Alexandre Drouin

Today, he is a Senior World Builder at Novaquark in Tarbes, where he helps to create immersive and stylish environments.

He gives us an unfiltered look back at his early days, his formative mistakes, his ambition to create an independent game, and the advice he would have liked to have received when he started school.

Watch the video of his experience:

Can you briefly describe your current position?

I graduated from ESMA in 2026, and now I work at Novaquark in Montreal as a senior world artist. My role is to model and set up environments for the game.

In concrete terms, I interpret the artistic direction’s intentions and translate them into environments. I model the key elements of a scene, create textures… It’s a bit like being a 3D painter: you compose an image, but in space.

Since it’s a three-dimensional game, you can’t plan everything, but you try to anticipate where the player will go and create “vistas,” or strong vantage points, that allow you to understand the entire environment at a glance.

Why did you choose video games?

I think we have a real relationship with gamers. They interact directly with what we create. As a creator, that’s very motivating. We can tell them things through what we build. That relationship, which is almost like a dialogue, is very strong in video games.

How did you discover ESMA?

When I was 15, I came across some short films made by ESMA and thought they were incredible. I wanted to do animated films at the time. After graduating from high school, I enrolled in a preparatory course at ESMA, and was then redirected to the video game program, which was a better fit for my profile.

What did the video game training program teach you?

A lot. First of all, the quality of the teaching: our teachers were still working in the industry, so they were very connected to the reality of the job. They taught us how production works and how teams are organized.

It also confirmed that this was the career I wanted to pursue. We covered a lot of areas, including programming, which is actually very useful today. I can work on other aspects of the game if necessary, and studios like that.

One subject I particularly enjoyed was storytelling. The classes were very rich. In video games, storytelling is less linear than in cinema, there are a lot of interactions to take into account. But with a few tricks, you can convey emotions and elicit something from the players.

How did you find leaving school?

It took me six months to land my first job, and it was a great experience. I started at FarSky Interactive. It was crazy. I made a lot of mistakes—ones I wouldn’t make again today—but I learned a lot. And seeing streamers play the game I had worked on… it was a really crazy feeling.

What project are you most proud of?

My very first game: Free One. It’s a grappling game where a character is trapped on an island and has to escape. It was a small project, but it means a lot to me.

And are you working on a personal project right now?

Yes. I’ve been developing a narrative horror game on the side for four years. Everything revolves around light. In terms of environment, it’s really exciting to work on. My goal is for it to be moderately successful so that I can start my own studio and continue working on projects that I love.

Any advice for future students?

Hang in there. You have to be really motivated, put your ego aside, and stay curious. Curiosity opens a lot of doors.

Don’t hesitate to talk to professionals in the industry. Many are approachable and happy to talk about their work.

And finally, ESMA gave me a great education, both on a personal and professional level. It’s a demanding profession, but it can make you very happy.

I certainly am!

Many thanks to Alexandre Drouin for sharing his journey with us and giving us valuable insight into his experience at ESMA. We wish him every success in his future career and projects!