Conversation with 207629372 at 9/30/2006 3:31:25 PM on 282399989 (icq)
(5:06:13 PM) 207629372: So,Let`s begin:) 1. Let`s introduce yourself for our readers:
(5:08:45 PM) poopinmymouth: My name is Ben Mathis, I am twenty-four years old, and I currently reside in Los Angeles, California. I work at Neversoft Entertainment as a character artist. Neversoft makes the Tony Hawk, and GUN series.
(5:09:04 PM) poopinmymouth: I was born in Richmond, Virginia, and have been working in the video game industry for a little over three years.
(5:09:25 PM) poopinmymouth: In the past I've worked at Mythic Entertainment, Terminal Reality Incorporated, and Warthog Texas.
(5:10:16 PM) 207629372: Okay, Thanks! Nice to meet you, Ben! You have very big game industry biography! So, let`s begin from beginning.
(5:11:13 PM) 207629372: About 3 years ago you was just video gamer? And why you should work in gamedev industry? It was your dream from childhood (likes me ? :))
(5:13:41 PM) poopinmymouth: No, actually I thought that videogames just magically appeared. I never thought about the teams that it took to make them. When I was younger I wanted to do something great, but I did not know what. In high school (American school, right before university level) I wanted to be a computer technician, working with the hardware. Right before University, I switched my interest to working with 3d art, because of the series made by Mainframe Entertertainment in Canada. They made the Reboot, and Beast Wars series. I wanted to try 3d work for film. However, when I entered university and took my first classes in animation, I found that I did not like it at all. I tried some game art just for fun, and I liked it so much, that I switched my focus to games. I guess you could say that games found me, instead of the other way around.
(5:15:15 PM) 207629372: Ow! Reboot! Russian TV watch this (Candian? i don`t knew :)) cg movie some years ago.
(5:16:16 PM) 207629372: And, by the way, whom you want to became in childhood (5-7 years old)?
(5:17:07 PM) poopinmymouth: Hmmm, for a while, I thought maybe to become a photographer, like my father. I didn't have many aspirations as a child for specific professions, but I did like taking things apart and putting them back together.
(5:17:21 PM) poopinmymouth: I think at one point I wanted to grow up and be a Jedi like Luke Skywalker
(5:17:45 PM) 207629372: WoooW! Great Choice! 
(5:18:06 PM) 207629372: And then you get job in Warthog? You became professional 3d artist? 
(5:18:28 PM) 207629372: How it`s feel? How became PRO and take money for your hobby? 
(5:21:15 PM) poopinmymouth: Well, it was interesting. I was still in University with another two years till I was finished. I wanted to try to find an internship for the summer, so I was sending out a lot of application emails. Warthog contacted me back, wanting a phone interview, which we had, and went well. They wanted me to then fly out to interview the next day! It was very exciting and sudden. While there, I got to see what they were working on, meet the team, and show them some of my work. On my way home, they called and offered me a full time job for a very good salary. I talked with my parents and teachers about leaving school, and they all thought it would be good to get some experience. So after only one more week, I moved from Savannah Georgia where I was going to University, to Austin, Texas. It really was amazing to be working full time on art, with a tallented professional team. It was everything I had imagined and more. 
(5:23:28 PM) 207629372: Cool! Moved from Georgia to Austin, Texas! And manual skills of pro 3d artist you took in Warthog? it was very difficult to work EVERY day from 10 to 6 in 3D, sometimes without wish?
(5:23:49 PM) 207629372: How was transform from amateur student to professional 3d artist in full-house position in office?
(5:23:57 PM) 207629372: Do you slept in office first time? :)
(5:25:01 PM) poopinmymouth: No, they were very good about respecting our time. We worked very little overtime, and no weekend days. It was actually very easy for me to work on art all day, and I enjoyed it a lot. It helped that it was very cool art, and I was learning so many new things. Having so many talented guys to talk with helped a lot as well.
(5:25:27 PM) 207629372: and then?
(5:27:25 PM) poopinmymouth: sorry I don't understand?
(5:28:12 PM) 207629372: after you became job in warthog, you became a contract artist for SONY as i understood?
(5:28:58 PM) 207629372: i mean and after Warthog you...?
