What Flaagan's been up to the past 4 years [portfolio]
polycounter lvl 18
Heya folks, been out of the art posting area of the forum for a while now. For the past ~4 years I'd been working at Cryptic Studios as an fx artist on multiple projects, and got laid off at the end of October; time to get caught up with what I've been up to.
Due to comments from former coworkers, I'm removing the video and setting it to private.
Thanks,
Flaagan
Due to comments from former coworkers, I'm removing the video and setting it to private.
- Champions Online
- Worked on Marvel Universe Online project (powers and environment fx) from near the start until its cancelation
- Worked on Champions Online from its creation to post launch, and continued to offer both technical and fx creation support after moving off the project
- Environment FX
- Created and (and often placed) environment fx for the Crisis and Zone maps; the sheer number of fx done for the environments in Champions warrants just listing the zones, as I created most (and in many cases all) of the fx used on the maps:
- Millenium City Crisis
- Millenium City
- Desert Crisis
- Desert
- Canada Crisis
- Canada
- Lemuria Crisis
- Lemuria
- Monster Island Crisis
- Monster Island
- Vibora Bay Crisis
- Vibora Bay
- Created standard and one-off environment fx used in numerous instanced maps and missions
- Created the fx used for mission icons
- Handled environment fx optimization, including using internal tools and technology to drastically improve fx performance throughout the game
- Created a standard set of destructible object fx to be usable by designers across multiple objects
- Worked with designers to determine standard sizes for the explosions, design would pick an explosion size and type and combine it with debris bursts
- Created a set of small, medium, and large explosions for a variety of objects
- Created debris bursts for multiple object types in small, medium, and large amounts
- Created fx used for the numerous Nemesis missions
- Created fx used for the various vehicles seen in the game, such as
- Viper hover vehicles
- Lemurian subs
- Created and (and often placed) environment fx for the Crisis and Zone maps; the sheer number of fx done for the environments in Champions warrants just listing the zones, as I created most (and in many cases all) of the fx used on the maps:
- Powers / Other
- Created fx for DLC, preorder bonuses, numerous in-game consumables and mission items
- Created the "level up" fx, as well as the standard hit fx used throughout the game
- Created Martial Arts, Munitions, and Beastial power sets, also acted as support with other power sets and travel powers where needed
- All power sets are designed to be hue-shiftable by both players and the designer
- Worked with coders and designers to create a standard weapon parameterization setup that's been used across multiple projects, including weapon set limitations for power sets
- Worked with animation team to set up a animation skeleton and message-based system to use a minimal number of one-off fx across multiple powers (such as a standard gunshot that can work on multiple powers, only firing when animation tells it to).
- Martial arts & munitions sets custom weapons / powers (also referred to as power replaces)
- Worked with outsourced and in-house weapon models
- Worked with design and coders to create a process for setting up weapons, usable as unlockable and one-off items
- Created all files needed for design to easily implement weapons into unlockables
- Set up proper scaling and bone positioning
- Set up all nodes needed for fx origins
- Helped create a material standard (used across multiple projects) for custom weapon colorization (both done by players and as specified by design team)
- set up all materials for weapons, defined standard weapon colors
- created a set of munitions fx types that are reusable across all the weapons
- created a set of melee weapon fx
- created a standard method for attaching fx to weapons (used across multiple projects)
- Created powers and fx for numerous bosses and critter groups, including:
- Fake Dr. Destroyer, Mega Destroyer, Destroyer Bots
- Foxbat & Fox Battle Bots
- Therakiel, Nephilim, Vampires
- Rictus, Bloodstone, Tachyon
- PSI, Medusa, PsiMon
- Qwyjibo, MegaTerak, Teliosaurus
- Telios
- Qularr
- Bronze King, Lemurians, Ghost Pirates
- Ghost Cowboys, Gigaton
- Wildlife Critters
- Created power sets used for post-launch special events such as Bloodmoon, Nemesis Confrontation, and Revelation
- Created a large costume fx set for both generic usage (tintable) and one-offs for numerous bosses, critters, and for player costume customization, such as
- Glows and auras for various body parts (hands, eye, arms, legs, head, etc)
- The standard ghost costume fx
- A standard hologram costume fx
- Created the boost fx, both the dropped item and the body aura visible after a boost is applied
- Created numerous status used for numerous buff and debuffs, as well as low health, and one-offs used for special items and consumables
- Created numerous weather and on screen (screen space) fx
- Worked with the animation team to set up a standard for turrets, including a message-based system so that one fx can be used with a variety of turrets types regardless of barrel count or firing rate.
