Dojo Arcade

July, 2014 - July, 2015

A year in wales

Dojo Arcade Internship

I met the team 'Toby', 'Phil', 'Ted', 'Michael', and 'Richard', they were a lovely bunch, and dedicated. 'Phil' explained my main role was 'Technical Animator' and that he would be my mentor for the next 12 months. However I would also be helping in other area's such as modelling, texturing and game design which I found out later in the year.

Myself and other interns were given softwares 'Maya', '3ds Max', 'Unity3D', and Photoshop for creative and technical work. '3ds Max' I had used before due to university, however the other 3 softwares I had limited knowledge on. I set myself an intense learning routine with each software for the first month. My aim was to get up to speed as fast as possible, so I could work with the team.

Baking light maps

1/3

Exploring Unity3D

Game Design and Modelling

On my second month, I was allowed to start doing some actual work on the game. Work involved light map baking using probes in Unity3D, setting up collision maps on arena floors, and connecting clips up with anim trees.

Baking light maps, took a long time to do, so while the process was running, I would usually go onto 'Digital Tutors' or 'YouTube' to continue learning different areas and methods required for studio work with there softwares.

Rigging & Scripting

In-House Rig system (Maya)

During my fourth and fifth month I had to build a Rig from scratch that could be re-used for the games 'Professor' asset and other future humanoids. At the time a re-usable rig was a mind blowing concept to me.

They decided it needed to be in Maya. I was then given 2-3 months to build it. I spent the first month learning Python, beacuase I didnt fancy building a system manually, it would have taken a while. I had also been wanting to learn code for quite some time since 'Ted' the programmer demonstrated that it could be used creatively. I realised that it was definelty something I would like to try, as I had only ever seen it used for game mechanics.

I found this area of work was worth specialising in more than others, to me it was a form of technical art and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

My first Maya Rig

My first in-house rigging script using a 2 step process. It generated a structure which could be changed and saved (Proxy), then applied animation system by using another button.

Professor helix rig

My first in-house rigging script using a 2 step process. It generated a structure which could be changed and saved (Proxy), then applied animation system by using another button.

Professor rig and animation

My first Maya Rig

My first in-house rigging script using a 2 step process. It generated a structure which could be changed and saved (Proxy), then applied animation system by using another button.

1/5

Result

The final result on mobile

Here is the trailer 'Dojo Arcade' released after I had returned to university to finish my studies.

The pipeline knowledge I gained helped me greatly during my final year at university for our 'Advanced game design' module.

I wish the the team all the best, and I am greatful for the industry experience that I gained whilst working in the studio.