HOGmented

Every game starts with an idea, but turning that idea into a cohesive experience takes countless creative decisions along the way. For a game like Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, keeping all those elements aligned is a challenge in itself.

In Episode 4 of HOGmented, Michał Kuk, Creative Director of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, takes us behind the scenes of his role and gives us a closer look at what it means to shape the creative direction of a game.

Join us for a conversation about creative direction, collaboration, and the many decisions that shape Lara's next adventure. There’s a lot that goes into creating a new chapter of such an iconic franchise - and we’re excited to give you a glimpse behind the curtain.

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HOGmented is a podcast for anyone curious about how games are made and what it’s like to craft them here at Flying Wild Hog.

We’re a game development studio powered by talent from around the world - different skills, different stories, one shared goal: creating games players love. This is where you’ll meet the people behind it all: passionate, talented, smart, and just the right amount of wild.

They’re the ones who make this studio such a special place to build games.

We’re proud of who we are, and we’d love to show you why.

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CHAPTERS:
00:00:04 - Welcome Michał Kuk
00:01:12 - Espresso
00:05:16 - Becoming a game developer
00:07:22 - Michał’s level design background
00:08:35 - Joining Flying Wild Hog and working on Juju
00:10:25 - Flying Wild Hog back then
00:12:10 - Becoming a creative director
00:16:20 - Flying Wild Hog now
00:20:22 - Being a creative director
00:23:30 - Bear with me - first experience with Tomb Raider
00:25:43 - Working on Tomb Raider
00:28:19 - Lara and her timelines
00:31:17 - The moment the devteam nailed it
00:34:04 - What will be the players’ first experience?
00:35:48 - A game both for nostalgic and new players
00:37:50 - Michał’s message to Tomb Raider fandom
00:39:00 - Trust + Passion = Perfect Devteam
00:40:35 - The one thing you didn’t know about Hogs
00:41:05 - Thanks and goodbyes

Being an Art Director takes a whole lot of knowledge, experience and taste. Being a good one, means you also have to be a good manager. Shaping up the visual identity of a game like Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis is, after all, not a small feat. 

Arek Tomaszewski, Art Director of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, takes us behind the scenes of his journey into the role and gives us a closer look at what it really means to lead the artistic vision of a game.

Join us for a conversation about visual storytelling, creative challenges and Lara Croft’s iconic look and wit. There’s many layers that go into creating the world of Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis. We hope we touched on all the most interesting ones, and then some.

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HOGmented is a podcast for anyone curious about how games are made and what it’s like to craft them here at Flying Wild Hog.

We’re a game development studio powered by talent from around the world - different skills, different stories, one shared goal: creating games players love. This is where you’ll meet the people behind it all: passionate, talented, smart, and just the right amount of wild.

They’re the ones who make this studio such a special place to build games.

We’re proud of who we are, and we’d love to show you why.

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CHAPTERS:
00:00:04 - Welcome Arek Tomaszewski
00:01:02 - Espresso
00:03:42 - Becoming a gamedev
00:05:45 - Characters and Animations
00:06:32 - Managing the Art Team and becoming Art Director
00:10:55 - Art Director’s everyday work
00:12:56 - What makes a great Artist?
00:15:05 - What makes a great Art Director?
00:16:55 - Art Direction from scratch
00:21:54 - Creating worlds that are believable
00:25:48 - When is art done?
00:26:58 - Reimagining the emotions
00:29:40 - Tomb Raider’s iconic cog puzzle
00:31:06 - New Lara and working with Crystal Dynamics
00:32:38 - Arek’s appreciation and anticipation of fans’ reactions
00:35:00 - Creating worlds that are immersive
00:36:25 - Tomb Raider’s character creation pipeline
00:39:23 - Flying Wild Hog’s wonderful (art) team
00:43:19 - Creative friction
00:46:37 - Takeaways from the project and its devteam
00:48:16 - Thanks and goodbyes

How do you become a Narrative Director? And why is “listening to a game” such an important part of the job?

In the latest episode of HOGmented, Alek Sajnach shares his journey into the role and gives us a behind-the-scenes look at what it really means to shape stories in games.

Join us for a conversation about storytelling, creative challenges, and the many layers of narrative design at Flying Wild Hog.

HOGmented is a podcast for anyone curious about how games are made and what it’s like to craft them here at Flying Wild Hog.

We’re a game development studio powered by talent from around the world - different skills, different stories, one shared goal: creating games players love. This is where you’ll meet the people behind it all: passionate, talented, smart, and just the right amount of wild.

They’re the ones who make this studio such a special place to build games.

We’re proud of who we are, and we’d love to show you why.

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CHAPTERS:
00:04:00 Welcome Alek Sajnach
00:01:00 Espresso
00:04:56 Were Hogs like Valve? (Bonus: HOGscars!)
00:08:12 What Alek found out in Hogs?
00:09:08 Punk Rock Band interview
00:12:20 Meritocracy
00:14:00 Illustration storyboarding, and narrative intuition
00:16:19 Hogs’ games: fun-oriented fat milk!
00:19:40 Creativity, frustrations, identity.
00:23:45 Listen to the game you’re making.
00:25:38 Game is an experience
00:29:13 Good and bad sides of growth
00:33:18 Flexibility and multiproject approach
00:36:02 Creative Tyrants vs Design by Committee
00:39:51 Creating the game fantasy
00:44:29 Evil West game fantasy
00:48:30 The academics and (mis)conceptions of writing for games?
00:55:40 Questions are better than answers
00:57:36 Friction and ideas you’re not convinced towards
00:58:58 Community quote (Jesse & Emilia)
01:03:03 “They didn’t think about it!”
01:03:51 Thanks and goodbyes

How do you direct a game? Brad Auty, Associate Game Director, shares his unique perspective on crafting game direction and pushing past the typical 'silos' of expertise. Get ready for a conversation about relentless drive and amazing opportunities he found at Flying Wild Hog.

HOGmented is a podcast for everyone curious about making games, and how we craft them here at Flying Wild Hog. We’re a game dev studio powered by global talent. Different skills. Different stories. One goal: create games players love. This is where you meet the people behind it all – talented, passionate, smart, and just the right amount of wild.
The kind of team that makes this place feel like the best spot on earth to build games.

We are proud of who we are, and we’d like to show you why.

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CHAPTERS:
00:00 Intro
00:52 Welcome Brad Auty!
01:47 Espresso
04:49 Brad’s gamedev background
06:21 Brad on joining Hogs
07:06 Animation and feedback
10:43 Reaching outside your domain
14:50 Becoming a game director
16:57 Building the right team
20:10 Management VS remote work
25:24 Advice for beginners
27:14 Game direction and IP
30:10 Working with Tomb Raider IP
31:15 Executing the vision and sustaining it
33:35 We’re leaving preproduction, or are we?
34:53 Development stages
37:15 Conversation with the game
38:55 The myth of vertical slice
40:26 Missing the deadlines
42:11 Art and struggle of letting go
45:34 Brad’s take on present/future of Hogs
50:37 Thanks and goodbyes