[Press Release] Mark Media Gets A New Director, CG and Visual Effects - Yvan Pinard

Mark Media have announced they've brought on Yvan Pinard as their new Director, CG and Visual Effects. He'll be leading the 3D artists and directing their CG animation pipeline. Mark Media is working on a series of CG animated shorts for their upcoming mobile game Shuyan the Kung Fu Princess.  Congrats on the new position Yvan, and be sure to check out the full Press Release below!

Leo He, COO of Toronto-based television, film and digital media company Mark Media, is pleased to announce the appointment of Yvan Pinard to the new role of Director, CG and Visual Effects in Mark Media’s Toronto studio.
Pinard will be responsible for leading and building Mark’s team of 3D artists and directing the studio’s CG animation pipeline, in addition, he will be producing of a series of CG animated shorts for Shuyan, an upcoming kung-fu action game property.
Motivated by the idea of working on 3D production since the age of 15, Pinard is a skilled and creative leader in 3D and visual effects production, with leadership and a human approach that give each team member the chance to excel during completion of a project.
After graduating in 2001 in 3D Animation and Visual Effects for Film and Television from NAD Centre in Montreal, he worked on several film productions as a compositing artist, leading him to successfully managing a team of 3D artists at SHED, an award-winning post-production studio specializing in motion design and visual effects in commercial production, for eight years before moving to Mark Media in Toronto.
“Yvan brings the experience and attention to quality that Mark Media needs as the studio matures and expands into feature films and high-end commercial and VFX production,”  says Leo He, COO of Mark Media.
 
Pinard’s production credits include:
 
Films (Compositor):
Extreme Ops, Book of Eve, Far Side of the Moon, The Blue Butterfly,
Stay, Cursed, The Fountain, The Legend of Secret Pass
 
Film (Post-Production Director):
Beauty and the Beast
 
Documentary (Post-Production Director):
The DNA of GSP
 
TV commercials (Post-Production Director):
Bell, IGA, Adidas, Rogers, Videotron, Burger King, Loto Québec, LaPresse+, Ford, Subway, Dell, Rona, and more
 
Corporate (Post-Production Director):
Bombardier
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About Mark Media
Mark Media is an exciting new film, television and digital media production company based in Toronto that combines culture and technology to create media properties that entertain, inspire and educate across platforms.
With expertise in kids, factual, feature film and digital gaming, Mark produces culturally rich and engaging cross-media content for global audiences of all ages.
Re-imagining digital storytelling and education. Learn more at markmedia.co (Twitter @markmediaco)


Exclusive: Mark Media Interview

Drew Parker over at Mark Media was kind enough to answer a few questions about Mark Media and Shuyan the Kung Fu Princess.  This interview was provided to our patreons early, and now available on the main site. Check it out below!

TorontoGameDevs.com: Tell me a little bit about yourself, and Mark Media. The history of the studio, when it was formed, how big are you guys?  How long has Drew been in the video game/tech industry?

Drew: Mark Media started in 2009 originally as a TV animation company called Mark Animation.  In 2011 we evolved into games, and in 2015 we now also do TV documentaries and films.  We're currently at around 50+ people.  We have two core gaming properties right now, Shuyan the Kung Fu Princess, which is targeted at the mid-core market, and Miaomiao, which is for preschoolers.

As for me, I started as a game programmer over 12 years ago, worked up to a Technical Director position at Mark Media, then transitioned to my current role as Creative Director on Shuyan the Kung Fu Princess.

 

TorontoGameDevs.com: What's it like to work for a tech company in Canada, specifically Toronto?

Drew: There is a lot of funding support and incentives for game and tech companies in Ontario, like from the Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), so that is a huge benefit for companies working on digital properties.

And in Toronto there are all kinds of game companies, from Ubisoft to Phantom Compass, so being here is great for networking around games, both on the business and personal fronts.

 

TorontoGameDevs.com: Shuyan is a game about finding the essence of kung fu through self-restraint.  What kind of challenges did this present while designing an action/fighting game? 

Drew: A bunch.  But one of the biggest challenges was trying to design a combat game that feels like a combat game, and yet isn't a combat game.

