This project represents the conclusion of my time at the DADIU course in Copenhagen Denmark.
My role on this team was Art Director. I took on this role while studying Game & Interaction Design at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts’ Design School.
The reason that my role was Art Director and not Game Director or Game Designer, was that a part of the learning goals of the course was for leading roles to take positions outside of their comfort zone.
Our team consisted of 18 students from a variety of universities in Denmark. Programmers, artists and designers were put together to work on games with the goal of experiencing working in a professional environment and having to develop and release a finished game in a short period of time.
My job on the team was to direct the team of artists which consisted of a visual artist, two 3D artists, and an animator. One of my responsibilities was to work closely with the Game Director and Lead Game Designer to ensure that the visual representation of the game was in line with the vision of the game. The job also involved working closely with the Lead Technical Artist and Lead Programmer to ensure that the artistic vision was feasible to implement in an extremely short amount of time.
Tasks that I undertook on this project involved:
- Participating in morning meetings with the other leads. During these we would give a status on our progress and resolve various issues before the rest of the team checked in.
- Conducting morning meetings with the art team where we took turns to quickly summarize our current progress and planned tasks. During these meetings we would raise awareness if we were stuck or had other problems.
- Working closely with the other leads on the team to ensure that the artistic vision of the game and the visuals of the game assets had the best prerequisites for success and fell in line with the vision set by the Game Director.
- Developing the art direction. This involved working on the art bible and communicating our vision clearly to the artists.
- Helping plan and prioritize tasks on the fly with the art team.
- Working closely with the artists and adjust the scope of our ambitions according to circumstances.
- Brainstorm ideas and solutions with individuals on the team.
- Taking responsibility for shortcomings and helping resolve conflicts.
- Testing art elements with the Game Designer to ensure that the art fulfilled its purposes through the lenses of Game Design.
- Attempting to maintain a positive vibe and healthy work ethic in a sometimes stressful environment.
You can play the game on Android devices here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.dadiu.scouts
