What do I want to do? Career Thoughts
Following on from a small project last year; looking into start up funds, markets and jobs - this year is the official start of my proposed career. Over the course of this year, opportunities will arise to connect with people already working within the industry, and this will be the ticket in! This blog will be showcasing the work flow over the next year as a sort of portfolio and another means of being able to interact with gamers, programmers, artists and businesses.
One of the first check boxes of this project is to research and aim towards a specific job role. Originally, I had a great deal of fun modelling whenever I would toy around with modelling softwares, including making a pretty sweet gun. Over the last year however, without any real project in mind, I learned the cruel reality that I am terrible at 3D modelling. I just feel as though I am constantly trying to fight with the software. Perhaps with clear objectives in creating assets for a game, I might like it a little bit more.
Plan B! It seems as though a lot of people these days are coders, and whilst I am slow at understanding C#/C++, Unreal Blueprints was great for introduction. But just being a "Programmer" isn't all too specific. And even though I was terrible at it, I wanted to do something with myself that was more than staring at a notepad all day. The term "Programmer" is just too wide spread and could mean absolutely anything and I could keep myself trapped in a simple job if I don't aim for any kind of specialization.
Enter UI/HUD Programmer!
Since my very early days of World of Warcraft I have been fascinated with all the different addons and mods that you can use, and a huge proportion of these are HUD elements or UI tweaks. It's something present within every game, be it as simple as a health bar, ammo counter, to as complex as the MMO interfaces. And the best part is, it's a nice dip into both coding and creativity!
The game will eventually serve twofold: Both as a fun project that could blossom into a steam released game, and also as a portfolio of work. So where the game may not look as jaw droppingly amazing as a 3D modeller could make, there should still be more than just 3d assets of trees and tables. I will be creating various HUD elements and a clean, crisp UI that should be able to demonstrate my knowledge.
But what sort of game could be UI intensive, that a lone student could create, that won't end up being a spreadsheet nightmare? I will talk about it in my next blog post.
One of the first check boxes of this project is to research and aim towards a specific job role. Originally, I had a great deal of fun modelling whenever I would toy around with modelling softwares, including making a pretty sweet gun. Over the last year however, without any real project in mind, I learned the cruel reality that I am terrible at 3D modelling. I just feel as though I am constantly trying to fight with the software. Perhaps with clear objectives in creating assets for a game, I might like it a little bit more.
Plan B! It seems as though a lot of people these days are coders, and whilst I am slow at understanding C#/C++, Unreal Blueprints was great for introduction. But just being a "Programmer" isn't all too specific. And even though I was terrible at it, I wanted to do something with myself that was more than staring at a notepad all day. The term "Programmer" is just too wide spread and could mean absolutely anything and I could keep myself trapped in a simple job if I don't aim for any kind of specialization.
Enter UI/HUD Programmer!
Since my very early days of World of Warcraft I have been fascinated with all the different addons and mods that you can use, and a huge proportion of these are HUD elements or UI tweaks. It's something present within every game, be it as simple as a health bar, ammo counter, to as complex as the MMO interfaces. And the best part is, it's a nice dip into both coding and creativity!
The game will eventually serve twofold: Both as a fun project that could blossom into a steam released game, and also as a portfolio of work. So where the game may not look as jaw droppingly amazing as a 3D modeller could make, there should still be more than just 3d assets of trees and tables. I will be creating various HUD elements and a clean, crisp UI that should be able to demonstrate my knowledge.
But what sort of game could be UI intensive, that a lone student could create, that won't end up being a spreadsheet nightmare? I will talk about it in my next blog post.
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