Guild WarsI was a great kid because ... all my brothers and sisters were worse than me! :)
I was a bad kid because ... I got caught!!!
When did you first become interested in art?
Mmmm....that would be really early, I remember, like most little kids, loving drawing since an early age. When I think of it now, my imagination was awesome. I would lose myself so easily by just drawing.
How did you become involved in the game industry?
Well I went to the Art Institute of Seattle, and after that I spent 3 months just applying everyday to every studio that had a position open. It was the worse! Everyday ... wake up, apply, get rejected, (laughs) but it turned out ArenaNet was just starting and was looking for some new artist and gave me a chance which turned out great! I love it there!
If I was not a game designer, I would be ... a waiter, or maybe a bar tender, not good enough to cook, but I like to eat and drink so I figure those positions would be fun :)
What type of things inspire your work?
Friends, co-workers, a lot of others art work! I love looking at art. Sometimes movies and good stories.
How do you remain fresh and innovative in your design work?
I just try to challenge myself, i always ask for others to look and critique me, I guess. I am always looking for inspiration.
ArenaNet seems like a wonderful place to work. Can you tell me a little about it?
Yeah it's great! The team is really close knit, everyone really pushes each other and pulls to make each other and the game better. It's really great for artists ... how much freedom they give us as well. Plus working under Daniel Dociu is really a great learning experience, I've learned tons from him.
Can you briefly outline how a new Guild War level is taken from concept to completion?
Usually the designers will write something up for us and we take their descriptions and bust out a few sketches and concept work. Sometimes we'll have to do a few inspirational pieces and then break it down to individual props for the 3D artist. From there the 3D artists finish the prop and the level artists place it in the map... which, at this point, it's tested and if it works, and looks good, it goes on to ship.
Your art is incredibly rich and 'painterly'. Do you lament the loss of these qualities when it is rendered as a 3D game environment?
Oh, a bit gets lost, but really in the end when it's placed in the world it begins to match pretty well with the initial illustration. The guys are great at getting it close as possible.
Does music and film inspire your work in any way? How?
Oh yeah, great movies always inspire me ... usually the lighting, the composition ... stuff like that.
Has a particular person/people been an inspiration in the work that you do?
There is tons! Ashley Wood, Craig Mullins, older artists like Frazetta, Sergio Toppi, John Williams Waterhouse, Robert McGinnis, Mucha.
One CD I have on high rotation at the moment is ... White Lies. A British band, pretty good
My favourite films are ... Gladiator, Amelie, Stranger Than Fiction, Fellowship of the Ring, Saving Private Ryan ... just a few i like.
What do think the next big revolution in gaming will be?
Pppfffff you got me, i don't know but i have a feeling that once 'fighters' get better for online play they will sky rocket.
My favourite game so would be ... haha ... this will be funny but really its Heroes of Might and Magic 3 ... my favorite game of all time! It doesn't look very good at all, but it's super, super fun, and never gets old :)
What advice would you give a designer who wants to bring a depth and rich aesthetic to their game environments?
I can only speak for the art side but i think concept art is very important ... and that down the art pipeline that the game development follows closely to it. In that way it will always have it's own personality.
One game I feel all game designers can learn from is .. haha .... Heroes of Might and Magic 3 :)
What traits make a great game level designer?
Being open minded, and being super creative, always looking for new things but also keeping your head in the clouds. Its important to give people something to relate to.
What aspirations do you have for your future career?
Well I would love to work on something sci-fi in the future, and hopefully a console game! :) Basically I just love working on something I'm totally into. GuildWars 2 is going to be awesome, and then after that i don't know, but work is much better when your hearts in it i would have to say.
0 comments:
Post a Comment