Apr 16, 2021
By clicking here you have become the Apex Champion! Congratulations! You just won an incredible podcast episode with Jobye Karmaker, from Respawn Entertainment. Learn more about what goes into the thought process of creating environments for Apex Legends, how a pork chop that Jobye cooked ended up in the game and how to provide meaningful feedback to junior artists. Furthermore, we discuss his work on Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, how it feels like to finish a level he has worked on for a year in under half an hour and the importance of mental health.
Time – Topic Discussed:
0:00 - Intro
3:00 - Guest topic: Mental health
7:50 - A typical day at work for Jobye
10:20 - What does an environment artist do?
12:00 - Dealing with different styles in video games
12:50 - How does the story impact the design
13:55 - The difference between working on Star Wars and Apex
17:00 - The feeling of not being able to see your work ingame anymore
20:32 - The evolution of technology and graphical fidelity
22:25 - How does an environment artist play games?
24:04 - When is something truly finished?
26:05 - How much of a game’s story goes into the design process
27:40 - Strict regulations for Star Wars
30:44 - Being able to finish the segment you worked on for a year in under 15 minutes
32:30 - Putting yourself into environment art
34:05 - Behind the scenes on the Mirage Pork Chop
36:40 Cooking skills
38:05 - What makes a good Omakase?
41:17 - Visiting the places you worked on ingame
44:05 - Emergencies during development
46:32 - Fields of expertise
48:08 - Having fresh eyes in environmental art
50:50 - Looking back at older work
51:51 - Providing feedback
53:05 - The difference in procedure between companies
54:43 - Tuna story
56:08 - Being Asian in the games industry & diversity
57:33 - Crunch
01:02:57 - Plugs & Outro
Things mentioned on the show:
Jobye's work in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order
The legendary Mirage Pork Chop
Social Media:
Jobye Karmaker
Jobye on Twitter (@jobyek)
Jobye on Instagram (@jobyek)
Jobye on Arstation
Jobye’s Homepage
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Twitter (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Twitter (@DorianChou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Instagram (@youmeindustry)
Dorian on Instagram (@dorian.chou)
YOU ME AND THE INDUSTRY on Facebook (youmeindustry)
Intro/Outro by FreshMcZone
Artwork by Thomas Martin (Instagram: @thomas.martin.martin)