in mind, you'll start to have a better understanding of what it takes to create a level. It will take awhile, as long or longer than it takes to learn all the tools. I'm still learning and I've been making levels since Q2 days.
everything about the trailer seems like they are trying to capitlize the spandex-turned-leather superhero movie craze of X-Men, the Hulk, and Daredevil. As a result, League of Extraordinary Gentlement looks like a poor ripoff of those movies. It's terrible marketing.
The title screens should have victorian font. The trailer should not be action packed but mysterious, gothic... -victorian-.
The trailer should TELL the audience who these characters are. As it is now, the audience knows nothing except it has action and sean connery. Why not include the names of the characters? "Alan Quartermain", "Invisible Man", "Dr. Jekyll"... one of these names will hit a chord with someone in the audience, and generate curiousity, and interest in the movie. Which is exactly what this trailer ISN'T doing.
A common misconception. Darwin's use of the word "fittest" *does not* mean "most healthy", it means "best fit to the environment". All that's happened is that the environmental selection criteria have changed. Our environment, for instance, is no longer so unfriendly towards short-sighted people.
That is another common misconception. 'Fittest' does not mean either of those things. It means ability to produce viable offspring who then produce more viable offspring. A creature who can outfight, outforage others of it's species, blends in perfectly with the environment and has no natural predators but is also sterile is the least fit.
What the first poster meant to say (I think) is that we are bringing the fitness level (the ability to produce viable offspring) of every human up to a certain 'level', a lower status bar. Just look at the movement for mandatory healthcare, the idea that there should be a lower limit to healthcare for humans. The result is a negation of the physical selective pressures that result from individual physical problems that may not match the environment (disease, deformity, etc) and allowing people who would not normally be able to reproduce the chance to do so.
There are still social, economical and some natural selective pressures to be sure but as medical science increases it's understanding of the physical condition the emphasis on natural selective pressures decreases and the emphasis on social and economical pressures increases.
This is important to remember. Yes the Earth always changes, however, it is changing in a much shorter time span than ever before. How much has the local weather in your area changed in the past 10 years? 10 years?? For something that should be on an almost geological timescale?
Or think of it this way. Yes, all environmental concerns could be bogus, overinflated. We aren't affecting our environment it's just natural. In 50 years we'll recognize this and move on. But if we ARE affecting the environment, in 50 years we won't have any options about where to go. We won't be able to just go back and reset things.
We are conducting an experiment on a global scale. "What happens when we disrupt ecosystems and change the levels of atmospheric gases?" is the hypothesis. We don't know what the outcome will be because we can't even decide if we are affecting it. Seems like a big gamble to me at least.
The article is terrible. The author is trying to make it sound like the Adromeda Strain when it's apparently just a growth from the the astronauts not being sanitized enough. I also thought at first it was fungus growing outside, but the article only mentions fungus growing inside.
Send a sattelite into orbit around the sun. It unfolds some huge mirrors, capturing the Sun's light and reflecting it. Other's observing our star will notice the difference in brightness. As the sattelite rotates around the sun it reflects the light in one direction, just like a lighthouse.
Look at how we study stars now. Our star may look normal, let's try ot make it look abnormal. No matter how we communicate I think any civilization of any advancement will notice if a star begins to look 'different'.
The Iron Giant? Was that totally American? I don't watch Disney movies as a rule (for the same reason I don't purchase MS products). I had heard some good things about Iron Giant and when I watched it was pretty impressed. They do some cool things in augmenting traditional animation with computer effects. I thought the storyline was very good and there was actually a message, a moral to the story! Imagine that!
If you haven't seen it rent it sometime, you might be surprised (and you can actually watch it with a young person, unlike most anime).
My main concern (stemming from the etoy/etoys debacle http://slashdot.org/articles/00/ 01/25/2049214.shtml ) is that AOL is increasing its leverage in the domain world to be able to shutdown websites easily. Is there a website with some nonsanctioned use of Looney Tunes characters? Shut it down. Got a website that posts rumors and reviews of upcoming WB tv shows? Cease and desist. Website owners don't like it? Sorry, we've got lawyers and money and -control-. Even if you do get your website back it'll take -your time and effort- to prove your innocence. (and if some other company doesn't like your website who do you think AOL/NSI will side with?).
