Posts by Thrik

  • THQ files for bankruptcy

    Unless there's some longer-term strategy to reunite some of these IPs with the talent responsible for cultivating them in the first place I can't say this interests or excites me in the slightest. :/

    Gearbox in particular strikes me as a bizarre choice for Homeworld, and their reputation with handling third-party IPs isn't exactly stellar.

  • Man of Steel (Superman)

    Haha nice. I expect if Lex does appear in this it'll be more of a cameo to provide backstory for his eventual proper involvement in the sequel. That'd be cool though, not many films foreshadow things like that very well (or just use shitty temp actors).

  • Jean-Paul Jarreau - Photographer/Level Designer

    I think the problem is that it downloads all of the images before showing any of them. For example I just went to the 'The Void' section and I was literally staring at a blank screen for 15 seconds before anything appeared.

    I'd remove whatever script causes that delay and have the images show up as they download. Also, if you save JPEGs out of Photoshop with the 'Progressive' option ticked it not only usually makes the images a bit smaller, but it shows a blurry preview of images as they load which generally works better on the web.

    Other than that the portfolio does look great, and lots of great photography.

  • De_rails [CS:GO]

    Ah, didn't notice you did Rust too. Yeah that one's better in that respect, I can appreciate why you did it this way. Kind of like how some TF2 maps are ultra-symmetrical and others are wild, both have their place.

  • De_rust [CS:GO]

    Outdoor areas look good. A bit plain for my taste, but you did explain why that is. Still, if you can get some more colour and detail in there without sacrificing accessibility too much you definitely should.

    Indoors I'd say the same as above, and also that the lighting is a bit flat. Some more intense spot lighting should help, boost the power of the existing lights and maybe add some more. Perhaps add invisible area lights where light is coming in from outside, giving the impression it's lighting up the surrounding area more without having to intensify your environment lighting.

  • Man of Steel (Superman)

    Not even Watchmen? Shieeeeet man, that was such a good superhero movie. It's that movie specifically that gives me confidence this will be great. I will admit that scripts aren't his strong point but I guess that's someone else's job, hopefully someone quality is doing this. His ability to put together atmosphere and gorgeous visuals is epic.

  • Man of Steel (Superman)

    I think that's mostly the music, but I have no doubt Zimmer will be delivering truly monumental music for the film!

    I think the trailer looks great, long as they keep it relatively dark that's good. Superman needs to have a very dark tone to balance out the good guy presumptions people have.

  • New way to send a cover letter

    This is a really cool idea and I heartily endorse any effort to go above and beyond the norm when it comes to applying for creative positions. However these should be seen as nice touches, not anything that'll make the difference between you getting the job or not.

    For example as a designer I put a lot of work into the aesthetic presentation of my resume and portfolio, but that was more to show I put care into what I make rather than me thinking "This will totally get me the job the moment they see how sweet this looks". As long as you keep that in mind stuff like this is great. Just don't spend too much time on it as you'll run into diminishing returns.

    Another thing to remember is it's often recruiters rather than actual employers who are first hit with covering letters, resumes, and portfolios; and they aren't particularly interested in stuff like this. They're essentially just seeking out buzz words that they think will make you an applicant worth passing onto the employer. Therefore it's essential you do the basics really well and don't expect a fancy video and portfolio to excuse a shitty-looking resume thrown together in 10 minutes in Word.

    You could introduce the video in the first paragraph of your cover letter and/or home page of your portfolio as a 'more digestible version of the following'. But accept that some employers just won't watch it, just like some will take a fleeting glance at your portfolio's first page or two before deciding you're fit for an interview. Dudes are busy.

    Then comes the real meat and potatoes: impressing them with your personality. The most epic portfolio and associated materials in the world won't help you if you can't convince them that you're a pleasure to work with within 10 minutes. Fortunately artists often have fantastic personalities, but I've seen many developers over the years experience incredible frustration because despite having the skills they just can't seem to get a great job. Reason: they're awkward as fuck.