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Interview with Brian "ThriKreen" Chung

Profile by Jay Watamaniuk

I am fairly certain that the uber-talented folks at DLA would punch me in the kidney if they had a chance. The reason for this simmering hostility is that once again one of their number now works for BioWare. I wonder if a voodoo doll exists somewhere that is saturated with pins and is being slowly roasted over an open BBQ pit. BioWare has recently hired a fellow by the name of Brian Chung, a.k.a ThriKreen, who has become well-known for his impressive work in the Neverwinter Nights community. We caught up with Brian at his desk as he fends off both Stan Woo and Rob Bartel.

What is your background in art?

Brian: I think it started way back when my grandfather taught me traditional Chinese brush painting when I was twelve. On graduating high school, I ended up taking Seneca College's 2 year Illustration - Technical course in 1996. Interestingly enough, my first full-time job on graduating college was as a sys admin at a dot com, and after the layoffs in 2001, I decided that I didn't want to do anything else other than make games. So I went back to Seneca, this time taking their Maya course at the Digital Media Centre.

Where did the interest in doing art for games start?

I've always been a gamer, from when we got the Atari 2600 to when dad brought home an original IBM PC somewhere in 1984. I dabbled with paint programs and also did BASIC and Pascal programming throughout most of junior high and high school. The real interest didn't start until my last year in high school when I took part in the co-op program and was placed in a studio that converted architectural blueprints into 3D models. That was my first taste with 3D, and it was further cemented when I went to college and played the TeamFortress mod for Quake 1. Having a mix of technical and artistic skill is probably what did it for me, since games have various limitations imposed by engine design and hardware, I can best balance whatever I make to fit the requirements.

After finishing the Maya course at Seneca, NWN came out a couple months later, then the DLA project started up - and I never looked back.

What work did you do for DLA before starting at BioWare? What work are you most proud of?

Brian: Well, there's the trees of Solace, but I don't want to talk about them. You've already seen some others as part of previous other BioWare Wednesdays or NWVault profiles, such as Lord Soth or the Amphitheatre.

I've done quite a lot with DLA - the Gem Golems that fellow DLAer NexusJnr and I created and released in under eight hours. That was followed by the Elven Chain, and I think to date those are the only NWVault releases that I've worked on. Everything else has been held back for either DLA or the Premium Modules.

I also maintain the Wiki Custom Content Guide, trying to record all things related to creating for NWN and encourage everyone to contribute to it. Obviously, I do plan on starting one up for Neverwinter Nights 2 and Dragon Age, but I'm not sure how active I'd be in the CC community for them, as BioWare keeps me pretty busy here.

My proudest achievement, I think, would have to be figuring out and getting the SetPhenotype() function into the game. That opened up a world of possibilities for alternate animations, such as ragnarok_mr4's Alternate Combat Animations or, I suppose, some ridable hay eating quadrupeds.

What advice can you give talented community members who have an eye on getting into the games industry?

Brian: I think Danmar's forum signature said it best ("For goodness sake, you have to try before you can say you failed."). Never, ever give up, and realize there's always room for improvement. Practice, tinker, and experiment. Learn from your work and strive to improve on the next project.

And for sure, look at joining a mod group. You get to work in a team, which is always important from a social sense for building teamwork skills. And for mod teams, don't bite off more than you can chew, especially when modding for a new game engine. Try and takes things slowly at first, tackling small projects to learn what works and what doesn't, before moving onto larger projects (coughDLAcough).

Someone will eventually notice your hard work. It might take awhile, but don't give up and keep trying and improving. And most importantly of all, have fun and be fun to work with!

What are you working on now?

Brian: Well, aside from the DLA work, I've been making some models and combining them with ragnarok_mr4'sACP, mostly for their comedic value (such as an assassin Deekin in Elven Chain), and trying desperately to drum up the energy to finish and release all the non-DLA stuff that are in partial stages of completion (like a trout). I've also been harassing Stratovarius of the PRC to make a Sidekick PrC that goes to Epic levels.

On the Live Team, I'm very (VERY!) busy working on juggling all the art content for the current and next batch of Premium Modules. I don't think I can say much more than that, other than, if you haven't realized it already, there's a reason why they needed a tech artist - there's a lot coming!

Oh, and watching Stanley Woo slap Rob Bartel around with my trout.

Related Links

• BioWare Job Postings
• BioWare Neverwinter Nights Premium Modules
• NWVault
• DLA

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