Some new L.A. Noire videos have been released – I think it’s looking awesome!
[EDIT: Chrome was complaining about the embedded videos from the Rockstar Games website, so I'll just link to it manually - LINK].
Pretty exciting stuff, right? :)
A chum of mine, FreakyZoid, has set up a new site called GameDevBlogs.net; a blog directory for game developers. The intention of the site is to “help game developers be heard”, those unsung gaming heroes you’ve never heard of!
As he says, “believe it or not, these guys spend a lot of time making the games you love, and they have a lot of knowledge to share.” Now, I don’t know if I could make such claims of myself, but it’s definitely a noble idea – I’ve long believed that games developers (and not just the famous, high-ups that you’ve probably already know about) should get a bit more recognition for the hard work they put in to make the games that you play!
It’s still early days (you can already find me on the Artists page) but the site needs more blogs and more input! The more the better! If you’re involved in games development and you’ve got a blog, you should get yourself over there and submit your site for listing. If you don’t have a blog, maybe you should consider getting one? GameDevBlogs.net also has a presence on Twitter, so get going!
If nothing else, it should ensure I keep my blog more up-to-date! ;)
People have been asking me how my first week has been. By it’s nature, the first week at a new place of work is rarely as exciting as you imagine it will be. Alas, it’s true!
You tend to get bogged down in paperwork, reading documentation and the new tools and procedures you need to learn, when all you really want to do is crack on with work. Of course, in this instance having been a Maya user almost exclusively since I started university, it will be a little while before my work performance in MotionBuilder will be able to keep up with my enthusiasm. When you throw in trying to remember everyone’s name and how to get in and out the building without getting lost, it’s a wonder new-starters get anything done in their first week!
I’d never really thought about it before (and I don’t suppose you will have either unless you’ve changed 3D software), but one of the worst things about using new software is learning the camera controls. If you feel like you can’t navigate a scene properly, it massively compounds the sensation that you have no flipping idea what you’re doing and that learning the new software is going to be a near-impossible task. If only you could remember what button combination controls pan and which activates tumble, you’d be able to concentrate on learning the important stuff… the new stuff!
People are telling me not to worry about it and that I’ve got plenty of time to settle in, which is really nice but it does highlight the sense of frustration; that the software and workflow are hindering my ability to just get on with it and if only I can get that stuff out of the way, the fun stuff can really begin.
I had a little breakthrough on Thursday when I got a good bit of pace going, turning out three or four animation cycles. On Friday a totally new thing landed at on my desk and I felt completely lost again! 8)
Despite all that and with a great deal of help from Andy and the other guys on the team, I already feel like I’m starting to get used to MotionBuilder, it’s camera controls and it’s slightly obscure “thought process”. It’s only been a week; I suppose I ought not to worry too much!
My first week at Rockstar was absolutely brilliant; the people, the project, the office are all completely awesome, but it was intermingled with a heck of a lot of frustration! I should also say that (since I wrote most of this post last week) I feel like I’ve made tons of progress in MotionBuilder today and yesterday – things are definitely starting to click!
I think I’ll have to do a post about the bonkers way MotionBuilder works/thinks sometime soon!