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Game Art Design at De Montfort 2012

Hi everyone! :biggrin:

A few of us have been messaging each other about the course etc. so we decided to start a thread on the SR for Game Art Design so more and more people can join in!
It's a great way to meet more people who are heading out to DMU in September to study Game Art, so say hi and introduce yourself. :biggrin:
If you are currently studying at DMU, you're more than welcome to share your experiences!

So I'm Anna, I'm currently doing my A levels (I'm procrastinating as you can see) and I'm super excited to start this course. I'm thinking of Victoria Halls, but I'm still rather undecided!

What about you guys? :biggrin:

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Reply 1
Hello to all! This is an awesome idea.

Okay so I'm Tom, I'm doing an Art Foundation at the moment but I've got an unconditional offer from DMU because I've already done my A levels. I have no idea about accommodation really, but after spending a year on this Art Foundation course sharing a bathroom with 8 others, I really can't deal with that anymore haha. I'm a pretty quiet guy and I'm really looking forward to meeting more people with similar interests as thus far people who like the kinda stuff I like have been pretty few and far between. Anyways that's me! I look forward to hearing some of you guys.
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Reply 2
Hi there Tom! I'm from Northern Ireland so I can't really go up to Leicester to check out the accomodation, so I had to go through the forums to find out which ones would eventually suit me best. Victoria halls are all en suite, they're the cheapest of all ensuite and have the best contract length (42 weeks).

Some halls seem cheaper, but then it turns out the contract length is much shorter (38 weeks?) and you have to pay for the internet seperately, so eg. the price for the room is 85 or 90 pounds, but you have to pay additional 15 for the internet so it works out the same as getting a room for 105 in Victoria.

I heard a lot of positive things about Victoria, well apart from the fact that they don't tolerate too much noise. :s-smilie:
I don't mind the distance, they're all pretty close by, so it really doesn't make much difference if it takes five minutes or ten minutes to get to the Fletcher building. Plus it gives us some extra exercise haha! :biggrin:

Bede seems to be the party central, but like you I consider myself to be more on the quiet side. I love going out though, I am very social, but I'd prefer to keep nights out/parties seperate if you know what I mean. I'd rather go out, and then go back to my room and sleep. :tongue:
Reply 3
Hi guys!

Thanks for putting this thread up Anna!

I'm Katie and I am also currently on my Art Foundation Course (which is a breath of fresh air after the torment that was A-Levels!!!).
I have booked my room at Bede Hall because I really loved the sense of 'community' that I got from the place. I was pretty much sold when I saw the grassy courtyard area - I'm very sociable and I am a frequent festival-goer; so I saw a lot of opportunity for fun at Bede!

I was born and bred in Liverpool and I'm almost always in the busy town centre, day and night. However I do also love spending time in galleries and having a serious chill out with friends. :cool:

I'd say I'm a gamer, but art is where my passion really lies - so I'm really excited to merge the two together in this course.

Look forward to meeting you all! :biggrin:
Hi, I'm Natasha, just call me Tasha.
I'm doing Art Foundation as well :smile: (Anyone else doing their Final Major Project? It's driving me insane!) I've been looking at the New Wharf accomodation.
Reply 5
Original post by Ravien
Hi there Tom! I'm from Northern Ireland so I can't really go up to Leicester to check out the accomodation, so I had to go through the forums to find out which ones would eventually suit me best. Victoria halls are all en suite, they're the cheapest of all ensuite and have the best contract length (42 weeks).

Some halls seem cheaper, but then it turns out the contract length is much shorter (38 weeks?) and you have to pay for the internet seperately, so eg. the price for the room is 85 or 90 pounds, but you have to pay additional 15 for the internet so it works out the same as getting a room for 105 in Victoria.