And what does that mean?  The real essence of kung fu is to not fight.  The Chinese character for kung fu literally means "to stop the fighting."  With Shuyan we are trying to get to the essence of kung fu instead of the cliche.  And while the cliche of smashing a room full of enemies is fun, and we still want that action and excitement, we want to hit that deeper meaning of finding self-restraint through kung fu training, and using your power to give mercy to others more often than destroy everything.

But the goal and mechanics of practically every single melee game, and even every combat game, is to obliterate the opponent with as much force as possible.  So how do you make a combat game about not doing that?

So more specifically the design challenge becomes following enough genre conventions to give the right emotions and experience, but breaking enough conventions to provide a new and unique experience. And what's the unique experience we're going after? Feeling like a kung fu master who effortlessly flows around opponents deflecting their attacks, and spares them by throwing or disabling them instead of crushing them.  So we have a system for that, the soft kung fu system.

But if you only flow around enemies and deflect attacks, that is pretty counter-intuitive for players based on every single game they've played.  And it's the same with kung fu training, people start off thinking kung fu is only about fighting.  So we discovered through playtesting that we actually have to have a hard kung fu system, lead with that to match player expectation, and then gradually introduce the soft kung fu mechanics - then people get it.

 

TorontoGameDevs.com: How does the gameplay design reflect this core idea?  How do players respond to the philosophy?

Drew: The game design reflects the core idea of self-restraint and kung fu philosophy in a number of ways.

In the fighting system, you can choose at any time how much force you want to use -- how much to punish your opponents. And you choose between using hard kung fu, which has more explosive attacks and kicks, and the soft kung fu, which has more throws, arm locks, and deflective type movements.

In the narrative, when other characters take advantage of you or attack your self-interest, you decide how far to push the line when dealing with them.  Also, the combat and narrative systems interact, so for some characters how much punishment you give them in the arena will affect how they respond in the narrative.

And finally, of course all characters remember how you treat them, so the smaller altercations start to add up.

So through all these systems, the player can choose how to express themselves and treat the other characters, while trying to achieve their goals. They choose whether to follow self-restraint or not. But the kung fu master is constantly teaching them this philosophy and way of life, and isn't always obvious or apparent how exactly to follow that philosophy, and that philosophy may even be in opposition to the player's self-interest and goals.

In terms of player response, we find players are very open to the concepts of kung fu philosophy, as long as we don't confuse players by not letting them punch people first. In other words, we let them get a bunch of enemy smashing out of their system first before we introduce the philosophy.

We find players are very interested in the unique premise of a "merciful" kung fu battle, and they enjoy the quick weaving back and forth of narrative and combat.  But we're still building, testing and refining the broader strokes of the narrative with the kung fu progression as we try to nail the best experience possible.

 

TorontoGameDevs.com: The game utilizes manga/comic elements in the narrative.  How important was crafting the story along with the gameplay, and who was the team that worked on the script?

Drew: The story is very important to the experience we want to create. The gameplay revolves around this idea of journeying towards being an authentic kung fu hero, which at its core includes absorbing and utilizing the kung fu philosophy through kung fu training.

But to be truly tested on whether the player chooses to follow that kung fu philosophy or not, they must be presented with a number of dilemmas and contexts which compel them to do otherwise.

Kung fu is actually a way of life -- when I took kung fu my teacher said even professional fighters spend less than 1% of their lives fighting, so you've got to get something else out of it -- which primarily is this philosophy. But then your understanding of that philosophy is tested in life's decisions, and so we have a branching narrative to test the player's understanding of the values at the center of kung fu.

We brought onto the team three amazing writers who worked on games such as Mass Effect 2, Batman: Arkham Aslyum, and Star Wars: The Old Republic to help us craft a powerful branching story to achieve these goals.

Our Senior Game Designer, who previously worked on the Thief series, met constantly with the writers. In a narrative game the story design, game design and level design are all very tightly linked.  So the writers and designers work very closely together to ensure all the relevant game and story elements present were in sync and reinforcing each other.

 

TorontoGameDevs.com: Anything else you want to share about Shuyan? What has you most excited about the game? When can we expect it to come out? Where can gamers keep up to date with the game?

Of course for me everything about the game excites me!  But I think I'm most excited about how the game is trying to capture an authentic kung fu spirit.  How it features true kung fu movements, true kung fu philosophical teachings, and a true kung fu approach to dealing with aggression -- using something that can melt aggression... not fighting force with force, but something more powerful, which is empty, free of intention, and mysterious.