(5:30:30 PM) poopinmymouth: No, I did no contract work at Warthog, but after six months the publisher, Vivendi Universal, pulled our funding. So I had to switch jobs. I moved to Dallas Texas to work at Terminal Reality on Bloodrayne 2. While I was there, I started doing contract work, where I did assets for Ironlore, Red Storm, and Sony Online Entertainment. 
(5:31:31 PM) 207629372: Ow, very sad to hear about close project (((
(5:32:27 PM) poopinmymouth: I stayed at TRI for only ten months. The working hours were too long, and I didn't fully believe in their products at the time. I had some friends at Mythic Entertainment who recommended Mythic as a good place of employment. Mythic was much closer to my home city of Richmond, and all of my family. So when Bloodrayne 2 was done, I moved to Mythic to work on Dark Age of Camelot: Catacombs. While there I also worked on Imperator, a Sci-fi MMO, that has since been canceled. I also did contract work for Elder Scrolls Oblivion, and Fate.
(5:33:38 PM) 207629372: And how about BloodRayne2 project? Do you like Blood Rayne as a woman? How you think, if you meet Blood Rayne in t-shirt & pants on street do you want to meet her in cafe?
(5:34:19 PM) poopinmymouth: Haha, I thought her character was delightfully campy. It had potential to be a really good game. I got to meet the actress who played her at E3, and I think if the real Rayne was like her, then I would like to be friends with her.
(5:35:18 PM) 207629372: What do you say about work with so big contractors such as SONY or Bethesda?
(5:36:35 PM) poopinmymouth: It was fun, but not getting much say in the project was a little frustrating. So in that regard it was no different from working on a smaller game. It is fun to be able to point to my products in the game, and show people what I have made.
(5:37:59 PM) 207629372: Yes, it`s good! And...offtop please: do you see Blood Rayne Movie? :)
(5:40:06 PM) poopinmymouth: I have not, hahaha, but I need to. Just to see how bad it is
(5:40:38 PM) 207629372: O Ye! It`s very bad :) only 5 min in movie not bad :)
(5:40:47 PM) 207629372: We knew that some of you art was in MTV Clip of Evanescence? How are feel that every american (and worldwide) teenager dreams & sing with your shadow legion, played drums :)
(5:43:22 PM) 207629372: Sorry, correct question: How are you feel yourself when on TV shows this clips and teenagers worldwide dreams near TV box? ;)
(5:43:32 PM) poopinmymouth: Lol, well it was very cool to know it would be on such a mainstream station. I personally haven't watched television in over five years. I just don't like it, and I really dislike MTV, but it was still satisfying to know so many people would see my art.
(5:44:08 PM) 207629372: Ooooo yea! You and Evanescence in one touch! :)
(5:44:58 PM) 207629372: And then after Mythic you went to Neversoft Entertainment?
(5:45:33 PM) 207629372: why Neversoft?
do you fan of Tony Hawk Series?
(5:46:14 PM) poopinmymouth: No, I actually came to Neversoft to work on GUN
(5:46:50 PM) 207629372: and why Neversoft? there are so many big companies, that could take you to their studios?
(5:47:03 PM) poopinmymouth: I had a blast on the first one, even though I was only here for the last two months of production. I then helped out on Tony Hawk 8, which is due out in about a month. Now I am helping to get our process online for Tony Hawk 9
(5:48:03 PM) poopinmymouth: Well, Neversoft is one of the best companies in the industry in how they treat their employees. I like to feel respected by the studio I work at, and Neversoft definitely does that. We never work weekends, we don't crunch like other studios, and they give us great benefits and perks, including buying our lunch every day. It's really a fantastic place to work, with tons of talented people to learn from and interact with.
(5:48:32 PM) 207629372: Great! are they all only americans? 
(5:48:42 PM) 207629372: men from Eathern Europe no?
(5:48:44 PM) 207629372: :)
(5:48:53 PM) poopinmymouth: No, we have several people from the UK, and a few people from China, Korea, Japan, and Thailand.
(5:49:18 PM) poopinmymouth: None from Eastern Europe that I know of, although one artists parents are from Romania.
(5:49:27 PM) poopinmymouth: but he was born in Canada. We have several Canadians here as well.
(5:49:56 PM) 207629372: and do you like skate? Do you need to make more attention to skate when you worked on Tony Hawk 8 ?
