IF: It doesn't bother me one bit, I love seeing all the breath of content and that's one of the reasons I named myself what I did; Twitter is one of the best ways though because if you put content out there, that, of course, looks good, but then has music behind it, like if you look at my older content on Youtube then you'll see this, it's just a great way overall to get your content to the largest audience possible. Compared to Youtube and other platforms, the potential for going viral is larger on Twitter than Youtube in my opinion. SO find a mentor and build an audience by posting that consistent content, have a portfolio, and from there just apply to as many places as you can and better your skills and you'll get there.
C: I can definitely attest to that as one of the big ways I've learned about you was through Twitter, of course, we officially met through friends and other Forgers but ultimately I started seeing your content from your Twitter.
Reeling it back in a little bit though, bringing it back into the Forge stuff, my ne3xt question is actually where did you get your inspirations for making your content, or what inspires you to make content?
IF: A lot of it of course is from the Halo Universe, but ultimately gaming is where I get a lot of ideas, but Art Station has really helped me get a lot of good concept art and ideas to build off of. I look at Concept Art rather than final builds because there is a lot more to go off of usually because they're more grandiose and out there. I'll look at multiple different concept arts and like this sky, this ground style, these rocks, and just start merging things into a new piece of art. Since I'm a big art guy I'm also thinking about how paralaxing works in this environment and all these art terms that I won't go too deep on just so we aren't here forever, as we really could be here for a while talking about that. When I look at the content I look at it and say ok, what's one thing I could take from all and then put it into a really unique scene, while primarily I put Halo content out there, there are also private endeavors that I'll be putting on my portfolio soon and are just not related to Halo at all, but the thing is that Halo has been such an inspiration because it has something that feels so familiar yet Alien, Pacific northwest on a giant space hula hoop haha. But at the same time, you can be so crazy unique with it, that's why I loved the hexagon pillars and other areas on Zeta Halo that we got to explore, after building those in my own UE4 project and seeing those and how they were implemented in Infinite's final project has given me a swath of new ideas to build and work on in my private time. To answer the question directly though, TL;DR Concept Art.
C: Hold on one second I'm actually getting a call from one of the other ForgeHub staff members that would like to join us here, so without further ado let me introduce @Foge *Round of applause everyone*
Foge (F): Hello everyone it's a me Foge
IF: Haha Foge
F: Sorry Infinite Forges and I are actually really good buddies here so I wanted to be a part of the interview, I actually call him by his old Gamertag Blitzer haha
IF: That was 2 years ago Foge!!!! haha
F: Don't worry I'm gonna commit myself to it haha
C: Haha alrighty well to get us back into the interview here, my next question would be what advice do you have for people who are just getting into the Forge community?
IF: Like I stated prior about getting yourself out there, just find what you flow most with and what you're genuinely good at, you get that of course with experimenting, whether that be balancing a map, designing it, or arting it, just experiment with more environments, just find that thing and double down and be the best you can become within that environment. Try to collaborate with other forgers too, help people and see if they're willing to help you too so that you both can create a fantastic product. If someone has a layout and needs help arting it, try arting it with them and co-forge with them. Especially when Infinite's Forge comes out there are going to be so many opportunities that come with that and help build you up as a forger/creator.
C: Especially with how long we have to wait for Infinite's Forge you can start building in other games or on paper too to really get yourself prepared for the grind that will begin (hopefully) later this year.
F: Definitely just try and do something crazy and out there, which Infinite Forges has definitely has been doing insanely well at, which leads into my next question which is what do you think is more important? The actual Layout of the map or the Art?
IF: That's such an interesting one and hard to answer, but I'd have to say it's the layout because without a solid layout the map will ultimately suffer, if it sucks to play on then all the environmental and art stuff will not be standing out as much to a player. The core of the map is what's important, the environment, not saying it comes 2nd, but you have to nail the flow first.
C: The Art kinda fleshes out what's there already.
IF: The art compounds what's already there and makes it memorable yea. Ya know? You could have a layout, but without a good environment or atmosphere, it all doesn't stick into the player's mind. That's what all the callouts people use are too, is it helps people create the map in their head, and helps delineate between areas.
F: Unfortunately you can not put a block out into HCS ad call it a day haha
IF: Yea the thing is, is that you have to have environmental set pieces in order for it to come to life and gain its own identity, and that's why it comes second so you can nail that initial game design first.
C: Another question we could ask you based on that would be what would be your most proud map/crowning achievement?
IF: Oh my God, there's so many haha, that would have to be something that isn't Forge related, which would be my Zeta Halo experience that I built in Unreal, that was absolutely wild, that was the most popular map that I've ever done, that's just in general but when it comes to Forge specifically the one I really enjoyed the most I'd have to say is Hydro, my Pre-Make of Recharge and the Doom level I did. But the Zeta Halo experience would definitely be my number 1.
C: How long did it actually take you to make that project?
IF: It was put together in about a month and a half, the other 3 months were, hey what should we do with this haha, we were kinda just thinking about it, and in total it took around 3ish months to create.
F: I feel like that's a common thing that happens around level designers and environment artists they just kinda ask the room and see what people think of it and what they have to do with it.
IF: Yea that's what it is, I was just throwing so many ideas out to specific people, "like hey, what do you think of this?" The zeta Halo experience was just supposed to be walking out of a pelican and someone was like "The pelican sucks" and they were right so we got rid of it, it was all this stuff but the actual building process was a month overall. It was definitely interesting, it was like building a game without actually building a game.
C: In that case, it seems like there was a ton of feedback for your Zeta Halo Experience and the Hydro project.
IF: Haha Don't even get me started on Hydro and the feedback I got haha.
