Former student in the brick of it
FORMER Edge Hill student David Chambers is an In-Game Animator for BAFTA award-winning game, LEGO Dimensions.
David graduated from Edge Hill in 2013 with a degree in Animation, which he has put to good use in his current role with Traveller’s Tales Games (TT Games) as a full time ingame animator.
TT Games is part of Warner Bros and has sold more than 180 million games.
The latest project David has worked on is LEGO Dimensions, a toys-to-life actionadventure video game, which has been awarded the 2016 British Academy Children’s Award for Best Game.
Different mini-figures from different worlds can be played together in one video game, for example, you can play as Jake from Adventure Time and play through the Fantastic Beasts level.
As an in-game animator, David was responsible for creating the in-game animations for ET, Newt Scamander (Fantastic Beasts) and Jillian Holtzmann (Ghostbusters).
He created all the movements seen during gameplay including running, jumping, falling, fight combinations and special attacks.
“It’s important to keep the character in mind when animating as no two characters move in the same way,” said David.
“We live test animations through the in-house game engine to see how the character feels.
“Is this a natural way for this character to move?
“The idea is, if you transfer a run cycle from one character to another then it should look totally out of character.
“Are they too fast? Is the weight right?
“If the character is big and heavy but moves quickly then people will instinctively recognise that the weight isn’t right.
“It’s a great feeling to be involved in a BAFTA-winning game, and I’m really proud of the work the team has done on LEGO Dimensions.
“I’m glad people are getting a lot of enjoyment out of the game and it’s testament to the hard work put in by the team at TT Games.”
David still receives support from Edge Hill, adding: “Alex Jukes, senior lecturer in Animation, is always on hand for a catch up or a word of advice.
“He has kindly invited me back on a couple of occasions to talk to students about my experiences in the industry.
“I still feel very much part of the Edge Hill family.”
For more information about a degree in Animation at Edge Hill, visit www.edgehill.ac.uk/ courses/animation/