Ever wondered what it takes to bring an in-game character to life? There’s more to it than meets the eye. Beyond the visuals, every character needs to move with precision and conviction, something Technical Animator Mauricio knows all about.⚙️
When he first joined Massive six years ago, Mauricio had already gained substantial knowledge in technical animation and character rigging from his work back in Colombia. In his everyday work, he gets into the nitty gritty technical side of character creation, which is represented in some of his most recent art works.
The Wukula Skelsuit required a mechanical rig that follows the organic movement. During its creation, the main challenge was to make complex parts move naturally. The solution came down to close collaboration with Concept and Character Artists and carefully distributing motion across multiple pivot points, all while ensuring the system remained stable in-game.👾
With Tsulo and Mokasa, the focus was different. For Tsulo, it was about remaining stability in the creation of clothes simulation, layered garments, and decorative accessories. Mokasa on the other hand meant a challenge in making the heavy gear he is equipped with, move unhindered. Thanks to thoughtful iterations and small structural adjustments - like keeping the shell out of the way for the arm on Mokasa - both characters eventually got the right dynamic feel to their movements.
What all three characters have in common is at the core of technical animation – to build characters that work and are believable, not just visually but across gameplay and within the limited window of time. Introducing technical animation early in development and allowing for design and functionality to evolve simultaneously is key to a good result.💡
As spring is in full bloom in Malmö, Tommy has gone on his own Cherry Blossom adventure around the city. 🌸 From the bustling streets of Möllan to the calm nature in Folkets Park, everything just a stone's throw away from our studio ☀️
Our recruitment team and some of our wonderful developers joined together to meet with students during @thegameassembly where chats, goodies and meet ups happened!🎓
Students showcased their talent and we had great talks about what it means to be a game developer and working in our studio. A big thank you to everyone showing up and to our amazing team on site!🙌
A gunshot in a narrow city canyon rings out sharp and fast, bouncing between concrete walls. The same shot in an open grassland feels distant, swallowed by space. Designing audio systems that can handle both and everything in between is the idea that drives their evolution in Snowdrop.
One of the hands shaping this evolution is Robert, Snowdrop Audio Architect, who designs tech not just to perform but to scale and adapt across projects.
A prime example of that philosophy in action is Bubblespace, a system that reads the space around the player to dynamically mix ambient sounds. At its inception, it focused on controlling the player’s weapon firing sounds in the tight urban combat of The Division 2. When sound designers began using the system in unexpected ways to blend ambient SFX, Robert responded and developed the system to better serve their workflow and ambitions. It matured into a far-reaching mixing tool, blending ambience effects with changing environments like the natural, open spaces of Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora.
Another leap during the development of The Division 2 was Slapback, a system for sound bouncing around spaces like a narrow city street, inspired by the rich realism of shootout scenes in movies like Heat. Bringing the system to Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora came with growing pains: early iterations placed the echo points too close to the player, making things sound not quite right. Robert found a way to start sound calculations just outside the player’s position, letting sounds bounce more naturally while still feeling centered. By layering in early and late reflections, the result is audio that feels cinematic and grounded - whether it’s bouncing off city walls or mountain cliffs.
Robert loves seeing their tech come to life in the hands of designers: used, stretched, and occasionally “abused” in ways that spark entirely new ideas. That kind of creative back-and-forth is what keeps the system evolving; not just to meet expectations, but to continually reshape them.
A Christmas Party in March? 🎄
No, just some The Division-themed after-work-fun in honor of the game’s 10 year anniversary! Christmas seasoned décor, hot dogs, drinks, donuts, and a little Nerf gun target practice 🎯
Behind every stable live game experience is a hard-working Live Operations team. One of those who knows what it takes to keep Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 stable and playable around the clock is Live Operations Manager Jonathan.
Together with his team, he is responsible for ensuring playability and functionality on all live content and upcoming updates. No two days are the same, and the job is as versatile as it is challenging. A combination that suits Jonathan well. On a normal day, he can jump from the Snowdrop engine to backend setups, to planning and integrating new content for upcoming events and patches, all while maintaining the live build and resolving any issues that might occur – and the live aspects mean the tasks are often time critical. His role encompasses elements of production, UI, game design, monetization, release management, and more. Unsurprisingly, Jonathan’s unfailing ability to multitask has given him the nickname of the Swiss Army Knife by his colleagues. 🛠️
Before joining Massive just over four years ago, Jonathan lived together with his family in California. He has a solid background within the video games industry and started his career as an FQA tester at Sony PlayStation, from where he built up an impressive resume including titles such as QA tester, Assistant Graphic Designer and Assistant Producer at various studios in the Bay Area.
Jonathan is not only an expert on all things live, but he is also a true animal lover. Together with his wife and two kids, he is the happy caretaker of two dogs, six cats, 19 chickens, two ducks, and one chameleon (phew!). Should there be any time left after work and caring for the smaller zoo, Jonathan happily finds himself in the kitchen. He namely has one last ace up his sleeve – before joining the gaming industry, he worked as a cook for more than 20 years. 👨🍳
As one of Malmö’s leading game studios, our role goes beyond making games – we believe in social responsibility and actively support our community, helping keep the region a strong hub for game development. 🎮
We are a proud initiator of One Step Ahead, a semester-based program where we empower young people with challenges to find their voice and create brighter futures through game development, creativity, and mentorship.
By providing one-on-one mentors, education for parents, and regular group activities, we promote collaboration and create safe spaces in which creativity and individuality can thrive. ✨
Together with our partners at @skillswithin.se , @Kry.se , @timberglingfoundation , and @lbs_malmo we aim to provide tools and confidence to move forward.