I heard a lot of positive things about Victoria, well apart from the fact that they don't tolerate too much noise. :s-smilie:
I don't mind the distance, they're all pretty close by, so it really doesn't make much difference if it takes five minutes or ten minutes to get to the Fletcher building. Plus it gives us some extra exercise haha! :biggrin:

Bede seems to be the party central, but like you I consider myself to be more on the quiet side. I love going out though, I am very social, but I'd prefer to keep nights out/parties seperate if you know what I mean. I'd rather go out, and then go back to my room and sleep. :tongue:


Victoria halls sound perfect for someone like me who likes a little shut-eye :smile: also yes, add in the extra costs of living somewhere else and that racks up the price anyhow, so Victoria is a good deal. I'm sure I can manage a bit of a walk- my girlfriend is worried I'll get fat at uni, so i'm sure she'll welcome the idea haha. It's cool that you're quiet, I might have to buy a netflix account and do film nights. That or LAN parties for "teh gamorz" lol. Can anyone who's been to new warf tell me what it's like? So what kind of games do you guys enjoy playing?
Reply 6
Original post by Bloodrush1992
Hi, I'm Natasha, just call me Tasha.
I'm doing Art Foundation as well :smile: (Anyone else doing their Final Major Project? It's driving me insane!) I've been looking at the New Wharf accomodation.


FMP is pretty intense shizz. I'm doing it at the moment, i'm making a short film about a West Yorkshire guy who builds a rocket and tries to get to space... I have to build the 12ft sodding thing this week :s-smilie: Better get to work!
Original post by TomDuffus
FMP is pretty intense shizz. I'm doing it at the moment, i'm making a short film about a West Yorkshire guy who builds a rocket and tries to get to space... I have to build the 12ft sodding thing this week :s-smilie: Better get to work!


I know! Wow that sound really cool. You'll have to show us how it works out. Me, being lazy like always, has to do a whole 2 weeks of work before tomorrow morning cause I couldn't be arsed to do it over the Easter Holidays and I'm stupid when it comes to keeping up :frown:

I'm doing concept art for a Survival/horror game, in a hand bound book and possible some larger pieces. I've been put into a illustration/graphics group so there is nobody else who does what I want to do that could help, and I feel like my project is lacking something. And the closes I get to having a teacher help, is the Graphic teacher talking to me about what games he likes xD
Original post by TomDuffus
That or LAN parties for "teh gamorz" lol.


Yes please!!!! lol I have my PC and xbox ready for 'Research' ;D (I do need to fix my xbox thought :frown: )
Reply 9
Original post by Bloodrush1992
Yes please!!!! lol I have my PC and xbox ready for 'Research' ;D (I do need to fix my xbox thought :frown: )


Tasha if you're up for LAN parties anytime next year, just give me a shout! :smile: lol I'll be bringing my "Epic Gaming Rig" next year, which will be a little bit of a hassle considering how much it weighs... But seriously, i'm more than happy to condone any antisocial geek antics. D&D and all.
Original post by TomDuffus
Tasha if you're up for LAN parties anytime next year, just give me a shout! :smile: lol I'll be bringing my "Epic Gaming Rig" next year, which will be a little bit of a hassle considering how much it weighs... But seriously, i'm more than happy to condone any antisocial geek antics. D&D and all.


Haha, on the top of my list of things to take to uni, my PC is the first thing xD It's not a proper gaming computer, but I'll make it work :smile:
Reply 11
Original post by Kattah
Hi guys!

Thanks for putting this thread up Anna!

I'm Katie and I am also currently on my Art Foundation Course (which is a breath of fresh air after the torment that was A-Levels!!!).


No bother Katie! :biggrin:
I'm doing A level art at the moment, it's getting rather intense at this point. I thought of doing Foundation, it sounds super fun, but since the fees went up, I had to opt out of it. :s-smilie:
I'm super excited for this course too! :biggrin:

Original post by TomDuffus
Victoria halls sound perfect for someone like me who likes a little shut-eye :smile: also yes, add in the extra costs of living somewhere else and that racks up the price anyhow, so Victoria is a good deal. I'm sure I can manage a bit of a walk- my girlfriend is worried I'll get fat at uni, so i'm sure she'll welcome the idea haha. It's cool that you're quiet, I might have to buy a netflix account and do film nights. That or LAN parties for "teh gamorz" lol. Can anyone who's been to new warf tell me what it's like? So what kind of games do you guys enjoy playing?