It's just one step in increasing influence and dominance. Welcome to the age of the MegaCorp.
Slashdot Mirror
1st, realize that making games is not the rockstar job that lots of people make it out to be. The game industry keeps itself alive on the blood and sweat of people who love making games. You will work 10-14 hour days for weeks at a time (or years, as some cases may be). You probably won't get a bonus when the game is done. You probably won't be paid very well. You'll have to work with people who think they are god's gift to the world, and they will probably be your boss.
But, you will also work with really cool, creative people. You will get to do something you (hopefully) love to do. You will get to create games. If this small paragraph sounds better than the larger, first paragraph, then by all means, pursue a career in the game industry.
So... the nutshell I can come up with at 4:45 in the morning (yes, I've been working since yesterday morning).
Get a day job first. It's a different path for everyone, but odds are you won't break into the industry anytime soon (it took me a couple years). You might be able to get in as a tester or intern, but it's almost as hard to make the jump to the dev side as it is to just break in.
Grab the whatever latest version of Unreal2KX XMP Super Mega Championship Edition is out. Epic has done a good job of marketing their engine and tools to devs, and a lot of places have picked up the Unreal engine and it's editor, UnrealEd. This can give you a slight advantage just because being familiar with the tools can be a big selling point to some companies.
Next, learn how to use it. Not just part of it, all of it. How to make and import textures. How to make and import meshes. How to make and import sounds. Even learn the basics of unreal script. You may not be actually creating art assets/code in the position, but as level designer you are where 'the tires hit the road'. Everything has to come through you at some point to go into the level so you have to understand everything that is going on behind the scenes.
Make a few multiplayer maps of whatever flavor you want. Focus on a few key areas:
1. Look and feel. No BSP holes. No meshes intersecting each other at weird angles. Everything lines up. There is a good sense of 'space'. Lighting is good and reflects the mood appropriately but isn't overboard. Textures are aligned properly.
2. Wiring. Doors open and close when they are supposed to. Switches work the 'right' way. Events happen when they are supposed to. Areas are zoned or antiportaled correctly.
3. Gameplay. For learning, I put this last at this point. These maps your learning how to use the editor and trying to make them look as good as possible. In general, in gameplay the player shouldn't get lost or stuck anywhere. The next area to explore should be obvious. Paths are clearly marked. Framerate is good at all places in the level.
Now, you need to make some single player experiences. You probably won't get a job making multiplayer maps (I've never made one professionally) so you need to be able to create good single player experiences. This is the hard part (learning the tech just enables you, this is the actual work!). Even moreso than understanding the technology, you have to understand the game you are making and understand the game design.
To learn how to create good single player experiences, don't just play other games, analyze them. Watch how they create tempo and how the flow of the level works. When is the player challenged? How often? When is the player rewarded? How often? What types of challenges are present? How difficult is the game? Why were certain game and level design decisions made for that game? How would the level design be different if the character could jump twice as far? Shoot twice as fast? Once you start playing games with these sorts of questions in mind, you'll start to have a better understanding of what it takes to create a level. It will take awhile, as long or longer than it takes to learn all the tools. I'm still learning and I've been making levels since Q2 days.
Good luck.
everything about the trailer seems like they are trying to capitlize the spandex-turned-leather superhero movie craze of X-Men, the Hulk, and Daredevil. As a result, League of Extraordinary Gentlement looks like a poor ripoff of those movies. It's terrible marketing.
The title screens should have victorian font. The trailer should not be action packed but mysterious, gothic... -victorian-.
The trailer should TELL the audience who these characters are. As it is now, the audience knows nothing except it has action and sean connery. Why not include the names of the characters? "Alan Quartermain", "Invisible Man", "Dr. Jekyll"... one of these names will hit a chord with someone in the audience, and generate curiousity, and interest in the movie. Which is exactly what this trailer ISN'T doing.
