Gaming Future Gaming

[Rachael]

Here's the thing. I am 16 going on 17. My ambition is to be a top line computer animator. I think it's amazing how we can create the cg on computor. I was playing ff10 and I was on the mi'hen highroad whan the camera shifts and we can see the wind blowing the grass gently with tidus in the backround (for those who've played it i'm sure you know what I mean) thats what got me seriously thinking about this certain career. The thing that worry me is that after reading the thread "The love of Gaming" I got to thinking it might not be a good choice. I think it was James that said the video game industry is losing it's "freshness" as he put it. I'm worried that when I get my degree and start looking for a job that there will be no job because everyone has moved on with gaming. What is your imput? Are my theories crazy or do you agree with them?

[Sage Kaley]

Actually I think you're part of what the industry needs. Video games need fresh ideas right? Well who better to give those ideas? I think more people going into the industry will help it. If you want to do graphics then go ahead, there will be jobs for you after you get your degree (I think, it's a pretty good guess).

I don't think people will move on in gaming by the time you get your degree. I really doubt that. So there's no worries there. I say if that's what you want to do and you're willing to work for it, then do so. New ideas start with new people there to spice things up.

[Morpheus]

I'd say you need to really consider the art form. Are you good at math? Are you willing to work for weeks to get that grass to blow in the wind?

[Charles]

[quote name='Rachael']Here's the thing. I am 16 going on 17. My ambition is to be a top line computer animator. I think it's amazing how we can create the cg on computor. I was playing ff10 and I was on the mi'hen highroad whan the camera shifts and we can see the wind blowing the grass gently with tidus in the backround (for those who've played it i'm sure you know what I mean) thats what got me seriously thinking about this certain career. The thing that worry me is that after reading the thread "The love of Gaming" I got to thinking it might not be a good choice. I think it was James that said the video game industry is losing it's "freshness" as he put it. I'm worried that when I get my degree and start looking for a job that there will be no job because everyone has moved on with gaming. What is your imput? Are my theories crazy or do you agree with them?[/quote]

I don't think video games are losing their innovation altogether. With Sony's Eye Toy, the fleshing out of online gaming, and the interesting things Nintendo is trying to do, I see quite a bit of room for games to grow in creative ways. But even so, you're acting as if the video game industry is your only option for becoming a computer animator. Pixar would probably disagree with you.

[BlueYoshi]

[color=darkred]I went down the road of wanting to be a computer animator when I was about your age, but I soon realised that it just wasn't practical enough for me for a number of reasons.

I think young blood could be helpful to the industry, especially if you're already a gamer yourself, because then you could point out what needs doing, as opposed to someone who just happens to be good at the job overall.[/color]

[James]

[font=franklin gothic medium]I'm not sure if you are saying that you want to do CG animation in games or if you want to do CG movies. Either way, you're going to need to be good with math and digital graphics in general.

I wouldn't worry about any lack of freshness. If you are a computer animator, your concern will be to animate the projects that are given to you (or if you're in a senior position, to play a role in the development of animation and so on). As the industry grows, [i]more[/i] people will be needed to undertake computer animation. Artists and animators are going to be a hot property in gaming to an increasing degree.

The basic point is, if you love animation, you should do it. Don't let the state of the industry stop you. As long as you love being an animator and doing that work, you'll be a lot happier, even when you're dealing with projects that you may not have much interest in (and pretty much every animator is in that position now and then).[/font]