麻豆精品

Skip to main content

Behind the Screens

How traditional artist Ingrid Aguero 麻豆精品 S07 麻豆精品 S08MS became an accomplished creator for EA SPORTS.

A portrait of Ingrid Aguero '07 '08MS with her passions. Behind her, there are brush strokes that represent her background as a traditional artist along with various immersive sport 3d assets and environments.

While most artists strive for their work to be featured center stage, Ingrid Aguero 麻豆精品 S07 麻豆精品 S08MS takes pride in her work blending into the background. As an environment director for the Electronic Arts (EA) SPORTS Madden NFL franchise, she oversees a team that creates immersive 3D assets that are authentic to the real world.

麻豆精品 S淓lectronic Arts is renowned for making great sports games, so from the very first day I was hired, I immediately felt the prestige that comes with saying, 麻豆精品 S業 work at EA, 麻豆精品 S 麻豆精品 S she says.

While pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a track in animation at UCF, Aguero toured the university 麻豆精品 S檚 Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), which prepares master 麻豆精品 S檚 students for careers in the video game industry. The field and FIEA 麻豆精品 S which The Princeton Review ranks in the world 麻豆精品 S檚 top two graduate game design programs 麻豆精品 S were a perfect fit for Aguero to explore her interests in technology and the arts.

麻豆精品 S淭he unique challenges involved in creating a video game alongside software engineers and designers really appealed to me, and I loved that FIEA would create this environment, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 knew I needed to specialize my 3D skills in this field, as I already had a strong art background, and it seemed FIEA would allow me to accomplish all of that. 麻豆精品 S

During her last semester at UCF, Aguero applied for a temporary full-time position with EA and landed the job after presenting her 3D portfolio work from FIEA. Fifteen years later, she 麻豆精品 S檚 now a leader at the interactive entertainment giant, which has had a partnership with UCF since 2005.

麻豆精品 S淲hen I started at EA, it really did feel like it was a smooth transition where I could add value and communicate well with my team, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 not only felt equipped with the skills and work ethic I developed at FIEA, but I was also confident I could tackle any challenges that came my way at work. 麻豆精品 S

Aguero shares more on her journey at EA SPORTS.

From Trash to Top Players

Aguero started as an associate environment artist at EA SPORTS in 2008 and still remembers her first assignment: creating a trash can for Tiger Woods PGA TOUR for the Wii console. A few years later she joined the NBA Live team, which provided her opportunities to travel to complete her work. Over the years, she 麻豆精品 S檚 also worked on EA SPORTS 麻豆精品 S NCAA Football and FIFA (now FC).

麻豆精品 S淚 got to scan NBA arenas using a 3D laser scanner and take photos of NBA players using a portable camera rig developed here, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淸I] met stars such as Blake Griffin and Russell Westbrook, to name a few. That was by far one of the coolest experiences I 麻豆精品 S檝e had. 麻豆精品 S

Fan Favorite

With the recent release of Madden NFL 24 in August, Aguero says the game is her favorite project yet.

Through its development, which happened in less than a year, she oversaw a team responsible for creating elements that complete the gaming experience, including 32 stadiums, team branding, field art, props, exteriors and more.

麻豆精品 S淎long the way I 麻豆精品 S檝e developed a genuine passion for the game of American football, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 understand the impact our visual updates have on players and how [they] resonate with them, and it makes me even more committed to seeing what we can do each year to deliver even better environments. 麻豆精品 S

麻豆精品 S淭he unique challenges involved in creating a video game alongside software engineers and designers really appealed to me, and I loved that FIEA would create this environment. 麻豆精品 S

麻豆精品 S Ingrid Aguero 麻豆精品 S07 麻豆精品 S08MS

Tech Developments

In addition to the responsibilities on her team, Aguero played a role in influencing the work of other teams such as characters, lighting and visual effects. Together, they must keep up with technology to use new and cost-effective methods to make gamers feel like they 麻豆精品 S檙e actually on the field.

麻豆精品 S淲e have access to a lot of cool pieces of technology that help with our authenticity goals, such as lidar (light detection and ranging) technology to capture exact measurement and surfacing data for our stadiums and props 麻豆精品 S and a spectro-photometer to capture the RGB (red, green and blue) values for the different colors of the stadiums, 麻豆精品 S she says.

The Cheat Code to Success

Gamers would likely tell you community is a big part of what makes video games so enjoyable to play. For Aguero, this is true from the development side, as teamwork is a critical aspect of creating video games.

麻豆精品 S淭he video game industry thrives on teamwork and collaboration with colleagues…, which leads to innovation, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淏y learning to communicate effectively and have mutual respect among team members, we can build stronger relationships and create a better game product. 麻豆精品 S

Leveling Up

EA SPORTS has supported Aguero 麻豆精品 S檚 commitment to continuous learning as an artist through technical classes, workshops and conferences. She 麻豆精品 S檚 also grown as a leader thanks to EA 麻豆精品 S檚 mentoring program, through which she 麻豆精品 S檚 been both a mentee and mentor. As co-lead of EA Orlando SOMOS she leads initiatives that expose students to career opportunities in video games.

麻豆精品 S淚 prioritize making time to engage with the community, aiming to serve as an example and source of inspiration…, 麻豆精品 S she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 want to encourage them to realize that they can have a fulfilling career with growth prospects in this industry. 麻豆精品 S