- Worked with coders and design to set up standard targeting fx
- Numerous optimization passes on powers and environment fx as new tech became available
- Star Trek Online
- Created various Ground and Space powers, as well as environment / weather fx
- Due to the short period of time I worked on STO, and style / design changes, I cannot show any of this work
- Prior to launch, I was brought on to go through somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the fx used on STO and do an optimization pass
- Created various Ground and Space powers, as well as environment / weather fx
- D&D: Neverwinter
- After working on Champions and STO, I moved on to Cryptics Neverwinter project (around the start of 2010)
- Worked initially as the sole fx artist on the project, creating both template powers fx and various environment fx, moved to (mostly) environment fx after a second fx artist was moved onto the project.
- Using previously created standards, set up a process for turning weapon concept art directly into color-customizable materials for standard weapon geometries
- Worked with environment artists to created kit piece fx used with assets
- Worked with fx coders to debug, define features of, and demo to artists an fx-based cloth / physics system
- Due to the current 'unexposed' nature of this project, and the fact that what I worked on may or may not be in the final product, I cannot currently show off any of this work
- Other projects
- Assisted with numerous other projects (unannounced), offering both fx or technical support when needed
Thanks,
Flaagan
Replies
I can't wait to see the video once you go through everything.
Good luck landing a new job.
Yah yah, I know. :poly124:
Needed to write it out cause every time I'd think of something else to add to the list of "stuff I've done". Gotta get them bulletpoints, man, cause I did lots!
Even being unemployed, I've got a lot going on. I'll hopefully have a rev 1 of the reel up in the next few days. :poly142:
EDIT: wait my bad, Cryptic made all of those
I tell you what, if Cryptic ever released their editors (even just the fx editor) to the public I'd jump right on it. Being uber-rusty with UEd2 and just getting started with learning UE3's fx system has me at a bit of a disadvantage for doing my own stuff at the moment.
Biggest things that come to mind from my experience were:
- always try to avoid jerky or non-smooth movements, unless the particle is specifically supposed to be doing such a movement
- keep reworking a sprite until it blends well, whether this is in the sprite itself or the alpha settings in the fx, and try to make a sprite that can be spawned at any rotation so you can jitter it's rotation and get rid of evident reuse.
rofl
yea i was like where is it? where is it?? too
perhaps cryptic layed off a few too many?
And nice list man. It's not often I see a resume section and go TLDR.
Ok, I've managed to get one out, but it's way too huge a file size to upload... need to try and compress it down to a manageable size (something youtube can handle). Urgh.. this is something I've always hated having to deal with... I only ever use video editors once in a blue moon...
- It's insanely long. I know it's a first pass and all but you have to trim it down to the 2 min mark. There are tons of effects that are too similar. For example the fountains, pick one to show cut the rest, they are very similar.
- Second, I would add text on your reel the explain what you did specifically. Right now it's very confusing. I don't know what you did in some parts. In some areas there are multiple fx on screen. Did you do them all? Some of them? if you did some, point at which ones you did.
For example:
at 4:02 am I supposed to be looking at the smoke or the green fog? which one you did?
4:08 the player powers or the blizzard or both?
6:30 there are two characters on screen doing powers, which one is the one you did the powers for? Did you do the powers for both of them?
Just be more specific about. Right now it's confusing and it's too much. That's why I think you need some text on your reel to explain what you are seeing and what you are supposed to be looking out for.
cheers and good luck!
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