When I painted At its Dawn some months back (my does time fly!), it was an attempt to sort of reverse engineer a world from a game. Yet the guys at Tiberian Dawn, which claim the piece as their foremost inspiration, seem to have missed the point completely, and are just making another typical C&C1 to C&C3 mod.

The world is big, a game is small. It is this relationship which usually results in developers and designers summarizing a larger picture, especially so if the game is based on real-world events and subjects, into something much more compact, comprehensive and representative due to the limits imposed by human nature (attention span, information capacity, ability to micro-manage and multi-task etc) and general social, scientific and technological development (personal growth, pop culture shifts, geopolitical polarization, better graphics processors, smarter operating systems etc). When it was released in 1995, the original Command & Conquer reflected this very much - we could be talking about sound, graphics, gameplay, video, skill, depth, and they were all limited in their ways - yet there were aspects which proved to be endearing, be it the spirit of the game as influenced by its content material, a certain dark humour, or the storytelling methods employed. I believe that we have had enough advancement in benchmarks and boundaries which should have resulted in more liberty being taken by ways of not just nostalgic rehashing and reinterpreting of old concepts, but refreshing them in a manner that truly reflects the limits (or a lack thereof) which we now face in 2007.

Just as how a FPS game developer would not include every weapon to be found in the world in his game, neither would the RTS developer in his right mind include every military tactic or environmental dynamic in his game, even if he could, because it is simply too tedious and abundant with overlapping redundancy in light of the purpose of creating a game. In most cases he only puts in what he deems necessary for his game to be enjoyable and challenging when the player is presented with scenarios and objectives. Yet we can be sure that the Tiberium story is so much larger than what the games themselves presented, regardless of whether this belief had originated from our imagination or that of Westwood Studios, because obviously there are ideas which have survived far longer than the on-screen pixel. This was what I hoped to demonstrate with the painting - injecting little things that add richness and believability to a fictional world, building upon said game's setting as a platform for commentary and exposition. So I fail to see why are we, as fans, modders, and people, still harping on the same old game "icons" with childish furore, Medium Tanks, Recon Bikes and Flame Tanks, when instead with our intellect and maturity can be transpiring what fictional organisations like the Brotherhood of Nod and Global Defense Initiative stood for, and make a fresh and interesting game out of that? Just choose an adjective, any word, to describe a faction, and you can do a thousand things with that. I think we are ready in this day and age to make games which properly dissertate broader issues - morality, politics, religion, environment, education. This is why I'm really dissatisfied with Tiberium Wars, not because it's an ass-ugly, horribly unplayable game (which it isn't, by the way), but because it could've been so much more, it's as if EALA was oblivious to the insult of intelligence sent to itself and its fans. Electronic Arts used to have "challenge everything" as its corporate motto - despite it not being reflected in most of the games it developed or published - would it hurt for a studio which claims to want to do the best for the franchise, to even attempt challenging the limits, and be somewhat innovative outside of the by-now usual graphical overhauls or superficial "gameplay improvements"?

But back to the Tiberian Dawn mod, I don't blame them really, they are entitled to making a mod any way they like (isn't that the whole point of modding a game?) and I cannot expect them to think and see things the way I do. And of course, because they are making a mod, they're at liberty to alter and edit things when and where they need to as they go along. Neither am I suggesting that there is no room for games that do not take themselves seriously (because there are plenty of bad ones that take themselves too seriously). Perhaps it is just part of growth that has had me changing expectations, perhaps I have truly outgrown this community and medium, and maybe certain going-ons in my life have left me craving for more intelligent interaction in the games I play. But does not everyone grow? Are we to forever remain stagnant, stuck in the same perspective towards electronic gaming and game development as some misogynist, pubescent, violent pastime?

This past week, Derelict Studios went bust due to internal dispute - for a short time, and seems will be back soon - but somehow I didn't feel a thing; not distressed, not worried nor relieved, despite not being there to see it happen. I've been so desensitised and distanced from everything, in fact I don't even do any real modding these days save for making visualisation and conceptualisation work for a couple other mods elsewhere, that it grew into a place more stifling than motivating, especially with the slow forming hierarchy that made working especially stressful in a way it never should have been. I think when dealing with such work, environment is important, and so are the relationships one forms with the people in that structure, these two factors kind of fall on each other for a team to create something truly good. And that's something, I feel, the collective has lost over the past couple of years.