(5:50:34 PM) 207629372: And i thought, that Japan men works only in japan companies and don`t want to go away in USA or Europe :)
(5:50:58 PM) poopinmymouth: I personally do not skateboard, but many people at the studio do. We have a halfpipe in our kitchen, and may skateboarding props in our parking lot. We sometimes have day trips to skate parks to practice and see other people skating for our reference.
(5:51:12 PM) poopinmymouth: Well, one of the character artists who sits right next to me is from Japan
(5:51:25 PM) 207629372: do you met with Tony Hawk when worked on Tony Hawk8? :)
(5:52:29 PM) poopinmymouth: I have met him yes. He has been to our office twice since I've been here, and he brought his entire family to our company picnic. He even got inside the dunking booth and let the children there try to dunk him. He got all soaked and had to towell off. hahah
(5:52:53 PM) 207629372: He is great man, really? )
(5:54:23 PM) poopinmymouth: He is amazingly skilled. Activision set up a fifty foot halfpipe at E3 this past year, and Tony Hawk, along with some other pro skateboarders, performed their tricks inside the E3 conference. Seeing him in action was really amazing.
(5:54:36 PM) 207629372: :)
(5:54:37 PM) 207629372: and work with what game was most satisfaction & cg artist paradise for you? 
(5:55:10 PM) poopinmymouth: Probably GUN, so far. Though my personal project at the moment is very fulfilling to me.
(5:55:18 PM) poopinmymouth: I really enjoyed the mechanical pieces I had to do for Imperator as well.
(5:55:38 PM) 207629372: ) but this project never see the release date :(
(5:56:03 PM) 207629372: and for what game do you want to make your art in future? Warcraft4 ? half-life3? whatever?
(5:59:18 PM) poopinmymouth: I'd like to work on some personal projects that are larger than just single assets. I'm working on a total conversion art modification for Unreal Tournament 2004 at the moment. I really like the Heroes of Might and Magic art style. The textures in the fifth installment were just gorgeous. Unfortunately I didn't find the gameplay itself any fun, hahahah.
(6:00:27 PM) 207629372: And what game do you think masterpiece of art form? 
(6:01:09 PM) poopinmymouth: Hmm, the Heroes 5 game for sure. I've always liked the art style of Square Enix's games.
(6:01:38 PM) poopinmymouth: And I think Kane and Lynch, the new game from IO interactive looks great for a realistic game
(6:01:47 PM) 207629372: Works on Final Fantasy X14? No? :)
(6:02:15 PM) 207629372: Do you saw Assasin`Creed and Crysis?
(6:16:32 PM) poopinmymouth: oops, sorry
(6:16:36 PM) poopinmymouth: yes I did see both of those
(6:16:46 PM) poopinmymouth: Assasin's Creed looks very awesome, I am looking forward to that game
(6:16:55 PM) poopinmymouth: Crysis looks great, but I am waiting to see if it will run on standard computers
(6:17:09 PM) 207629372: :)
(6:17:22 PM) 207629372: O yeah! soon we`ll know all about this projects)
(6:17:29 PM) 207629372: what last game do you play?
(6:20:30 PM) poopinmymouth: Age of Empires III
(6:20:45 PM) 207629372: ow! how times ago it was? :)
(6:21:21 PM) poopinmymouth: maybe a month?
(6:21:31 PM) poopinmymouth: I had gotten it for Christmas, then hadn't played it till recently
(6:21:40 PM) poopinmymouth: I play Counterstrike and HL2 Deathmatch regularly
(6:21:47 PM) 207629372: in studio? :)
(6:22:17 PM) 207629372: okay) i`d like to play with you on de_dust or italy ;)
(6:24:11 PM) poopinmymouth: Hahahah
(6:24:19 PM) poopinmymouth: I like de_piranesi myself
(6:24:38 PM) 207629372: don`t see yet)
(6:24:55 PM) 207629372: and what next gen console do you want to buy? Wii? Move this joystick as a tv panel :) or such as katana :)
(6:32:20 PM) poopinmymouth: Actually I do not have any consoles, and I don't know if I'll buy any of the new ones either. I have access to almost all of them here at work, so in the past if there's been a game I've wanted to play, I just play it here at work.
(6:32:59 PM) 207629372: But "wii" seems so sweety & funny for party games with friends?
