When you sit down to your favourite video game, you may miss the details but you’ll certainly notice the overall look and feel of a particular scene. Blades of grass waving in the wind, a slowly creaking door made of wood so realistic-looking you would swear you’re in a real-life fantasy tavern.
Building those scenes is the skilled work of talented artists like SAE alumna Ghina Andriana. Ghina graduated from SAE Melbourne with a Bachelor of Animation in May this year, and within a few short months has received international recognition for her work in game development.
Ghina’s submission to the international Rookie Awards for game development, which included a project she developed while studying at SAE, was a finalist for the Career Opportunity prize with PlaySide Studios. She also received a Rookies’ Industry Ranking Certificate of ‘A’ for Game Design. The ranking reflects how industry-ready a candidate is.
She said she was thrilled with her achievement at the awards.
“I saw the other entries from the Rookies this year and they are all really amazing, so I was really happy to receive the A ranking and to be a finalist,” she said.
Ghina’s passion is environment development for video games; the intricate process of creating a scene or landscape realistic enough to help players immerse themselves in the virtual world.
Her major work for the Rookies, Frontiers End, was a multi-stage project that included concept sketches, scene composition and building multiple assets. Assets included building structures, small props, and even foliage. Once built, Ghina spent hours crafting and implementing textures and movement in the scene.
“It was done roughly in 15 weeks, but it was an intense 15 weeks,” she said.
The result is a visually arresting and detailed tavern scene.
Ghina’s attention to detail extended to the lighting, for which she used angles and shading to perfectly recreate the desired time of day – 11 am.
She said attention to detail in environment development is critical in game development.
“What makes a good environment for me is if it is immersive and cohesive, and helps a player be grounded to the setting or narrative that they have with the game,” she said.
Another part of her submission was her Retro Post-Apocalyptic Building project which she created during her time at SAE Melbourne using hand-painted texturing.
Her work is inspired by the artistic style of Studio Ghibli as well as some of her favourite game environments: Grounded, Genshin Impact and Stray.
“My goal is really to be an environment artist, especially in games, and I’d like to work in look development. That involves giving the game or the work itself a special look, making sure it is not generic,” she said.
She said her time at SAE helped her achieve the top industry ranking, as well as her finalist position.
“SAE prepared me with not only the practical skills that you may learn as you study, but also soft skills like how to enter the industry, communication skills and also the teamwork which is required on a lot of projects,” she said.
“I was able to collaborate with other students, not only from my department but also interdisciplinary.”
