Get to know the people behind the scenes, working to bring the original vision of the metaverse to lyfe. In this edition we get to know Carlos, Neolyfe’s Senior Environment Artist…
With over a decade in visual effects, working on projects such as The Little Mermaid, Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Infinity War, Carlos brings world-class expertise to Neolyfe. Here he delves into his experience, favourite video game and his vision for a better metaverse…
Hey Carlos, you’ve got such an impressive CV. What skills from your work in big budget Hollywood films are you bringing to Neolyfe?
When I first started working in the visual effects (VFX) industry my role as an environment artist didn’t exist. So I was mainly a generalist, where I had to know a little bit of everything. However I was working for Framestore studio and they established a new environment department and I was one of the very first to join.
In VFX, if you can tell that the environments are fake then you know you haven’t done your job well. So in coming to Neolyfe, I’m able to help the team of artists understand the principles of environments and help quality control on assets, from modelling to textures etc.
How would you describe a ‘better metaverse’?
Answering as an artist, for me a better metaverse needs to retain a level of quality. Obviously when it comes to certain games, there are narratives which provide the reason to play, rather than the quality of the game, the graphics, that sort of stuff. However when it comes to the metaverse, you rely on it to be great quality because it’s immersive. So a better metaverse would be flawless in the sense that it is binded together in a way that you don’t notice that it’s been built by many separate artists, developers and creators.
What is your favourite video game or metaverse experience?
I’m a huge fan of Fallout. As you play the game, you have to explore, you have to understand the economy within the game and its locations and importantly you have to evolve. It’s kind of where the metaverse is – the exploration doesn’t come from the team, it comes from the users.
Land owners and creators are the ones developing stories and narratives for their land or experiences which is exciting. You never know what you’re going to get because it’s open to adaptation. It could be different today from tomorrow, it could be different the week after. It drives you to go back.
Without giving too much away, which part of Neolyfe are you most looking forward to?
Definitely exploration of our large open world and seeing how players are rewarded for exploring.
What game, creator or brand would you most like to see in Neolyfe?
In keeping with the theme of exploration, Pokemon would be massive but I also like to think outside the box so I’d like King Kong to show up in Neolyfe — climbing over buildings. Or Godzilla to maybe pop its head out of the water. That would be exciting for me.
