Scott D. Hill | Tech Art & Design [email protected]

Ten years of bridging the gap between art and code by designing and developing workflows and tools to improve and enhance the development of console and PC games. Facilitating communication between game development designers, artists and engineers to ensure each group’s vision is equally represented and understood across a development team and that results are met through efficient, smart—not hard—development.

Skills

Focus: Big-picture; Communication; Consulting; Performance Data; Problem Solving; Training; Workflow Solutions Engines: Anvil; Frostbite 2; Unreal Engine 3; HeroEngine; Phyre Engine; BigWorld. Platforms: PlayStation 4; Xbox One; PlayStation 3; Xbox 360; Windows PC; iPhone; iPad Software: Autodesk Maya, Autodesk 3ds Max, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office. Specialties: Team management; UX design for editor tools; authoring advanced-looking, inexpensive shaders; evaluation of technical issue solutions; custom workflow tool design and common task improvement; detection of opportunities for performance optimization; engine assessments, including in-depth understanding of system benefits and limitations; documentation and training; casual game design; monetization design; product branding.

Experience

Casual Games & Monetization Designer Unannounced Indie Company Feb 2014 — Dec 2014  Designed new casual games by blending classic childhood games with modern game rules from AAA titles.  Designed "free-to-play" business models per game with monetization in mind to avoid "pay-to-win" exploits.  Designed customer stickiness game systems: collections; login bonus resources/game credits; unlockable boosts via gameplay; social sharing virtual gifts.  Design UX to avoid in-game UI from being covered up by device OS notifications.  Designed Ad usage rules for healthy play breaks and to avoid ad spam.  Designed themes for DLC as part of optional monetization.  Designed company branding for product recognition.

Graphics TD Ubisoft Montreal Apr 2013 — Dec 2013  Designed workflows for a work-in-progress user interface toolset built within an in-house game engine for developing 3D User Interfaces.  Taught a training class to traditional UI Artists to learn the core elements and terminology for 3D rendering as they prepared to design & develop new 3D UI elements.  Developed and managed a Heat Map Excel spreadsheet for tracking Feature Request & Tool Improvements which would sort which JIRA Issues and bugs where higher priority based on time gained for users versus difficulty and development cost to implement into the either the game engine or editor.  Collaborated with other Technical Directors from different departments during development of the User Interface workflows to ensure the existing workflows using the same tools did not affect the Level Artist and Game Designers.  Documented several editor updates for both VFX artist and Presentation UI artist after each feature request and tool update had been tested and released.

Scott D Hill

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/technicalart YouTube: youtube.com/user/techarthill Portfolio: scottdhill.wordpress.com/experience/samples Technical Artist / Shader Artist Electronic Arts / Visceral Games Montreal Mar 2011 — Feb 2013  Developed primary character shader supporting metal, fabrics, and accessories with detail mapping, diffuse color Fresnel, and reflective metals.  Developed secondary character shader for fabrics and accessories with multi-region tinting for variations.  Developed environment shaders, including blending and adding contrast via both vertex and pixel maps for use on surfaces and walls, reducing the number of decals needed to add visual interest.  Employed specialized shader techniques for unique game elements, including fur, gore, vistas, and fountains.  Applied texture saving specular techniques to add visual interest without complicating development or sacrificing performance.  Created training videos and documentation on engine-specific shader technical for use by company studios worldwide.  Designed and managed shader pipeline and workflows.  Maya Interface Developer for Art Pipeline Tools.  Engaged in performance monitoring during production.

Lead Technical Artist Idea Fabrik Plc (formally Simutronics) / Hero Engine Jan 2010 — Feb 2011  Overhauled existing HeroTools for 3ds Max and Maya, including exporter, asset tools and character tools.  Worked closely with RAD Game Tools on the latest release of Granny 3D for 3ds Max and Maya.  Provided training and demonstrations for potential licensees of Hero Engine.  Performed live demos at trade shows like D.I.C.E and GDC.  Updated Wiki documentation for all art tools, workflows, limitations, and solutions to common issues.  Trained new users on world building workflows in HeroBlade.  Provided art support to multiple studios licensing Hero Engine.  Designed new features for future releases of Hero Engine's HeroBlade editor.  Helped launch HeroEngine with HeroCloud service for indie developers.  International team training in Kiev, Ukraine, and Madrid, Spain.

Shader and Lighting Technical Artist Supervisor Kung Fu Factory Mar 2009 — Dec 2009  Developed .cgfx and .fx shaders for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 using Shader FX.  Developed inexpensive detailed sweat on skin shader.  Worked with engineers to develop new shaders and production tools.  Executed R&D and implemented new computer graphic techniques (ie. HDR Lighting and Surface Properties).  Produced technical references and technical constraints documentation.  Created, organized and conducted training sessions on the use of new tools and methods.  Scripted repeatable and unique processes using MaxScript.  Supported art team, solving 3ds Max issues and solving technical production issues.  Acted as game art point of collaborative communication for artists, level designers and programmers.

