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Jeff needs an art director doesn't imply anything more than that. It could be him, it could be another full time employee or it could be something he has a free

Jeff needs an art director doesn't imply anything more than that. It could be him, it could be another full time employee or it could be something he has a freelancer develop at the start of the project.

alttab 7y ago
And it seems like he focused more on making sure that his artists were replaceable, even at the price of a hodge-podge style. The criticism is legitimate - it doesn't seem like Jeff has invested in his own ability to direct art.
- cotelletta 7y ago
  Yeah and because art has vastly different constraints from coding, wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive. Then again, the older I get, the more I think the same should apply to developers. You should never lock knowledge inside one person's head, but the idea that you can take over a project without its original creators doing a years long hand off is naive, and leads to all the expected pathologies. I remember a new $250k CTO saying he was amazed our code didn't have abandoned parts nobody wanted to touch ... this is how professionals are supposed to work, not something they discover "late" in their career.
  - meheleventyone 7y ago
    > Yeah and because art has vastly different constraints from coding, wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive. It's actually really common. Most games take years to make and in my experience at least it's very unusual to ship with the same team that started. Art is also the side of things that most readily gets outsourced, either through bought and modified assets or through freelancers and outsourcing companies. Maintaining consistency is something that has to be managed.
  - jplayer01 7y ago
    > wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive You're saying this like this was one of his design goals from the very beginning when he started 25 years ago. No, it's become a requirement because of how unreliable freelancers can be and how difficult it is to find a replacement that is able or willing to stick to the previous style. Thus generic fantasy stuff has become his solution to this issue that is unavoidable, regardless of whether people agree with him or not.
    - cotelletta 7y ago
      Perhaps. Or maybe freelance artists are frustrated working with someone who doesn't seem to understand what they like to see in good work, and what gives them a sense of satisfaction in a product they have worked on. I mean the guy seems incapable of comprehending style if this is what he's putting out 25 years in.
      - jplayer01 7y ago
        Maybe. Doesn't change the position he's in though. Let's say he is incapable of comprehending style. What do you suggest he's supposed to do now? I see all this criticism here and I don't see any real solutions that would, on a realistic, concrete level, help him in any way improve his business.
        pasabagi 7y ago
        I don't really see the problem. If you're not a visual person, and you don't want to be, you shouldn't make visual decisions. He's already hiring freelancers, so he obviously gets this point. The problem is, he should just give a freelancer a broader brief. Like, 'pick all the colours the game will use'. Or even, 'do the art'. I don't see what the difference is between hiring a freelancer to do direction, and hiring somebody to do a couple of sprites.
        svrtknst 7y ago
        Direction is usually a continuous process. Freelancers, as he states, are rarely continuous as they move on to other project etc.
scott_s 7y ago
Jeff has an art director. And he likes what that art director produces. You don't, but he does.
- meheleventyone 7y ago
  I don't disagree with that at all and of course Jeff will do what he wants and is welcome to that. I just think the art direction is the encompassing unaddressed point that follows through the article despite the enumerated constraints. Also where he does touch on art direction the things he chooses to highlight are not why his games look bad. Particularly when he highlights games he grew up with like Ultima V which IMO still looks great despite being made with the constraints that existed in 1988. I'm also well aware that it hasn't prevented him running a successful business. I don't think his liking his games art is a reason not to comment with my take on his blog post about it though.
  - scott_s 7y ago
    But what I think you're missing is that in order to have an art director who is capable of delivering on what you're talking about, Jeff would need another person. And he clearly explains why he does not want to risk hiring another person.

alttab 7y ago

And it seems like he focused more on making sure that his artists were replaceable, even at the price of a hodge-podge style. The criticism is legitimate - it doesn't seem like Jeff has invested in his own ability to direct art.

cotelletta 7y ago
Yeah and because art has vastly different constraints from coding, wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive. Then again, the older I get, the more I think the same should apply to developers. You should never lock knowledge inside one person's head, but the idea that you can take over a project without its original creators doing a years long hand off is naive, and leads to all the expected pathologies. I remember a new $250k CTO saying he was amazed our code didn't have abandoned parts nobody wanted to touch ... this is how professionals are supposed to work, not something they discover "late" in their career.
- meheleventyone 7y ago
  > Yeah and because art has vastly different constraints from coding, wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive. It's actually really common. Most games take years to make and in my experience at least it's very unusual to ship with the same team that started. Art is also the side of things that most readily gets outsourced, either through bought and modified assets or through freelancers and outsourcing companies. Maintaining consistency is something that has to be managed.
- jplayer01 7y ago
  > wanting to swap out artists is just counterproductive You're saying this like this was one of his design goals from the very beginning when he started 25 years ago. No, it's become a requirement because of how unreliable freelancers can be and how difficult it is to find a replacement that is able or willing to stick to the previous style. Thus generic fantasy stuff has become his solution to this issue that is unavoidable, regardless of whether people agree with him or not.
  - cotelletta 7y ago
    Perhaps. Or maybe freelance artists are frustrated working with someone who doesn't seem to understand what they like to see in good work, and what gives them a sense of satisfaction in a product they have worked on. I mean the guy seems incapable of comprehending style if this is what he's putting out 25 years in.
    - jplayer01 7y ago
      Maybe. Doesn't change the position he's in though. Let's say he is incapable of comprehending style. What do you suggest he's supposed to do now? I see all this criticism here and I don't see any real solutions that would, on a realistic, concrete level, help him in any way improve his business.
      - pasabagi 7y ago
        I don't really see the problem. If you're not a visual person, and you don't want to be, you shouldn't make visual decisions. He's already hiring freelancers, so he obviously gets this point. The problem is, he should just give a freelancer a broader brief. Like, 'pick all the colours the game will use'. Or even, 'do the art'. I don't see what the difference is between hiring a freelancer to do direction, and hiring somebody to do a couple of sprites.
        svrtknst 7y ago
        Direction is usually a continuous process. Freelancers, as he states, are rarely continuous as they move on to other project etc.

scott_s 7y ago

Jeff has an art director. And he likes what that art director produces. You don't, but he does.

meheleventyone 7y ago
I don't disagree with that at all and of course Jeff will do what he wants and is welcome to that. I just think the art direction is the encompassing unaddressed point that follows through the article despite the enumerated constraints. Also where he does touch on art direction the things he chooses to highlight are not why his games look bad. Particularly when he highlights games he grew up with like Ultima V which IMO still looks great despite being made with the constraints that existed in 1988. I'm also well aware that it hasn't prevented him running a successful business. I don't think his liking his games art is a reason not to comment with my take on his blog post about it though.
- scott_s 7y ago
  But what I think you're missing is that in order to have an art director who is capable of delivering on what you're talking about, Jeff would need another person. And he clearly explains why he does not want to risk hiring another person.