A hunger for knowledge

[Subvert5]

I figured I would make a post/request about modding and the teams that will get together when Skyrim comes out:

 

I want to make my career in the game industry, and ideally working for Bethesda someday. A lot of interviews I have seen mention modding games that are out already, and the nexus community is a pretty friendly group, in my experience. I have messed around with modding oblivion a little, but I'm pretty new to all of it, to be honest. I'd really like to just dive in and learn all there is to know, but between school, full-time job, and life, it's hard to devote a lot of time to all of this. I'm also trying to learn 3d modeling, and a little bit of programming, too.

 

I know that teams often get together to make mods, and it seems to me like that would be a great experience, and a great motivator to really buckle down and get involved. If anyone would be interested in including me in some way, I'd be like a kid in a candy store.

 

Of course, I wouldn't want to burden anyone, and I definitely wouldn't want to slow down any progress, but I think it would be great to simply be a spectator of what goes on during the whole process. Or, for example, if someone is working on a specific part, they could tell me "hey, go google this and you'll understand what I'm doing right now".

 

I guess I'm mainly talking about when Skyrim comes out, since I know a lot of modders will be active, but I am open to suggestions now, too. Just reaching out for a push in the right direction.

 

Thanks!

 

Edit: Sorry if this isn't really in the right section, but, like I said, I'm mainly thinking about when TES:V comes out.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Subvert5

[ub3rman123]

The Elder Scrolls Alliance, or TESA, has some very good classes for the CS and other things going on. You might also look into the CS Wiki for the basic stuff first.

[Subvert5]

Nice, thanks for those sites. I'll definitely check 'em out.

 

Also, I followed some of the basics on cs.elderscrolls, so I'm familiar with moving beer mugs around :P , creating an interior/exterior (and the portals between them), a bit of the scripts with quests, etc. Also have made my own race/companion, and made some small edits to some of the pre-existing meshes, like hair etc.

[Vagrant0]

If you really want to get into game design, I'd give modding a pass until you have more time and a bit more of a basis to work from. Your first step should be in getting that 4 year degree and a few programming languages (java and c script atleast) under your belt. Without these, even if you're a damn good modder, or perfectly understand what goes into a game, nobody will even look at you. Although modding can tell you quite a lot about game design and encourage some new concepts, it is still primarily considered little more than a hobby. It doesn't hurt to poke around with a game in your free time for a little perspective or to solidify your knowledge, but it is not a substitute for accreditation or actual work-place experience.

[scrivener07]

Your first step should be in getting that 4 year degree

[Subvert5]

Yep, that's exactly what I'm doing right now. I'm working on my associates in graphic design right now, and I'm trying to decide what college to go to afterward. I've learned the basics for c++, java, and am trying to further my understanding of those two (I have to say, it's difficult learning them independently, though). Same story with 3ds Max and modeling in general.

 

And poking around in the games themselves is why I wrote this post. When I first got into the construction set, it blew my mind how it pretty much gives you access to the entire game (I realize that it doesn't give you access to the source code and all that). But I figured that the modding community would be jumping on skyrim shortly, if not immediately, following its release. Sounds like another opportunity to learn :)

 

I agree with you, though, that my general understanding of the basics (whether it's from an art aspect, programming aspect, both, etc) should be my priority.

 

Thanks for your replies.

Edited July 7, 2011 by Subvert5

[Vagrant0]

And poking around in the games themselves is why I wrote this post. When I first got into the construction set, it blew my mind how it pretty much gives you access to the entire game (I realize that it doesn't give you access to the source code and all that).

In truth, the CS is more like being given a set of Lego blocks than say, a Star-Trek style Replicator. You can do some neat things with it... like really neat, but most of it is within programmed limitations by the components you have access to. Playing with mods won't tell you much about actually making a game so much as providing you a hint about what is involved with game production and some vague sense of workload. You would probably learn the most not from necessarily making mods, but by looking at various scripting decisions, how various game elements are situated and balanced, and taking a good long look at everything related to either testing or script comments, or other elements that remain with a game, but aren't necessarily playable.

 

In Oblivion, there are dozens of test cells, each geared toward some element of the game, and many more bits which appear unfinished or purposely gutted. On their own, these may appear just the odd curiosity, but when combined together with an understanding of how a game is made on various production requirements (time, cost, media limitations), they paint a picture of how development was really progressing and what decisions were made to get the game out on time. I suspect that Skyrim will have the same, so these would probably be your best bet for getting an inside view until you get more familiar with the program.

[Subvert5]

In Oblivion, there are dozens of test cells, each geared toward some element of the game, and many more bits which appear unfinished or purposely gutted. On their own, these may appear just the odd curiosity, but when combined together with an understanding of how a game is made on various production requirements (time, cost, media limitations), they paint a picture of how development was really progressing and what decisions were made to get the game out on time. I suspect that Skyrim will have the same, so these would probably be your best bet for getting an inside view until you get more familiar with the program.

 

Oh nice, I had alway wondered why those were there, but never thought to investigate. I'm already learning new stuff, heh.

[antonkr]

If you look in the jobs Beth offers you will never be working both with making the quests and making environments and building the basic engine of the game. Getting a job in bethesda isn't too easy to do it but many modders got those jobs because of their mods.

[Subvert5]

Right. And my main focus is definitely 3d art/animation. Maybe geared more toward character/animal/etc design rather than level design, but really, anything that has to do with art on a computer is what I'm interested in. I'm pretty good with photoshop already (I.e. My design classes are boring me right now until I can get into advanced ones), so texturing the models I'm doing in 3ds is coming fairly naturally to me.

 

That being said, I also want to have general knowledge of pretty much all aspects of building a game. That way, I can have my side-projects as a hobby. (Funny example, but the movie Grandma's Boy pops into my head)

Edited July 8, 2011 by Subvert5