How it all began for me

It’s funny; when I started playing video games I was quite young. I remember growing up in Barbados the first video game system I had a chance to see in action was the first generation Atari 2600. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it did grab my attention for the fleeting moment I saw it playing.

Making a move to Canada in 88′ I was opened to much more in terms of technology, and I still remember to this day when my dad brought home the Atari 2600 JR with the games Defender and Joust. I still get a little choked up looking back at these titles as I realized they made me into the gamer I am today. Its titles like these that make it hard for non-gamers to understand where the passion for gaming comes from. It wasn’t long there after that I began to seek out other platforms over the years such as the Commodore 64 playing titles such as Aztec challenge, the NES, Sega Master System, Genesis, Super NES, and the Sega CD. It was safe to say at that point I was hooked, but it wasn’t then that I aspired to be in the industry, the years prior were all for my entertainment. In all my years playing video games, what really opened my eyes for the first time to the CG industry was the PS1 game ‘Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain‘. It wasn’t until playing this game with my upside down PS1 (there’s a throw back) that I fully realized what FMV cut scenes would do to my young mind. I was seriously mesmerized and in awe of the entire thing. Being who I am, it didn’t take long to gather myself and use my computer that has been sitting idle in my room for months on end to conduct a search on what made games like this tick.

Most of the software at that time price wise was quite unreachable for a recent high school graduate getting ready to begin his first year in College as a Computer Engineer no less. And as you might have guessed my funds were rather limited. That is until college bombarded me with numerous credit card offers that I finally had a way to pick up TrueSpace 1.0, the most affordable complete package at that time. I had no clue what I was doing, but I knew I wanted to learn more about this industry, so I sought out and picked up the book “Becoming a 3D animator” as well since it had specific tutorials referencing Truespace.

Now computers weren’t a big interest to me around this time, (ironic since I enrolled into a Computer Engineering diploma program) but I firmly had it in my mind to major in a Mechanical engineering course as I found I loved to work on cars. And I probably would’ve pursued that path if it wasn’t for CG. So as eager as I was about learning all there was to learn about 3D animation, I switched majors to Computer Engineering at Seneca College, only to later find out it definitely wasn’t the direction I wanted to go, so after my first term I essentially dropped out in hopes of finding a course somewhere that taught 3D animation. Sadly at that time they weren’t many if any at all, and the closest thing I found was an animation course at Sheridan College. Excited about the opportunity, I was shocked twice, firstly the amount it would cost to put myself through the curriculum and secondly the availability of the seats… they were none. The course was full and there was a waiting list a mile long since the student to teacher ratio was quite small (all for good reason).
Deterred, depressed and frustrated, I didn’t know where to turn, because on one hand I was no longer in College majoring in a subject I no longer had any interest in, and on the other, I had to wait years for the subject I wanted at an expense I couldn’t afford, but I loved the idea on being an artist, but what could I do? The only option I had left, to self teach myself. I wasn’t about to let those obstacles stop me from perusing my new found dream, knowing full well gaming and CG were now a part of my life.



The journey begins

Grabbing my computer I hadn’t used in months, my new copy of TrueSpace and my book, I sat in my room night after night pounding the pavement while learning as much as I could while holding down numerous jobs to help fund my new pursuit on life.
As the years passed, I slowly got better and better while I got familiar with other software such as Animation Master and numerous iterations of TrueSpace. It wasn’t until 2001 that I got my first opportunity to work on a professional project in 3D. It wasn’t for the biggest game or film that year, but it didn’t matter, what mattered the most to me was that I did it; I accomplished a feat I set out to do years prior. It felt great, and words cannot comprehend what it felt like.
With a constant urge to reach for the next level (as I still do to this day, I guess it’s the gamer in me) I pursued opportunities that more aligned to what I wanted to do, and that was to work on 3D characters in a story driven environment. I got that opportunity in 2003 when I began working at Calibre Digital Pictures and although it wasn’t a game studio I haven’t looked back since.

In Retrospect

Even though I’ve come as far as I have, I still long for the time missed associating myself in school, growing friendships and important contacts. And even though I accomplished this in other ways (CGTalk, Tradeshows) it just never felt the way I knew working shoulder to shoulder with classmates would’ve felt. I don’t regret my decisions, because if I didn’t take those steps, I won’t be writing this article today. But I do have that void left in my psyche that will be with me for sometime.
One thing is for certain though, I love games and I love the industry, and I’m proud to be a part of it.

Tito A. Belgrave