At its Dawn (Detail Crops)
Photoshop CS2
(Click any to expand)

I haven't worked on anything this detailed for a very long time and coming to think of it, it's almost been two years since I worked on my "A" level coursework Decadent Progression. I'm still trying to top that in terms of scale, concept and message, but this piece just doesn't come close in that respect. Regardless that wasn't my intention anyway, plus it turned out to be good endurance practice given how it took me close to four months of on and off painting to complete it - I tend to have a short span of attention and inspiration when it comes to most works. No doubt excitement from anticipating the release of Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars did much to fuel my motivation, for C&C is finally returning to its roots.

Certainly like many other people, I wasn't in full support of all of the developer's decisions and designs from the onset, and although much of my opinion still stands even after I have now finally purchased and started playing the game, I've been pleasantly surprised by how the final product looks and feels, especially with the live action videos. You can tell almost immediately that EALA put in a considerable amount of effort in trying to bring back the feel of the original C&C (even if just to cash in on the huge fanbase, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt), which is known to us in the community as Tiberian Dawn.

I had similar goals in mind when starting work on this painting. On the superficial level, I wanted to make the best tribute to a game I could possibly conjure up at this point in my life, but at the same time I also wanted to discuss certain deeper themes associated with the game. The Tiberian Dawn introduction movie was one really interesting (corny?) compilation of imagery, but it represented so much within that short half a minute - terror and fear, politics, affluence and hysteria, war, media control, economics, corruption, and frivolity. You look at it now and you can draw so many parallels to the world we currently live in, and I really wanted to illustrate this sense of a larger world which was evident in the video.

Building on that, I also wanted to bring up questions pertaining to the game and to art, and encourage people to ask them, such that the painting will tell its own story; from the mundane to the difficult and seemingly pointless: What's going on here? Where is this? What do the words mean? Who are the GDI soldiers gesturing towards? What are the rules of engagement? Who is truly justified in this war? You come to realise that everything in the frame was deliberately placed by the artist, from the Orcas to the post-it on the soldier's computer to the derelict bicycle and the graffiti, yet his intention is also to show that these objects exist only because of actions and consequences of created fictional characters within the game's (or painting's) world.

Doesn't matter if that didn't make much sense, I wasn't there when they made C&C1, so in essence what I meant is that I'm re-imagining and expanding upon a fiction in a more serious tone, pondering real-world issues we may face in an artificial setting. Having said all that I leave here the progress shots of the work in question:

One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Seven. Eight. Nine. Ten. Eleven. Twelve.

As well as wallpaper versions:
1024x768
1280x800
1280x960
1280x1024
1600x1200
1680x1050

So there, have a blessed Easter weekend everyone.

Victory
Photoshop CS2
Dawn of Victory concept illustrations
(Click to expand)

Painted these over the weekend for the Dawn of Victory mod, pretty fun to do, and I'm quite pleased with how my speed works are beginning to not look like crap.

Anyways to the someone that said Lasalle-SIA's better (and I assume you're one of those that came through the google searches, but if you're someone I know please do reveal your identity) than NAFA, I think so too, now that I've had a good look at both. That's not to say NAFA is worthless - I'm judging based on my preferences afterall - it does have its merits, but it's not really the sort of thing I'm after due to its odd enrollment practices, young target audience, cold campus vibe and syllabus focus on skills (as opposed to thought processes and concepts as is the case at Lasalle). That said, I still haven't made up my mind even though I think Lasalle is ahead on the cool meter by about 10 notches, but it doesn't matter because I can't be applying for either till my entry year.

The AEP J2s this year seem like a fun bunch, hanging out with them brought back so many memories of coursework days, that joy and pain, and forgotten constant longing for closer, more open classmates.
I can't wait to be outta this cesspit, just one last exercise, one more parade, a dozen public holidays, plus 43 weeks and life should be getting better.

