Interview with Wilfried Paget, Senior 3-D Artist at Gameloft // LISAA Alumni
A graduate from the 3-D Video Game course at LISAA Paris in 2007, today Wilfried Paget works at Gameloft in Canada. Here he tells us about his interesting career path as a passionate artist. A must read to the very end! ;)
LISAA: WHAT WAS THE LAST PROJECT YOU WORKED ON?
Wilfried: I have worked for Gameloft for two and a half years, and having spent two years in their studio in Madrid, I am now in Toronto where I am working on Disney Magic Kingdom (available on all mobile platforms).
This videogame is about a tycoon and you can build your own Disney theme park. The park has been corrupted by Maleficent and the player must help Mickey and characters from different films to restore the magic kingdom. By completing different tasks and defeating certain enemies, the player unlocks the corrupted zones as well as attractions, restaurants, parades and decorations, to make the theme park of their dreams!
WHAT DOES YOUR ROLE INVOLVE?
I am a senior 3-D artist. This post is just beneath the leads so I am still involved with production but I help the juniors and the intermediaries. I can be in charge of an entire task (like an environment) and a small team to finish it.
Since I am still 100% in production, I have a more precise idea of the problems in the pipeline and so I help the leads to improve and make things more efficient. I also work directly with the technical artists, to ask them for scripts, and shaders, but also so that we can resolve technical problems (draw calls, memory, textures, etc.) together.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE MOST IMPRESSIVE PROJECT YOU HAVE WORKED ON?
My most impressive project was Final Exam produced by Hydravision (which no longer exists) and finalized by Might Rocket in Tourcoing between 2011 and 2013. After years of working on orders for different publishers, we had the privilege of creating our own. As the whole team had worked on rushed and sometimes difficult projects for several years, we were a very tight team (20 or so people) and we worked together really efficiently, in a way that we hadn’t ever experienced up until that point!
We were a very tight team and we worked together really efficiently, in a way that we hadn’t ever experienced up until that point!
Wilfried Paget, LISAA graduate in 2007, Senior 3-D Artist at Gameloft
Everyone was really motivated to produce the best project possible and we managed to bring it to fruition and launch it, and obtain a product of which we are all very proud today.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE YOUR CAREER PATH?
Upon graduation from the video games department at LISAA, I was lucky enough to obtain a six-month work placement at Monte Cristo (which unfortunately has also since closed) and to work on City Life and Cities XL. This work placement was incredibly informative because I learned about the reality of a short production, managing the feedback from the lead, then the art director, the dialogue with the developers and the producers, etc.
I was then hired by Hydravision at Tourcoing. At the outset I worked on a DS game which was killed off, then on the Wii for Ubisoft, then for Big Ben we did some more DS projects which were unfortunately killed off, too. We then continued to work with Big Ben on different projects for PS3 and Xbox 360 and then after three years we made our own game.
Hydravision was the best experience and I personally recommend that all young developers start out in independent studios before jumping on the train of AAA productions. I learnt to work quickly and efficiently there, even if it was sometimes difficult, and to talk directly with the team without passing through the hierarchies that can be more restrictive in larger studios.
After Hydravision closed, I took a couple of months to work on my portfolio, which allowed me to join Gameloft in Spain. I worked on two projects there (Asphalt Overdrive and Gods of Rome) and wanting to travel and naturally having the travel bug, I asked to be transferred to Canada and I have been welcomed with open arms to Toronto.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STUDENTS?
Work!!! It is the only thing that will really make you progress. We are fortunate enough to do a job that we are passionate about, so drawing or doing 3-D all through the night isn’t as restrictive as all that!
Don’t miss the only anatomy class or outdoor drawing class because they will save your life one day!
Wilfried Paget, LISAA graduate in 2007, Senior 3-D Artist at Gameloft
If you want to do 3-D or animation, you should still continue to draw. Don’t miss the only anatomy class or outdoor drawing class because they will save your life one day! You will have the chance to perfect your 3-D when you are in production on your first jobs, but these lessons won’t be there for you anymore!
Take an interest in all the software available. Technology evolves quickly and if you want to stay at the top of your game, you will need to improve all the time, even after an eight-hour day.
If you want to stay at the top of your game, you will need to improve all the time.
Wilfried Paget, LISAA graduate in 2007, Senior 3-D Artist at Gameloft
And if making video games is really your passion and your vocation, hang on tight! It’s not a long, calm road. Studios open and close. Projects change. Not everything will be “Game of the Year”. But in the end, it’s worth it, because you can be proud to see people playing your game (on the underground it’s quite cool and satisfying when you work on mobiles) and, above all, you will meet lots of talented artists, animators, developers and producers that will give you a boost!
WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS?
Five years from know I’d like to be Lead Art, and eventually I’d like to progress towards production. But I have no idea where, of course!
