Employee Spotlight: Interview with Marc Schwegler

Making a video game is an art form, and you need specialized artists. Character Artists, Vehicle Artists, and Environment Artists, for example. If you have artists, you should have a lead artist who leads the artists who do the art. Makes sense, right? Cool! Let's talk to our Lead Artist at GIANTS Software - Marc Schwegler.

Hi Marc, can you tell us what your role is with GIANTS, and what it entails?

I am the Lead Artist for the Farming Simulator series and my job is to ensure that the game's visuals are created by the team of level designers, character, vehicle, and environment modelers and animators.

Was this area something you studied at university?

Unfortunately, there are not many available paths in Switzerland when it comes to making games. Instead, I started to 3D model, create textures, and animate on my own. I did this by learning on my own initiative and working for various small indie teams as a freelancer before joining GIANTS Software almost 14 years ago.

You managed to turn bedroom studying into a passionate career! Can you mention any of the games or mods you worked on previously?

It's been such a long time, and to be honest, most of the games were never released. Indie teams usually have a hard time finding appropriate funding. There was a horror adventure game set in a medieval European church where I did some characters with animations. 

On another title, I made some goblins with combat animations for a turn-based strategy game. I spent some time working on mods, too. I created tons of armor and weapons for Neverwinter Nights.

You’ve been with GIANTS for some time now, what was the first game you worked on?

Farming Simulator 11 and Demolition Company were the first games I worked on here.

Marc (left) has been with GIANTS Software for over a decade now. 

You and the team put so much effort into creating amazing 3D models, you must have some great highlights from your role …

We strive to make the most realistic representations of these awesome machines. Being involved in the game design and technical aspects of the franchise, especially the early mobile titles, would be a highlight for me. Squeezing the game into a Nintendo 3DS back then, and the early mobile phones was a challenge and very satisfying when it all came together!

Of course, modern mobile titles now are a lot closer to the PC version since the hardware has changed dramatically over the years, making the job a little easier.

Which are the hardest models to create for the Farming Simulator series?

From a programming standpoint, the large tractors aren't too much of a problem, but modeling and texturing them accurately is a huge challenge for the team. It takes a lot of work from several artists to make them as lifelike as possible.

If a reader wanted to build a career in 3D modeling or animation, where should they start?

Especially if you are just starting out and want to try your hand at modding. I think the best place to start is to download Blender, which is free, and learn it with YouTube videos. There are hundreds of tutorials to learn from.

This interview was first published in the official Farming Simulator Magazine.