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The GGJ Podcast brings the spirit of Global Game Jam to your headphones, with people from around the world sharing how they found their way into game development. Each week, Susan Gold talks with developers, studio founders, and festival organizers about the twists, risks, and side doors that shaped their paths and communities. You will hear honest stories about creativity, collaboration, failure, and the messy, beautiful reality of making games.
Beautigul Pixels | Lisette Titre-Montgomery
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Intro
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[00:00:00] Susan Gold: This is the GGJ Podcast, a show about the games industry, the people who make them, and the communities that grow up around them. I'm Susan Gold, a game education trailblazer and one of the founders of the Global Game Jam. Each week, we will be sitting down with a new guest, highlighting their own path and journey.
[00:00:26] This is a space for honest conversation from makers about creativity, collaboration, failure, and the messy, the beautiful reality of making games. So whether you're a young dev or seasoned, an educator, a student, or someone who just loves games and the people behind them, welcome to the GGJ Podcast. Take a breath, settle in, and let's hear directly from the makers themselves.
[00:00:49] Shirley McPhaul: This episode is made possible in partnership with the Global Game Jam, the world's largest game creation event, bringing together creators from around the globe. A big thank you as well to the Global Game Jam's headline [00:01:00] sponsors, Epic Games, Games for Change, and Xsolla, for helping make this creative community a reality.
[00:01:06] To learn more and to get involved in the upcoming jams, visit globalgamejam.org.
Meet Lisette Titre-Montgomery
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[00:01:13]
[00:01:20] Susan Gold: Hello everyone and welcome the GGJ Podcast.
[00:01:23] Today we have Lisette Titre- Montgomery she's an art director, she's a studio co-founder, and her career has spanned as long as mine. So it's rare that I get to meet other women in the industry that have loved games for as long as I have.
[00:01:40] And you started in the early aughts, um, with titles like Freekstyle, and then you moved to major AAA franchises like Tiger Woods: PGA Tour, The Simpsons Game, The South Park Game, and Psychonauts 2. Now Lisette is the co-founder and CEO of Cornerstone [00:02:00] Interactive, where she's building cross-generational narrative driven games, speaking publicly about everything from AI to creativity in the future of game art. Over more than two decades, she's moved from character modeling, which was her start to leading game art teams and mentoring emerging creators.
[00:02:21] Through her nonprofit and youth focus programs, she's also been pushing for studio culture where artists can actually thrive. Today we are going to trace Lisette's journey from seeing Toy Story, and realizing computer animation could be her career through her defining projects and leadership roles.
[00:02:40] And today we're gonna talk about her accomplishments and how she's thinking about the future of the medium. We're gonna find out what comes next for Cornerstone and what comes up next for Lisette. Lisette, welcome to the GGJ Podcast and thank you for being here.
[00:02:54] Lisette Montgomery: Hi. Thanks for having me.
[00:02:56] Susan Gold: I am so glad you can make the time for us.
[00:02:58] for listeners who don't [00:03:00] know you yet or haven't had an opportunity to interact with any of your work, how do you describe yourself today?.
[00:03:07] Lisette Montgomery: I would say my role and my specialty is that I lead teams through challenging visual. Concepts, and I'd lead them to execution and exploration. So, anywhere from challenging visualization of elements of mental health like I did in Psychonauts 2, to working on the first comedic RPG on South Park. And how you service at Art Studio and get the timing right on a joke, you know, that's a bit challenging. Um, and all the way to solving the pipeline problem that we've been working on at Game Heads, where we've developed our own, curriculum and program that is now developing the next generation of game developers.
[00:03:53] So for me, it's looking at really hard, systematic. Visual problems and, the [00:04:00] ins and outs and the way that we solve those problems from all the way from talent development, to execution and, and shipping. that's, that's my area of expertise. I like, I like to make sure that there's a fastest, most, healthy way to get beautiful pixels on the screen.
[00:04:17] Susan Gold: Oh, I love that. Beautiful pixels on the screen or the combination thereof. what was the moment in your life where you said, I love this, I'm gonna make this my living. Where were you and had you always been a creative? Did you know you were creative?
[00:04:35] Lisette Montgomery: Think I knew I was creative. That was sort of what I gravitated to. I think as an introverted kid, you know, wisdom, some imagination, disappearing into a book or a sketchbook is something that you just gotta naturally gravitate to. and so for me that's that's where I think it started. I've always been drawing, I've been sketching. I used to get in trouble for drawing in the back of the Bible at church. 'cause that's kind of where [00:05:00] my mind goes if you give me some free time and, and a pencil. and so I always knew as an artist, I didn't really think about it as a career or a role, until I was probably in high school, I thought, well, maybe I'll go into becoming a photographer 'cause my school had photographer program. and then one day my, in my senior year, a representative from Ringling School came by and it was just the first beginnings of CG. and so we were starting to see the first, uh, you know, Jerry's game and these really first animation shorts come out into the mainstream and Toy Story. And that's when I think my brain clicked. It was the mix of the left brain and the right brain. being able to be creative and then also be able to use science and technology in order to create meaningful content and tell stories. And I think for me, that's when my brain clicked. It was the mix of the left and the right brain.
[00:05:57] Susan Gold: I love that.
Early Years
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[00:05:58] Susan Gold: so let's take us to [00:06:00] your first job. Uh, was it Freekstyle?
[00:06:03] Lisette Montgomery: it was actually interesting. I found that job off of Craigslist. and so I had just moved here. with a PC that I built in two suitcases and I left my daughter with my mom and I was like, I need to go find work. And I saw a job offering on Craigslist for a 3D character artist, and that's what I wanted to do. So I trained for, and luckily it was the first job that I got. My portfolio was good enough, and then I was just holding on for dear life ever since.
[00:06:35] Susan Gold: I know that feeling, um, at that time, you find it off at Craigslist. There you are. What was the hardest part about those years? Were there other women in your team? What, what? What were the things that you found difficult at that time and we're just talking 20 years ago?
[00:06:56] Lisette Montgomery: Yeah. Yeah. It was just, 20 years ago and. there were, very few [00:07:00] women at that time. and luckily I, I had, my first studio with Stewart Mary. Um, she was a programmer and a long time game developer was, you know, take me into her wing. you know, it's a common theme I think for a lot of women in the industry is we find, a mother who take us under our wing and kind of guide us through from studio to studio, and Mary was that for me. and I found myself in a really friendly situation. So, I think it was great for me, page 44 was a healthy environment, and we were contracted by ea. so I wasn't necessarily in inundated in my first job in like deep studio culture until I took my second role in Tiger Woods where I actually got a job at ea. So I think it was a good way to get my feet wet in a safe space, while also being able to touch areas of the development that I may not have been able to add a ea. So I did some concept work. I did character modeling, I did some rigging, and I think that's what led me to being cross discipline and, and interested in that, and led to me having, our [00:08:00] direction of leadership skills across disciplines.
[00:08:02] Susan Gold: How would you define in those early years? Because if I recall, it was before EA wife, the deadlines, the portfolio pressures, what was life like?
[00:08:14] Lisette Montgomery: it's like the boiled frog. Analogy. You know, you're in it and you're just trying to keep your head above water while you know the temperature around you is rising. and so in those situations, you keep your head down and work because that's how you're told to add value.
[00:08:31] but I think also as you age and, and grow your career, you realize. That's not really what does it. You need to be a problem solver. So you start looking for areas where you can contribute outside of your, you know, named, junior role. and I think for me, I took advantage of those moments in the pressure cooker to play around in that areas again. So, being in character art, you're one of the first apartments to finish a little bit earlier, so I would spend those extra [00:09:00] time, not only like learning how to get my own content into the game and, and optimizing it, but then I'm also messing around with lighting and trying to make things look good with, the character, working with crosses of the teams like visual effects to get the character functioning and, and even adding, my own content, to move things forward. so you find ways to take advantage of the pressure cooker or you, you're cooked you know, there's really no other option.
[00:09:25] Susan Gold: but yes, you truly are. so we all run into problems throughout our careers. In the early days, were there problems that you saw that you were like. If given the chance, I know how to rectify this. And then how did you present them to those higher ups? Because, people don't like to know that they have problems, you know?
[00:09:50] Lisette Montgomery: For example, I think when I was in Tiger Woods, I worked on the character creator team and we worked on generating all the assets that were necessary for, creating their own [00:10:00] avatar. and there are obvious blind spots in being able to generate myself in the game was not possible, so rather than having the debate, I would just make the content and put it in the game. Argue with me about the free braids you got? No. Right. so for me, I just took initiative and then when there was a necessary conversation, you have to find like the right lenses to have that conversation with that person so they don't feel attacked, but you're also saying, from my cultural perspective or from my creative and technical perspective, these things are missing. so a lot of it is being able to have difficult conversations without coming off as combative. and that's a skill.
Becoming a Leader
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[00:10:40] Susan Gold: That's a very hard skill to acquire. Most people come off like a bull in a China shop. So, that subtlety is, something that I only wish I had. When you think back at, at that point, there you were a junior, you're working on moving up. When did you realize you were [00:11:00] actually a leader?
[00:11:01] Lisette Montgomery: That's a good question. I think for me, leadership came through the perception of my ownership. So people would see me step in and take over or help out or pick up the slack. Um, people respond to those who provide help without effort or very little effort. and so. I think one of the, my strengths as a leader is that I see other people, you know, and that builds a level of empathy.
[00:11:29] So, if you are struggling, I see you. I'm not ignoring what's happening, I'm acknowledging it. Even if I don't have the bandwidth to help, I'm helping you find resources. so I think being a leader, empowering my team and, and seeing them and their struggles and where their process problems are happening and where they to need technical help. And so I think for me, that kind of came from the team asking me to step forward. and I think that's a common theme. I'm an introvert and I wouldn't normally choose to be out front, but [00:12:00] I keep getting dragged there.
