My time at Gameloft marked a major transition from being a hands-on environment artist to taking on broader technical and leadership responsibilities. I initially joined the studio as an environment artist working on Asphalt 5, contributing to mobile environments during a period when mobile hardware was far more constrained than it is today. Once Asphalt 5 shipped, I was moved onto Modern Combat 4, where I became one of the lead environment artists for the project.
While working on both Asphalt 5 and Modern Combat 4, I began developing tools initially to solve my own production bottlenecks. These tools quickly proved useful to the rest of the team and were adopted more widely, helping the environment team move faster and take on more ambitious workloads. At the time, 3ds Max did not yet support Python, so most of this tooling was built using MaxScript. I utilized Blur Studio’s Dev Tools for Max, (still around).
On Modern Combat 4, the tooling became more sophisticated and production-focused. I built systems such as a level manager, zone manager, custom exporters, camera debugging tools, lightmap bakers, and vertex-color-based lighting utilities. These tools helped streamline scene organization, reduce iteration time, and improve visual consistency across large levels, which was critical for a fast-paced FPS on mobile hardware.
I transitioned to Dungeon Hunter 4 after Modern Combat 4 shipped, where the focus shifted toward fantasy environments and character-heavy content. For this project, I developed additional lighting tools, an SSBump baker, normal map baking workflows using xNormal, asset management utilities, and a variety of modeling helpers such as quick pivot tools, mesh refactoring utilities, and UV management tools. These tools helped artists work more efficiently while maintaining visual quality within strict performance budgets.
Over the course of these projects, I helped define and implement a more robust and scalable art pipeline for the Modern Combat and Dungeon Hunter teams. This role solidified my interest in technical art and pipeline development, laying the foundation for my later work across larger engines and more complex production environments.
While living in Montreal, I genuinely enjoyed the character of the city. The architecture, the distinctly European feel, and the vibrant nightlife gave it a unique energy compared to other North American cities. At times, however, the environment could feel a bit overwhelming, especially during long winters, but overall it was a memorable place to live and work.
My time at Gameloft was both challenging and rewarding. I appreciated the problems we were solving and the team I worked with, many of whom were Russian speakers. Working closely with them helped strengthen my Russian language skills. I also studied some French while in Montreal, though I never intended to settle there long-term.
Professionally, the experience at Gameloft was positive, but after several years I felt ready to move on to new types of games and larger creative challenges. I explored opportunities elsewhere and had a few strong interviews with Ubisoft. Once it became clear that I was considering other options, Gameloft decided to end my employment. While the situation was disappointing, it ultimately reinforced my desire to continue growing and seeking new experiences beyond the studio.
Looking back, Gameloft played an important role in shaping my technical and artistic career, and it provided a solid foundation for the work that followed.