Feb 20 2013

Thomas Holt Interview Posted 88 days ago ago by Harlequin     7 Comments     Views: 8601

11 Merits

Today WoD News is proud to bring you a new interview with Art Director of the WoD MMO Thomas Holt. We ask about his past, his influences and what he feels he is bringing to the table from a art standpoint to the MMO. Enjoy and feel free to comment.


Thomas could you tell us a little bit about yourself, where you grew up, what got you into art?
With the exception of a few years up in Baltimore, I was born and raised in the Southeast. I've been into art for as long as I can remember. I often joke that I went to the bored student school of art. I was constantly drawing as a child, often in class and sometimes on desks, books, other students, whatever was available. This often landed me in trouble, but my family stayed pretty supportive. I grew up with a lot of exposure to art having a few other artists in my family tree and lots of opportunity to explore my creativity and pursue formal training.

When did you get into gaming (table top or/and computer)? What was the first games you picked up and played?
My family always had a big closet of games we would play growing up. These were mostly typical family board and card games. I also went digital pretty young playing (and learning to code) early pc titles like Lemonade Stand (it always rained at 30%) and a long line of consoles. Video games changed my life. I remember my mom bringing home a box of dot matrix printer paper, and I'd drag it out in long strips across the basement to design and draw Super Mario levels for days. I'm always on the hunt for new games to try and play and have ventured now through a lot of different types and genres (both traditional and digital) in my life.

Your motto on Twitter, to paraphrase, says you love it when art and games combine, when did this philosophy take hold, what brought it about?
It just underlines the fact that I'm making art in games for a reason. I love games, both as a player and as a developer. I count myself lucky that I've been able to combine two of my biggest passions into a career. Also, I don't buy into the whole art vs. design debate. I think they should always be in partnership, expanding and complimenting each other. The magic moments are when they meet and result in a player experience that is something truly special.

Art wise who do you credit as your largest inspiration and why is that?
This one is tough because I am constantly looking for inspiration and I pull from such a huge variety of sources. How light and shadow is portrayed has always had a special sway over me though. I could spend days lost in the paintings of guys like Rembrandt, Sargent, and the Dutch masters. I've also been really fortunate to have had the chance to know and work with some insanely talented people. A good team is one that you can learn from and makes you want to improve. 

What did you do before coming to CCP? What motivated you to move on?
I've spent most of my gaming career out on the West Coast. I was in San Francisco at EA (the Visceral Games studio) and worked on many of their big licenses (Bond, LOTR, Tiger, etc.), as well as helping to create and launch the Dead Space franchise. The desire to grow my family finally won out over the Bay Area cost of living, and I left for a smaller studio in Seattle. It was an attractive opportunity to once again create an all new universe to play and tell stories in. The game was to be a unique take on the supernatural in a dark modern setting. It unfortunately ended up mired in design resets and publisher infighting. I told a friend about the issues and that I was unsure if we would ever get a chance to ship. He told me about this amazing game based on WoD that was being developed by the EVE Online guys in Atlanta and put me in touch with the team. That became.....Happily Ever After.

What was it that attracted you to the Art Director position of WoD? Did the gothic art style of the setting have a impact of your interest?
This is an amazing universe that I love working in. The setting, tone, and feel of this game hits so many core notes for me. It touches on so many of my areas of interest personally and as cliché as it sounds, it feels like a position I've been training my whole life for. This includes the games I’ve art directed and worked on as well as the books I read, the movies and shows I watch, the games I've played, my travels, my love of architecture, horror, creature features, lighting, psychology, human nature, etc.

What did you feel you could bring to the table in this position to the (rabid) WoD MMO fans?
I am really excited for the fans to see how we are bringing this universe to life. I think we have a look and style that resonates well with what the World of Darkness is and happens to be absolutely gorgeous. In addition to providing visual direction, I bring a lot of game development experience to the table as well. I believe this has helped to get us onto a great production path and will result in us being able to better deal with the scope of this project and reach our potential by pushing the envelope visually. I've also helped build teams before and we are building an amazing team here that I'm really excited to be a part of. All of these things will hopefully result in us bringing a quality game and experience to the players and fans sooner. I'm looking forward to working with the fans and communities for a very very long time. I expect that relationship to be fruitful and grow over time the same way it has with the players and devs in EVE Online. We are in this together....and it's going to be great because of that.