Hopefully I won't put on any weight considering that my diet will consist mainly of weetabix. :tongue:
Aww man, LAN parties sound awesome, although I'm not sure about dragging my 'pooter around. Unless we all decide to go up to Viccy or New Wharf, it should be easy enough. I don't mind a bit of nerding around, I'm looking forward to being on a course with like-minded people. :biggrin:
I love RPGs! Thanks to my older brother I grew up playing stuff like Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and of course The Elder Scrolls. I remember the day we got Morrowind, we couldn't get over how realistic the water was. :')
Recently I finished AC Revs, and some of Skyrim (it's impossible to complete an ES game). I'm saving Mass Effect 3 till summer, because I have to pass my A levels haha so no spoilers please! :biggrin:
Oh and I'm super excited for Guild Wars 2! I lovelovelove Kekai Kotaki's work. :lovedup:

Original post by Bloodrush1992
Hi, I'm Natasha, just call me Tasha.
I'm doing Art Foundation as well :smile: (Anyone else doing their Final Major Project? It's driving me insane!) I've been looking at the New Wharf accomodation.


It's great to meet you Tasha! It's quite nice to see that there are quite many girls on the course. During my interview for Norwich, the woman told me that they have 3 girls and 40 boys and I was like 'riiight...you have a lovely ratio going on there'. :thumbsup:
Reply 12
Original post by TomDuffus
So what kind of games do you guys enjoy playing?
Original post by Ravien
Recently I finished AC Revs, and some of Skyrim (it's impossible to complete an ES game). I'm saving Mass Effect 3 till summer, because I have to pass my A levels haha so no spoilers please! :biggrin:
Oh and I'm super excited for Guild Wars 2! I lovelovelove Kekai Kotaki's work. :lovedup:


I'll have a go at most games but I'm deffo into my RPGs too; Fallout 3 was a big favourite of mine and I really love Skyrim!! Also had a 'bit' of a crush on both Ezio and Altair :colondollar: but never played past number 2.
I love MMOs; I've spent time in the past playing Guild Wars (also cannot wait for GW2!!!), WoW (*facepalm*), Lotro, Rift and EVE.
I loved the CoD games back when online play wasn't lame, I kind of enjoyed scaring myself with Dead Space and then there's TF2 which is a lot of mindless fun! :biggrin:

Original post by Bloodrush1992

I'm doing concept art for a Survival/horror game, in a hand bound book and possible some larger pieces. I've been put into a illustration/graphics group so there is nobody else who does what I want to do that could help, and I feel like my project is lacking something. And the closes I get to having a teacher help, is the Graphic teacher talking to me about what games he likes xD


Have you ever played 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' Tasha!? If not, its worth looking into - could definitely help you with the survival horror theme (Scariest game I've ever played haha!)

Aside from games, what artists inspire you guys? I'm pretty into Magritte, most of the YBA's stuff like Saville, Emin and Quinn, and old school Pre-Raphaelites like John Everett Millais and the Romanticists.
Hopefully my final major project for foundation will be an installation piece - exciting stuff!!

Plus, I can't wait to start the plein air work we will be doing on those massive treks around Leicester haha!!:h:
Reply 13
Original post by Ravien

Aww man, LAN parties sound awesome, although I'm not sure about dragging my 'pooter around. Unless we all decide to go up to Viccy or New Wharf, it should be easy enough. I don't mind a bit of nerding around, I'm looking forward to being on a course with like-minded people. :biggrin:
I love RPGs! Thanks to my older brother I grew up playing stuff like Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights and of course The Elder Scrolls. I remember the day we got Morrowind, we couldn't get over how realistic the water was. :')
Recently I finished AC Revs, and some of Skyrim (it's impossible to complete an ES game). I'm saving Mass Effect 3 till summer, because I have to pass my A levels haha so no spoilers please! :biggrin:
Oh and I'm super excited for Guild Wars 2! I lovelovelove Kekai Kotaki's work. :lovedup:


Howcome it would be harder with Victoria or New warf? I'm asking because those were some of the places I was considering :s-smilie: I'm not very in-the-know about accommodation, anyone's breakdown would be super helpful! :biggrin:
Original post by Ravien

It's great to meet you Tasha! It's quite nice to see that there are quite many girls on the course. During my interview for Norwich, the woman told me that they have 3 girls and 40 boys and I was like 'riiight...you have a lovely ratio going on there'. :thumbsup:


I know all the courses I have looked at have about 3 girls and 30 guys xD

Original post by Kattah

Have you ever played 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent' Tasha!? If not, its worth looking into - could definitely help you with the survival horror theme (Scariest game I've ever played haha!)


Yeah, I've played it (If you class as watching my brother play it at midnight, whilst I have the headphones on at full volume :s-smilie:) I wet myself xD

That is really close to what I want to do, except I want it to have the non-typical horror things (Sunny weather kind of thing lol)
Another thing is I was thing of a reason why the characters (not made yet) would be in this building and all I can think of is some sort of zombie apocalypse xD

I must say this, I'm a big Zelda Fan! :biggrin:
Reply 15
Original post by Kattah
I'll have a go at most games but I'm deffo into my RPGs too; Fallout 3 was a big favourite of mine and I really love Skyrim!! Also had a 'bit' of a crush on both Ezio and Altair :colondollar: but never played past number 2.
I love MMOs; I've spent time in the past playing Guild Wars (also cannot wait for GW2!!!), WoW (*facepalm*), Lotro, Rift and EVE.
I loved the CoD games back when online play wasn't lame, I kind of enjoyed scaring myself with Dead Space and then there's TF2 which is a lot of mindless fun! :biggrin:


I'm a "PC gamorz" so sadly I don't have much access to my guilty pleasure in gaming which is "big robots" :biggrin: Armored Core refuses to port to PC. Anyway, aside from that I do love a lot of AAA titles like Skyrim (who doesn't?) and Fallout 3 for RPGs, but the best RPG i've played in recent years is The Witcher 2. It's on 360 now so I implore people to check it out. It was the most STUNNING game on PC, really amazing- I'm a bit of a graphics whore (Thus Crysis is one of my favourite series of shooters). I really like RTS games too, like Starcraft and Supreme Commander. Oddly enough, for someone who is a graphics whore, I'm also a massive nintendo fanboy who plays his N64 and Wii frequently :biggrin: I even had the original NES when everyone else was playing playstations lol Zelda Ocarina Of Time is IMO the best thing mankind has ever created, although the Metroid Prime series comes pretty close too. I like to play a load of indie games too, like Limbo (it's really beautiful, worth a look) World Of Goo (Maybe the best soundtrack i've ever heard) and VVVVV (Actually, VVVVV might have the best soundtrack...)

Original post by Kattah
Aside from games, what artists inspire you guys? I'm pretty into Magritte, most of the YBA's stuff like Saville, Emin and Quinn, and old school Pre-Raphaelites like John Everett Millais and the Romanticists.
Hopefully my final major project for foundation will be an installation piece - exciting stuff!!


I really love the work of H.R. Giger (a bit standard I know, but I have my guilty pleasures...) and Zdzislaw Beksinski, just because conceptually their pieces are amazing, and I don't think anyones ever pulled of the Lovecraftian Alien universe feeling like they have. Jamie Hewlett is pretty awesome too :biggrin: Andrew Jones (lead artist behind the Metroid Prime series) has produced some really amazing biomechanical work, too.
Reply 16
Original post by Bloodrush1992

I must say this, I'm a big Zelda Fan! :biggrin:


