michaelmkhui@gmail.com
MMKH: Freelance 2D & 3D Game Artist
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Valve Introducing Paid Workshop Mods

4/24/2015

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I used to make custom skins for League of Legends for free which can be found on Leaguecraft.com. But I just stopped because I wasn't getting any acknowledgement nor compensation at all for doing all of that, and I decided I should do something with my talents and be compensated for my time and energy. I moved on and am now working on some freelance 3d modeling. However, if given the right opportunity, I would definitely consider creating some mods for a game that I like if it means I can find some compensation doing something that I enjoy.

As a PC gamer though, I am used to trying out mods for free because they added so much extra value to the base game. When you have to spend money on this extra piece of content or that additional feature, then it starts to feel like DLC. Also, usually there's a limit to the scope of mods and it's not very common to see a mod of a game become an entire game itself. If enough resources were spent making a mod that warrants a price tag close to an entire game, then perhaps it would be more worthwhile to spend that money on a new game, IMO. Paid mods may also conflict with another paid mod. I would be very frugal or hesitant to pay for multiple things and only find myself using 1 of them. Unless, for example in League of Legends where you can purchase skins, you can alternate between the skins you own, with the main advantage that other players will also be able to see the skin you are using. For a Skyrim mod though, since it is a single-player game, only the player using the mod will ever see it, which will affect the perceived value of the mod.

Also, what is to say that people won't pirate mods or re-upload them elsewhere, where they can download them for free? It's going to be impossible to regulate. Right now that doesn't exist because a lot of mods out there are free to download. Additionally, since according to Valve right now, creators only get 25% of the sales, if they price a mod too high, not many people will buy, whereas if they price too low, they will make virtually nothing. I think either way nobody will benefit, the creator nor the user. And putting a price on anything makes it much more frustrating to the player who just wants to download the mod and get on with it. What if they buy a mod, try it, and then realize they don't like it? Would they be able to return their "purchase" and get their money back? I suppose there are no refunds on game purchases through Steam either, correct?

I think if a mod marketplace was implemented correctly, we would inevitably have some people who create the first (and/or best) mods that fulfill a particular role/niche, stand to profit the most, while others late to the scene or who create mods that are not as high in quality, make next to nothing. I could imagine there being a "mod monopoly" where only a handful of professional modders create the mods most people would use or want to purchase, until another modder creates something else at a cheaper price. I dunno, I'm just speculating.

I know that Valve lets creators make custom skins or item sets for DotA 2 where creators get most of the sales revenue, however last I checked there was a long line up for content to be approved. What works about that at least is that nobody can really pirate those mods, and it works similar to League of Legends' micro-transaction market for skins.

All in all,
I think this whole idea of paid mods is more trouble than its worth. I don't think the creator nor user will benefit much. In any case, the creator should at least take a majority share of sales revenue. You don't see Adobe taking a cut of the pie from every artist who uses Photoshop to create whatever artwork they create. Having said that, what might be a better option is that modders may need to pay an initial fee to gain access to creating and publishing mods, but after that they should be able to receive a majority revenue share, if not all. I guess we will just have to see how it plays out.
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Why I Should Probably Start Specializing My Art

4/7/2015

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Recently I have been working on a decent 3D artist job where I get to work remotely and finally get a chance to create stuff that I enjoy and find quite easy to do so far. It helps that I am not required to rig nor animate the models. :)

I think that by the end of this, I will just focus my art on low-poly 3D models and hand-painted textures. I have been putting a lot of thought into which form of game art I should specialize in because I have been learning both 2D and 3D art for several years but feel that it is taking me a long time to master any given area. I realize that it's probably best to focus on one and master it first before I attempt to find jobs that focus on something else, and the main reason why is because of rates. If I am really good at a niche, then I can ask for more when I do get a job that demands it. People tend to know others by their main trade, the thing that they do best that characterizes them. This is why in RPGs, there is such thing as a "class", because in order to have a well-rounded team, you need the best team members that fulfill a certain role. And it so happens that you need to spend most of your time on certain areas in life to be that good at them.

However, if I remain a jack-of-trades, master-of-none, then I don't feel that I can really ask for very much whenever an opportunity arises. Sometimes, clients that do approach me will usually have a limited budget and can't afford to pay that much anyways. But an important issue is that having to switch gears occasionally means that I will inevitably forget certain techniques and will always need to refresh them again, whereas if I specialize, I will always be practicing skills that are more closely related. I suppose actually that specializing means that unused, unrelated techniques will be neglected to the point of eventually forgetting them. However, even if you were to retain some knowledge of a skill, if you aren't keeping up to date with the latest trends and techniques, then you won't be able to compete very well should you try to pick it up again. There is already enough on the plate in just one area of art really. For example, I have knowledge of creating pixel art due to my experience in creating many forms of digital art and through years of observation, but because I don't specialize in it, I don't have really complicated masterpieces to show that define the epitome of pixel art. All of the really technical skills needed in creating really detailed graphics and smooth animations for an entire game in pixel art to a truly excellent quality requires a lifetime to achieve. And it is only achieved when one commits 100% to pixel art and nothing else.

The reality is that you can't be good at everything, and to be able to be competitive and stand out you need to be the best at something. You only have 24 hours in a day, and must make the best of it each day. It's tough because I believe that life has an infinite number of things to learn and explore and we should try to investigate different perspectives to better understand the world in which we live in. Even though we have strengths and weaknesses and we feel that it is easier to pursue opportunities that work to our strengths, there's nothing stopping us from building up our weak points and overcoming them. I find it challenging to say the least. Sometimes I tend to see the grass being greener on the other side, the outcome of decisions not taken. I wonder what life would be like had I decided to do this instead of that.

But I digress. If I recall, I started this path of varying my art styles because I was genuinely interested in different forms of digital art and wanted to experiment. However, as time went by, I realized that I should just start trying to find a way to be compensated for my time and work. I broadened my art techniques in hopes that I would have more work opportunities, but after all this time I realized that I might have received more attention had I simply specialized and mastered one form of art from the beginning, like most artists.

It's been a dilemma of mine that has lasted for more than a decade. As a kid, I taught myself how to draw things with pencil on paper from my imagination, and actually aspired to be a concept artist by popular games and films at the time and saw that concept artist was actually a job. Then I got introduced to Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator which meant that graphic design stuff was an option. Then I got to learn Autodesk Maya which meant that 3D modeling, rigging and animation were options. Then I learned a bit of Mudbox which meant that high-poly sculpting was an option. Then I saw that pixel art was trending because of the nostalgia from retro games that we missed when growing up, and that indie game devs adopted it because it was supposedly easier to do graphics in. I was on a mad quest to excel at them all. After all, I went to university for some of that, why should I forget what I learned back then after paying lots of money?

Perhaps I still can master multiple art areas. But it will simply take even more of my time. Nowadays I ask myself, "Do I want to keep doing this or that for a living?" I am getting tired and losing interest in working behind my computer and sitting at my desk. Maybe I will change careers and enter the world of fitness.
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    Michael Hui

    Freelance 2D/3D Game Artist, Internet Marketing Entrepreneur, PC Gaming and Fitness Enthusiast and Spiritual Seeker with a passion for innovation and art forms.

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