Speaking of the (rabid) fans, they have been quite vocal over the past few years on my forums, and others, about what they would like from this MMO in most every aspect. From an art direction view has anything you have read or heard about given you food for thought or helped with a creative direction? Any examples you are able to share?
Overall I really enjoy reading/hearing the thoughts of the WoD faithful. I do on occasion browse various forums and was fortunate to sit in on some fan interviews this past Atlanta by Night. It has definitely helped me better appreciate which elements invoke the strongest passion within the communities and how (and why) different clans resonate so strong with different people. I've also really enjoyed seeing all of the speculation and hopes for the game. While it's not all accurate and often there are misinterpretations or assumptions, it overall generally confirms for me that the project and the team are on the right path.

Bloodlines is still hailed as a shining example of a PC game that got the WoD setting mostly spot on, especially the art direction. What if anything have you taken away from that game as inspiration on the artistic level?
When I joined the team one of the first things I did was start digging through the old books and reinstall Bloodlines. I think Bloodlines did a lot of things right and in testament to that has gained quite a cult following. I believe it resonated well on the art side because it reflected a lot of the theme and setting established by the pen and paper games. This is something we plan to carry forward.

On the other hand how do you feel your direction in the MMO will stand out from other gothic themed games like Bloodlines?
While we are also pulling from those same points of inspiration in the setting and tone, we have established a style and interpretation that stands on its own and is delivered through cutting edge graphics. I believe that our look along with our take on the genre will make us stand out from other similarly themed games and the rest of the MMO market. The World of Darkness historically has defined and set a new standard for so much in terms of game play, the supernatural, and such a rich and deep setting. There is no reason to stop now.

You kept readers of your Twitter pretty informed about your PvP success during the WoD feature test. It lead me to believe you’re not new to the whole PvP scene, what’s the scoop? Are players in the MMO going have to watch their back for your character?
I had a lot of fun during our internal feature test and am really looking forward to the next one. I enjoy and play quite a bit of PvP titles but am by no means the one to be feared the most from our team. However I am fiercely loyal, so you don’t need to worry about backstabbing from me. When I do stray from my carebear ways and happen to kill, I come at it straight on.....or on occasion from above. My advice to any player is to watch out for everyone all the time.

Were any of these feature test  ‘Hunger Games’ type fights recorded that may see the light of day down the road?
There are definitely some recordings. I hope they don't get lost and we get to share them one day. It is always great to look back over the course of developing a game and see the progress and evolution of a title.

Finally, how many people total did you get to rage quit due to your PvP awesomeness and is there is a going to be a “Thomas Holt RageQuit” scoreboard in the MMO?!?!
You give me way too much credit and undo attention. I'm practically harmless and a threat to no one. It would be better if everyone just relaxed.....and let down their guard.

On a serious note though, I'd hate to have my name associated with any form of rage quitting. We are working long and hard to make something that will last decades and carry true meaning for people. It would be a shame if anyone missed out on that and walked away just because they were slaughtered by a devil like myself :)


Thank you Thomas for your time and insight, we wish you the best and can not wait to see your art in-game!





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• Northlander 82 days ago
  0 Merits
  
  Also I'd like to see Mr. Holt's art somewhere because art director decides the overall visual appearance of the game after all.
  
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• Northlander 82 days ago
  1 Merits
  
  The phrase "cutting edge graphics" interests me because I wonder if we are going to receive EVE quality character models for example. Graphics quality and good graphics design are a major draw for me. I see WODO more as a character focused game than many others. I'd expect not only character models to be of high quality but also high level of customizability. That and I hope they manage to create truly moody environments and setting. I'd like to see the visual (and psychological) horror elements draw inspiration from games like F.E.A.R and silent hill. Only this time *we* are the monster. I feel both use environmental and lighting in excellent ways. I've yet to see a mmo that manages to capture horror elements well.
  
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• Shasta 88 days ago
  0 Merits
  
  Wouldn't sweat it too much, Haludan. I've got two kids, a full time job, and I can squeeze in about 10 hours of game time a week. Plus, if you can get you're missus into it too, you won't cop too much flak over an hour or two while the little ones are asleep :-)
  
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  • Haludan 87 days ago
    0 Merits
    
    I wish I could do that, lol. I get a bit obsessive, and can only concentrate on one, maybe 2 obsessions at a time. When I have kids, I will likely stop playing games all together, computer, tabletop, cell phone, all of it. Just hoping to get in some fun times on WoDo before the end, lol.
    
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• Haludan 88 days ago
  0 Merits
  
  I have, at most, something like two years more of good gaming time in me... Hopefully this game will be out in time for me to enjoy it :( (My wife and I are hoping to have kids soon, and as I am the primary care giver, I will be very busy)
  
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• Detrimentum 88 days ago
  7 Merits
  
  "My advice to any player is to watch out for everyone all the time." Like music to my ears...
  
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• 88 days ago
  0 Merits
  
  Amazing! haha I hope to see these PvP or any in-game recordings real soon.
  
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