Eurogamer:
So I haven't mentioned this since my last post; it was alright! Yeh, only alright. I didn't think it was as good as the previous year (2011) for a number of reasons. The main one being the lack of studios and job opportunities. In 2011, there were a fair number of different companies there, all advertising various vacancies to apply for, with only a few university and courses around them, the ratio from studios to uni's was probably around 65%-35%. This year (or last however), there were 3 studios. 2 of them the same as last year, and one new one. The rest were all universities and also online courses, of which there was quite a few. I guess the current economic climate has a big play in this, which is unfortunate but still, it didn't stop me from enjoying the rest of the show.
Another reason was the games on show. Personally for me, the games weren't as good as again, the previous year, but there was a nice strong showing from the indie devs with some good titles that I had quite fun playing. Some very nice unique concepts that were very cool and intuitive, but many of the main AAA titles didn't have much appeal to me.
The highlight of the show must have been a competition on F1 2012. The new release for F1, having only been out a couple of weeks prior to the show. I did already have a copy of the game and also a wheel, and have given it a go prior to the show. Turned up at the Codemasters stand to see what it was about and managed to find out from one of the community managers that it was a 10 man TT tourney around Silverstone. Basically 2 laps to set a fastest legit time (coming off the track pretty much negates the lap) and the fastest gets a copy of F1 2012 and also a Thrustmaster wheel. I think about 9 people showed up in the end, and had a surprise guest of David Croft from Sky Sports F1 there to commentate the contestants laps. I was third from last; the first 2 didn't set valid laps, the 3rd set a time of 1.42, the 4th guy didn't set a valid lap, 5th did a 1.40, 6th did a 1.39. I was 7th and managed to pull out a 1.35 on a wheel that had very sensitive settings, so there was a few nervous twitchy moments, but I managed to keep it on the track. The guy after me didn't set a valid time, and the final guy only managed to get a mid 1.39, making me the winner by about 4.5 seconds in the end. As I already have a wheel and a copy of the game, you'll be pleased to know that I've passed on both the winning copy and wheel I won onto a friend.
So overall, a relatively good day, got my laps commentated by David Croft, got a photo with him and his signature, played some cool indie games and had a good laugh and generally a good time with mates.
Job Hunting:
This is a constant on-going process of searching daily and applying where I can. My applications have broadened a little in an attempt to find something to get me, develop further skills and hopefully aim to get to where I would like to be in the future. Im signed up to multiple sites (LinkedIn, Microsoft jobs, EA jobs, Sony Jobs etc etc), following multiple studios on twitter keeping an eye out, keeping in contact with Eutechnyx for anything that comes up there, and applying directly to studios through their websites. It's quite a tiring process, and pretty frustrating as about only 1 in 5 studios give you a reply as to whether or not your suitable, often weeks if not months after i've applied. The rest don't seem to bother replying at all apart from the usual automated message when you initially put forth your application.
However, in an attempt to increase the likelyhood of getting a job, my CV has been updated, reviewed by a number of people and altered quite drastically after some very useful and important feedback. So to those who helped, I thank them, as the CV looks a hell of a lot better than it previously did. Along with this, a number of small and medium sized projects have been started to keep some what in touch with the dev side of gaming, more of this below.
Youtube:
Probably the biggest thing that I have started, is my own Youtube Channel. I started this back in October I believe, and the channel is slowly growing. It is a gaming channel, mainly F1 2012 at the moment, with the intention of expanding into other games I enjoy when I get the hardware to do so as at the moment, my current system isn't ideal for both playing and recording at the same time. Currently as it stands, I have 71 subscribers with 5,000 video views and 32 uploaded videos. The channel is growing with subs and views going up on a daily basis. The videos are also monetised so I am getting paid for the views (if they're not running AdBlocker), but due to the relatively low view count it's only really pennies that im receiving at the moment. Hopefully, the channel will continue to grow and get to a point where I can get some decent money from it.
At the moment, I'g uploading 2 videos a week, one on Monday and the other on a Friday. The Monday being an In Depth Guide to the tracks in the game, a series im currently running, and the Friday a more casual sort of fun video; something along the lines of a multiplayer race, or compilation video of overtakes, or crashes. If you want, feel free to check out the channel and subscribe here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Yorkie065?feature=mhee
Also if your running AdBlocker, please disable it for youtube! It makes those fair few hours capturing and editing the videos worth it :)
F1 2012 Helmet Skin:
As part of the Youtube channel and also for my own enjoyment, I've textured my own custom helmet to go in the game. The helmet is based off the Box Patriot motorbike helmet that I actually own and use for karting, with some Red Bull sponsor logos to make it suitable for the Red Bull ingame, as thanks to a Racing League that I was in, it's the main car that I drive.
Here are some screens of the helmet in Photoshop, and also in-game:
I hope to do a couple more helmets in the future for the game, as it was quite fun texturing and creating the helmet design.
Garage Scene:
Something that I've started in the last month or so, an F1 style garage with pit lane to house the Pagani Zonda that I had previously made. I was intending on using the garage as an intro for the videos that go on my Youtube channel also, but I've settled for a different style of intro all together. The modelling is roughly 60% done (the cars are there only as reference and will be removed until I've refined the zonda), with a fair bit of detail that I need to add, but the main layout is there. Preferably, some of the detail I plan to try and get through texturing and normal maps, but I know some will look a lot better being modelled (e.g. lights in the top of the garage).
Here are some WIP screenshots:
Final:
So, thats the main story of what i've been doing since my last post. I've done a bit of seasonal work at Iceland in my local store to keep some money flowing in, but that will very soon end. Hopefully all this will push me towards finding a job in the industry. Shall hopefully have something to post again soon!
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