The Wind in the WIllows Presentation (8/11/2012)

Bobby Gilbert = Tech.
Steve Dooley = Artist.
Sam North = Writer.

Both Bobby and Steve who were there presenting the event seemed really confident and were good fun to listen to as not only did they seem really ethastastic about their work, but the work in question was illustrated beautifully and was therefore visually pleasing to watch. 

Things I learned from this event:

• Things work best if artists make friends with programers.
• In modern industries many things can be done on your own. 
• The Wind in the Willows was first writen almost one hundred years ago (1908). Therefore inspiration doesn't necessarily have to come from modern ideas.
• Always create storyboards.
• Visual design comes from the context and the age of the story. Therefore the app deliberately looks like an old worn book.
• Designs come from the characters' personalities.  
• One design / style can help you on your way to designing the others. 
• When basing art on animals add elements of their personality and/or life style into their personality e.g. Badger is big and bulky, whereas Mole is innocent due to being underground most of the time. In short, an outsider.
• Space/spacing is just as important as the characters as it helps to add dynamics e.g. the spacing in between two characters could add tension or remorse. Similar to blocking on stage.
• Always incorporate the story into the characters and scenes.     
• It is possible to draw atmosphere in scenes. 
• Interactivity and humour are two great things to have in video games.
• Avoid being too literal e.g. when the developers decided to tell the reader that Toad escapes from the manor he is shown swinging on tied up bed sheets rather than a wall of text being used to describe this. 
• Inspiration from the story allows developers to add new content. 
• Slow down the magical moments. It makes for a good contrast as opposed to the fast moments that can be chaotic. In other words, vary the speed. 
• When animating always add layers to art e.g. both foreground and background in order to add perspective. 
• Blending images is also very creative e.g. the before and after effects of say a take over as seen with Toad's manor house. 
• Even the style of text makes a big difference e.g. the text was made to look as if it was written in the pages themselves, not just placed onto top of them.
• The team created all the music themselves as they have musical experience.
• Took 4 maybe 5 months to make the whole thing. The first month was spent trading ideas with one another which they say was a lot of fun.
• Never lose the fun part of the process. 
• Similar but weaker versions existed and therefore they decided to create a awesome one. 
• When testing don't just ask the tester what they think. Watch them and see how they react. For example, if a child goes off with it and doesn't come back until later then you know you have done a good job! 
• The program they used was 'Objective C'.
• Photoshop does not replace good old pen and paper (so they say). 
• Have to take responsibility for your work and its advertising. 
• Keep up to date with new technologies and programs, otherwise you will be left in the dark.
• Read the 'Human Interface Guidelines' that people who create apps have to read in order to make sure they follow set protocols.     
• With PR, always get into contact with people / sellers. 
• If you want to reinterpret or interpret a story keep with its original essence and choose a story or writer you love.
• Make sure you get or can get along with the people you work with and/or for. Especially since you will be expected to work well with them for long periods of time.

Although this session was about producing a App I believe a lot of the points made by them have relevance to the gaming industry.