I created the procedural map generator which was behind the blue holographic maps in Mass Effect Andromeda.
The core functionality operated in Houdini, with a Frostbite wrapper and GUI to make it easier to export levels for map generation.
There were two types of map: large outdoor areas composed of natural terrain, and indoor architectural maps.
Outdoor maps needed to be accurate to the base terrain generated for the level using WorldMachine, but they also needed to include all the rock formations and additional structures added by level artists. To accomplish this, I scripted a tool to do batch exports of all terrain objects from a level at lowest LOD. The tool imported them into Houdini, converted them into voxel data, and created a new object combining the mass of all the input objects. Using voxel processing allowed for rock overhangs as seen on the map of Elaaden above.
This new terrain object was processed for detail density and performance and then imported back into Frostbite as a map object. I created a shader with a holographic look and clear elevation markings. The brown areas indicate cliffs too steep for the player to pass.
The tool included separate layers to mask out bodies of water, rivers, and roads.
Indoor maps were generated using the lowest LOD of the floor and wall objects used to author the level.
I uncovered a lot of geometry errors when pulling out the lowest LODs for maps. Most of the lower LODs had been generated automatically during production and never checked, so it turned out to be a good form of asset validation. To speed up export, most geo was group tagged as floor or wall using the asset name as a filter. Tags were refined manually to remove geo that caused visual anomalies and to add assets with unconventional names.
Within Houdini, geo had to be processed for edge and face quality, before being combined and exported back into Frostbite to apply the holographic shader I created.
After Andromeda production, I trained two other tech artists in the procedural map tool. They used an improved version of the same tech to generate the maps in Anthem.
2024 As the Character Materials lead for Dragon Age: Veilguard, I overhauled the skin treatment for characters to increase visual quality and to be more inclusive of all skintones. Originally skin only covered a range from pale peach to mid brown. The lighting team believed it was too difficult to
2024 I was responsible for character materials in Dragon Age: Veilguard. Our character creator was one of our headline features, and we wanted to give players as broad a range of inclusive options as we could. Throughout production, I advocated for players to have exposure to maximum customization options. Those
I’ve been involved since the early days in EA’s R&D related to integrating Houdini with their Frostbite Engine. I started working with Houdini professionally in 2006, as a Render TD in animated film. Later, on the Tiburon studio team at EA, I worked on the development of a Houdini head
A few of the pipeline tools I’ve created. All tools and code on this page copyright © Electronic Arts. Madden 15 Houdini Head Tool Houdini with Python Madden Football, Tiburon, Electronic Arts, 2014 Madden 15 included significant improvements in the likeness of coaches and star players. Coaches and players were
2017 Lighting technology Mass Effect: Andromeda used the Enlighten lighting system, and I was the primary tech art contact for debugging artist issues related to Enlighten. For performance reasons, most of the game environment used Static Enlighten lighting bakes. Each game asset needed Enlighten geometry to be authored according to
Before I moved to game development in 2008, I worked as a Render TD and a Lighting and Compositing artist for feature film. Here are some example shots where I was responsible for sequence or shot lighting, and compositing. Kung Fu Panda Sequence lighting and compositing Open Season 2 Sequence
