MICHAËL SAMYN
INSTRUCTOR
Photo by: Simon Karlsson
BIO
Michaël Samyn è il cofondatore di Tale of Tales, una duo artistico che si è spacciato per oltre dodici anni come studio indipendente di sviluppo di videogiochi durante i quali ha pubblicato otto titoli - The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia e Sunset - accolti in uguale misura con applausi e costernazione. In un certo senso, Michaël odia i videogiochi. Ma ama profondamente il mezzo che utilizzano perché in esso egli vede la possibilità di proseguire la tradizione artistica e culturale che è stata bruscamente interrotta dal modernismo del XX secolo. Con una formazione in graphic design, furniture design, musica, web design, net.art e videogiochi e una passione sfrenata per l’arte classica e l’architettura cristiana, Michaël esplora attualmente la fusione del sacro e del digitale nel primo progetto post-ludico di Tale-of-Tales, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds.
Michaël Samyn is half of Tale of Tales, an artist couple that has been masquerading as an independent game development studio for 12 years during which they published 8 games - The Endless Forest, The Graveyard, The Path, Fatale, Vanitas, Bientôt l'été, Luxuria Superbia and Sunset -, each of which was met with equal measures of applause and consternation. Michaël sort of hates games. But he loves the medium that videogames use because he sees in it the possibility to continue the great tradition of art and culture that was rudely interrupted by the modernism of the 20th century. With a background in graphic design, furniture design, music, web design, net.art and videogames, and a passion for Old Master art and Christian architecture, Michaël currently explores the amalgamation of the sacred and the digital in Tale-of-Tales' first post-games project, Cathedral-in-the-Clouds.
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MEET MICHAËL
COURSE: GAME ART (2020-2021, 2019-2020)
GAME ART will guide students in developing the look and feel of their games. An emphasis will be placed on a practical and experimental frameworks for individuals and small teams, with students approaching art direction and production as artists, moving laterally between all aspects of the pipeline, from research and outlining, to digital content creation in 2d and 3d. As an introduction to this approach, the course will start with a brief survey of video and computer graphics history and look at how artists and programmers have creatively incorporated the features and limitations of their tools and hardware as parameters of a visual language, or how they have side-stepped them altogether. Students will learn valuable skills in creating authored content, such as: how to imagine the player's experience inside your virtual world; using 3D software for modeling, rigging and animation, photogrammetry, 3D scanning and motion capture; and use of 2D software for imaging, digital painting, texturing, typography and UI work. Unique approaches for building Materials, Shaders, Lighting, and Effects, will also be emphasized in coursework, to exemplify the various alternative and creative ways to develop a visual style and atmosphere beyond photorealism.
COURSE: GAME CRITIQUE (2017-2018)
For evaluating the students’ work-in-progress during the year, the Program adopts the art school format of weekly critiques: both a faculty member and students will participate in constructive, direct, and open discussions about the state of their project. A GAME CRITIQUE is meant to promote both the creative environment and the intellectual context for experimentation. Students are encouraged to thoughtfully challenge the prevailing conventions of digital gaming (both in terms of form and content), develop new forms, and become innovators in playable design.
PORTFOLIO
