whatpumpkin:

Happy Wednesday, Hiveswap and Homestuck fans! Ash here once again, and I come bearing - you guessed it - another behind-the-scenes interview with one of the illustrious folks working hard to make Hiveswap everything you’re expecting and more!

Our interviewee this week is Anastasia, Hiveswap’s technical artist and one of the coding warriors on our awesome programming team! So without further ado, let’s get this show on the road…

Introduce yourself to the fans! What is your specific role on the Hiveswap team?

Hi all, my name is Anastasia Kinzel and I am a technical artist on the project.

Technical artists tend to fit right in-between programmers and artists. We have a combination of artistic and technical ability and work in-between the two disciplines to make everyone’s job simpler. Creating tools and interpreting needs from the programming and art teams are big parts of technical art!

So on Hiveswap specifically, I have been working with the artists - who typically don’t work with Unity or dabble in the programming side of things - to show them why or how things can or can’t work from a technical standpoint.

I also serve as a liaison between the artists and programmers in that I’m able to interpret what one side says and “translate” it in a way that makes logical sense to the other side. For example, when an artist says something like “That looks funny,” I know that what they actually mean is that the interaction seems off to them because the sprite has the wrong dimensions, and I relay that interpreted information to the programming side.

Basically, it’s half programmer and half artist!

(A lot of what I have been doing involves implementing all of our cool art and animations into the game itself. Some scenes have quite a few animations, and they’re really fun. In some cases I’ve gotten to implement the art for entire scenes all on my own, and those scenes have sort of become my favorite. – Anastasia)

When and how did you get your start on the Hiveswap project?

I started on Hiveswap sort of by happenstance really, but quickly became enthralled with the lore and how great the team is.

Tell us a little bit about your career background! How did you get your start in technical art? Do you have any advice for others looking to enter this field?

I actually started my career as an artist. I ended up discovering an aptitude and passion for the technical side of things, though, and now I get to help artists implement and create game assets more efficiently! My advice for someone looking to get into the industry, or into technical art, is to try everything; eventually you will find something that’s fun and challenging, and then you can focus your effort on that.

We’re making a video game, so of course the question must be asked: what’s your favorite game of all time, and what games are you playing currently (if any)?

I love games with a ton of story, so I can’t pick just one… I would have to say my three favorite games are The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, The Witcher 3, and Fable II. Currently I am playing quite a few Oculus Rift games and a lot of Heroes of the Storm.

Are there any games that you currently use or have used as inspiration for your own technical art and programming work here on Hiveswap, or just in general?

Most RPGs give me a lot of inspiration. Oftentimes, as I play a game I’ll find myself thinking about concepts and features I wish it had, and I’ll prototype those elements out in my personal game projects.

(The first screenshot shows how the game’s user interface [UI] looked for a long time. It was functional, but not polished yet. Recently the UI designer prepared a new, more polished interface - which you can see in the second screenshot -and I was able to implement that into Unity, which gave the whole game a much cleaner feel. – Anastasia)

Imagine you’ve been given an unlimited budget and time frame to make your dream game. Tell us (briefly!) about that game in terms of genre, style, platforms, etc. Is it an original game or a long-desired sequel to an existing game? Go crazy!

Honestly, being a huge Lord of the Rings nerd, I would love a really complex, in-depth, amazingly well-rendered, accurate LotR game. I’d like to have a “story” where you played through The Hobbit and LotR and then an open world aspect where you could create your own character and forge your own experiences. Imagine World of Warcraft, but with Lord of the Rings’ mythos, world, and characters!

What’s your workstation like? Do you like to listen to any particular kinds of music while you work? If so, tell us about it!

My workstation is actually pretty tidy. I currently have flowers on my desk, which I really enjoy. I listen to a lot of instrumental music while programming.

Favorite Homestuck character?

Rose.

Favorite Homestuck ship?

Oh gosh, I try not to get too swept up in all that!

Favorite Homestuck flash?

There are too many to choose from, but probably one of the weirder ones.

Do you have a personal message you’d like to relay to all the Homestuck and Hiveswap fans out there?

Thanks for being such a passionate community, and we can’t wait to share all our hard work with you!

Where can people find more of your work? Link us to your own little corner(s) of the Internet!

You can find my personal website and portfolio right here!

—

And there you have it: the life, trials, and tribulations of a Hiveswap technical artist, straight from the source! Thank you, Anastasia!

Since Anastasia was kind enough to spotlight Hiveswap’s UI and the evolution it has undergone over the course of the project, next week we’re going to bring you an interview with Tauhid Bondia, the graphic designer and artist who created that very UI (and plenty else, but I’ll let him tell you about that). Something to look forward to!

See you all next Wednesday!

1. felipefiscato120499 liked this
2. tootsysodareyes liked this
3. yazzydream liked this
4. abowlofeggs liked this
5. miroimiroi liked this
6. tereziperezi liked this
7. pekopiyep liked this
8. kiauniversesworld liked this
9. canned--ravioli liked this
10. kingunitato reblogged this from whatpumpkin
11. kingunitato liked this
12. randomunknownanonymous liked this
13. underthebridge reblogged this from whatpumpkin
14. jell-o-cat liked this
15. nnekomaster reblogged this from whatpumpkin
16. nnekomaster liked this
17. just-outside-hauntswitch reblogged this from whatpumpkin
18. variablevisibility liked this
19. emme-lin liked this
20. voidech0es liked this
21. sweetlolliepope liked this
22. thegreatcattaco liked this
23. katlova1234 liked this
24. whydoiexiststudios liked this
25. chronicrusader liked this
26. homestuckdentalstix liked this
27. reignofblue liked this
28. splatterdashcartoonist liked this
29. idesireslumber liked this
30. violetrioter liked this
31. cloverpaintt liked this
32. notstupidyet liked this
33. remisinti liked this
34. kernalkrispy liked this
35. alegonya liked this
36. nanoaxolotl liked this
37. nualie liked this
38. samseramsamsam reblogged this from whatpumpkin
39. akemijeans liked this
40. catsmusiclife liked this
41. raventhewritinglynx liked this
42. dheavenlymango liked this
43. yer-a-wizard-hannah liked this
44. ironicspystrider liked this
45. zeroyalsushi reblogged this from whatpumpkin and added:

    this is so great. can’t wait!

46. zeroyalsushi liked this
47. whatpumpkin posted this
48. Show more notesLoading...