BoChicoine

Does anyone actually read these things?

I got a job in an animation studio back in December. it was a really difficult time leading up to the interview and there was going to be a major change in my life one way or another, I feel like I got lucky, but at the same time all the years of work seemed to finally pay off.

So happy right now

Hey all,

With the release of Bungie's latest title: Destiny I have fond memories of thrashing through the entire Halo series. But my sentimentality actually stretches as far back as the 1990's when I used to spend many long summer afternoons trekking around in the Marathon Games.

One of the things I remember being very prevalent in those games (and the ensuing Halo franchise) was the environment art which I found to be as immersive as it was beautiful. my first taste was after breaching through a room full of "Phor" in Marathon and stopping by a large open window because something caught my eye. It was actually the ship I was on - but I was looking at a future part of it, through a viewing screen / window, in space. Oh my god my mind was blown. My imagination began to run wild at the thought of what was in that part of the ship and I found myself taking turns to try and reach it, because I liked the idea of being able to look back again, at where I had been. It was pure genius, such a subtle thing yet with so much impact and it made me really feel like i wasn't just running around a series of maze-like corridors and rooms, but rather an actual spaceship. Needless to say it totally changed my perspective of the world we live in and the universe in general in terms of how that can be presented in an FPS game.

So here I am - roughly 15 years later, and trying to figure out how I can translate that feeling into my own environment, I figured the best way is to base it on the Destiny art-style. Up until lately (and probably by no accident) I have had an eye on the emerging "nature-reclaimed" theme which seems to have overtaken the "post-apocalyptic" style which was all the rage since Fallout 3, but me being the eternal optimist that I am I like the idea that even if the human race is extinguished, the essence of what we are is propelled or at least survives.

I'm still working out the details of what I will do, but keep an eye out as i'll be posting progress here. This whole project is going to be done in my spare time and I'll be keeping track of how long I spend (not including journal posts).

Bo

OK Folks,