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Ten years of dreams, stories and many faces and names to know. I must admit it hasn\u2019t been easy to grasp so much in so little time. I know it is impossible to share all I want from so long in just a few weeks but it\u2019s been quite a bit of a nostalgia to look back and find myself surrounded with such beautiful and inspiring people.<\/p>\n
We started learning about Cesar\u00a0Bittar and Richard Flores-\u00a0head honchos magnificos, Phoenix very own core and soul; then it was Katie Hallahan and Weldon Hathaway representing our strength and drive, and now I present to you the two that I think represent best what passion and dedication is all about: Michael Fortunato and Aaron Light.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s get started with Michael, who is some sort of Technical Artist Genius \u2013 He is an actor, he can code, design, illustrate, cook and sing. He is some sort of multitalented cookie which sometimes doesn\u2019t even feel like it\u2019s real, and when it comes down to facts, he is quite remarkable and by far one of the most reliable and responsible people in the team. That kind of person that is not only up to the task to what\u2019s being thrown his way, he is dependable and resourceful to be there when anything else falls apart \u2013 because his talent is endless, just like his heart and kindness.<\/p>\n
Seriously though, I have got to admit that in 10 years of my career I have rarely ever seen anyone be as technically savvy and artistically gifted – usually one person is more proficient in one thing than another – but I don\u2019t know what kind of voodoo mystery Mr. Fortunato holds in his pocket that he is seriously just good at simply everything he does. This is probably why Richard and Michael have had the most endearing and loving bromance in all Phoenix years, they are practically brothers at this point \u2013 they both share quite the strong drive for perfection, this acute sense of quality and most important of all, the biggest of hearts. Michael Fortunato is like that one friend that simply does anything to help someone, he gives 120% every single time.<\/p>\n
Needless to say, because of talent like his is exactly why Phoenix has survived and thrived for as long as it has. People like that are as unique and special they are to find.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s hear his story from his own words:<\/p>\n
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Back in 2001, I believe, I was doing a search on the internet. \u00a0It was a long time ago, so I\u2019m not sure about what I was searching for. \u00a0I\u2019d like to say I was searching to see if Sierra\/Vivendi was going to make any new games in their Quest series, but I think I don\u2019t actually know for sure. \u00a0Whatever the search was, one of the returned links caught my eye. \u00a0It was a link for King\u2019s Quest IX. \u00a0I thought, \u201cCool! A new King\u2019s Quest game.\u201d \u00a0Until I clicked the link, I didn\u2019t realize it was a fan project. \u00a0So I started perusing the site and saw that the team was looking for volunteer artists. \u00a0I decided, what the heck, I\u2019ll send in some of my work and we\u2019ll see if they would utilize me on the team. \u00a0I got a reply back, I\u2019m not sure if it was from Rich or Ces, but they asked me to paint a version of the docks at the Green Isles, so I did. \u00a0They liked it and I joined the team.<\/p>\n
When I first joined, there wasn\u2019t really a game yet in place. \u00a0Ces was rewriting the story, game engines were being researched. \u00a0It hadn\u2019t been decided if the game was going to be 2D or 3D. \u00a0So, I mostly did some concept art and some art for the Four Winds newsletter. \u00a0Once there was a game engine in place, I started working on some of the textures for the scenes. \u00a0Eventually, once we knew exactly what engine we were using, I started painting the background textures or cleaning up the textures, lighting the scenes and working on some of the special effects.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/postudios.com\/MoebiusSharedFiles\/media\/monthofphoenix\/may21\/teamfeature\/mike1.jpg\")
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Now, I still clean up textures, light scenes, and handle most of the particle and weather effects in our games. \u00a0But I also am doing more modeling and cleaning up models, handling some simple animations (non-character based), helping to establish the look of our games (along with Rich), creating some of the marketing materials for our games (most are handled by the marketing team – I\u2019m just the overflow), building the company websites, and sometimes, designing a game\u2019s UI. \u00a0I think that\u2019s everything\u2026 oh, and I handled directing the voice overs for The Silver Lining and Cognition.<\/p>\n
I think the most memorable would be the 3 weeks (I think it was 3) that Rich and I worked tirelessly on the intro video to The Silver Lining. \u00a0Rich came down to my place (I was still living in New York at the time) and we barely slept. \u00a0It was a lot of late nights and microwaved nachos. \u00a04am was our cartoons break (I believe Gargoyles and King of the Hill) and then either back to work or a quick cat nap. \u00a0The two of us both had a great time overall and learned a hell of a lot about putting a video together. \u00a0I\u2019m still very proud of the way that intro video turned out.<\/p>\n