Whose
artwork did you admire the most there?
Oh there
were plenty of people. The main guy was this guy named Dennis
Loubet He was the first artist hired at Origin, basically. The
guy was just one of those really gifted artists who didnt
shy away from the technical. Because at Origin there was a clear
division between 2D and 3D artists. It was like this elitism.
I come to find out that the 3D artists are all that, because they
were doing 3D and they were doing the cinematics and everything
else, and the 2D guys are like, theyre just 2D guys. We
can do both, they can only do one. So Dennis Loubet was the first
guy I saw that was really a nice mix of both.
Is
there like a lot of this segregation between different art groups?
Yeah there
is, because you have to understand that its really competitive.
It even happens now. I take for granted sometimes. Thats
why I like teaching this stuff, because I want to break down the
walls of this thing being intimidating. Its just a computer
program. You have to conquer it like you have to conquer everything
else. You have to set your mind to it. Its really how dedicated
you are to making it work.
Ok
lets move on here. How did you get your job at id?
I was
working at a company called Virgin. And a head hunter called me
and said, hey. Theres a little company in Texas that
needs an artist and I was wondering if youre interested.
I said, whats the name of the company? Because
I was an art director there and I kind of had it made. Anyways,
he goes, Its a company called, id, and I hung
up on the guy. So he called me back and said, Im serious
and I thought yeah right. Who would ever leave id? Why would id
need somebody? Anyway we got to talking, and I only had my original
demo tape that I had made all my copies from and I didnt
have a copy, and I said, screw this, the only company Id
leave for is id and I was a big fan. So I sent it to him
and the guy called me back the next day and said, you know
they got the tape but they never really looked at it because they
made this other guy an offer. And I thought, oh shit there
goes my tape.
Doh.
And so
I figured I gambled and lost, whatever. And the guy goes, dont
get too discouraged because the guy might turn them down. And
Im like, what fucking moron is going to turn id down? And
sure enough he calls me back the next day and says hey they
want you to do a phone interview with Kevin Cloud because the
other guy turned them down. And I thought youre bullshitting
me.
Do
you know who it was?
No, they
wont tell me. Because I want to buy him a Volkswagen or
something. I want to give him something to show my appreciation.
So anyway the guy turned them down for the dumbest reason. He
should be kicking himself every day for the rest of his life.
Do
you know what the reason was?
No. Well
yeah I know what the reason is. I think, a little bit of money,
a little bit of fear that his creative input wouldnt be
appreciated or some crap like that. But anyways he messed up.
But I think the reason why I was selected was since I was the
last applicant, my thing was on top of the stack. And Kevin was
so desperate to get somebody in for Quake II, he was like, God
we just gotta get somebody. Ok this Steed guy, ok lets give
him a call. So I talked to them and the phone interview
went pretty well. They flew me down and pretty much made me an
offer on the spot.
Whats
your daily routine like?
I get
up.
About
noonish?
I usually
try to get up about 9:00 or 10:00. In to work before noon. I dont
try to get in early like some of the others that get in by 8:00.
I work out about 3:00. Do some dinner. Come back to work and usually
get home around midnight or 1:00am.
How
about your favorite websites?
I havent
really been hitting any lately. I do the usual. I go surfing across
the usual. I do Blues,
PlanetQuake, Redwoods,
the typical stuff. I just dont have time. I havent
hit a website in a long time. If Im in a mood to be pissed
off, I go to sCarys
msgboard and get my dose of frustration over the really insightful
things I read up there.
Yeah
he really needs to implement some kind of password authentication.
You know
what, he does. Im not really for the whole censorship issue,
but in some situations I think its okay. Which is a contradiction
of course, but I wont tell anyone.
Whos
the funniest guy at id?
The funniest
guy at id is Adrian Carmack.
Get
out. Really?
He is,
without a doubt, no question, the funniest guy at id. Hes
fucking hilarious.
He
seems so introverted.
Get a
few drinks in him, and hes like Chris Fucking Rock, the
guy will just have you rolling. Its amazing. Its shocking.
He could do stand-up.