That is another common misconception. 'Fittest' does not mean either of those things. It means ability to produce viable offspring who then produce more viable offspring. A creature who can outfight, outforage others of it's species, blends in perfectly with the environment and has no natural predators but is also sterile is the least fit.
What the first poster meant to say (I think) is that we are bringing the fitness level (the ability to produce viable offspring) of every human up to a certain 'level', a lower status bar. Just look at the movement for mandatory healthcare, the idea that there should be a lower limit to healthcare for humans. The result is a negation of the physical selective pressures that result from individual physical problems that may not match the environment (disease, deformity, etc) and allowing people who would not normally be able to reproduce the chance to do so.
There are still social, economical and some natural selective pressures to be sure but as medical science increases it's understanding of the physical condition the emphasis on natural selective pressures decreases and the emphasis on social and economical pressures increases.
Doctor Doom (/. still needs a science editor)
When is slashdot going get a science editor?
Doctor Doom
This is important to remember. Yes the Earth always changes, however, it is changing in a much shorter time span than ever before. How much has the local weather in your area changed in the past 10 years? 10 years?? For something that should be on an almost geological timescale?
Or think of it this way. Yes, all environmental concerns could be bogus, overinflated. We aren't affecting our environment it's just natural. In 50 years we'll recognize this and move on. But if we ARE affecting the environment, in 50 years we won't have any options about where to go. We won't be able to just go back and reset things.
We are conducting an experiment on a global scale. "What happens when we disrupt ecosystems and change the levels of atmospheric gases?" is the hypothesis. We don't know what the outcome will be because we can't even decide if we are affecting it. Seems like a big gamble to me at least.
The article is terrible. The author is trying to make it sound like the Adromeda Strain when it's apparently just a growth from the the astronauts not being sanitized enough. I also thought at first it was fungus growing outside, but the article only mentions fungus growing inside.
stupid 'science' reporters.
Bleh. sattelite => satellite
Send a sattelite into orbit around the sun. It unfolds some huge mirrors, capturing the Sun's light and reflecting it. Other's observing our star will notice the difference in brightness. As the sattelite rotates around the sun it reflects the light in one direction, just like a lighthouse.
Look at how we study stars now. Our star may look normal, let's try ot make it look abnormal. No matter how we communicate I think any civilization of any advancement will notice if a star begins to look 'different'.
The Iron Giant? Was that totally American?
I don't watch Disney movies as a rule (for the same reason I don't purchase MS products). I had heard some good things about Iron Giant and when I watched it was pretty impressed. They do some cool things in augmenting traditional animation with computer effects. I thought the storyline was very good and there was actually a message, a moral to the story! Imagine that!
If you haven't seen it rent it sometime, you might be surprised (and you can actually watch it with a young person, unlike most anime).
My main concern (stemming from the etoy/etoys debacle http://slashdot.org/articles/00/ 01/25/2049214.shtml ) is that AOL is increasing its leverage in the domain world to be able to shutdown websites easily. Is there a website with some nonsanctioned use of Looney Tunes characters? Shut it down. Got a website that posts rumors and reviews of upcoming WB tv shows? Cease and desist. Website owners don't like it? Sorry, we've got lawyers and money and -control-. Even if you do get your website back it'll take -your time and effort- to prove your innocence. (and if some other company doesn't like your website who do you think AOL/NSI will side with?).
It's just one step in increasing influence and dominance. Welcome to the age of the MegaCorp.
No, it is not a school. However, I think much of the push for schools to become fascist comes from parents who cry 'Protect the children!'
>>>wearing orange jumpsuits (to make it more difficult to conceal weapons, and discourage gangs)
Close. Many schools already have mandatory uniforms and dress codes.
>>>ID tags (to keep out non-students, and make tracking students easier)
My high school had these for the same reason you mention.
>>>card lock doors
Not in my high school, but probably being installed as we speak.
>>>metal detectors
Again, not in my high school but I'm sure administrators are looking at the costs.
>>>transparent book bags
Or no bags.
>>>random mandatory drug testing
My school did not have it, don't know about current high school policy though.
>>>armed guards cruising the hallways.
My school had guards, but they were not armed.