Crimson Haze
Photoshop 7
(Click to expand)

Painted this last weekend for Dawn of Victory, a mod for Star Wars Empire at War. It basically places World War II factions and an alien race in a science fiction setting, a la Harry Turtledove's Worldwar and Colonization novels, which served as inspiration for the team. I found the premise rather strange and interesting, that and also I've been dying to paint something spacey for the longest time since Homeworld 2 was released without success, plus the fact that Slipstream has lost its flagship mod and I felt like giving them a boost in morale of sorts. Think it came together rather nicely, it's also comparatively the fastest piece of work I've ever done, taking into account the amount of detail poured into the frame; if anyone wants to see work-in-progress shots I've listed them below.

Shot one.
Shot two.
Shot three.
Shot four.
Shot five.

For all that I dabble with in the gaming world, I really mention too little of it. It's time for that to change though, and the trigger came from something that I'm a couple weeks late to mention - but still relevant nonetheless.

Halogen is a mod for Command & Conquer Generals Zero Hour, well, it was in any case, because the team has been ordered by Microsoft to cease its operations on the basis that they're infringing intellectual property (IP) copyrights on the Halo franchise. Nothing wrong with that one would think think, law is indeed law, but this happened three years into production with hardly any trough in quality or attention, weeks away from a first limited beta release. There was no profit motivation, no danger posed to Microsoft (though there's speculation on an official Halo RTS in the works at Bungie), no reason to make this mod other than the fact that they loved the Halo universe and saw an opportunity to expand on it in a way no one else has.

I shared this view and offered a little help in the form of illustration and texturing while the mod was still at Derelict Studios. The team eventually splintered to form Slipstream Productions in early 2005 and I can testify that the quality of work produced by this handful of individuals has never let down since and remains some of the best in the C&C community. It was pure dedication at work, nothing from the actual Halo game was used, all assets were original and this included over half of the unit designs and all the structures which did not exist in the two Halo games. Even music was fiercely debated over in-team as they managed to garner the aid of professional sound artists. Indeed, it was art, people noticed, loved it, yet no cease & desist letters came; it is a pity that I have to repeatedly use the past tense here.

In the wake of the announcement of closure from the team, a certain level of controversy ensued and commentary followed. Why did Microsoft do this? Why was the team so stupid to even pick such an IP? Be original. Microsoft sucks. Serves them right. Get over it. The team has already offered explanations on where they stand, but I suppose I can never give an objective perspective to this, and I don't plan on doing so because I still think the move by Microsoft was uncalled for.

I believe the contention is that things like that aren't meant to happen; so be it if Halogen has suffered this fate, but I'll be damned if it happens again to another ace mod team simply because they thought something someone else created was mighty cool. The way I see it, it's fan art taken to a whole new level, it's a public display of respect and gratitude, of professionalism and creativity. Some make "taking another's IP" out to be the world's greatest evil, but why is it? In art, it's called appropriation, if a song, it could be a cover, why is there no such affordability when it comes to games?

It doesn't happen to Star Wars mods or fan films, a franchise many folds more expansive than Halo. It doesn't happen to fan art or fiction for numerous IPs, so what is it that made them choose to do it to Halogen? What is it with the laws which permit it to happen to a mod? As I don't live in the States, I'm not about to go into a detailed analysis on its laws, but observing from the ground with simple common sense and logic, it'd seem Halogen would only serve to increase popularity for the Halo games, it's interestingly ironic then that it is Microsoft/Bungie taking the action rather than Electronic Arts - which holds the license to the Sage engine that Generals, Battle for Middle Earth I & II, as well as C&C3 are based on - because the Halogen team is also similarly doing something technically illegal by modding Generals. Yet it never happened, not to the thousands other mods out there for numerous games either. I think it is dispicable and disgusting, both the move and also comments that put down the team for even trying something like that.

I think people have missed a crucial part of the picture, and it's that the team was actually contacted by Bungie first by email, in a friendly, respectable, yet apologetic gesture to inform them of the sad truth. I think it illustrates a developer-community relationship being soured and manipulated by the middleman publisher that actually owns the studio, which also happens to be where the salary comes from. In a time where electronic and video games are beginning to be recognised as a valid artform and interactive storytelling medium, with its creative process becoming encouragingly accessible to the individual and independent developer, and also at the same time becoming an ever more lucrative industry, it's high time that developers and multinationals got responsible with their actions and really review how copyright and intellectual property laws are written and enforced.