Noel Chapman

As a freelance rigger, I need to make sure my builds have a lot of flexibility. So I've recently reworked my lid modules to add variable joint counts. By utilizing a curve-based output I can changed the amount of joints used based on the needs of the project. Higher joint counts for fidelity and control, lower counts for simplicity and optimization. Or I can test and iterate to find a happy middle ground. So animators using my rigs on film or game projects can enjoy the same features, such as: - Automated lid follow with eye movement - Main controls to position the lids through translation and sculpt the curvature with rotation/scale  - Secondary controls for finer detail (If there are enough joints to support it) - Manual or automated blinking. Animate controls, or activate the automated meet point between your posed lids for a perfect seal I've been using iterations of this system over my last few projects, both commercials and games. The core elements of this system have been floating around in my head since 2018, so it's been great to finally put it to the test. 

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There's a lot of advice about cover letters on LinkedIn, so here's one of mine that got me an interview at Disney 2 years ago. Here's what I did to make my CV and cover letter stand out from all the rest: ✅ 𝗣𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝗩. If you’re proud of it, make sure everyone in the process reads it. When it’s a separate file, it often gets lost as recruiters can forget to include both docs and some systems don’t handle multiple uploads well. ✅ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘆𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Yes, it takes longer, but you’ll get a far better application to interview ratio. ✅ 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽. Make it clear what you’re applying for. ✅ 𝗔𝗱𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿, it’s an easy to personalise. ✅ 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗵𝘆𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲. Obviously, I’ve blanked mine out here. ✅ 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟱𝟬 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀. This one is 195. ✅ 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗲 e.g. Joe Burridge CV - Disney.pdf ✅ 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝗽. Reach out to a few people in Talent, HR or Recruiting on LinkedIn, mention that you’ve applied, and attach your CV. A thoughtful follow-up message can make all the difference. I really hope this helps, sometimes the tiniest edge over other candidates is all you need.

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In all things, do your research. Applying for a job at a studio? Do your research. Learn what games they've made and what games they're working on now. Build up enough knowledge to have something intelligent to say, instead of "that sucked, I would have done this other thing instead". Research the principals there and the folks you'll be talking to. You'll want to do so to see if there's common ground - if they worked on a game you loved, if you have mutual connections, if there are specific questions you want to pose to show you've been thinking about stuff. And by doing so, show you're willing to put in the work, and to do it well. Doing some actual writing on a game? Do your research. Believe me when I say that it takes far less time and effort to double-check whether a particular phrasing had been coined yet before you stick it in a character's mouth in a historical game setting than it takes to deal with the online nitpicking and rage if you get it wrong. And that's just little things - you really need to do your research on the big stuff and get it right or you're going to blow up your narrative's suspension of disbelief like it's a beached whale carcass stuffed with C4. The second you demonstrate conclusively you do not in fact know what you're talking about on this thing over here, the player base is going to shift to "Can I trust anything here to be right?" And if they're doing that, they're consciously thinking /about/ the game rather than thinking /within/ the game. Responding to a comment on a public forum? Do your research. Make sure you understand what you're actually responding to instead of just using it as a springboard for the tangentially related thing you want to say. If the original poster says a very specific thing, and you respond in such a way as to make it clear you didn't actually read it, it's not the original poster who's going to look bad. By all means, counter and refute, but again, respond to what's actually there and have your facts lined up when you do so. "My feeling is" converts pretty cleanly to "I didn't bother to do any research and as such my point is unsupported by data". Engaged in a debate on something on a project? Do your research. Look for other games where something similar has been done, and see if and why it succeeded or failed. Arguing over a point of information? Do your research and get the actual answer, so your position will be supported, and thus both defensible and a reasonable launch point for a counterattack. And for God's sake, do the actual research. Don't just take the AI summary at face value. There's a very good chance whatever got spit out was scraped from a website that also maintains that the 1919 Chicago White Sox were comprised entirely of Reptoid aliens. Bring that prop knife to a gunfight and you'll be exposed instantly by anyone who knows what they're talking about. So do your research. It's work. But in the end, you'll be glad you did it.

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🚨 𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗥𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗬 𝗘𝗣𝗜𝗦𝗢𝗗𝗘 🚨 Is EU’s Digital Fairness Act REALLY killing Free-to-Play games? What studios can do before 2030 👇 With a special guest, John Wright, we unpack the chaos surrounding the EU’s proposed Digital Fairness Act (DFA) - a legislation that could redefine how free-to-play games operate in Europe. The episode 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰 and viral posts to explain what’s 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 for game design, monetization, and UA in the EU. The DFA was proposed by the EU Consumer Protection Cooperation Network in March 2025. It’s still not law - currently in consultation stage, potential enforcement by 2030. If approved, it would enforce seven major principles for all EU-targeted games. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 (𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝘆) 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨  • All in-game currencies (gems, coins) must display real-world value.  • Example: “500 Gems (€4.99 equivalent).” 𝘕𝘰 𝘔𝘪𝘹𝘦𝘥 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘴  • Games may be limited to one in-game currency.  • Multi-currency RPGs or Forex-style economies could be flagged as “misleading.” 𝘕𝘰 𝘉𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴  • Forced to sell items separately (no more “Best Value” or “Starter Offers”).  • Removes behavioral pricing psychology that drives F2P monetization. 𝘗𝘳𝘦-𝘗𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘴  • Mandatory “scare screens” before each IAP = adding purchase friction.    14-𝘋𝘢𝘺 𝘙𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵  • Players could refund any IAP (including gacha rolls or consumables) within 14 days.  No Economy Changes Post-Launch  • Developers couldn’t rebalance in-game currency values after release.  • 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 - 𝘢 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘍2𝘗 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯.  “𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘦” 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦  • High-spending users could be classified as “vulnerable” or “addicted.”  • Developers could face scrutiny for “exploiting impulse spending.” 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 Jakub: “Free-to-play economies just don’t work with one currency. This breaks every RPG and forex hybrid in existence.” John: “This kills the incentive to operate in the EU - studios will shift budgets to the US and Asia.” Felix: “This is another ATT moment. The EU will lose jobs and game availability will shrink.” Me: “It’s not law yet. Everyone’s panicking, but this might turn into another IDFA - big noise, small impact.” Main Takeaway The DFA is well-intentioned but deeply flawed. It confuses gambling regulation with free-to-play design, overreaches into live-ops flexibility, and could reduce the number of games released in the EU. Lobbying and advocacy will shape its future - not outrage posts. (like this one!?) 📺 Watch on Youtube: https://lnkd.in/dUruFxD8

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This is a powerful, data-backed validation of the 'More Than Games' philosophy from a global industry leader. asmodee, one of the world's largest tabletop publishers, has launched a new 'Asmodee Kids' brand, backed by compelling new research proving the significant cognitive and social benefits of board games for young people. The scientific studies found: A single game session can boost a teen's focus by 8%. Regular play was linked to a 17% boost in arithmetic skills. Behavioural issues in some children dropped by up to 34%. These findings offer a powerful endorsement of the work we are doing in Scotland with partners like Education Scotland for the #ScottishGamesFest, demonstrating that investing in #play is a direct investment in the core skills young people need to thrive. It's a crucial reminder that the power of games extends far beyond entertainment. I'm currently working with a group of board games experts (who are also friends) to tap into funding to bring this sort of approach to schools across Scotland. https://lnkd.in/eWpAjH6Q

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