About the Artist

The name's Andrea Borchardt (pronounced “bore kart” for those unfamiliar with crazy German silent consonants), and I'm a red mage of game art and design talents. They say there's a fine line between love and hate, and I couldn't agree more when it comes to learning new trades. There's something about frustrating yourself over an ideal just out of your reach that results in a finer appreciation of the task once you've finally mastered it.

Once upon a time in my college days, I despised 3d software for all it's worth. Then came the class on character modeling, and suddenly it all made sense. It was a grand awakening to finally see that all those vertices, edges, and polygons could come to life. They weren't just a hodgepodge of primitives and modifiers—in an artist's hands, they became a form of life that inhabited a digital landscape of XYZ coordinates. And as a modeler, I was the catalyst that could start this life process by giving these digital beings shape and volume. I thought I knew what I wanted to do for a career: I was going to be a character artist. But fate had a different future in store for me.

My second epiphany of sorts arrived fashionably late: the day before a design document needed to be submitted for approval. I had previously struggled to grasp the concept of game design despite involuntarily being “promoted” to lead designer. I knew that my games were lacking, but I didn't know why. Perhaps it was the fear of failure clouding my judgment, or maybe my unwavering obsession with 3d art was still top priority in my mind. In either case, I wasn't happy. Then one fateful day, I made a decision: I would stop fighting the current of game design and learn to embrace it.

Funny thing about game design: it's nothing like character modeling. Models are static in their organized little viewports, eagerly waiting for you to move their vertices around in 3d space. You can rotate the camera and see all sides of an object at once. There are very few video games where you can see its entirety all in one glance (Tetris might be a notable exception). Instead, games are fluid, dynamic, and change each time a person sits down to play them. If it could be compared to anything, it's more like choreographing a dance: you write the steps and set the stage, but the results will be different each time a dancer (or player) goes through the movements you've created for them. Most importantly of all, the “dance” should be fun and intuitive for anyone who wanders onto your stage.

Video games are the most complex and multi-disciplined art form to date, and I'm proud to call the game industry home. If you're looking for someone to chat with about games, or perhaps you're thinking about adding a new recruit to your team who can wear a lot of hats, then feel free to drop me a line at Andrea@InspireRealm.com.