Making a game takes a lot of love and sweat.
As an indie dev, deadlines and crunches sometimes prevent us from taking a step back from tasks. So, we thought we’d sit down with team members and have them share their experience on making LTR, from a more personal perspective.
Tell us how you became a 3D artist
First, I was a gamer, I started playing video games when I was four. My dad initiated me into the games as he was a fan of Super Mario which he played on Nintendo 64. For one Christmas, I got a Gameboy Color with Pokemon, and since, I never let go of my game controller. My life ambition was to be the best Pokemon trainer and beat my brother and sister. Twenty years later, not much has changed, I still play Pokemon. I can be quite persistent.
At thirteen, I started making drawings of the manga Naruto. I’d be drawing and doodling all the time, and I got hooked on the sensation of pride whenever my friends would compliment my production.
I never thought one could study and make a living out of something one loves, in my case: video games and art. I discovered you could work in the video games industry thanks to my mother who knew of a school offering training and careers in the field as an artist. I chose 3D over 2D, the conception of the project in 3D offers many tools and techniques, there is always new stuff to learn. Also, I love the end result, when looking from any angle your 3D art, it’s extremely rewarding.
By the way, to take this further, I want to treat myself to a 3D printer, I’d love to watch my creations brought to life under my eyes in real time and hold them in my hands.
How do you tap into creativity?
My inspirations come from the games Zelda (Wind Waker, Twilight Princess, Breath of the Wild), and Okami. They feature beautiful art. I love narrative and open world environments. Being given complete navigation freedom and to be able to enjoy a contemplative experience, is a wonderful thing. Each game offers a distinctive artistic direction which takes us to an exciting whole new world, and I love them all.
Although I was a solo gamer for years, I lately moved to online games: Heroes of the storm, League of Legend, overwatch for example. These games also have an exciting artistic direction and I have been influenced by them for my personal projects.
Recently, I’ve been testing a different style, with a more realistic touch, like in Dishonored.
I also take many snapshots of places I visit, I use them later as models, they are my personal data bank.
Tell us about your biggest challenge on Light Trail Rush
LTR definitely has been challenging, it made me break out of my comfort zone.
At the moment, I create buildings in 3D, my starting point is the concept of art made by the 2D artist.
It’s a large project for a small studio like us, very greedy in artistic production. I learned new techniques, ie: trim texturing, procedural generation, optimization of the assets. I keep learning every day.
Tell us a secret about yourself that your team members don’t know
As this is a place for secrets, here’s a story. I looked after my co-worker’s huge cat during his holiday. I’m dreaming of adopting a cat so it was a great opportunity to test myself as a potential cat owner.
The cat was quite mischievous, I had a good five-minute panic when he was nowhere to see. Did I mention the window was left open? And, I live on the 7th floor. I looked for him everywhere in sheer panic and imagining how I should break the bad news. I found the culprit well hidden under the bed, playing dead, I know he knew what he was doing!
