I’ve designed User Interface for years. Yesterday’s Dilbert struck a chord with me. For all their popularity, smart phones have some really difficult UI problems.
OG's BLOG
JOURNAL of ARTIST and WRITER STEVE OGDEN
Categories: the day job
Firaxis Games is hiring!
Firaxis Games is looking for an experienced Senior Environment Artist. Details below:
Job Description:
Firaxis Games is looking for an exceptionally skilled senior environment artist for our latest Sid Meier’s project. As the senior environment artist, you will be working closely with the Project Art Director, Designer, and art team to establish asset creation pipelines along with the look and feel of the game world. The ideal candidate must have a solid grasp on lighting and color, as well as an excellent working knowledge of our tool-set (listed below).
Responsibilities:
- Create the highest quality organic 3D art and textures that adhere to the project’s vision.
- Collaborate closely with the engineering and art teams to create beautiful and believable worlds without sacrificing readability and game play.
- Help establish pipelines for creating real time 3D assets for a randomized and tile-able world.
- Work closely with our graphics team to develop dynamic lighting systems for the game world.
Skills
- Exceptional communications skills, both oral and written, are a must.
- Excellent organic modeling skills.
- Outstanding problem solving abilities.
- Must be a team player and willing to incorporate ideas from other team members.
- Outstanding organization and time management abilities.
- A solid understanding of color and lighting.
- Ability to work with an iterative design process is a must.
Experience
- Must have an expert knowledge of 3DStudio Max, Photoshop, and Zbrush.
- At least two shipped products as a terrain artist.
- Experience with World Machine is preferred.
- Past experience with tile-able terrain sets is a bonus.
Interested parties, contact me.
Game Changers
Baltimore Magazine is running a nice article on the local game industry here in Hunt Valley. The article talks at length about Firaxis, where I work, and my boss Sid Meier. The article also features a two page spread – I’m in it with both my bosses – Steve Martin and Sid Meier, pictured (above) as well as a great shot of Civ V on the big TV in the background.
For those of you wondering, that’s what Firaxis’ conference room looks like.
Firaxis now hiring UI artist
A quick note from my day job – Firaxis Games is looking for a good, experienced User Interface artist. As you can see from the image above, Firaxis’ games are very UI-intense. If you are someone who wants to push the envelope on User Interface, this is definitely the place for you.
More details on the job here.
Civilization IV Complete
I’ve been at Firaxis for over 6 years now, and for most of that time, I’ve worked on Civilization IV and its various expansion packs. The new Civilization IV Complete is out, and it includes the original game of the year Civ IV, the expansion packs Warlords and Beyond the Sword, and Colonization.
Civ Rev wins the BAFTA!
We have a winner! Our game Civilization Revolution has won a BAFTA for Best Strategy Game! (That’s a British “Oscar”, for those who don’t know…) And obviously we’re all very proud.
Feel that glow? That’s BAFTA shine, baby. And I do love me some BAFTA.
The ads
If you want to see the three adverts I worked on over the winter – which alternately inspired me to try to make Moon Town on my own, and pulled me away from the project – I’ve posted them up at the Steve Ogden NEWS.
On Returning from London empty-handed
You know… they say it’s an honor just to be nominated for a BAFTA, and it is. And it was an honor just to go to London and witness the event. But I guess I spent so much time thinking about what an honor it was for Civilization IV: Warlords to be nominated, and how good it would feel to win, that I didn’t really give much thought to what it would mean NOT to win.
Hmm. A lesson in humility.
Rise And Fall: Civilizations At War took the BAFTA in our category (Strategy). Oooh, so close. Even had the word “Civilization” in the title. Close. But no cigar. Congratulations to the team over at Midway for winning our –I mean, this — prestigious award. *blush*
But, boy is London a great town… this was the view outside my hotel room:
Yep. Big Ben. I had a few hours and walked around my little area of London. So many things I’d heard of and wanted to see were a short walk from me… Soho, Fleet Street, St. Martin-in-the-fields, Trafalgar Square (Nelson’s Column), Big Ben, Parlaiment, Westminster Abbey, the Eye of London, the Tower of London, Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre…
I loved it. I hope to go back one day, maybe with a BAFTA film nomination…
Nominated for BAFTA!
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts has launched its Video Game Awards. BAFTA, perhaps better known as the British Academy Awards, is a prestigious honor until now reserved for Film and TV work. Opening it up to video games makes a lot of sense, according to the Guardian:
“The decision by BAFTA to make computer games its ‘third arm’ is overdue endorsement of a genre that has struggled for artistic recognition….. If recognition by BAFTA helps the industry to raise its game, then it will soon be accepted without dispute.”
–Mark Brown, The Guardian
The fun part is that our game, Civilization IV: Warlords is a nominee in the Strategy Game category. We’re obviously all very excited and proud, and I’ll be going to London next week to attend the award ceremony.
Civ IV: Warlords – OUT THE DOOR!
Well… after about 7 months and another BI-III-IIIIG PUSHHHH… we’ve released the first expansion pack for Civilization IV. It’s called Warlords, and it’s out the door and on the shelves. I was Art Lead on this title, just like I was on its predecessor Civilization IV, and I must say… I’m tired.
Now, I go sleep.
My Projects:
