“May the force be with you!” Livio Ambrosini, former student on Star Wars Outlaws

A well-filled CV

Livio Ambrosini is one of those people who prepares for battle ! When he graduated in 2013, this gaming enthusiast decided to take the tim he needed to polish his portfolio. “I wanted to find a job in AAA. When I thought my portfolio was good enough, I started applying”. It proved to be a wise choice, as he was soon contacted by Ubisoft Sofia for a position as environment artist, working on such exciting projects as The Division 2 and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. After 2 years’ experience, he moved to London to join Playground Games, where he worked as a lighting artist on the video game Forza Horizon 5. In 2021, he moved to Massive Entertainment – a branch of Ubisoft – where he joined Star Wars : Outlaws, a project unlike any other for fans of the saga: “I’ve achieved one of my goals!” explains the young man, his eyes still full of stars.

It’s a real job, and you have to believe in it !

Speaking to ESMA students last December, Livio Ambrosini stressed the importance of believing in your dreams: “I wanted to show my career path. To show that it’s possible to work for this kind of studio after school!”. Generous with anecdotes and advice, he helped the students to see their future, and to understand just how multifaceted AAA programming is: “depending on the type of project, the assignments change completely!”. He also gave a valuable insight into what studios are looking for during the recruitment phase: “Technical skills are important, but it’s above all artistic vision and the ability to focus on the rendering that counts”.

Avec du recul, le jeune homme réalise combien la formation généraliste dispensée au sein de l’ESMA a été une vraie richesse une fois sur le marché du travail : “Sur Division 2 ou Assassin’s Creed, le fait d’avoir eu des cours de game design, de level design ou même de scripting, m’a permis de développer une autre vision du métier. Grâce aux notions acquises, j’ai pu me positionner sur des missions que je n’aurais peut-être pas eu autrement.” Il a également salué les avantages du cursus généraliste proposé au sein de l’école : “Ça donne un profil particulier, un peu moins spécialisé […], mais justement une plus grande facilité à s’adapter quand on arrive dans un nouveau studio.”

Looking back, the young man realises that the generalist training provided at ESMA was a real asset once he entered the job market : “On Division 2 or Assassin’s Creed, the fact that I had courses in game design, level design or even scripting enabled me to develop a different vision of the profession. Thanks to the notions I’ve acquired, I’ve been able to position myself for assignments that I might not otherwise have had.” He also praised the advantages of the generalist curriculum offered at the school: “It gives you a special profile, a little less specialised […], but it also makes it easier to adapt when you arrive at a new studio.”

He too continues to believe in his dreams, and sees himself creating his own game in the long term: “To imagine that there are people walking around in a place that comes […] out of my imagination, that’s pretty crazy!”. See you in a few years !