Gaming to Win Pays Off
Aspiring Game Artist Ng Jun Xuan did not just ace WorldSkills Singapore by winning a Gold Medal in the 3D Digital Game Art category, he also did Singapore proud by beating eight others around the world to attain the Gold medal and the Best of Nation award at Worldskills International in Abu Dhabi last year.
The Diploma in Digital Game Art & Design graduate was awarded the Outstanding Game Artist Award by DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore and is one of School of Interactive & Digital Media’s top graduates this year. We quizzed him on life and gaming.
1) What inspired you to become a digital game artist?
I started playing games since I was in secondary school, and some of my favourite games were first person shooter (FPS) games like Maple Story, Counter-Strike, and Doom. Those games got me into drawing my own characters. I especially like action games like Dark Souls III.
2) What are some of your favourite songs?
I listen to a lot of music and I always find new songs once a while. Some of the songs on my playlist are: Fitz and the Tantrums – HandClap, Just A Dream by Nelly - Sam Tsui & Christina Grimmie, B.o.B - Airplanes Part. 2 (Ft. Eminem, Hayley Williams), Eminem – Mockingbird, and Taeyang – Wedding Dress.
3) Who is your favourite game artist? Why?
Gilberto Magno. You can see his work at http://gilbertomagno.com. During my earlier years, I saw his work and still remember it till today.
4) Why did you choose your diploma course in NYP?
I was already interested in digital game art, and NYP was my first choice because it focuses more on art, animation, 3D game modelling and character design, unlike other schools that taught both art and programming.
5) Tell us more about your Internship at Koei Tecmo Singapore
To help me train for Worldskills, NYP arranged for a 3-month internship for me at Japanese game developer Koei Tecmo. It was a very good opportunity, as Koei does not typically take in poly interns. I worked at the Singapore office and I learnt a lot from the professionals, like how to plan efficiently and deliver high quality 3D characters within a given deadline. I also improved my art and technical skills, software skills, accuracy and workflow at Koei Tecmo. I’m just really glad that NYP gave me the opportunity.
Because We Can