Here is a fun quick interview with David Wright, Principal Technical Artist at Stoic.
Why did you choose to work in game development?
I have always had an affinity for both technical and artistic “things”. I would take opportunities to learn to draw and paint from a very early age. I was also exposed early to personal computers and spent many hours playing and programming my own games and messing around with pixel art programs. So it was kind of a natural progression that I found myself wanting to work in the movie industry doing 3d visual effects. Through some fortuitous opportunities I was able to teach myself 3d Studio and Animator Pro and landed myself my first job as a 3d artist at a Access Software working on Tex Murphy and Links 386 games. My plan was to leverage this experience in to landing a job at ILM or Digital Domain but I never applied. Making games was(and still is after 25 years) too fun and rewarding.
What part of your role do you enjoy the most?
I love being able to scratch both my artistic and technical itches. Problem solving. Being a force multiplier. And there is always something new to learn.
What inspires you?
Talented teams, “dreamlined” and intuitive workflows\pipelines, inspired art, optimized game assets, music.
What is your favorite videogame genre?
Hands down its gotta be RPGs – I love the places they take you to and allow you to live in for a time.
What moment or memory from a game do you have that has had the greatest impact on you?
So many of them! But if I had to choose only one it would be when I finished that last line of code of a lunar lander game that I had laboriously programmed on my Dad’s TRS-80 and it actually ran. It was quickly saved to the cassette so I didn’t loose anything. Good times.
What would you be doing if you couldn’t make video games for a living?
Assuming I could make a living, a fly fishing guide. Otherwise a tools programmer at a company making software that creative humans use.
If you could give some advice to someone who wants to work in this industry / do what you do, what would it be?
As at technical artist in the gaming industry I would recommend to learn to be inquisitive and learn how to learn. You will be doing a lot of it.
If you had a superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?
Instant teleportation to anywhere I want and I would most definitely use it for the good of all mankind. And to get yummy food from all over the world whenever I wanted.
And for the record, if money mysteriously goes missing from a bank, that definitely was NOT me.
