Animation in the gaming industry

I was able to attend Develop: Brighton this summer, which is the biggest game industry conference in the UK. I wanted to see the industry with my own eyes as I’ve always wanted a step inside it.

One thing I’ve immediately noticed is the high use of 3D, and I myself am more of a 2D person. I specifically looked for studios that work with 2D visuals but it was mostly just studios with 3D games.

However, I did find one PhD research group that created a visual novel game about mental illness, and after talking with one of the researchers, I realized how enjoyable it would be to work on a visual narrative as a 2D animator. I believe it would be a great way inside the industry.

I also had the opportunity to meet Ruo Yu, an illustrator and concept artist working at Splash Damage studio. His main advice for me as a 2D animator wanting to work in the gaming industry was to try and get myself into 3D, it seems that it is a vital skill for this industry. But, he did share a couple of websites with me that share job positions for 2D artists in the game industry.

A couple of weeks later, still having the excitement and energy from the conference, I decided to join a game jam for the first time. It was for 2 weeks, and the experience allowed me to learn animation on Unity, as well as work alongside an international hardworking team. I’d say it was a pretty successful experience for me, which was also surprisingly fun.

The link to the game is here: https://brylockdelux.itch.io/endless-spire-dev-edition