Fabrik Games is made up of a diverse team of extremely talented people from all walks of life. Every individual contributes to our successes and making the workplace a great place to be. Each month we’d like to shine the spotlight on a member of the team, so you can get to know us a bit more and find out who is behind your favourite games.
To kick off this segment we call Fabrik Focus, we’ve asked Art Director, Ian Williams a few questions about their career so far, working on Lost Bear, inspirations and what he’s excited for in Fabrik’s future.
1. How long have you worked in the games industry?
Coming up to 20 years! I taught myself 3D Studio Max and joined D.i.D in North West as a storyboard artist.
2. How would you describe Manchester and the general north of England in terms of the industry scene? (events, jobs etc)
It is a thriving scene of indie game developers predominantly and a few larger studios, that all contribute to events and meetups where everyone gets to show off their games and learn from each other’s experiences. What is really encouraging to see is that Universities are getting more and more involved and actively seeking out engagement with various development studios in the north.
3. How did you come to work on Filthy Lucre?
Having finished up on ‘Call of Duty: Strike Team’, Graeme Ankers asked me to join Fabrik as Art Director for Filthy Lucre, I had immense fun working on this title working with a great art team producing all the assets for the game. It was a fantastic learning experience and a great game to work on.
4. What's exciting you the most about the future of Fabrik?
We have been very lucky to have worked on our own projects we have cared deeply about such as Filthy Lucre and The Lost Bear. There are many more projects we are looking into that we are keen to develop.
5. Are there any video games that you find really inspiring in terms of art design?
Currently Insomniac Games’ Spider-Man is one of my favourites, an amazing feat of art and technical design to squeeze so much variety and detail into the PS4, that being said I have a soft spot for Superbrothers’ Sword & Sworcery which has stunning pixel art and Campo Santo’s Firewatch which shows you don’t have to strive for realism to make great art for games.
6. What's the best thing about working at Fabrik Games?
It would have to be the team and how we have developed and evolved over the years working on games and projects we are incredibly passionate about.
Ian is currently working on something secret that we’ll be revealing. Follow us on social media to find out more!