The Artist Synapse	Features vs. Beauty
The Artist Synapse Back to Intro Example Artist Interaction:   Page 1     Page 2       Page 3         Page 4           Page 5             Page 6               Page 7 Degrees of Separation [View] Psychology [View] Suggestions [View] Features vs. Beauty [View]	Here's my theory: In general, programmers must balance features, performance, and time - they want the most capability, at the best frame rate, within their deadlines. On the other hand, RT3D artists are trying to balance artistic quality, performance, and time - they're trying to get the best looking art at the target frame rate, within their deadlines. This difference is the root of many programmer/artist woes. In the worst case, coders push for features without caring if the game is any better, while the artists ignore these new features as they build detailed artwork in their own way. They don't talk much during development, then try to integrate their work at the end, which climaxes in a grand fight when the game sucks. Of course, it's not normally so bleak. Programmers implement features that allow the game to show better looking art without compromising frame rate, and artists take advantage of these features to produoable. Josh White (josh@vectorg.com) has been building real-time 3D models for games since 1990. He runs Vector Graphics (a company devoted to creating RT3D art), cofounded the CGA (a community of computer game artists - www.vectorg.com/cga), wrote Designing 3D Graphics, the first book on real-time 3D modeling, gives lectures at CGDC, and writes about computer artists… but he admits that all this really kills time between soccer games.