(6:33:15 PM) 207629372: do you think ps3 & xbox360 or "wii" it`s REALLY next gen console?
(6:36:34 PM) poopinmymouth: ?
(6:36:36 PM) poopinmymouth: I do not understand
(6:37:12 PM) 207629372: ps3 & xbox360 shows new graphic level, but the gameplay, core of the game seems very similar to ps2 & xbox gameplay
(6:37:36 PM) 207629372: and "wii" demonstrated new generation of gameplay with unique joystick and new games by Nintendo
(6:38:01 PM) 207629372: so, normal maps and characters 2048x2048 at one hand and new revolutionary joystick and new genres of games at another
(6:38:03 PM) 207629372: what do you prefer?
(6:38:54 PM) poopinmymouth: Well, I do not think that a new input device is necessary to have new gameplay. I do think that it is cool, and congratulate Nintendo on pushing into a new direction, but I also enjoy more complex games and graphics that can come from more powerful hardware
(6:39:17 PM) poopinmymouth: I think it is more the fault of developers that there are not more unique games for the ps3 and 360, than Microsoft or Sony's.
(6:39:53 PM) 207629372: okay) thanks :)
(6:40:01 PM) 207629372: about Russian games and Russia some questions
(6:40:13 PM) 207629372: we told with you sometimes ago about it, so i quickly
(6:40:25 PM) 207629372: what about russian games do you hear? heroes5, okay, but what else?
(6:41:25 PM) poopinmymouth: I have heard of STalker
(6:41:32 PM) 207629372: in russia there are opinion, that americans play only in games made in USA and not see high quality products from Europe & Asia
(6:42:16 PM) poopinmymouth: Hmmm, I'm unsure about that. Sometimes it is that the products just don't make it over here, or that the publisher doesn't spend enough money on marketing to get the word out.
(6:42:48 PM) 207629372: do you hear about "Beyond Good&Evil"?
(6:44:15 PM) 207629372: and how are you think today could junior developer with big wish and no skills take a job in game industry?
(6:44:55 PM) poopinmymouth: Yes, but I thought Beyond Good and Evil was made by Ubisoft
(6:45:47 PM) 207629372: Yes, "Beyond Good & Evil" made by Ubisoft France I remember this title because "BG&E" sold about 20.000 copies worldwide((( in Europe - about 17 and in USA only 2-3 hundred :(
(6:45:49 PM) poopinmymouth: Well, I don't know that anyone will be able to get a job with "no skills". You can practice for any job in the game industry, and if you have good work, that can overcome a lack of experience, or being a foreigner, or not speaking the correct language.
(6:46:54 PM) 207629372: Okay)
and whom do you see yourself in 20 years? in 2026?
(6:47:22 PM) 207629372: Lead Arist in ILM?
Senior Director of yourself company? something absolute another? :)
(6:54:56 PM) poopinmymouth: Hahah, well rather than put a position in mind, I have an idea of what I'd like.
(6:56:08 PM) poopinmymouth: I want to try to have furthered game art as a whole, in all countries, not just the US. I like teaching, and i like to get information out, to everyone. Right now it is very hard to get into game art, and most of the universities that offer training are expensive, and aren't in every country. I would like to make it so that anyone, anywhere, is able to get the information they need to learn about game art. I hope to have also created a great deal of art that entertains people and makes them happy.
(6:56:33 PM) poopinmymouth: If I have pushed further toward those goals in twenty years, I will be very happy.
(6:56:51 PM) 207629372: WoW! it`s great ideas! I liked it very much!
(6:57:08 PM) 207629372: in russia for example there are not universities of computer art(
(6:57:24 PM) 207629372: so, we are waiting for you! :)
(6:58:44 PM) poopinmymouth: hahah, I would not mind coming to russia and offering informal classes on 3d, I think it would be great fun, but the students would have to put up with my english, haha
(6:59:20 PM) 207629372: :) it`s not problem) 3d & game art is worldwide language! ;)
(7:03:05 PM) 207629372: Okay, thank you for your time! It was very interesting! I`ll write some beautiful & good questions and ask you in near future if you don`t mind)
(7:42:38 PM) 207629372: Thanks for all! and see you later! Good Luck, man! ;)
(7:49:43 PM) poopinmymouth: spasibo!