Clear As Mud

Jamal Coleman takes us through the ins and outs of working on VFX in the game industry, the new company he's working at, Lightforge games, and what it was like working on World of Warcraft.

Graham also pitches Jamal a hypothetical game and asks him to break down how he'd approach each phase of development from a VFX standpoint.

Mallie Rust knew she wanted to be creative, and her self professed pragmatic nature brought her into the world of marketing, where she's able to flex her creative muscles while continuing to build the DC Universe Online brand that has been going strong for well over a decade. 

Mallie brings a new perspective to Clear As Mud from the marketing side of things. She provides great insight on working hand in hand with developers on creating content for the game, the value of being transparent with the game's community, and how to successfully begin marketing an independent game.

Sydney Adams was Creative Lead on The Black Is Magic- Magic The Gathering release and is now a Senior Designer at Intercept Games. 

She tells us her thoughts on storytelling, nostalgia, working in the industry and what she hopes to accomplish to compliment and continue an already amazing career. 

Cameron Rich is certifiable proof that dreams can come true. Armed with nothing but hope he journeyed from Jacksonville to Seattle with the aspiration of working for his dream studio- ArenaNet.

Cameron's story epitomizes serendipity, heart and a whole lot of tenacity. 

Ryan Gallini is creating a game that could change the fortune (literally) of the world's youth. The Four Money Bears- Berryville attempts to teach financial literacy to elementary school age children via a farming simulator that truly shows what the value of a dollar is. 

It's a unique and innovative project that's still in development, and appears to have a bright future. 

HaZ Dulull has done it all in the film industry. From working on visual effects for films like The Dark Knight and Hellboy II, to directing his own science fiction pictures (The Beyond, 2036 Origin Unknown), to simultaneously making an animated feature film (Rift) and game utilizing the Unreal Engine, there's nothing that HaZ won't do to continue making the projects he wants to make on his own terms.

Katie Jackson has worked as a playground designer, artist and is now an art director at Fusebox games. She's also an author with a top tier fantasy vision for her novel Omni In The Valley Of The Stars that she hopes to release in the near future.

She's had a career as stunning as her artwork. Witness her journey here, on Clear As Mud. 

Kevin Powell knew he loved technology but didn't know what he wanted to do for a career until one day his mother made him a proposition that would forever change the course of his life. This led to Kevin working at Hi-Rez Studios, creating the first levels ever for Smite, and working at Gearbox on Borderlands 3. 

Vu Ha has been working on the bleeding edge of AR and VR technology since its newest incarnation that has led him to currently working at Meta.

He's also worked at EA on Sim City and has created his own company, Cosmic Adventure Squad, where he creates innovative independent titles.

Vu also has groundbreaking thoughts on the future of game development based on his experience with AR and VR technology and how these experiences could make game design itself a much more immersive experience.

Tramell Isaac has been working as an artist in the game industry for nearly 30 years.

Discover his epic (literally) journey and his thoughts on the future of the industry in this edition of Clear As Mud.