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Chapter 1 ✦ gmax — The Possibilities

gmax and the Gaming Industry

With gmax, the gaming companies have a way to give their game legs. The term

“legs” is used to define the length of time that the game remains on the shelves. For

these companies, the longer the game stays on the shelf, the more money it makes.

(Come to think of it, book publishing works the same way.)

Have you ever played a game and ripped through all the levels in a matter a days

and then felt jipped because it held your interest for only two weekends? Thank

heavens for mod builders who enabled gamers to create new and devious levels,

many of which were much better than the levels shipped with the game.

gmax lets mod creators use the same tool that was used to create the game in the

first place, along with all the customization needed to output the content to the for-

mat that the game uses.

So the game companies get a game that stays around longer, the game hobbyists

get an advanced mod builder, and the normal gamer gets more levels than he or she

can shake a joystick at. It’s a win-win-win situation.

Pursuing a Career in the Gaming Industry

If you speak of the gaming industry in Las Vegas, they will immediately think of

gambling games, but because you’re reading this book (even if you live in Las

Vegas), I assume that you aren’t interested in the odds of winning for a royal flush. I

frequently tempt my young son with a career in the gaming industry. I ask him,

“How would it be to play games for a living or even better, to make games for a liv-

ing?” His answer is always the same: “Ooh, yeah!”

If you’re anything like my son, then you were probably one of the first to download

gmax and probably know more tricks than anyone on your block for beating games.

If you’re considering getting a job in the gaming industry, then learning gmax (and

3ds max) is a good start.

Another good feather to have in your 3d cap is getting experience with the 3d pro-

gram called Maya. Alias/Wavefront has recently made a learning edition of Maya

available for free. You may want to check this tool out also. You can find details on

the Maya Personal Learning Edition at www.aliaswavefront.com.

Many positions are open to game developers. You can become a modeler, an anima-

tor, or an effects specialist. One of the nice things about using gmax is that you get

experience in all these areas. As you work with gmax to create a custom gaming

level, pay attention to which area of development you most look forward to.

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