WoU, Who? Meet Adrian

With an academic engineering background under his belt he felt there was still something missing in his education journey and went on to pursue the more creative angle of video art. “This combination was the perfect place to start for a technical artist such as myself.”

“My work started from my childhood passion. I loved animations and computer games from a young age. I happily remember playing Starcraft 1 with friends back in 1998 when it first came out.” Much like many on the WoU Game team, inspiration came from play. “Once I got older and life became serious I decided to follow my passion and make a living out of it. So in the past 20+ years I have been involved in a lot of computer graphics projects occupying different roles mainly orbiting visuals, art and design.”

So, what does a technical artist do? “My role is to create visual assets like terrains, particle effects, shaders, animations, etc.” To break it down even further, visual assets are anything the player sees in the game. This is of course no small task! Adrian also handles the project management of collaborations with teams around the world who are contributing features in our game. The clouds you see may be created somewhere on the other side of the world to the flowers that bloom. 

“In my opinion game design and education go hand in hand. Games are just another way of delivering complex information. Children naturally educate themselves in playful interactions with the world around them.” There are so many ways to engage young people and in a world of bright lights and handheld entertainment - education needs to integrate not compete.“

Like any curated school textbook, games can direct the child's attention in a direction that matters and it is meaningful for their future. It's like a film that adds the visual dimension to a book—a game adds the interactivity dimension to a film. Think of it as a story where you can decide its outcome. This alone can create a level of immersion a lot greater than simply being a spectator.” Traditional classrooms may have taught us to learn by reading along with the teacher but now we see a future where exploring and learning independently can sharpen focus and hone skills needed in the world around us. 

When it comes to working in the WoU team, communication has always been the key to our success. For Adrian, working with those around the globe to bring one vision to life, understanding each other is crucial to keeping the project on track. “We try to have a very structured way of working. We take the info and ideas that come from the creative department, led by Curt, and we translate it into computer code, visual assets and game logic.” 

“One of the key aspects of WoU is collaboration. We all need one another and asking for help and helping others joyfully can be seen as a superpower nowadays.” 

Finally, we wanted to know where a technical artist finds their inspiration?

“I draw inspiration from all aspects of life, be it a walk in the park or the mountains,  films, modern media, or a talk with a friend. I enjoy creating new worlds so I have to explore the one we live in. My most exciting part of WoU creation so far was definitely creating the various islands and lands for people to discover.”

So there you have it. Life as a technical artist as told by a technical artist. We’re so grateful that Adrian was able to give us some insight into their work and what it takes to get the chance to do such an interesting job.