The Story of a Light bulb by Sirada Jensen

You have probably heard this one before: how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb?  Well, here at Crytek we don’t screw in light bulbs, we virtually create them.

So, the actual question is: How many people does it take to create a light source?

Often, the answer is different depending on the variable question, but it’s usually funny if you haven’t heard it before.  So, can you answer our question?

Pick a number, one which you think is your answer and remember it.

Bear in mind, the Light bulb that I am talking about in this diary is not a metaphor; I’m talking about a light bulb you see in the game.  Well, if you like, we can call it a light source.  Many will argue that there are many kinds of light sources, and not just light bulbs so we will keep it simple for now.  Let’s focus on one simple light bulb.

The process begins when someone like me starts to occupy the space according to the story with objects.  Once the initial setup and cinematic is done, it is now time to go into a bit more detail.  One of the most important details is, of course, lighting.  In the case of interiors or night scenes, lighting is one of the most important factors.  It is not as simple as just dragging in a light asset (a light bulb within a lamp, or whatever it is attached to) and voila!, the job is done.  I will often need to sit with concept artists and general artists to discuss how I want the scene to look like, we discuss the type of mood I am looking for, and how props like light sources should look like.  They then go away and create an asset according to the description and our conversation.  Once completed, I then place it in different areas throughout the scene.  The next step is to add a proper light source.  You see, normally this asset has no light.  It has a glow texture, but it doesn’t really light up the room the same way real lights do in the real world.  So light sources need to be placed in to create an illusion that this light asset gives out light the same way we know from the real world.

Now, if we want the asset to take damage, say from someone shooting at it, then an extra asset will be required to give it two or more ‘states’.  This of course requires a bit of extra work on the artists side of things, but once completed, we will then have a full compelted asset.  Two more very important people that I deal with daily are the ‘particle guy’ and the ‘sound guy’.  They will help to make the light become more believable by creating sounds and sparks when this lamp is shot.

We are half way there now.  Next is to set it up, which is my job, of course.  What else do we need now?  Next up is the polishing stage.  This time we are going to have someone I refer to as the ‘light guru’.  He will look through the scene; optimize the lighting for the whole area, as well as adjusting and improving it.  Please don’t ask me for the details.  All I know is, with his magic touch, the whole scene will look a whole lot better.

So, all in all, with this example of a light asset, it requires roughly six people to create and to finally get it into the scene in a fully working order.

So, what’s the point of me talking about a light bulb or how it came about you ask?

The point is that I just want to say there’s nothing in this game that is done by one person.  It always takes an army of us here, and we work in a team.  If such a simple thing like a lamp would take up to this many people to work on it, imagine how many would we need to work on larger assets such as characters, buildings, AI, or even sound.  How about those you don’t see?  Yes, I’m talking about code… Those three gazillion lines of something I don’t think I will ever understand are equally as important.

I have one beloved scene that I’ve been working on for a long time.  This scene is considered to be the longest and biggest I’ve ever worked on so far.  It took me months to set up and develop.  I had to start from scratch numerous times for various reasons.  The detail in the scene has changed several times due to the fact that it doesn’t play out according to what we have in mind.  It then has passed onto another team member to continue working on it.  Due to my workload, I kind of lost touch with its progress and didn’t see it for several months.  Then, one day in October, I saw the scene for the first time.  The scene still has the same core elements, but it looks one hundred times better!  The final assets are in, the sound is there, and the animation done.  The particles look great, and the lighting looks wonderful. Now everything has come together, and it all looks great. I just couldn’t stop smiling for the whole day.  It is like the first time you see your baby who has left home, and now that baby has come back… but as a grown up.  I’m proud of my baby, and I’m so thankful for those who help me nurture my beloved one as well, their talents never fail to amaze me. Sometimes the road to the destination can be rough, but we have all made it through. What’s waiting for us at the end is nothing but pride. I’m not there alone. I have my whole team with me, every single one of them.

I am proud of my team. And I hope you are as well :)

P.s. I know you probably wonder what scene I am talking about. I would love to show you my work now but it will need to wait until Crysis 2 launches. I can give you a hint that there will be a taxi in it ;).  Please check back on 25/03/2011!