Why do you enjoy your work?
polycounter
I know this is a bit of a nonsensical question but after I heard that someone said he enjoys the highpoly over the lowpoly it made me wonder from which different sources ppl. might derive their motivation to push through days and sometimes weeks to finish a piece of work.
For me it was always the finished asset in-game and for some part I had the obviously wrong impression it's the same for everyone.
And I like lowpolys way more then highpolys - I really want to know every triangle by name (or index :D)
Replies
I just enjoy problem solving. Give me interesting conundrums and I'll be happily noodling away all day.
I perfer actual modelling as opposed to sculpting things, I mean who in real life would sculpt a head using a brush :)
So yeah low poly modelling is really fun for me, like a viisual shorthand
A few reasons for me.
1) I had very little support when starting out in this career and no one would hire me for one reason or another (even with recommendations from existing team members at a studio). Now I have actual fans that adore my work and the combined work of my team. I owe it to them for their continued support and I owe it to my team (my number one fans) to bring my best to the table. We all win in the end and that feeling of team success makes my heart sing when the public enjoys our efforts. Working with people is a true challenge and it helps remind me that we're all human with our own unique talents, hopes, and dreams, not just cogs in a machine.
2) There's a constant stream of tools developed to bring new life to our creativity as artists in this field. As an example, it was huge headache to work with posing anything in UE without having to use another toolset, but now with Control Rig and Sequencer, I can create/modify new animations, promo stills, or even commercials on the fly. The progress made across multiple packages used in our toolsets as artists makes tasks more enjoyable as time goes on.
3) It keeps the ole' brain noodles active. There's always a new problem to solve, and that's a new opportunity for learning. Meeting design needs for gameplay, writing shaders from scratch, or learning that new toolset. Last thing I want is let the noodles get stale and crispy when I'm 80.
4) Putting in all the time and energy to bring a fully functional gameplay asset to life for an interactive experience, and it runs smooth as butter, and it's fun?!? Man oh man that is nomnom tasty good for the soul. It's even better when the fans respond with excitement and support, making all those hours and sleepless nights worth every last pixel.
5) At one of my few studio interviews from well over a decade ago, they asked, "Why do you want to work in video games?", and I honestly didn't have a good answer for that. It never set right with me that I couldn't. Was it for the art? Was it for the process of it all? Why games versus film or TV? I only knew entry to intermediate methods of creating art for games at the time, but I knew I at least enjoyed the process. Still, it felt like a weak answer. After all these years, I know myself now more than ever, and I can finally answer that kind of question with confidence and sincerity.
It's like when you were a kid and you'd make up little stories for your action figures and it was better than any movie or anything because it was your own adventure.
Among the different disciplines involved in making games, I think probably animation offers the highest pure fun factor and doesn't feel like work at all. Modeling gets to be a drag for me, but anything does if you do it too much I suppose. As long as there is some sort of progress made I think any of the different jobs are enjoyable. Enviro art is definitely more interesting than character art for me, just because i like trees more than superheroes i suppose. Plus you make lots of simple stuff fast, rather than one complicated thing slowly.
Wait...
You're supposed to stop doing that when you grow up?
Im a selfflagulationist. I luv it all. From concept sketch to animated in game. As a wise man once said: 3D is the most fun you can have with your pants on.
I like that we're creating fairly engrossing an immersive experiences, and I usually get to do it with dope people
I had a lot of jobs where I did data entry. Puttin numbers from one screen into a second screen. Whenever I get frustrated at work, I just remember that I'm making some sick art of a giant ray gun that's going to be blasting a space ship, and you can't get much cooler of a job than that.
I like things that are difficult.
Making games is difficult
because it is the only thing i actually can do
Why you gotta be so spicy!?
not spicy at all, i usually hate stuff i am bad at and in too many cases too lazy to change it ^^
Neox can cook some pretty decent shit and drink like a tank, he would be a great chef. Making spicy food !
what I model doesn't usually come from the most creative places but I how model them and especially how I render them, going in pinterest or behance then on a broader level "man wouldn't it be cool if I could make this thing evoke this song or building somehow" that stuff really fun.
That applies to personal projects though, making the 45th lowpoly tank or weapon or retopologising someone elses work... well there's no way to make that fun but hey work doesn't have to be fun all the time so it's expected.
I really enjoy solving hard problems in game dev R&D.
Making games helps me understand the world better.
It's also awesome that with enough practice/research I've built a high level of competency.
I can probably list over a 100 reasons why I feel very fortunate to do this for a living. Making games is awesome!