Interview with Sherry Floyd
You may be familiar with the art that makes it into the final version of a game, but it takes a lot of people to pull that together and polish it to the state where it’s ready for your eyes. From concept artists and world designers to character, animation, and effects experts, everything you see has to fit together and gel with the overall experience of the game. Who’s up to the task of wrangling all those artists and concepts over the course of the years it takes to ship a finished title? Someone creative. Someone organized. Someone awesome. In short, someone like Sherry Floyd.
Sherry’s official title here at Monolith is Art Development Director, but that only gives a vague sense of what she does on a day-to-day basis. Sure, it’s her job to make sure that the art is developing, but what exactly does that entail? Sherry is good at summing it up: “My job is to find out what is awesome today and make sure everyone knows about it, all while keeping everyone inspired AND keeping my eye on where we need to be two steps down the line.” It’s probably no surprise, then, that the job takes a lot of creative juggling.
Thankfully, Sherry is uniquely suited for a position that involves helping gather a group of talent and making sure they’re getting the perspective, support, and guidance they need. After years of working at Wizards of the Coast as an Art Director, she decided to plot her own path for a while and started a company that promoted and supported freelance artists. Soon the artists she worked with were securing contracts with companies like Microsoft, Sony, and EA on a wide range of projects. She was getting a lot of attention for bringing together such awesome people, and even worked at Sony before Matt Allen, the studio head here at Monolith, approached her about her current position. The idea of working for Matt, who has a background as an artist himself, was a huge draw. The opportunity to work with cool people on cool projects is Monolith’s real ace in the hole, and Sherry was excited at the chance to work with our team.
What’s her secret for fostering an environment where creative people are making their best work? “Maintain a strong, healthy culture within the various teams and across the company.” It makes a lot of sense when you think about it—with so many people collaborating on so many different facets of the artistic process, the foundation needs to be solid and trust and respect are key. Another key factor? “I’ve never known a team with so many ‘lifers.’ So many people on the team have been making games here for a long time, and yet they’re still scrappy, still eager, and most importantly, still Monolith.” Collaborating without ego is key, and that’s something this team does particularly well, regardless of whether it’s new or old blood.
The only regret Sherry has? “That I can’t talk about what we’re working on yet!” We couldn’t agree more, Sherry. But at least everyone can rest assured knowing that the look of this upcoming project is in very talented, very creative, and very capable hands.