Editor's Notebook
Gaming: It's getting to be time to pay attention...
For the past several
years, I've felt that I was just too busy to delve into the world of gaming.
There is so much to do each and every day, who has time to spend blasting
things away or dropping little bricks into slots? Recently, however,
I thought I could feel something beginning to creep up on me, that I could
feel a shadow about to fall over me. Yes, it was gaming, telling me that
it was time to pay attention. This issue forced me to take a look at the
games that are out there, and was I surprised! The best of them are creative
and fun.
Gaming, is in fact a massive industry that I feel will begin to impact
an animation artist's life more and more. As graphics continue to evolve
and consumers' appetites create a demand for more detailed plots, the talents
of people from the traditional animation areas will be recruited into the
world of interactive animation. I don't think they will defect completely,
but I can see a day when freelancing for an animation studio and then going
to freelance at a gaming company will be viewed as the norm. The upside
is going to be more companies added to the work-giving mix. In fact, some
studios are already there. Jeff Fino of Wild Brain, whose Green Eggs
and Ham just won the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an
Animated Interactive Production, recently told us that they work on games
and their traditional animation projects side by side.
All in all, this diversion into multimedia has bolstered my opinion that
perhaps the statement "Animation, the Art Form of the 21st Century"
is true, as the multimedia field grows in use and prevalence in our daily
lives. In this month's survey, "The
Future of Gaming," some key players in the
gaming biz offer us their ideas on what lies ahead.
I would also like to draw attention to this month's Student Corner article
"How to Find a Job in Multimedia" by Pamela Kleibrink Thompson. Even if you aren't
looking for a job specifically in multimedia, I suggest you read this article.
Pamela offers a lot of solid advice to anyone looking for a job. Furthermore,
her words about portfolios, resumés and demo reels are right on
the money, even for traditional animation job seekers. When I was reviewing
portfolios at Hanna-Barbera, nothing was more frustrating than opening
up a portfolio and having it explode on my desk into a flurry of loose
paper. Plus, when people at festivals would hand me CD-ROMs as portfolios,
I'd think, "Thanks, it proves that you are really technologically
savvy, but when it is 6:00 p.m., and I have to review all of the incoming
portfolios...I don't have time to take the CD, go downstairs, print out
the images for the producers who don't have CD-ROM players in their offices,
etc." It is better to call and get it right the first time so that
recruiters can truly, fairly evaluate the art work. The pet peeves of recruiters
could go on and on and on for pages. But a good recruiter will look at
your art and be able to find an appropriate place for you even if it isn't
listed as your exact objective, so don't worry about perhaps missing out
on work by being focused.
I would also like to thank Daniel Rein and his brother, Major Mike Rein
for their fascinating article "Flight
Simulators: A Bird's Eye View." After
speaking to everyone from our local air force base to the Pentagon, I came
across Major Mike Rein in the Air Force Personnel Center in Texas. He hooked
me up with his brother, and we sent them nearly a dozen flight simulator
games. Now we, non-pilots, can hear from an expert which flight
simulator games are most like flying the real thing. Speaking with them
and editing the article surely proved to me that flying a small, zippy
jet is a world unto its own and indeed, a very complex and difficult one.
For those of us used to standing firmly on the ground, it is hard to imagine
situations where things are happening so fast one is hardly aware of where
the ground even is!
This was a fun and an interesting issue to put together. I hope you find
it just as intriguing. As always, we, welcome your comments and ideas at
editor@awn.com.
Until next time...
Heather
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