Hi Andrew, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Started working freelance in Austin, TX as a graphic designer doing artwork for rappers, clubs, and more. Was always into doing art and animation so I started Notion comics and began creating my own characters and stories. I ended up getting hired by Edge of Reality / Electronic Arts as the character designer and worldbuilder for the Sims 3 Pets in 2011. Shortly after, I decided gaming was my passion and created Notion Games LLC. Jan 2012, I released Up Up Ubi on the iPhone and in 2013 released Super Ubie Island.
Warren Spector, a game design legend, saw my work and awarded me with a full scholarship to the University of Texas at Austin to be apart of the Denius-Sams Gaming Academy inaugural class. From there, I was fortunate to land on the Forbes 30 under 30 list, featured by Wells Fargo, Black Enterprise, Hollywood Reporter, Screen Rant, Washington Post, and more. My game, Super Ubie Island 2, is in development and will be releasing summer 2021 on the Xbox Series X.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely has not been a smooth road. I’ve had to teach myself how to program, design levels, animate, and more. All of these things were done without any promise of success. Being an artist and having children to raise and feed made it much more difficult. One of the biggest issues was balancing doing freelance commission work to pay the bills and making time to work on passion projects in the hope of a big payoff.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the founder of Notion Games, LLC. I run the studio solo and contract out work when needed. But for the most part, 98 percent of all the work is done solo. I create the characters, animation, programming, and design. I have created Super Ubie Island 1 and 2, Sheep Herder Nay, worked on various projects for Bleacher Report, Food Network, Electronic Arts, etc.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Youtube is my best friend. I use it all the time to learn things that I need in order to succeed.
Contact Info:
- Email: andrewa@notiongames.com
- Website: www.NotionGames.com
- Instagram: @nin10drew
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotionGames/
- Twitter: @NotionGamesLLC
