About the Team
Guillaume Boucher-Vidal
President & Game Designer
For as long as I remember, I wanted to make games. Before the age of ten, I was already making my own board games out of cardboard and I drew levels of my favorite video games. Then I grew up using map editors and RPG maker, when I wasn’t playing. Being a reject in school, I found shelter in video games and was reassured by a medium that rewarded tenacity, creativity and curiosity. Throughout my youth, video games delivered all sorts of positive messages and strong emotions. I want to be part of that, I think it’s beautiful that we can reach out to someone through games. In my mind there is no doubt: no other art form is as powerful.
Sadly, all isn’t fine and dandy in the world of video games. I have many gripes with the industry, most notably the toll it takes on its developers, but rather than just tell people how wrong they are, without actually doing anything about it, I’d like to lead by example. So I started my own studio and I will do all I can to elevate the company to a high standard, while avoiding the traps of crunch time and creative bankruptcy. I owe that much to video games, and I’m so glad I found others who share my vision. There’s a rough road ahead, as would be expected of any start-up, but I got the best team I could think of with me. These guys are all kinds of amazing.
Favorite Games: Final Fantasy VII, Legend of Mana, Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Disappointed by: Dragon Age: Origins
Pierre-Tuan Vallée
Lead Programmer
Working at Nine Dots is an interesting experience and I wanted to be a part of it. After the first month, I was more attached to Nine Dots and the team than I had ever been at other jobs. The work I was doing was more meaningful and creative than what I had come to expect from my brief experiences in other, bigger studios. I realized I greatly enjoyed working with a small team on smaller projects.
I was satisfied with Brand, but I was especially proud of the fact that we did not need to crunch to finish it. Crunch time is definitely the part of my job I hated most and I was happy to see that it was truly not on the menu at Nine Dots. The great experiences I lived with the team during the development of Brand convinced me to stay for the next project: GoD Factory, using the Unity engine.
Favorite game: Mount and Blade: Warband
Disappointed by: Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
Pier-Luc Tremblay
Programmer
I discovered my love for programming in high school with VB6. Then in college I took the Video Game branch where I worked with Pierre-Tuan and two other friends. We made a game that has earned us an award, the Octas, in a provincial competition. I had an internship at Ubisoft Quebec before graduating from college, then went to a university. I met Pierre-Tuan a few months before I got my university diploma and he told me about Nine Dots Studio.
They were working on Brand at the time. He told me that they might need a new programmer soon. I decided to make a leap of faith and see what it is like to be in the early years of a company. This was clearly the best choice I ever made. I love challenges and now that I’ve been with the team for 6 months, I’m amazed to see the great work we did as a team. The best is still to come, so stay tuned!
Favorite Game: Monster Hunter series
Disappointed by: Star Wars: The Force Unleashed 2
Etienne Vanier
Lead Artist
I have a college degree in classical arts and a university degree in computer graphics. Like some of my colleagues, I went through the ENDI, a specialized course that teaches video game production. I’m in charge of the concept art, the textures, the visual aspect of menus and the special effects.
I work at Nine Dots because as a small company, it gives me the freedom to be expressive in my designs. Of course, there are technical and gameplay limitations to what the art team can create, but such constraints can give rise to new interesting ideas we would not have had without such restrictions. Overall, the studio’s atmosphere is pleasant;
we can work hard and have a good laugh along the way. We play video and tabletop games together, which really knits the team closely. We also keep in contact with past interns and former employees and we foster good relations with them.
Favorite game: S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Disappointed by: Metro 2033
Gabriel Vézina-Thibodeau
3D Animator
I chose to work at Nine Dots mainly because of the team, the way we are treated (I can have a life outside the job) and the fact that my opinions and ideas will make a difference on the final product. What makes me stay at Nine Dots is the team. Seriously those guys are awesome to work with. It’s a team built around passion and talent. The games we make are our own; they represent us. I’m not working *at* Nine Dots but *for* Nine Dots, because I’m not the animator they need, but the one that they deserve.
Favorite Game: Company of Heroes
Dissapointed by: Devil May Cry 2
Pascal Maltais
Modeler
I first wanted to be a 3D artist when I saw Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children. It was visually impressive and I was able to see my favorite game characters in high quality. I then went to university where I learned rigging and animation in 3D digital art. I am now at Nine Dots Studio, working with a team of people who are all passionate and want to give their best and, of course, to create more and more 3D models; improving my abilities each time.
Favorite Games: Final Fantasy VII and Legend of Dragoon
Disappointed by: Final Fantasy XIV
Rock Mercier
Game Designer
What drew me towards Nine Dots Studio is the hardcore nature of their games. I love how you can always find something new while playing Nine Dots games!
I have a university degree in Graphic Design, but I took a turn into the world of gaming, working in a gaming store, then becoming a Game Designer for a miniature war game named Ex Illis. I've also worked as a Game Designer for Sarbakan Game Studio for a Short length of time, and finally, here I am working on what's gonna be the best game of all time, GoD Factory : Wingmen!
I always adapt rules and come up with house rules for RPGs and boardgames I play. I've been bending rules around and creating my own RPGs and cardgames since I was a teenager and will continue to do so as long as I'm a gamer, which means my whole life!
Favorite Games: Chrono Trigger & Final Fantasy Tactics
Game that disappointed me: New Super Mario Bros 1 & 2 (DS)