Nick Kage Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 So instead of doing another article about OCW or OCW related stuff, I figured I would open up my forum to you guys. We all love games many of us have played games since we were kids. I remember my mom yelling at me all the time because even though i was active and I played a lot of sports I loved playing video games. Little did we all know I would be making them professionally… Seeing as I am lucky to have such a great career, why not share my knowledge to you guys, my OCW family. I'll give you a brief history on how I became a Game Developer. (It’s a brief history I had my fair share of low times and struggles as well as sacrificing and rejection to get to where I am today.) I was always artistic. I always was drawing as a kid and in high school I was really into my art classes and soccer more then any other classes i was in. So when it came time to pick a college I decided to go to the savannah college of art and design originally as a comic book artist but I then changed my degree to illustration. I picked SCAD because that not had the art degree I wanted but they had a division 3 soccer team. After graduation I moved to NYC where I did freelance illustration until I found a fulltime job as a texture artist for a small startup 3d house. I realized that animation was what i wanted and after work I would come home and teach myself how to animate. Soon I had a demo reel and I started looking for work in games. I soon left the sinking ship and went to Boston and worked on 2 games Dungeons and Dragons online and Lord of the rings online for PC. I then moved to LA and worked on Resistance fall of man for the ps3, and now I have found my home at Blizzard Entertainment as a Senior Animator. Enough about me more about the article. Every so often I’ll post a thread so you guys can ask questions about games what it takes to make them and other things you my wonder about Then I’ll respond to one or two of the questions I pick as best I can, hopefully you may get some insight into what it takes to make games and answer some questions you may have wondered for some time. Hope you will find this interesting. If not fuck you. -kage. "When you're pushed... Killing is as easy as breathing!" http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/766/kagebannernv9.png http://www.selectmediafestival.org/2006/oct21.jpg
Brad Bauer Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 Kage...inquiring minds want to know.... 1. Why the fuck aren't you working for THQ, or at least developing some ideas for a Wrestling Engine on the side. 2. I have two friends that both have degrees in some sort of gaming design. They attended a school in Orlando. I know of their struggles. Congrats that you made it! We once talked about opening a gaming studio. If you had the right people and experience, what would stop a "Nick Kage" from opening his own company on the side? 3. What games are you currently working on for 360, I'd be interested in checking out your projects.
CJ Hoppus Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 As a former "soccer" player what game do you think is the most realistic simulation of the sport? What games that aren't out yet do you know that are actually good? http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k105/wizkid_1989/TeamUnderdogBanner1.jpg v3 record: Singles: 4/10/0 Tag: 6/3/0
Nick Kage Posted August 13, 2007 Author Posted August 13, 2007 Kage...inquiring minds want to know.... 1. Why the fuck aren't you working for THQ, or at least developing some ideas for a Wrestling Engine on the side. THQ is a publisher, they have small studios like Yukes/heavy Iron/and many others companies that actually produce their games. As much as i love wrestling, working a game as an animator that is mainly mocap.. is a nightmare.. Your basically doing monkey work, nothing creative. I do not want to look at mocap data all day and clean it up. so alot of sports game are kinda off limits for me because of this. I was offered a job at Tiburon in Orlando to work on Madden 07 and the Superman the movie game... Glad i turned that down. I would much rather be faced with the challenge of creating movement on my own then use mocap. Its much more artistic and much more rewarding to make something move from scratch. 2. I have two friends that both have degrees in some sort of gaming design. They attended a school in Orlando. I know of their struggles. Congrats that you made it! We once talked about opening a gaming studio. If you had the right people and experience, what would stop a "Nick Kage" from opening his own company on the side? It takes money and talent. Im sure if you had 3-4 smart guys (a programmer/artist/desginer type people it may be done on a small scale.) If you keep yoru ideas small in scale and you produce a solid experience and make a great small product then funding can come in to make a bigger scale product, I knwo Xbox used to offer dev kits and people could produce demos and if Xbox liked it you would get funded to make a game. not sure if they do it anymore. But on PC if you buy and engine or are lucky enough to get a guy to code an engine from scratch you can do it. its all bout the scale of the project and how much time you can invest to it. i make a good living and my freetime after work is spent with my wife or playing games or doing real life stuff. after you work on a pc and game stuff all day when you get home you dont really wanna work on more. plus my creative passion for making a game of "my own" is not really lacking as Blizzard allows for me to be pretty creative in my day to day tasks 3. What games are you currently working on for 360, I'd be interested in checking out your projects. I work on PC games for Blizzard. I cant talk about what I am working on becasue it is un-announced and secret and projects change here, what i was working on 5 months ago may not be what i am working on now. and untill it is announced i cant speak on it. the only console game i worked on was Resistence fall of man for ps3 "When you're pushed... Killing is as easy as breathing!" http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/766/kagebannernv9.png http://www.selectmediafestival.org/2006/oct21.jpg
