Game Design interview

Sci-fi graphics specialist – Anthony Ur interview – Far Point 2018 – youtube

Anthony Ur is a graphics designer supporting the military but spends his free time helping design graphics and special effects for an independent science fiction show, Dark Operations: Terminus. I interviewed Anthony at Far Point 2018.

1:16 – The graphics designer for Dark Operations Terminus tells me how he works on the project. He’s been an art director for the US Army in using graphics for training.

3:01 – Anthony is an avid gamer which inspires his work. He played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons and watched a lot of Star Trek.

3:41 – His most important tools are Autodesk studio suite and the Unreal Game Engine for rendering. His Transformers toys around his office gets him into the right state of mind for his work.

5:21 – Anthony’s favorite element of graphic design is figuring out how to turn his 3D models into actual physical reproductions. Small items like laser pistols are printed in segments.

6:44 – He got into graphic design when he was working in Visual basic in high school. He saw another student working on computer animation and he went in that direction. He started in 3D and then got into art. He continues because it’s a passion. He thinks of his designs in an engineering way.

8:31 – Over time he’s learned to adjust to what a client wants rather than trying to push his vision of a design.

9:55 – Graphic design touches everything. Products and independent films all have elements of graphic design. Designers think about how an item will interact with people ergonomically.

11:01 – Cartoony sci-fi does not need to look realistic. But other sci-fi might need more believable looking technology.

11:52 – Animation inspires Anthony. Cartoon network has stuff that inspires him. Early stop motion films inspire him. Disney animation quality inspires him. Pen and paper work can provide very good animation compared to digital.

13:06 – He likes to read quantum theory and quantum mechanics. He also loves LOTR and wanted to do Hollywood videos. Music from sci-fi shows and movies inspire him. Howard Shore for example.

15:01 – Some older games can grab him more than newer games. People focus a lot on multi-player but he likes more of the single player. Puzzle Quest is one game he loves.

16:09 – He was fascinated with the Nightcrawler power to teleport. Techie-wise he’d be interested in having a bionic part.   He’d also like to create a game where someone terminally ill could go into this game and forget about their problems while they’re inside. He’d also like create a game where people might not even know they’re in a game.

18:51 Dark Operation Terminus is on facebook. His work is also on Nextgenimaging.com

Links

https://www.facebook.com/DarkOperations/

http://www.nextgenimaging.com/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Anthony Ur

Host: Cris Alvarez

Sci-fi graphics specialist – Anthony Ur interview

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Anthony Ur is a graphics designer supporting the military but spends his free time helping design graphics and special effects for an independent science fiction show, Dark Operations: Terminus. I interviewed Anthony at Far Point 2018.

1:16 – The graphics designer for Dark Operations Terminus tells me how he works on the project. He’s been an art director for the US Army in using graphics for training.

3:01 – Anthony is an avid gamer which inspires his work. He played a lot of Dungeons and Dragons and watched a lot of Star Trek.

3:41 – His most important tools are Autodesk studio suite and the Unreal Game Engine for rendering. His Transformers toys around his office gets him into the right state of mind for his work.

5:21 – Anthony’s favorite element of graphic design is figuring out how to turn his 3D models into actual physical reproductions. Small items like laser pistols are printed in segments.

6:44 – He got into graphic design when he was working in Visual basic in high school. He saw another student working on computer animation and he went in that direction. He started in 3D and then got into art. He continues because it’s a passion. He thinks of his designs in an engineering way.

8:31 – Over time he’s learned to adjust to what a client wants rather than trying to push his vision of a design.

9:55 – Graphic design touches everything. Products and independent films all have elements of graphic design. Designers think about how an item will interact with people ergonomically.

11:01 – Cartoony sci-fi does not need to look realistic. But other sci-fi might need more believable looking technology.

11:52 – Animation inspires Anthony. Cartoon network has stuff that inspires him. Early stop motion films inspire him. Disney animation quality inspires him. Pen and paper work can provide very good animation compared to digital.

13:06 – He likes to read quantum theory and quantum mechanics. He also loves LOTR and wanted to do Hollywood videos. Music from sci-fi shows and movies inspire him. Howard Shore for example.

15:01 – Some older games can grab him more than newer games. People focus a lot on multi-player but he likes more of the single player. Puzzle Quest is one game he loves.

16:09 – He was fascinated with the Nightcrawler power to teleport. Techie-wise he’d be interested in having a bionic part.   He’d also like to create a game where someone terminally ill could go into this game and forget about their problems while they’re inside. He’d also like create a game where people might not even know they’re in a game.

18:51 Dark Operation Terminus is on facebook. His work is also on Nextgenimaging.com

Links

https://www.facebook.com/DarkOperations/

http://www.nextgenimaging.com/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Anthony Ur

Host: Cris Alvarez

Tags: science fiction, sci-fi, graphics design, 3d, 3d printing, puzzle quest, video games, spaceships, transformers, howard shore

Fantasy game developer Jordan P interview – Super Magfest 2018 – youtube

Jordan Pierson loves video games and started creating them himself. He’s with JEP games.com and I met him at Magfest 2018. He told me about their newest game Akari

1:22 – Jordan tells me about the game Akari. It’s a 3D anime inspired world. It’s his second game. He says a game delayed is better than a game rushed since there are often bugs and other problems. He wants a game to be polished and tight before releasing it.

3:09 – He’s inspired by video games since he loves them. He’s a Game Cube kid. One of his friends told him he should makes and his brother even tried. He loves making games.

4:03 – He loves listening to music when working. He loves anime music, maybe Final Fantasy music. He takes tons of notes that are all over the place.

5:24 – He loves working on the art style and the environment. He wants the player immersed in the world. His cousin helped on the sprites for the game. He wanted the world to be tight. It has a feel of ancient feudal Japan, India, China and Siamese culture. Jordan’s been into these cultures and it’s not just for the game.

7:34 – His brother made a PC video game based on Leroy Jenkins. This inspired Jordan. He kept trying different game engines. He loves fixing bugs and making basic things happen. Testing is big thing to get Akari completed.

10:08 – His first game was tested at Skills USA in Louisville, Kentucky. It won gold at states and he was blown away. It changed his thinking and convinced him he could create a game people like. He then won third at nationals. He loves how many disciplines come together in game development.

12:05 – Game designers are mad artists. They are awesome entrepreneurs trying to give to others. They can change the world with new designs and new stories.

12:14 – One of his favorite games when he was young was Star Fox Assault. Each character has its own importance. They feel like family. Fire Emblem was another great one. He’s a big Marvel fan and loves video editing. But games are immersive and movies don’t have that experience. Some people think things games are for kids. But games make as much money as music and movies.

16:05 – The game industry has something special and keeps getting bigger. It’ll take over industries. Game movies are pretty awful right now. It’s hard to integrate a game into a movie. The immersive experience is taken out.

18:22 – He has a big game in mind that’s too large scale right now. It’s an anime action-slash theme game. He wants game story lines to keep impacting each other in the game.

19:44 – He’s had a real blast being at Magfest talking to players and game designers. The blind game fans have really inspired him. Akari is at Jepgames.com. They’re also on facebook, twitter and instagram.

 

Links

https://www.skillsusa.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Fox:_Assault

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_Emblem

https://www.jepgames.com/

 

For more “Creating Sci-Fi and Fantasy – An Inside Look” please follow me on Facebook at crisalvarezwlc, on youtube at Cris Alvarez and on Instagram @crisalvarezscifi

 

Guests: Jordan Pierson

Host: Cris Alvarez