Lead Technical Artist Cheyenne Mountain Entertainment Nov 2005 — Mar 2009  Designed custom tools for Unreal Engine 3 to speed up game workflows.  Heavily modified Maya to help 3ds Max users learn Maya faster.  Provided single marking menu solution to customized GUI based on user’s job title with the Art Department.  Developed a library of material shaders from which artists created instances.  Designed the pipeline and workflows for game assets’ storage and management.  Built relationships between multiple departments to ensure tasks where completed properly.  Monitored and enforced budgets for texture, material, polygon, collision, and asset counts.  Oversaw the in-house character creation editor and workflow between Character Artist & Engineers.  Integrated faster workflows for artists to bring content from 3D software packages into BigWorld Client Tools.

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/technicalart YouTube: youtube.com/user/techarthill Portfolio: scottdhill.wordpress.com/experience/samples Quality Assurance Jamdat / Knockabout Games Apr 2005 — Sep 2005  Provided feedback for improving user experience.  Tracked Stats for playbooks for each NFL team.  Tested on Multiple devices running Java, J2ME, BREW.

Technical Art Intern / Contractor Critical Mass Interactive Mar 2005 — Sep 2005  Level Designs  Game Design Documents  Interactive PowerPoint Presentations  Quality Assurance  Mobile Game Reviews

Education

Associates Degree, Computer Animation Full Sail University Mar 2003 — Aug 2004  CG modeled, shading, and lighting of a PlayStation controller using NURBS.  Level Design of a RC Dirt Track – Modeled games assets, textured, and layout completed in one week with PSP specs in mind.  Maya MEL Script allowing users to create unique separate Outliner windows based on node types or object conditions.  Level Design of a Horror Island – Modeled games assets, textured, and layout along with Stev Kalinowski in one week.  Maya MEL Script creating a Remote Control like UI with new features and look based off of Jared Martin's keyframer script.  Composited in Shake a two on one fight animation, composted over arcade footage with fake video scan line, fake health meters, and fake blinking "Credit 0" text.  3D Logo Animation all done in Maya using a 3D Text, a Lattice, and animated extrude for the burst running down the controller cord.

Projects

Unannounced Casual Games — iPhone, iPad Assassin’s Creed Unity — PlayStation 4, Xbox ONE, Windows PC Army of TWO: The Devil's Cartel — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Unannounced 3rd Person Action Game [Cancelled] — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 HeroCloud Evaluation World Areas — Windows PC: SM3.0, SM2.0a, SM2.0, SM1.4, SM1.1, Fixed Function Supremacy MMA — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 UFC Undisputed [Project Pulled] — PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Stargate Resistance — Windows PC: SM3.0 Stargate Worlds MMO [Cancelled — Windows PC: SM3.0, SM2.5 SM2.0, SM1.5 Jamdat Sports NBA 2006 — Java, J2ME, BREW Jamdat Sports NFL 2006 — Java, J2ME, BREW

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/technicalart YouTube: youtube.com/user/techarthill Portfolio: scottdhill.wordpress.com/experience/samples Addendum: Work Highlights

Management  Prioritized feature request and art tasks for the Technical Art team.  Oversaw the in-house character creation editor and workflow between Character Artists and Engineers.  Assigned art bugs to original author of the bug to instill accountability and learning from mistakes.  Managed consistent lines of communication and a policy of collaboration to ensure all team members were on the same page.  Collaborated with other Technical Directors from different departments during development of the User Interface workflows to ensure the existing workflows using the same tools did not affect the Level Artist and Game Designers.

Training  Taught a training class to traditional UI Artists to learn the core elements and terminology for 3D rendering as they prepared to design & develop new 3D UI elements.  Trained artists on the new shader pipeline.  Trained new hires to use Perforce, Unreal, and in-house tools for 3ds Max or Maya.  Trained new Technical Artist to take over the 3ds Max pipeline for integrating art tools.  Trained an intern to become a Technical Artist for the character creation and armor pipeline.

