3DS Max 8 Bible

This book is amazing.

Right now, here's my philosophy on eventually making video games for a living:

First off, I hate going to school. I can't prioritize properly while in school so my work never gets done until the very last minute. School + Me = A mess. The last time I went to school I got my A+, N+ and CIW certifications for web design, but I honestly didn't learn much and I still chalk it up as a waste of time considering that the jobs I'd get with those certifications would pay less than what I am earning now, and I paid about $9,000 for a year of schooling. I always felt rushed even though it was sort of study at your own pace (but they monitored you to make sure you were making progress... which I wasn't). I'll tend to do the bare minimum required to stay in school, which is a bad idea. I always have nightmares that I'm in school and have an assignment or a test and I'm totally unprepared for it. So, forget that.

Secondly, I'm under the impression that video game companies look for people that DO stuff, not just earn a degree. Yes, if I went to school they'd probably have class projects and stuff that I could use as leverage to get a job in there, BUT, if I'm making video games I want to make my own, not somebody else's. While making Disney on Ice the video game may pay the bills, I would not have passion for the job and it would burn me out in a hurry. I've also had people say that degrees in this industry really don't matter and if you have the talent and knowledge, they don't need a piece of paper saying you've got it - they just want to see your work, no matter how good or crappy it is. Anything is better than nothing.

Now, onto where I am at the moment.

Currently, I've written several very large game design documents to the best of my ability, outlining as many aspects of the game as possible. These documents aren't something to sneeze at, as they total anywhere up to 200 pages per document. Writing them is a lot of fun. In fact, being a game designer would be my ideal career and I would never, ever complain about doing that.

However, I've been doing this for about 4 years and obviously haven't turned out any results. It's partially because I didn't really know what to do with it, work on it has been spotty, and I'm still in the stage of my life where playing video games is more fun than wanting to get a better job.

I have talked to people that work/worked for the gaming industry and their recommendation was to put together either artwork in the form of screenshots, or a demo of the game to give a developer/publisher an idea of what you're doing.

So, design is obviously the next step.

I bought a student version of Max 8 a couple years ago (at a pretty price of around $900), and since have had fun messing around in it and trying to feel my way through, but I wasn't satisfied with my abilities and the complexities to that program are endless.

I bought the 3DS Max Bible and plan on reading through it all to get a good foundation, then doing the tutorials, then using it as a reference guide while I make artwork. Right now, I'm loving it. This book is a fountain of knowledge and I very highly recommend the Bible to anybody wanting to get into 3D design of any sort, or even to experienced users as a reference guide because they turn every stone in telling you what function does what.

I also plan on using this blog to document my ventures in making my own games and hopefully it will turn out to be a helpful resource to anybody else choosing to do the same thing, and perhaps with my same mindset.

I'm a dreamer. I want to make the best video games ever and I can say that I have some huge ideas that would make for really fun, innovative games. I play video games on a level that I inspect everything and think how I would improve each game I play.. which is an asset. It's something I've done all my life, and if I can make a career out of it, I'll be beyond satisfied with my job.

Who knows, someday I might look back on this entry and laugh at my beginnings?