This talk will give insight into the exciting world of research on Virtual Humans and how they have been utilized for training and collaboration in Virtual Reality in areas such as the Health and the Games Industry. Touching on Embodiment, Avatar realism, Non-verbal communication, and Immersion techniques. Delegates will leave with a new perspective on how Virtual Humans and Virtual Reality can provide stress-provoking interactions and a unique method of immersed self-assessment that can not be offered by any other platform.

Takeaway:

• Delegates will leave with an understanding of how plausibility in VR can be moderated by the implementation of Virtual Humans
• Delegates will leave with an understanding of how embodied social interactions can create unique opportunities for self-reflection and learning
• Delegates will leave with an understanding of the limitations and challenges surrounding using Virtual Humans for Social Virtual Interaction.

Interior/Night’s debut game, As Dusk Falls, is a powerful story of betrayal, sacrifice and resilience across generations in small-town Arizona. Creating an art style which matched the epic scale and ambition of the narrative, while capturing all the subtleties and sensitivities of the characters’ emotions, presented the art team with complex challenges.

Join the Art Director and key members of the team as they lift the lid on the unique ‘every frame a painting’ art style. Hear how they made an impossibly bespoke artistic vision a reality.

Take a tour of the film studio where the team captured live-action actor performances.

Watch demonstrations of character painting techniques, and the custom tools which brought the scenes to life.

Discover the secrets of combining 2D characters with 3D sets.
And go behind the scenes to see how lighting and careful compositing built the game’s unique look.

As Dusk Falls has been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival.

Takeaway:

• An insight into the creation of an original and beautiful art style
• A sneak peek at a groundbreaking game
• Unique secrets of visual storytelling

Despite being two industries focused on creativity, new technology and playfulness, fashion and games were two worlds that, for a long time, were totally separate. This changed rapidly as we moved our lives online in the pandemic, and created a surge of interest from the fashion world in what games could mean for their brands and collections. From Balenciaga's FW/21 runway show existing within Unreal Engine, to designers partnering with Animal Crossing creators to bring their collections to life in game, the fashion industry has never been more interested in games as a medium. Many game developers are stepping into this world, through partnerships, metaverse experience design or simply through more considered approaches to the fashion in their games.

Takeaway:

• Fashion and the games industry have incredible opportunities to collaborate, in ways that are both beneficial to your players and to your revenue!
• Players are incredibly engaged in avatar customisation, which is becoming even more relevant in our increasingly digital world. Virtual influencers, Vtubers and trends in social media imply we are moving to a blended reality of representation. This is all the more important for GenZ & Alpha.
• Digital fashion and the NFT industry are closely linked to digital representation, but their eventual use and popularity is still to be proven. The fashion and games industry have different attitudes to this- we can learn from each other!
• The fashion industry are ready and willing to collaborate with your game. This can be done on a large scale (international luxury brand partnerships) or smaller scale (working with individual designers to make representative, realistic (or fantastical!) clothing with your character designs). Think about what approach could work for your project.

Creature design is becoming more important and ubiquitous within games, from titanic monsters and beasts, to collectible partners and friendly fantasy races & NPC’s.

But as creature design grows more specialized, the knowledge and skills to create not just technologically feasible creatures, but unique and visually appealing designs becomes harder to achieve.

In this talk Sam will talk about the essential principles of creature design and anatomy, what you should consider when making a creature for a game environment, and how to apply those skills to make creature designs that are both visually interesting and emotionally appealing.

• The application and requirements for various types of creature design within the entertainment industry
• The Foundations of comparative animal anatomy
• How to Apply art principles to create a visually appealing and functional design

In this talk, programmer Jonathan Maldonado discusses the technical approach Glowmade took on building a navmesh system from scratch, how it solved the needs of Glowmade's upcoming game and where it can go from here.

Takeaway:

• How to build your own navmesh
• How taking this approach can give you greater options
• What building your own navmesh can help you achieve

Many creative individuals shudder at the thought of learning Python or other technical skills and block themselves from reaching their full potential. This session explores the relationship between technical and creative knowledge and how technical skills are beneficial to creatives. Ruthie explores how creative brains work and why creative individuals should develop technical skills. She provides practical advice on how you can evaluate your own skill base and provides tools to help you identify which technical skills you should learn. Sharing her own past challenges, in particular with learning Python, Ruthie highlights how perseverance can unlock your creative potential.

Takeaway:

• How creative brains work
• How to evaluate your current skillset and identify what skills to develop
• Why creative individuals can and should develop technical skills
• Resources and practical advice for learning technical skills

In this session, I'll be going through hints, tips, and weird things that help to manage ADHD and distraction, especially in these pandemic-infused times. Through my journey with diagnosis, I'll go over how I have maximised my hyper-focusing tendencies for a career in Game Art and Art Direction, as well as giving you some tools to structure your approach to game development and art more successfully.

Takeaway:

• Dig into ADHD and how it can present within the games industry
• Learn strategies for coping with distraction and brain noise whilst working on video games
• Improve your artistic workflow through these processes

Houdini has quickly become the shiny new tool in game development with studios ranging from indie to AAA keen to benefit from the prospect of generating an immense amount of content in shorter time periods. The internet is filled with countless examples of exciting projects showing off the end results, but it can be hard for non-Houdini users to understand the possibilities and limitations of Houdini tools. Having a better overview of this will be helpful in understanding where Houdini can improve workflows for your team while avoiding common pitfalls which often result in painful and costly work farther down the development pipeline. In this talk you will learn where Houdini can be used in game projects, how to effectively communicate about potential tools and you’ll learn some helpful tips for building your own tools.

Takeaway: 

• Insights on using Houdini for procedural generation and as a pipeline tool. 
• How to communicate about tool requests, goals, and scope.
• Helpful tips for building your own Houdini tools.

A panel of Art Directors from across the industry will discuss:

• How to create distinctive styles that make your game stand out.
• How to keep the art team inspired and on track with the visuals. 
• What the future looks like for artists, considering the visual advancements in UE5, PS5, Photogrammetry etc
• What has been the most inspiring game for them visually and why.
• What are the greatest skills required of an Art Director.
• How has being an Art Director changed over the past 10 - 20 years in games.

Takeaway: 

• You will learn what it takes to be an Art Director in 2022
• What the challenges are 
• What the future of games art could potentially look like 

In this talk, Henry goes through twelve theories that help when designing the user interface of games. An insight into the psychology and principles that inform decisions behind the design of User Experience and User Interface.

Takeaway:

• Ideas that will help guide and inspire user experience and user interface design of games. 
• An introduction to some psychological principles that are highly relevant to the design of UX/UI.
• Ways of thinking to help working with others, being humble and avoiding stress. 

AAA Games are getting bigger and more detailed all the time and players are expecting more than ever before. It is quickly becoming a reality to design and create large-scale AAA worlds not only with a high amount of detail but also to a tight deadline.

In this talk, we will discuss a framework in which we can achieve highly detailed art whilst still maintaining high production standards and ultimately creating worlds that are attainable as much as they are detail-rich!

Although this discussion may be aimed more towards leads, managers, and those wishing to become leads, I believe everyone will be able to learn and pick up some information to aid them in their work going forward, from beginner to expert.

Takeaway:

·       Insights into attaining AAA environment art standards and the challenges you might face.

·       Light production ideas that artists can use to develop their workflows and pipelines.

·       Creating detail-rich worlds in a short amount of time.

·       Advice around team structure and culture.