Kung Fu is closely tied to the Tao, and the founder of Taoism Lao Tzu said, "He who controls others may be powerful, but he who has mastered himself is mightier still."

So capturing the kung fu spirit in the game... that's what I'm most excited about.

In terms of release date, unfortunately I can't give any official word on that. But a good site to keep an eye out for updates on the game is here: http://www.gamerkungfu.com/

 

Thanks again to Drew for answering our questions, and Julia at Mark Media for setting everything up. We'll have more on Mark Media as time goes on, but keep in mind that they are hiring at the moment.  Make sure to stay tuned to TorontoGameDevs.com for the latest on Mark Media and all other game developers in the Toronto area.

Developer Mark Media Adds Laurinda Shaver as Creative Digital Kids Producer

Mark Media released a press release last week announcing they have brought on Laruinda Shaver to help out with Miaomiao, their iOS apps and TV shows that help teach Chinese and English to preschool children.  Check out the full Press Release below, I've also added a trailer for one of their apps.

Fun new iOS app for kids! In this fun, interactive story, join Miaomiao and her friends on an adventure to find the stolen dumplings and save Chinese New Year. Narrated text with lots of interactivity, great mini-games and opportunities to learn simple Mandarin vocabulary.

"Mark Media Adds Laurinda Shaver as Creative Digital Kids Producer

TORONTO – June 15, 2015 – Digital media prodco, Mark Media, is pleased to welcome Laurinda Shaver, former Digital Strategist at Pearson Canada, to the team as Creative Digital Kids Producer. Having managed digital media and television projects at major networks such as CBC, YTV, and Rogers TV, including FIFA World Cup, Sochi Olympics and over 550 hours of original Canadian children’s programming, Shaver will lead the development and production of kids’ digital media products including apps, online content, and other interactive learning experiences. “Laurinda brings a breadth of experience spanning digital media, television, and educational spaces,” said Mark Media CEO Jason Loftus. “It’s the perfect mix for our growing studio that works across these platforms. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Laurinda to our team.” Shaver’s role will start with a focus on Mark Media’s preschool property Miaomiao, a collection of iOS apps and CG-animated TV episodes that aim to teach Chinese and English language skills to children through friendship and play. “I am really excited to join this talented team of artists, animators and programmers,” said Shaver. “It is thrilling to work with a company that shares my passion for storytelling and love of the digital medium.” She and the Miaomiao digital team are working on the upcoming iOS app release Fun with Colors, an ocean-themed interactive experience teaching color themes in both English and Mandarin. In addition, the Mark Media team is simultaneously completing post-production on 30 x 7 minutes of its CG animated series Miaomiao, distributed globally by Brain Power Studio. For more information about Mark Media or Miaomiao, please contact Julia Tobin at juliat@markmedia.co, or visit the websites markmedia.co and learnwithmiaomiao.com. Follow @markmediaco and @miaomiaolearn on Twitter for the latest news and updates."

Sunday June 14th: Toronto Game Developer Job Postings

With E3 right around the corner, I almost forgot to write about some of the job opportunities I've come across this week.  Check them out below, and make sure to let me know on Twitter if you're hiring.

If you're a video game developer and looking for co-op's, make sure to check out this recent post about Sheridan College. The company names, and jobs are links to the gamedev sites.

Gameloft - Programmer, Level Designer, 3D Artist and more

"By working for Gameloft, you will have an unparalleled degree of autonomy in your work while keeping the support and advice of your team always within reach. Our work methods are constantly evolving to ensure a setting that encourages experimentation, thinking outside of the box, and learning while doing."

Ubisoft Toronto - UI Programer, Level Artist, Game Director and more

Ubisoft is the biggest studio in Toronto, so they are always kind of hiring. There are a lot of different positions, and it's worth always checking their site every now and then.

Mark Media - Senior Game Design, Game Producer, 3D Generalist, and more

"Mark Media is an exciting new film, television and digital media production company based in Toronto that combines culture and technology to create media properties that entertain, inspire and educate across platforms. With expertise in kids, factual, feature film and digital gaming, Mark produces culturally rich and engaging cross‐media content for global audiences of all ages"

That's it for this week! If you're hiring for some talent be sure to let me know. Enjoy E3!