Meet the Fallout 3 devs - Dane Olds What ’ s your job at Bethesda ? I ’ m a character artist here at Bethesda . I mainly do modeling and texturing for the weapons in Fallout 3 . I also do outfits for characters on occasion . What other games have you worked on ? I started out in the game industry here at Bethesda . I got my break working as an environment art intern on Shivering Isles . Before I graduated college I worked as a project lead / character artist on a total conversion mod for Half - Life 2 called Forever Bound . What is the best part about working as an artist ? The worst part ? The best part about being an artist for me is seeing my artwork in a game . I love figuring out how objects work , I love the creative process , and I love seeing an idea turn into a piece of art , but at the end of the day seeing my hard work on screen makes everything worth the effort . The worst part about being an artist for me is seeing your work cut from a game . As an artist your work will get cut at some point . Even though it ’ s for the greater good , to see something you ’ ve toiled over for hours go into the trash can is always difficult . How did you get into the industry ? Do you have any tips for breaking in ? Trying to break into the video game industry is no small feat . To say that it is difficult is quite the understatement . In high school , I started to gear myself toward getting a job in the industry . I read a lot of gaming publications and learned as much as I could about the different jobs in the business and what I wanted to do . I took all the art classes I could and played a lot of games . I did my first year of college at a community college , that had a small graphics program . There I familiarized myself with 3d Studio Max and Photoshop . I transferred to the Savannah College of Art and design and enrolled in their Game Development and Interactivity program . From there I spent as much time as I could honing my art skills and working on different game related projects . Myself and a group of other enterprising students started a mod project for Half - Life 2 called Forever Bound . This was an awesome experience and really got us familiar with how a development pipeline works . From there I applied at a ton of different companies and got an opportunity here with Bethesda . As far as tips for breaking in there are a few things that are very important to keep in mind . The first one is to put your best work forward . If you have an awesome demo reel you are going to have a much easier time talking with prospective employers . The second is make sure that your social skills are up to snuff . This can be difficult for a lot of people but it is key . You have to be able to communicate with a lot of people in this line of work and your social skills are a huge asset in the interviewing and work environments . Another tip is to not get discouraged . Rejection is an ugly beast and when you are trying to get a job in this industry it WILL rear its ugly head . You have to keep focused and keep trying . Find your weak areas and work on them . Do not let rejection ruin your drive . Keep with it , it might take you a week or a year or longer . In the end , perseverance and a good attitude will take you farther than you can imagine . Other than that , and I can ’ t emphasize this enough , go to the Game Developer ’ s Conference ! Sure , it ’ s expensive , but do what I did and get in early as a CA . You ’ ll get a free pass to the event and you ’ ll get to meet more industry types than you can possibly imagine . When I went I worked 8 hours a day as a CA and spent the rest of the time interviewing with companies and drinking all night with developers . Schmooze as much as possible , get to know people , and have fun ! I went with a group of friends from college and we had the time of our lives out there . The most important part is that after all the work , and drinking , and schmoozing , we got jobs . Going to GDC was an absolutely integral part of getting into this industry for most of us . The contacts we made there were invaluable . Knowing someone at a company is infinitely better than sending them your stuff cold . If you are trying to break into this industry and there is any possible way you can make it out for the conference , make sure you go . What would you say is your personal favorite game of all time ? Tough question . I ’ ve been a gamer my whole life and there have been a number of games that have been extremely influential on me , so it ’ s hard to pick out one game that is my favorite . When I was a kid I was introduced to games on the NES . Super Mario Bros . , Megaman 2 , Excitebike , and Double Dragon got me into gaming . Other games that had a big impact on me over the years include Might and Magic 7 , Arcanum , Fallout , Daggerfall , Morrowind , Diablo , Castlevania : Symphony of the Night , and more recently Mass Effect , Stalker , and Team Fortress 2 . I ’ m sure I ’ m forgetting a lot here , but those are the ones that really stand out to me at the moment . What games are you looking forward to ? I ’ m still trying to play catch up from last year ’ s game blitz . This year I ’ m looking forward to Too Human , Bionic Commando , Castle Crashers , Crisis Core : Final Fantasy 7 , Borderlands , Left 4 Dead , Rage , Star Craft 2 , and of course Fallout 3 . I just bought Patapon ( which I was looking forward to ) and it ’ s awesome . What makes you get out of bed in the morning ? The fact that I ’ m living my dream . Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to make videogames . Now every morning when I wake up I don ’ t think “ Oh god I have to go to work today . ” Instead its “ Cool , I get to go to work today . ” Worst job you ’ ve ever had ? I ’ ve had some pretty bad jobs . I used to work a night shift driving a fork lift in a warehouse . No heat in the winter , no AC in the summer , and you were always filthy . I had a job for a summer digging trenches to hook up houses to the city sewer . Those kind of jobs are tough , but they build character , so I really can ’ t complain . Having done that kind of work in the past it makes me really appreciate the awesome job I have now . It true that you were raised by bears in the Klondike ? No , although some people say I look like a mountain man , or a lumberjack , or a Viking . Which is just fine with me . Any other hobbies and interests ? What do you enjoy doing in your spare time ? I ’ m really into music , I have been since I was a kid . I love pretty much all aspects of Rock & Roll . I ’ m listening to a lot of Heavy Metal at the moment , but I jump around a lot between Heavy Metal , Rockabilly , Psychobilly , Punk , and Hardcore . I also listen to a lot of Old Timey Country , primarily Johnny Cash and Hank Williams , Sr . I also really like Hank III . I ’ ve played in several bands since high school and am working on getting a new Death Metal project put together . Other than that , I like to hang out with my friends , go to concerts and movies , and spend time with my girlfriend Amanda .