Zelda is the best thing ever! I was effectively raised by Ocarina of time, having Majora's Mask ready for my angsty teenage phase :biggrin: For my 18th birthday I got a platinum inlaid Ocarina of Time, and managed to learn most of OOT's melodies on it :smile:
Original post by TomDuffus
Howcome it would be harder with Victoria or New warf? I'm asking because those were some of the places I was considering :s-smilie: I'm not very in-the-know about accommodation, anyone's breakdown would be super helpful! :biggrin:


I donno about Victoria but I know that internet is separate from your rent in New Wharf. The lowest and cheapest one is 4 mb, (the others are a bit expensive for me:frown: ) And it's through a ethernet cable.
Reply 18
Ahh i see. Thats okay, my desktop doesn't have a wifi-setup so I'd have to buy one if it wasn't through ethernet. I'm asking my friend who goes to DMU what the accommodations are all like. Newarke point is aparantly drug central so that doesn't really interest me... I think Victoria is pretty strict with late-night-noise which suits me fine after a year of being kept up by "bangin' partays" next door at 4 AM... He says the on-site security is pretty hardcore, too! One of them has an eyepatch! Him and his whole street were being kept up by such a party one night last year, and they called the secutiry who litterally shut it down. I'm half expecting them to be wearing power-armour, but we'll see...
Reply 19
Original post by Kattah
I'll have a go at most games but I'm deffo into my RPGs too; Fallout 3 was a big favourite of mine and I really love Skyrim!! Also had a 'bit' of a crush on both Ezio and Altair :colondollar: but never played past number 2.
I love MMOs; I've spent time in the past playing Guild Wars (also cannot wait for GW2!!!), WoW (*facepalm*), Lotro, Rift and EVE.
I loved the CoD games back when online play wasn't lame, I kind of enjoyed scaring myself with Dead Space and then there's TF2 which is a lot of mindless fun! :biggrin:


How could I ever forget about Fallout! It was such a great game, New Vegas was disappointing, but Fallout 3 has definitely been a huge influence for me. Also, I forgot to mention Half Life 2. Brilliant game. :smile:
I played WoW too, Undead Warlock lvl 40 something, it was agees ago though. :wink:
Guild Wars has to be one of my favourite games of all time, I just cannot wait for GW2.
Don't feel guilty haha I had a 'bit' of a crush on AC guys too! Mostly Altair though, he's just sooo badass. I'm crushing hard on Adam Jensen at the moment haha! :tongue:

Original post by Kattah
Aside from games, what artists inspire you guys?


I really love Pre-Raphaelites too! My favourites are Kekai Kotaki, Matt Rhodes, Stjepan Sejiic (aka Nebezial, look up his Ravine project! :biggrin:) and Claire Keane.

Original post by TomDuffus
Howcome it would be harder with Victoria or New warf? I'm asking because those were some of the places I was considering :s-smilie: I'm not very in-the-know about accommodation, anyone's breakdown would be super helpful! :biggrin:


I mean it will be quite difficult to move a pc around because it's heavy. I don't think there are any rules which tell us that we cannot move anything.

Original post by TomDuffus
I do love a lot of AAA titles like Skyrim (who doesn't?) and Fallout 3 for RPGs, but the best RPG i've played in recent years is The Witcher 2. It's on 360 now so I implore people to check it out.


My brother got me The Witcher 2 for my 18th, but I never actually played it. It is supposed to be brilliant, I cant wait to get my hands on it, but at the moment I have way too much work to do. ;___;

And I'm a hrdrc pc gamorrrzzzz too haha!
Is anyone else really reallllly looking forward to Tomb Raider 9? I think it looks so good! :biggrin:

Original post by Bloodrush1992
I must say this, I'm a big Zelda Fan! :biggrin:


Original post by TomDuffus
Zelda is the best thing ever! I was effectively raised by Ocarina of time, having Majora's Mask ready for my angsty teenage phase :biggrin: For my 18th birthday I got a platinum inlaid Ocarina of Time, and managed to learn most of OOT's melodies on it :smile:


I got my boyfriend one of the Zelda Songbird Ocarinas for Christmas, he was laughing like a little child. I can definitely appreciate the fandom. :')

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