Steve Mason from Riot Games
Steve Mason is A Principal Technical Artist for Riot Games in San Fransisco.
“Basically I work in R&D making things look and feel cool. I think of myself as a connector between design, art, and engineering.”
The following is an image of the Sydney Concert Hall that Obscura Digital projected art on. This was done around the world from NYC to the Vatican.
“I worked closely with Obscura for a long time, and was involved in a lot of big projects there.”
Media 66: When did you first realize you had a knack for high tech
Steve Mason: When I was 5. My uncle sent us a Timex Sinclair which hooked up to a black and white TV, and the only way to get programs onto it was to a) write the code yourself or b) hook up a cassette player and literally play an entire tape into it via audio cable with a 1/8" jack. I started by copying programs into it which were written in BASIC, and I guess I started to pick it up along the way. I don't have a photo from that time, unfortunately!
Media 66: Where do you see the gaming industry heading and what role will you play in that next level.
Steve Mason: Well, the industry is so wide -- it's hard to predict. I liked the game they showed in the movie "Her". I like high-production value but experimental or "artistic" games like Shadow of the Colossus, Journey, Inside, etc. Games offer unique experiences that movies or books can't give you. I just started playing Life is Strange which is great so far...
Media 66: Have you done any Virtual Reality work and what are your thoughts on this medium?
Steve Mason: I did - Most significantly, I spent most of last year making my own VR game. It's available at Steam Powered.
I love the feeling of VR, but I don't really like the hardware yet. It's crippled by cables, resolution, processing power, input, etc. It's only a matter of time before those problems are solved, though -- it's not going away.
~some of Steve's VR art on Sisyphus Games
Media 66: How do you keep your work artistic and not lose your souls spark from working in the machine of consumerisum.
Steve Mason: Once upon a time I worked in advertising, marketing, client services, design agencies, blah blah blah. That kind of work was not very creatively fulfilling to me. However, I managed to steer so that now I'm working on things people want to spend time with -- something that brings them joy (which by the way is the meaning of "game" : etymonline.com, entertainment, fun, whatever). In the broad spectrum of mindless consumerism, I find games to be far less evil than the Superbowl, McDonalds, shopping malls, etc.
Media 66: Can gaming save the world??
Steve Mason: No.
some of Steve's cool art!
Steve Mason also founded Quotia.
Copy from Quotia: Today’s storytellers have dynamic, multi-dimensional narratives.
To be vital, they need new vocabularies, tools, and platforms –
from the social cloud to the smart spaces of tomorrow – to come to life and engage with an evolving audience.
Our work connects people with ideas, places and others – at any scale – from pockets and portables to skylines and cityscapes.
We go beyond the design of discrete experiences to consider relationship and meaning in today’s world of fluid interaction