And It Almost Didn’t Happen…
THE ART OF ART
Last week we had 100 bugs and it looked like this:
Would we be ready for next weekend?
We’ve been using placeholder “programmer art” for months to show terrain type and objects on the battlefield. The systems were coming together, but it looked and played terribly. I haven’t shown it in the update videos. It was never quite ready to
show.
A major issue is our main artist, Rogier, is a contractor. Recently, he took a full time gig at a game studio (good for him!). Little had been done on combat the past few months, and he was getting more behind with other commitments. If the past is any indication, it would be months before we get anything, if anything at all.
Do I find another artist? Do I put more pressure on Rogier? If I apply too much pressure, he’ll quit: In my career, I’ve always seen people choose their current commitments over their past ones.
A typical example is the “I’ve been offered a higher paying job somewhere else.” Even if you match the new salary/bonus compensation, they still feel more loyalty to keep the agreement they
just made with the new people than to those they’ve been working with for years.
(This is an imperfect example because the #1 reason people leave is the people they currently work with. They want a new environment… but the point is still true.)
Rogier is the first person hired to help make Archmage Rises; 7 years ago. It’s not his fault I’ve taken this long to finish the game. It’s not his fault he found a good opportunity and took it. Rogier has been great to work with all along, is really invested in this project, and is very proud to say he’s done
all the art in the game.
Enter the new VFX artist: Rubi.
She’s new, she’s hungry, and she’s excited to work on the project. How I found Rubi is a story for another time. For 6 months we’ve had this problem: Each spell needs unique particle effects to really “sell it”. No one on the team is good at particles & shaders. Time spent learning and growing this skill could be valuable, but it is also a huge time sink. Time spent doing VFX is time
not spent building features, fixing bugs, and balancing the game. And we’ve got a pile of VFX needs:
We use Codecks to project manage. 57 unique tasks just waiting for someone to tackle them…
Rubi wants to do VFX and technical art. So I asked her to do a test. What would a teleport spell look like? I purposefully kept the instruction vague, because this is game dev.
I received her test a week ago:
Within 5 mins of getting the email, I hired her!
Rubi is also an accomplished 2D artist.
I think this is a self portrait…
What to do?
PRINCIPLES ARE DECISIONS YOU MAKE, BEFORE YOU MAKE DECISIONS
I booked a meeting with Rogier early this week to see where he is at. I conveyed our need to ship a build on Friday. And right now, it looks like ass.
He was the first to table that maybe it’s time to get another artist. But, he also reiterated his commitment to this project: he wants to do the work, he thinks he can. He’s just been slammed recently.
Recently at Defiance, we codified our corporate principles.
#6 is Loving Respect. Basically treat others the way you want to be treated. Rogier wants to do the work, he’s committing to getting us what we need, and I’d like to continue this relationship. So, I’ll take him at his word. I bet the Build that Rogier would deliver by Friday.
Wednesday… nothing.
Thursday… nothing.
Rogier is 6 hours ahead of us. When I wake up in the morning, he’s almost done his work day.
First thing Friday morning, I check my phone.
Nothing.
TOUGH CALL
I shower and get ready, but all I can think about is what to do.
The team has been pushing hard all week to get the build ready. Do we ship as is?
Do we delay releasing for a week to buy more time?
Do I engage Rubi, if she’s available, as an emergency measure for today, to get a few key elements?
10am, stand-up meeting just finished. I ping Rogier to see what is going on.
He asks me what size to export the terrain tiles. He’s working on Archmage!
MAD DASH
Over the next 4 hours Rogier delivers
all the assets we’ve been waiting for! He’s a great artist, and he’s firing on all cylinders! Pieces are flowing in.
Instead of the work I planned to do Friday, I spend the rest of the day integrating all the new artwork into the Build. I polish it up as the coders fix the worst bugs and UX issues. Some of it is still work-in-progress. But in the final few hours, thanks to a loyal dedicated team, we pulled it all together to something presentable.
This Is Game Dev
Here are some samples of how it changed in the final few hours of Friday:
