We often mention our team in terms of "Amplidudes and Amplidudettes", but we decided we should give you folks an idea of who we mean. You've guessed it, it's time for another instalment of our (semi-)regular feature, Meet the Team! If you want to know more about us, or your nephew wants to learn more about the career path of a game developer, or if you're just curious, read on.
Meet the Geppetto who's giving life (and movement) to our universe, Bastien, aka oldelbastos!!
Who are you and what do you do at Amplitude?
Hey folks, I am Bastien, Animator at Amplitude since the very beginning of Endless Legend.
My work consists in evaluating the animation needs for our games, doing the character setup for the animation, doing the actual animating, and integrating it into the game. I work both with the 3D artists who give me the elements, and the programmers for the integration.
I did the setup and animations for most of the units in Endless Legend!
What were you doing before you joined Amplitude?
I have been working in games since 2006. I learned the job at Neko Entertainment, where I was able to work on a lot of games for children and several other more ambitious projects on Wii and PS2. I left in 2008 to work for Darkworks (rip) on the unfortunately cancelled first iteration of I AM ALIVE (for Ubisoft). I mostly worked on animation and ingame cutscene scripting. I stayed until the studio's closure in 2012, and for a brief while I worked for Nadeo on Shootmania.
When did you join the studio?
I joined Amplitude and the Endless Legend crew in October 2012. After spending the last few years in a declining studio, I needed new motivating projects and a "lighter" atmosphere.
What feature have you worked on that you're super proud of?
Feature, I'm not sure, but I am pretty proud of having carried Endless Legend to term (at least as far as animation is concerned). Legend comprises about 80 units with the capacity to wield several weapons, plus ships, diplomats... I worked alone most of the time on the animations, thankfully towards the end another animator helped me finish (thanks to him!).
What are you currently working on?
I am currently working on Endless Space 2, I do the animations for ship weapons and diplomats. Two other animators help me produce both ES2 animations and Amplitude's other current projects (such as our content packs).
What's your favorite game of all time?
Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls Dark Souls …
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
An old demo reel from 2011... it's not really updated: https://vimeo.com/28302284
What's your favorite faction or character in our games?
Cravers & Cultists: they are creepy, I love it!
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
Err you know this is a rather cool company, it'll be hard to find just one... what the hell is that question? ^^
What's the most played song in your music library?
Ni**as in Paris from Jay-Z & Kanye West … Actually, a lot of stuff that I may not own up to...
What's your favorite fictional character?
Manji, the immortal samurai from the eponymous manga. Lots of others...
That's it for Bastien! We hope you found this interesting. Comments or additional questions, feel free to ask!
If there's a question you would like us to ask the interviewees, let us know!