Frostbite 2 Shaders Environment Shaders  Developed a Shader Library for Environment Art with a wide contrast of surfaces including color metal reflection, color Fresnel for soft fabrics, and no specular for dry wood and earth.  Developed a “diffuse as specular power” shader technique that creates contrast from a diffuse map for specular output, saving texture memory and production time.  Developed a wet shader that darkens and creates contrast out of the diffuse while increasing specular and smoothness, which is the falloff and reflectivity of specular in Frostbite 2. The shader was made “hot swappable,” allowing artists to create wet variations of dry asset.  Developed blend contrast shader for ground areas and walls. This two-texture blending allowed for vertex color blending of a blend map and contrast map (same texture) via vertex color, allowing for 'staining' of the diffuse to make repeating wall or ground area to look more visually interesting, without having to use lots of decals.  Developed rain version of the blend contrast shader, allowing for both wet map and vertex color control of water pooling on the ground.  Developed pixel flex shader for animating tarps and flags, allowing for more fluid motion than vertex animation.

Character Shaders  Developed a triple surface shader for the primary and secondary characters, allowing for leather, fabric and metal surfaces, with support for three tileable detail maps that could be masked out for trim.  Created a “main character shader “ training video showing how to make textures for the triple surface shader and how to control the detail mapping to effect both the specular and the color fresnel.  Developed an NPC shader that allowed for triple tint regions, supporting both Fresnel no-tint masking and no Fresnel no-tint masking, to separate skin and metals so that a wet version could be made for a level with rain. Using this shader, cloth would get “wet,” darkening as it absorbs water, while skin and metals would remain dry. The dry version has Fresnel for the fabrics. The wet version removes the Fresnel while keeping the tinting. The shader allowed for one single material ID with one texture channel for the tint regions, offering full specular and smoothness maps.

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/technicalart YouTube: youtube.com/user/techarthill Portfolio: scottdhill.wordpress.com/experience/samples Unreal Engine 3 Shaders Environment Shaders  Created a Parent Materials Library for artists to make Material Instances.  Created a flex shader that allowed artist to paint out gradient mask where foliage would bend for Static Meshes.  Created advanced, see-thru materials (e.g., Fake Lit Transparency for glass or plastic).  Created inexpensive reflective surface material shader.  Created soft particle material shader for particles such as smoke on the highest LOD level (SM3.0).

Fluid Shaders  Created real time version of the Stargate Event Horizon that works in both SM3.0 & SM2.0.  Created oily water shader for polluted lakes and ponds with animated oil rings (SM3.0 & SM2.0).  Created sewer water shader, showing algae buildup along the water edges (SM3.0 & SM2.0).  Created plasma fluid for use in a Sci-Fi world (looked like the contents of a spilled Lava lamp).  Created a swimming pool-colored river shader (SM3.0).  Created fluids material shader for the particles used in water fountains and splashing particles to simulate hundreds of particles within a single particle.

Character Shaders  Created a character material shader to support two-tone tinting via gradient masks.  Created color rim lighting for characters to be used based on the world they were in.

Unreal Engine 3 Tools & Mods Design  Designed a material instance filter tool for artist to select and load parent materials as needed.  Designed a new prefab automated creation tool design for Unreal (naming, placement, guidelines).  Designed a new “Convert Static Mesh to Prefab Tool” that replaced Static Meshes with a matching Prefab.  Improved SM2.0 error messaging within the original material editor so errors appeared in Unreal.  Designed multiple automatic fallback systems for SM2.5, SM2.0, and SM.1.5, as well as a system for how the Material Editor would support fallback material overrides if the automatic fallback did not meet the art style.  Designed a new, searchable debug filter tool for the generic browser (asset library) to find assets requiring fixes.  Designed a new automatic culling distance system based on asset object size and height.  Designed how the video quality game options and presets would impact post process, shader, texture, and draw distance functions.

Unreal Engine 3 Research & Development  To save texture memory yet still trick the player’s eye into seeing a surface as reflective, developed a reflective shader to accept a single, tileable texture, instead of using a cube map made of six textures.  Expanded the character shader to accept a three-channel tint texture, allowing the artist to have full control of where and how much tinting gradient would appear on characters using one DXT1 texture.  To give the illusion of a bulb in a light fixture, developed a light fixture material that would take an artist's emissive map and use it as a mask to render a parallax bump mapping of the same map at a much brighter value.  Developed a rain tech demo to prove what was possible with Kismet and Material Instances within Unreal Engine 3. Learned how to make cloth look as if it was absorbing water, while having hard surfaces show only a thin layer of water, drying over a period of time.

User Interface & User Experience (UI/UX)  Helped UI Artist develop UI in the third dimension for the first time of the Assassin’s Creed series requiring new tool designs within an existing game engine for UI artist to make 3D UI elements within the game environment.  Worked with UI team on the interface flow for custom mask editor on the third Army of TWO video game.  Co-developed an in-house Maya to Frostbite 2 tool to find art asset bugs with a focus on UI and UX.  Updated In-house 3ds Max and Maya art tools used for license users of HeroEngine to have more feedback.

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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/technicalart YouTube: youtube.com/user/techarthill Portfolio: scottdhill.wordpress.com/experience/samples