F: That's a funny one. haha
IF: Yeah man, Hydro, was the Recharge Pre-make for anyone who didn't know...
F: Well actually we can tell them haha
IF: Can we say that Now?
F: Yeah, because now it's all public that I knew what Recharge looked like before.
IF: Okok, so basically what happened was as I was building this, I was like "Yo Foge, what do your think of this man?" and he was like "Oh looks cool dude! I wonder what it's going to look like" haha and this guy has known for the past 2 years, what the entire layout was like, of course, he didn't give any hints or clues but I always find it funny and frustrating at the same time haha.
C: I bet after he was named in the credits that was definitely a shocker haha
IF: No he told me directly after it was launched "Hey haha, just to let you know, I knew the whole time" haha
F: As soon as the game came out I let him know yeah haha.
IF: Hydro was probably one of the coolest ones though since it involved the community and other forgers that I got to work with and network with, and that's the best part about Forge that you don't get with Unreal Engine, is that not only can you run around with other people so seamlessly on your map, but also that you can play it at any point with those same people. It's a whole process of exporting and the game crashes with Unreal Engine. That's one of the reasons I'm anticipating Infinite's Forge so much is some of the best times I've ever had on Halo were just booting up a Co-Forge with people and saying, "Alright guys what are we going to do today?" and just going all-in on something.
C: We've touched on feedback a little bit here in the interview, what would be your suggestions to taking feedback, whether relating to new or old forgers?
IF: You know Feedback is one of the most, if not the most important things to consider at all times during the creative process, I definitely understand the difficulties of possible malicious feedback from people and just malicious people in general, I don't think there are too many people like that in the Forge community thankfully; a lot of people are just like, "Hey I don't like this". But if they are vicious towards you, just know that there are people in the community that you can reach out to that have actual thoughts on legitimate feedback on maps and designs, the people here in this Interview right now are just a few examples; and definitely don't be discouraged because some rando online did that to you, reach out to those with your best interest in mind and they'll give you good feedback. But definitely don't take critical feedback as malicious, just know that they are wanting to make your map the best it can be. Something to take into count too is make sure you're project is still what you want to build, don't try to appease everyone and you'll get the most enjoyment out of your end product and so will everyone else. Be open to changing stuff too but make sure that you aren't changing stuff to a point of where you're never done, as there have to be times where you take your hands off a project and call it done.
F: That is a part that a lot of people actually don't realize during the process is that you're testing this non-stop, you have to lock it down at some point, unfortunately. But you have to understand when to lock things down and when to keep going on a project.
IF: Generally that point is when someone is like "Hey I genuinely like this" that will be the telltale sign of when you're either close to being done or done in general. You should go through a few iterations and putting it out there online for judging and scrutiny, because if you don't put stuff out there, there isn't a way for you to grow as a creator otherwise.
F: The majority of Forgers that I know, they are not happy with the maps they're posting, they're like "Oh I would've loved to do so much more with this" but they don't want to deal with a whole nother year of testing and everything like that so. At some point, you have to throw it out there and content lock the process.
IF: Saying it's done and content locking it, publishing it, and bug fixing it will make it better as a whole, it's so easy to constantly add to a project and a map that can take you down a negative spiral. Forge coming out this year (hopefully) will allow you to the network so much and meet so many new people with new ideas that now is the best time to start and show yourself off and what you can d, while also propping others up and helping them. Practice makes perfect.
F: One thing I would like to mention is that Myself, Crush, and Infinite Forges all came from nothing, and because of the Forge community and ForgeHub we all connected and came out of the blue, making cool forge stuff and excelling as creators. Making good stuff makes you get noticed, the same thing with constant improvements.
IF & F: Tag us in your posts, if we see cool stuff we'll help you get out there and get better by sharing your content.
C: Well, Foge do you have any more questions for our guest today?
F: I'd just like to talk about one last thing, I remember in the very beginning of Halo 5 I would just randomly join lobbies and there would be brand new forgers I never heard of, seeing their new maps and other creations. It really showed me how far I've come and I'd like to just point out that all of us in the community need to support each other, both new and old. In custom lobbies, Twitter, and here on ForgeHub, inspiring everyone to do their best and be their best and supporting them through that will grow our community as a whole.
IF: That's definitely one of the most important things to do, which is to be someone who encourages creativity, which I hope this conversation, what it does, is if you have that 11-year-old or 15 year old or even if you're brand new I hope it inspires them to start creating or to continue doing that and build great experiences for everyone. It's going to be absolutely nuts to see all the creative endeavors in Infinite, if you see someone trying, please encourage them with uplifting criticisms.
C: That is definitely a beautiful note to end off at, so gentleman if you have any final words you'd like to say please say them now
F: I LOVE BLITZERS!!
IF: SEE I told you he was going to do that again haha. No, but for real I wanted to thank everyone for the opportunities that the community has given me and thank you guys for having me on, I really hope this series shows the best of the community and their maps and hope the community flourishes end grows an exponential amount when Forge releases in Infinite and I can't wait for all the cool maps and modes we'll get to experience during this renaissance of Halo. Thank you again for having me on this and if anyone would like to reach out to me I'm @InfiniteForges on Twitter and you can find my Youtube Channel the same way by typing that into the search bar.
C:Alrighty gentleman well thank you all for coming out today to this episode and I hope you all have a fantastic day/night.
Thank you everyone who has supported this new series and everyone in the community both new and old, this is meant to be a loveletter to all of you in a way, doing something really unique in the forging landscape and hopefully showing all of you off one day, with how long this article has been I'll end it off here but I just wanted to say thank you for all of the upport with these articles, it really means a lot!
See y'all starside spartans
Your friendly neighborhood writer:olive:
-Crush