Nick Kage Posted August 13, 2007 Author Posted August 13, 2007 As a former "soccer" player what game do you think is the most realistic simulation of the sport? Pro Evo Soccer is so far the best soccer game out there. Fifa 08 seem kinda promising, Fifa 08 will be the frist fifa game i pick up in years but so far you cant beat PRO EVO. the 360 version of pro evo was lacking in alot of areas but their gameplay is spot on. What games that aren't out yet do you know that are actually good? starcraft 2 wow expansion "wrath of the lich king" madden 08 and Nascar 08 (friend of mine works there) Rachet and Clank PS3 (former company) CoD 4 (i have from some friends it really is amazing.) i played crisis on PC and if then can fix the framerate issues it will blow your socks off. i heard tabula rasa (PC MMO) is really bad. "When you're pushed... Killing is as easy as breathing!" http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/766/kagebannernv9.png http://www.selectmediafestival.org/2006/oct21.jpg
CJ Hoppus Posted August 13, 2007 Posted August 13, 2007 As a former "soccer" player what game do you think is the most realistic simulation of the sport? Pro Evo Soccer is so far the best soccer game out there. Fifa 08 seem kinda promising, Fifa 08 will be the frist fifa game i pick up in years but so far you cant beat PRO EVO. the 360 version of pro evo was lacking in alot of areas but their gameplay is spot on. What games that aren't out yet do you know that are actually good? starcraft 2 wow expansion "wrath of the lich king" madden 08 and Nascar 08 (friend of mine works there) Rachet and Clank PS3 (former company) CoD 4 (i have from some friends it really is amazing.) i played crisis on PC and if then can fix the framerate issues it will blow your socks off. i heard tabula rasa (PC MMO) is really bad. Agree entirely with Prov Evo being the best soccer game. Starcraft 2 I'm glad you mentioned as I loved the first game but wasn't sure the sequel would be anywhere near as good (mainly becasue the C&C games went downhill after the original tiberian sun). http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k105/wizkid_1989/TeamUnderdogBanner1.jpg v3 record: Singles: 4/10/0 Tag: 6/3/0
The Air Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 Hmm your working for Blizzard that's a good studio. From the original Warcraft I always played those games and always liked them. There quality games. Nowadays I'm not playing much Blizzard games, cause most Blizzard games come out on PC and I ain't really a PC Player more evolved in a console player. Nice read though Kage! I'll probably never make games and stick too doing websites, databases and other industry usuable software. Though I tried once too program a game with the old Sierra AGI Engine. That was still when I was on highschool. So a long time ago. Programming or Scripting wise it wasn't a problem for me, but I've never been a graphics man nor will I ever be one. So I scrapped the project and turned on learning HTML, JAVA and shit! 2k8? I havent figured out 2k7 yet - Big Joe D I am the First Dutch EX-Champion - The Air I am the First European EX-Champion - The Air I am the First True EX-Champion - The Air Delusional? Not at all! I Speak the Truth, cause I can proof it and the others can't. Those Heavy !@#$%^&& ain't got none on me.
Nick Kage Posted August 14, 2007 Author Posted August 14, 2007 Me and you air are opposite side of the brain type people, i think i am more right sided and you more left? but good thing for us it takes both kinds to make website/games/movies! "When you're pushed... Killing is as easy as breathing!" http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/766/kagebannernv9.png http://www.selectmediafestival.org/2006/oct21.jpg
The Air Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 If you want a good product it does indeed ^^ Oh the horrible graphics I made for that AGI game. 2k8? I havent figured out 2k7 yet - Big Joe D I am the First Dutch EX-Champion - The Air I am the First European EX-Champion - The Air I am the First True EX-Champion - The Air Delusional? Not at all! I Speak the Truth, cause I can proof it and the others can't. Those Heavy !@#$%^&& ain't got none on me.
Seth Morrison Posted August 14, 2007 Posted August 14, 2007 If i have no artistic talent, is there any other jobs at a game development company i could do, and make good money? So how many hours do you put in a week, regularly? When you have deadlines, do you put in 80 hour weeks or more? So do you sign on to each deal, or do they tell you what your workin on next? Dane Xavier: cyber bullying is not only illegal, it's pathetic "I swear to go if you call me a Liberal again you RETHUGLICAN, SEE WHAT I DID THERE. This is america, if you want to throw your hard earned sweat money on a videogame gambling site and thus deny you and your family food and shelter THAN BY GOD DAMMIT YOU CAN, BECAUSE THIS IS AMERICA YOU COMMIE SOCIALIST. Now then when Can I expect your next donation? "- Jay Jay Double A is "The Weapon Of Mass Consumption"
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