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Fred Nilsson
The newest hire at the id Software, Fredrik L. Nilsson hails from Sweden, the land of ice and snow - or is that Norway? In any event, he's joining the legendary company for a little touch-up work on their Team Arena expansion pak, and then he'll be sailing full-speed-ahead on id's next game, the recently announced Doom remake. We had a chance to ask Nilsson a few questions about his past, present and future, to get a feel for one of the people who will be responsible for the look of what is already one of the most hotly anticipated PC games of all time.

Doomworld: First off, congratulations on being hired to id Software, and stealing the dream job that so many of wish wish we could have.

Nilsson: =)
Thanx for the welcome..
I'm glad to be a part of this great company..

Doomworld: When were you born? Where'd you grow up?

Nilsson: I was born in 1974 in the southern part of Sweden. I moved to the United States with my family (New Jersey to be exact) when I was 3. I'm still Swedish, but mostly Americanized. =)

Doomworld: How did you decide that computer animation was your calling?

Nilsson: I saw Terminator 2 when I was in high school, and just knew from that point on...

Doomworld: How long have you been doing modeling/animation work?

Nilsson: 8-9 years now. Whoa.. how time flies.. =)

Doomworld: Where did you go to school to become an animator?

Nilsson: Out of high school. I went to Vancouver Film School in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was a 12 month computer graphics program.

In 1993, after school, I moved back to New Jersey and landed a job at R/Greenberg Associates in New York City, where I worked on several commercials and various other projects. I did many tasks while I was there and I was learning the whole production cycle, and trying to decide what I liked best. Character Animation interested me the most at the time.

In 1995 I moved to the San Francisco area and was hired by Pacific Data Images (PDI) as a character animator. Some of the projects I worked on while there are:

  • The Simpsons (Homer 3D)
  • The Arrival
  • Marvin the Martian in the 3rd Dimension
  • Pillsbury Doughboy commericals
  • Halls Penguins
  • Kraft
  • And a few others
  • Antz (I animated nearly 5 minutes)
  • Shrek (Upcoming movie in May 2001)
Doomworld: Do you have any samples of your work online?

Nilsson: Get Antz on DVD, or check out the Shrek trailer. I have demo reels, but nothing online.

Doomworld: Why did you decide to make the switch from a movie studio to a game studio?

Nilsson: Well, I've always loved games. Especially id games. I've been playing pretty hard-core ever since Wolfenstein 3D, so when I heard about the new Doom and a possible opening for an animator.... how could I resist sending my demo reel?

Doomworld: What will your job be for the new Doom? Will you be animating cutscenes, or will you be animating in-game models as well?

Nilsson: My main focus will be setting up the characters (bones,skinning) and making them all move in whatever way we need them to, whether it's players/monsters in game, or cinematics. I'll also be working with Jim Dose so we can figure out how this new animation system will work. Currently I'm using Maya to animate, and it seems like a great system. So far so good.

I'll also be doing some modelling, but we have Kenneth Scott and Seneca Menard who are both mega modelling/texture talents.

Thanks for your time, Fred! We look forward to seeing what wonders you can turn out for the game we're all looking forward to...

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