S.T.A.R.
S.T.A.R.
Situation. Task. Action. Result.
Situation. Task. Action. Result.
I can help you create and implement a nice and user-friendly interface or 2D graphics for your game. I have more than 15 years of experience in game development and I am familiar with various technologies that allow me to successfully solve any issues and problems. I would like to share with you some of my achievements:
Saved time 21 times saving 1680+ layers from PSD to PNG files. I wrote a script for Photoshop and automated the slicing processю
Solved the problem which do not allow other employees to use technologies known only to me in the project by creating a guide.
Optimized the atlas, reduced it up by 40% by replacing big vfx images with shaders.
Accelerated the process of graphics implementation in Unity by 20%. I improved the workflow by taking on the tasks of implementing graphics in Unity from a programmer and eliminating unnecessary task forwarding.
Saved the company time to find freelancers for one-time cases by using my own knowledge of html, css, javascript.
Improved the graphics quality of game items and the speed of their implementation after the training of artists.
We have 80+ PSD files with characters. There are 7 variations (folders) of each character in each one - water, fire, wind, etc. Each variation consists of 3 folders of a foreground, a character and a background. These folder consist of a bunch of layers.
It is required to save each variation as 3 files prepared for use in the project (game). Split the variations into folders.
I calculated that it takes 80x7x3 = 1680 file saves + additional work on combining layers, etc. With so much monotonous manual work, a lot of time will be lost + many mistakes will be made + the emotional state of the employee may suffer.
After I tried saving one character manually, I became convinced that this way is not suitable. I looked at the folder structure in the PSD files and made sure that it was fortunately of the same type. This means that automation of the saving process can be applied. I had to figure out how to do it in Photoshop. Google helped me find a solution and a suitable script. After refining it and conducting several tests, I managed to get a script that can combine layers and save PSD file folders into separate files in folders on the disk. I ran a script for each of the 80 PSD files.
I reduced the processing time of 80 PSD files by about 21 times. And I gained experience working with Photoshop scripts.
As I mentioned above, I have created a technology for saving layers from a PSD file. But the problem is that others couldn't use it when I was busy with an urgent task. And no one could replace me in this.
Share knowledge about this technology.
I did it quite simply. I took a new character PSD file and started recording my every action. In writing I explained how to use the script, where to look for saved layers and so on.
I have improved the workload distribution for employees. From now, every available employee could figure out how to add a new character to the game.
The atlas for a pixelart-style game is half full of graphics for the game. The other part is occupied by non-pixel images of simple effects (glow, sun rays). In addition, the sprites of modal windows have too many variations, but they look similar.
Clean the atlas of unnecessary images and increase the free space in it.
These effects couldn't be of lower quality. Therefore, I replaced them with shaders that could provide very high quality of both glow and sunlight. Thus, these effects images left the atlas. For modal windows, I made only 3 options (a large window, a small popup and a tooltip) to which, if desired, some elements could be added.
Redused the atlas size by almost half.
At the beginning of my work on the project, I was only involved in graphics. I sent the graphics to the programmer and he inserted them into the scene. I edited this scene, adjusted something, informed the programmer what needed to be fixed, and made a commit. The programmer made edits, committed, and I edited again. I began to realize that this was a bad pipeline and we were wasting time forwarding and texting.
Improve the process of implementing graphics in the game.
By that time, I was already good at coding and knew Unity. I asked to be allowed to implement the graphics myself. They allowed it. I also began to carefully add the necessary code to the scripts and I follow the current code style in the project.
Improved the speed and quality of graphics implementation in the project as I started to keep my schedule from start to finish.
It was also very cool and convenient for me! I think our programmer was also glad that he got rid of these minor implementation tasks and was able to focus on more important things.For email distribution, it was necessary to create templates using HTML and CSS. The programmer asked if I could do it. I turned it off because I'm familiar with web programming languages.
Create templates for mailing lists. They should be displayed on most browsers.
First, I found out what requirements apply to mailing templates. This information was needed to make the correct layout. I created a simple layout in Photoshop, realizing that the graphics in the mailing templates should not take up a large amount. At the same time, I tried to convey the overall style of our project. Important information has been highlighted in color and font size so that the user understands what information they need the first time. Next, I transferred it to HTML and CSS code. The template for the mailing list was ready.
The company has saved time searching for the right employee. I gained experience in creating mailing list templates.
I was the leader of a small team of artists. They had a task to draw game gift items. Things didn't turn out to be very attractive and I often returned them for revision.
Improve the quality and speed of drawing game items for my team.
I have collected the most common mistakes that artists have made in their drawings and prepared a short lesson. After explaining the lesson, I encouraged them to forget these rules.
The objects began to look better. We started spending less time on improvements by about 20%.