Industry Interview: Fable 3 Developer, Lionhead.
We’ve managed to catch up with Senior Artist Jon Eckersley from Lionhead. So sit down and have a read of our latest Industry Interview!
1. Can you tell our readers what you do at Lionhead, what that involves and how long you’ve been with them?
Hello! I’m a Senior Artist here at Lionhead, where I’ve worked for close to six years – five of those have been working with the Fable team. Specifically, I’m one of the Lead Artists responsible for all of the creatures in the Fable universe. I also help out a fair bit on the character side of things when they need me. Before coming to work on the Fable team, I was largely in charge of the creatures and advisors on Black and White 2.
My role typically involves taking a germ of an idea one of us, or design may have, and seeing that through from an original sketch or concept to a final fully fleshed out creature in the game that you can hack to bits.
2. You’ve worked at Rare before moving onto Lionhead, can you tell us what you did there and what projects you worked on?
I worked at Rare back around 2002/2003 as a character artist for a couple of years or so. I was lucky enough to work with the old Starfox Adventures team – I learned a huge amount in my time there alongside some incredibly talented artists before coming to Lionhead in early 2005.
3. A friend tells me you were responsible for creating the dog in Fable 2, is that true?
Yes, the dog actually comes under the remit of creatures, so I’m responsible for him. He seems to be a real fan favourite, so it was a great job to work on him! For Fable 3, we’ve given more art love to the dog, and this has been a joint project between myself and another talented artist called Mike Morton. I can’t take any of the credit for all that rigging, animation or code work though – it’s always a big team effort here on Fable.
4. Can you tell us what you’ve worked on in Fable 3?
Sure. I’ve been taking care of all of the creatures, and the artwork needed that you’ll see in game for those guys. If I’m not making them myself, I’m overseeing other artists work, reviewing them and iterating on them.
I’ve worked on Hobbes, Balverines and Hollowmen which are our core Fable bread and butter creatures – and I was the artist responsible for our brand new creatures which is always a tough, but satisfying job. I’m not going to mention what they’re called, as that’ll be a bit of a spoiler – but you may have seen some of them in the demos we showed off at E3.
I’ve also helped out on the dog, some of the NPC’s such as Walter Beck, Reaver and the Butler as well as a fair bit of work on the male and female hero heads and their morphs. Quite a bit really. Also, I’ve had the luck to work on something which is very core to our story arc, that has yet to be announced! Interesting, eh?
5. Is there anything that you weren’t happy with in Fable 2 that you’ve managed to fix in Fable 3?
I think people will be surprised just how much work has gone into the art for Fable 3. There is quite literally no asset from the heroes that remains from Fable 2. We redid everything. That’s the same for the weapons too. People who are expecting Fable 2.5 are going to be pleasantly amazed.
6. What’s been the most challenging task you’ve ever worked on?
That’s a toughie – there’s been a lot! The creatures on Black and White 2 were a lot of work, as were the Trolls on Fable 2. Artistically I’m proudest of the work I’ve created on Fable 3; the new creatures you’ll see in Aurora saw many, many iterations but in the end they came out really well. It’s always hard convincing people of new ideas and themes before you’ve made it!
7. What’s your favourite, and of course, least favourite animal/creature to create and why?
My favourite are probably the Hobbes. I have a soft spot for them – we’d created the basic Hobbe for Fable 2, I took that and went a little bit crazy with tons of ideas I had for them. A lot of evenings were spent making Hobbes on stilts, Hobbes with watering cans for hats, and skeleton Hobbes. There are some new Hobbes for Fable 3, but we’ve tried to move on (just leave it Jon, let it go!) and instead put our efforts in to some new creatures. I also love Trolls. Just don’t mention the Trolls.
My least favourite creature? Those will be the ones that get scrapped during production because they didn’t work, they weren’t fun to fight or we just ran out of time. This happened a lot less on Fable 3, but there’s still a little Indiana Jones warehouse full of crates with some Fable creatures in them.
8. Can you tell us what you’re working on now?
Actually, I don’t think I can. That’s exciting, right?
9. How did you get into the games sector? Do you have any advice for our readers who are trying to get a job?
I got in to games by working on a Quake 3 mod as an artist just after I left university. It was a modification called Quake 3 Fortress; that same group of people have gone on to form Splashdamage (who are working on Brink). The only way to break into art for games is to have a portfolio showing your artwork – it doesn’t really matter what qualifications you have. If you can draw, paint and make cool stuff in 3d, then show anyone that will look! Working on mods is a great way to prove you can work in a team, to a deadline and produce some great work.
I’ve posted some guidelines on putting together a portfolio over on the Lionhead Forums.
10. How long have you been working in games design and was it always something you wanted to get into?
I’ve been working as an artist for about 8 years now – about 6 months after I left uni. Making computer games was a childhood dream of mine that I’m lucky enough to have realised – I’m a total games geek, and I love stuff from the 80’s because it’s obviously cooler than new things. My advice for a job is to find something you enjoy, and find someone who will pay you to do it.
11. Other than gaming, what other hobbies do you have?
I’m lucky enough to have a little art studio at home, so every night I try and get up there for at least an hour. I’m currently training in the ways of the old masters, so classical art is currently my bag. I love it, and it’s very relaxing.
When I’m not doing that, my main passions are rock climbing, cycling or running triathlons. I find any kind of activity keeps my mind fresh so I try and get away from my desk at lunch. I’ve travelled around the world climbing in some incredible places, from sea cliffs in Sardinia to limestone towers in Thailand.
12. If you could be any Xbox 360 character, who would you be and why?
Part of me would love to be thrown into the middle of a zombie apocalypse. I’ve read World War Z, I’ve watched 28 Days Later and I’ve played days worth of Left for Dead, so I’d like to think I’d be prepared. For some reason I always played Bill in L4D – maybe in about 30 years time when I’m his age I’ll be ready for the End of Days.
Genuine Gamers would like to thank Jon, and Lionhead for their time in answering our questions. Fable 3 is due for release on the 29th of October in Europe (26th in North America).
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