We had the good fortune of connecting with Guy Wolfus and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Guy, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
In my occupation as a Technical Director I deal with the fine line between art and computer science. Even though I started out as a 3D artist, I was always drawn to programming and in time I’ve learned that I truly enjoy software development in the context of creating art.
It was something I always knew that I wanted – a job in the context of artistic creation, and more specifically, animated movies and video games.
I grew up with Disney animated classics such as The Lion King and Aladdin. No matter how many times I’ve seen these movies, I find that I’m always mesmerized by them and keep finding new things that I admire in them. It’s the same with video games, which for me always meant more than just a spare time hobby – video games interest me beyond the casual enjoyment, and have always kept me wondering how they are made, and what it takes to create them.
I pursued a career in animation and video game development because, even now that I know how things are being made, I still see it as this wonderful thing that takes a lot of creativity, hard work and imagination. I enjoy being challenged on a daily basis by technical limitations in the field, and coming up with creative solutions or learning about ways others have solved these issues.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I started my career by studying CG Arts which includes several sub-categories of animation. Understanding the whole process that is required to produce animation (for either movies or video games) is in my opinion crucial in order to be a good pipeline developer.
Also, I actually didn’t start as a programmer right away. I’ve had a few different jobs that included several of these sub-categories, such as animating and rigging, before I found my true passion with scripting and tools development.
A lot of times people will go into animation studies thinking that they know exactly what they want, or on the flip side I’ve seen a lot of people who didn’t even quite understand what it means to work in the animation industry, but for both types of people I’d say “keep an open mind”! You never know what your next gig will require or what you’ll end up enjoying the most.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I love the hikes in the area and the beautiful sights from the tops of the mountains around LA: Brand park has a beautiful overview of Glendale, and Griffith park overlooks downtown and the beaches. While at Griffith, also check out the observatory – the show there is stunning! If you’re looking for a good restaurant, some of my favorites are: The Raymond’s in Pasadena for some top notch upscale dinners, Din Tai Fung for Taiwanese dumplings and soups (you should definitely try their specialty Xiao Long Bao), and Daikokuya in Little Tokyo has the best ramen in town.
Lastly, if you enjoy theme parks as much as I do then don’t miss out. There’s Six Flags if you’re a thriller seeker, and of course Disneyland and Universal Studios for an amazing day.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I studied CG Arts at the “Israeli Animation College” where the teachers were all industry professionals, which unlike teachers in a lot of other schools – I believe it gives them a better perspective as to what is required to succeed in the industry, and it also makes them knowledgeable in all the latest developments in the field. This is something I believe has had a great influence on my ability to find my way in the industry and the idea that you never stop learning new things. It’s important to stay relevant and learn about new developments, and for that I want to thank all my teachers and the college itself for everything they taught me!

My first big endeavor was joining a small team of independent developers, that in time became my dear friends and co-founders in what has eventually become “CookieByte Entertainment” – our very own Indie Games studio.
We were all very passionate about making video games, so we’ve decided to bet on a startup studio in order to be able to do what we love and wanted to do the most – a turn based tactics game named “Fort Triumph”.
We had a successful Kickstarter in order to fund its initial development, went to showcase at PAX West (the biggest gaming conference in the US) and landed the publisher “AllIn!” who helped us bring the game to completion and eventually release it for PC and consoles.
Working on our own passion project and having the support of so many backers and other organizations who believed in us and the game has been the most fulfilling adventure in my life, and I want to thank everyone on the CookieByte team.

Another major stepping stone in my career has been working on Baldur’s Gate 3 at Larian Studios.
Larian has several studios across the world, and I was hired for the Canada location.
Working alongside such amazing developers, I’ve learned a lot and acquired some very valuable experience.
On top of the fact that the job itself was great, the studio took a chance on me since moving to Canada required relocation, and they made the whole process very smooth and enjoyable.
I can’t thank the team at Larian Quebec enough!

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Website: https://www.guywolfus.com/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guywolfus

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guy.wolfus

Other: Gumroad: https://gumroad.com/guywolfus

Image Credits
Baldur’s Gate 3 (first two images): Larian Studios Fort Triumph (second two images): CookieByte Entertainment

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