Martí Davicino
Hello, I'm Martí, a member of the art group in the development of Dune: Special Spice Ops. This is the first project I have done with so many people, which has allowed each one to specialize in a specific field. Before starting, I already knew that I wanted to be in charge of modeling the characters, whatever the theme of the game. So in our small group of 5 artists we distributed the modeling tasks between Carles Lopez and I, he would make all the assets related to the stage and I would do the characters. Although later we were exchanging tasks to help each other and not get bored, that was the initial approach.
Background
About Me
Although this degree has taught me most of the skills that I can boast of, at the beginning I was not even sure if I was going to go to university. All my life I have been a very curious boy, who likes to try new things. I remember in High School installing a couple of 3D modeling software like Blender and SketchUp. And from there consume a lot of material from the internet to learn on my own. When I finished High School, I was hesitating whether to enroll in graphic design or computer engineering. I couldn't make up my mind, because I felt that if I didn't satisfy my artistic profile it would frustrate me, but I didn't want to waste the opportunity to do engineering. I resolved the doubt when I found this career: Video Game Design and Development. A race halfway between the two disciplines. So without being passionate about video games, I decided to reconcile the two parts.
After several years studying the degree and with all the experience that I have been able to obtain in projects outside the university, I begin to have things a little clearer. During the degree I have wanted to do my best in all the subjects driven by the curiosity of which will be the subject that most captivates my attention. And in the future, be my profession. I have had to discard some for not being competent enough, or at least in a group project there is someone better than me, and others for not being interested enough. I have come to the decision that I want to be a 3D modeler.
I don't care with what software, with what methodology (there are many) or with what phase of the complete process of creating that art for video games: such as the same modeling, sculpture, texturing, animation, etc... However, as the degree is focused above all on the field of programming, I have had to learn at the same time on my own, through online courses, tutorials and reviewing forums. So in a way, I'm happy with the habit I've built of learning on my own to satiate that interest that college couldn't satisfy.
Soft Skills
- Flexible
- Autodidact
- Curious about new subjects
- Team working
Hard Skills
- Complete 3D modeling workflow with the standar industry softwares: 3D Max, Maya, Blender, etc… Including polygon modeling, sculpting, UV unwrapping, rigging, etc..
- Hand painting textures and procedural textures with Substance Painter and Substance Designer
- C++ applied to video game development
Contribution
Project Overview
In this project I had the role of artist. Mainly because I wanted to improve my modeling skills. During the process I have learned a lot, especially the complete workflow that is necessary to be implemented in a game.
Main Tasks
In this project, the art group was quite small. We have only been 5 people, which has been a challenge from the beginning because of the work we have had. It has also influenced the first approach to the game's art direction. We have been 5 people with very different profiles, we have had a person who has made the music of the game totally on his own and others who have only been in charge of the production of 3D assets.
We have only been two, the people who have had modeling as their main task throughout the process. Carles Lopez and I have been able to find a style for the game that is both visually satisfying and affordable to complete. The result has been a low-poly with stylized elements both in shape and textures. This decision was also chosen to favor the restrictions of the engine with which the game was created. We didn't want models with a very high polygon load and at the beginning of the project it wasn't clear if we could have different channels for the texture maps (albedo, metallic, roughness, etc...).
The distribution of tasks was made taking into account the ability of each one and the interest in learning a field more deeply. With the exception of a texture that we use for the sandy terrain, all the assets in the game have been created from scratch by us. Mainly, Carles Lopez was in charge of the stage assets, and I of the characters.
Secondary Tasks
In the art group we have been very united throughout the process and we have been able to communicate well. We have been able to follow the process of each person's tasks together. So we have all participated helping others giving ideas and opinions on possible corrections. That has allowed us to have a consistent style.
We have learned that the different parts of a video game have to be connected. And that no matter how unconnected two elements may seem, they have to be treated in the same way to achieve a coherent style. That thought accompanied by the self-imposed requirement to have a good result. It has led us to have to correct and redo our work several times. And only after several iterations achieve the most convincing result.
So it could be said that the artistic and visual section has been created by our group without making distinctions. Although at the end of the development each one has ended up specializing in the subject they have tried the most, the merit of the result is shared by all of us.
Projects
During the degree we have had very varied subjects in which we have all had to create very complete projects. Thanks to the approach of the subjects we have had the opportunity to delve into various fields. As the format of the projects is to work in a group, we have all been through many occasions in which coordination and communication have been necessary, as well as other skills to work as a team.
Now that we are closer to finishing the degree, most of us are deciding on what is their favorite content of all that we have learned to take it to a professional level. As a result we have many works, projects and prototypes that we have been creating during these years. But I think that the final result is not as important as the way in which we have contributed our part to these projects.
For my part, oblivious to the responsibilities of the university, I have always been involved in some project, with some idea in my head or with the desire to participate in something. Thanks to the way we've learned in college, most of us stay curious. And although time does not allow us, because we are busy with the university, we are always thinking about something.
Finally, as a personal project, I would like to include an idea that I developed completely on my own. And in which in the development, I was able to test my skills and at the same time learn a lot. It's called Burger Buddies, and it's a collection of NFTs about burgers. This project was born from the interest of joining 3D modeling and programming to achieve something that was not strictly a game. Also, before all the blockchain boom I had always been very interested in procedural generation. So I ended up creating a collection of 10,000 completely different procedurally created burgers. I used Blender for the modeling, Substance Painter and Designer for the textures and the program with which the burgers were generated is written in C++.
