How do you go from playing League of Legends to creating the proton beam for Ghostbusters VR? In this episode, I sit down with Jack, a VFX artist at nDreams, to trace his journey from a university switch to a cross-country move for his dream job in the game industry.

We dive deep into the unique challenges and creative solutions of making visual effects for virtual reality, where every particle and shader has to perform perfectly. Jack breaks down his work on games like Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord and Wrecking Raccoon, sharing the secrets behind effects that feel great in your hands.

Where to find Jack:

- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-anderson-vfx/

- Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/jack_ando_son

Mentioned Links & Resources:

- Simon Trumpler's Texture Database for VFX: https://simonschreibt.notion.site/Textures-for-VFX-Database-2c72eccccfa84a0eae927d778ad746cc

Interior Night (First Company): https://www.interiornight.com/

- nDreams: https://ndreams.com/

- Escape Studios (University): https://www.escapestudios.ac.uk/

- Tharlevfx (Tom's Channel): https://www.youtube.com/@tharlevfx

- Wreckin' Raccoon on Meta Quest: https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/wreckin-raccoon/24256161264016457/

00:00:00 - Intro & The League of Legends Origin Story

00:05:05 - The University Pivot: From Props to VFX

00:15:30 - First Job & The Realities of Game Dev

00:53:18 - The Life-Changing Offer & Moving for Work

00:57:50 - Deep Dive: Creating VFX for VR (Performance, Style)

01:01:07 - Case Study: Building the Ghostbusters Proton Beam

01:05:26 - Stylized vs. Realistic Art Philosophy

01:22:10 - The "I Make the Fireball" Explanation

01:23:34 - Final Advice & Where to Find Jack

Key Topics Discussed:

- The real career journey from environment art to specializing in VFX.

- Stylized vs. Realistic VFX: Why he prefers stylized work and the freedom it allows.

- The Big Move: The realities and advice on relocating for a game dev job.

- VR-Specific Challenges: Optimizing for Meta Quest vs. PSVR, and faking effects like bloom.

- Creative Deep Dives: Recreating the iconic Ghostbusters proton beam and making interactive water in VR.