[00:12:01] So here I am.
[00:12:05] Susan Gold: So here you are. and, and, and to be honest, you do it with such grace, because I've seen you speak and I've, seen your work product and just know that you are always striving for the best.
From EA to Double Fine
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[00:12:19] Susan Gold: here you are at EA, Tiger Woods. You go on to South Park. At what point do you decide it's time to leave or it's time to move your role?
[00:12:29] When do you decide to do that? What are you thinking in, in what's happening in your life at that time?
[00:12:37] Lisette Montgomery: That's a good question. I think it's always a life lesson to learn when it's time to move on and like understand why you're holding onto something. Is it safety? is it because it's familiar? Is it because. You're afraid of what it's gonna take to stretch to the next thing. and since the industry is so project based and so trend [00:13:00] driven, you after every project, you're kind of like, where's my next, you know, north star? Where am I pointing the arrow? and so for me, after working on The Sims, I can see. while I had a stable opportunity for a career, I wasn't quite sure how the growth pattern would happen. And so I was always looking for growth. I'm always looking to stretch my skills. I'm always also looking for meaningful content.
[00:13:24] and so the opportunity to work on, Irreverent property like South Park manages to stay relevant, whether for good or for bad, they're gonna say what they have to say. and to be able to figure out how to enable that process through pipeline and tools and resources seems like a very interesting challenge.
[00:13:44] Susan Gold: So you decide to move to Double Fine at some point, and there, are you the creative director or did you start as an artist first
[00:13:56] Lisette Montgomery: I started as the art manager. So I came in [00:14:00] managing the arts team, organizing schedule studio, also driving direction. So I was really functioning as an art director. And then in the middle, like maybe or two in production, my role was changed to art director.
[00:14:14] Susan Gold: Now that's a totally different kind of studio. Moving from the corporate EA kind of, there are hundreds of people and a parking lot. To a smaller studio where it's much more of a family. How did you gracefully move into your role without you feeling like you didn't know what you were doing?
[00:14:38] What was going through your mind at that time where are we in your career?
[00:14:42] and, and are you happy that you made that change Also?
[00:14:48] Lisette Montgomery: I'm happy that I was able to work at a super creative studio, like Double Find. For me, it confirmed around some of the processes and methodologies of how I want to [00:15:00] work, because I was able to lead that team, Through like creative challenges, around very sensitive topics, and being able to do that in a graceful way, and also to technically build a team structure that's able to execute in highly experimental ideas.
[00:15:15] Susan Gold: so. What's going on in Psychonauts 2.
[00:15:20] And what was it there where you thought, I love leading our teams
[00:15:25] Lisette Montgomery: I think the fun and challenging part of leading Psychonauts 2 was the. Very experimental concepts that we had to very quickly, rapidly prototype. I was able to work with production to restructure the team so that we were more of a pod based structure. So we are no longer in department silos, which is just not how double fine works.
[00:15:48] I was able to convince production that we probably need to kind of restructure the team around a pod where there's a mix of disciplines, engineering artists, for characters. [00:16:00] concept artist, a level of designer, so that we can actually say, you know, Tim wants to do this very experimental, weird mental moment.
[00:16:07] How can we put this together really quickly? How can design prototype functionality while art is also figuring out? How are we gonna execute on this very, unique style, for this specific character's brain, for example. so a lot of that was figuring out like, how do you get a cross-functional team to execute, execute really quickly and make decisions quickly and autonomously?
[00:16:27] which is, the opposite of how it was very, it was set up, which is very micromanaged, big studio style with silos. So that transition was a little bit bumpy, but once we were able to prove that it worked, um, an E3, demo for 2019, which really very successful about a lot of awards, inventions, and really helped bring the awareness to the pro product and buzz, we were able to roll that off across the team. So a lot of my work is looking at process and structure, in addition to giving an overarching vision of what the game should look like and how [00:17:00] it. All those components need to be executed to fit together. so I rely heavily on my technical leads in those situations. and thankfully I had some really strong ones. like Jeff Solis and, Zach Bahara was amazing animator. And Rusty was, you know, a long time character lead. So those kind of really strong leadership,structures underneath me helped lead in both areas.
Keeping the Chemistry Up
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[00:17:24] Susan Gold: And when you're building all of these things, what are the things that you're looking for? Are you looking for specific skillsets? Are you trying to, you know, like you're in a kitchen and you've got this chemistry going. How do you make sure that all of a sudden, you don't put in a bad baker?
[00:17:48] Lisette Montgomery: You know I think that's a really good analogy, right? when you're in a kitchen, you can't have too many people in the pot, and if you put in the wrong ingredient, it could make everything taste sour, [00:18:00] right? and so a lot of that is one, making sure you have the right chefs in the kitchen with you. and then after that it's making sure you're putting in the right ingredients and figuring out what the recipe is before you get there.
[00:18:10] So it's really like, what are all the things that make this specific? Brand or this IP unique and those pillars and all the elements that we added to that game, reinforcing those pillars or are we distracting from them? So a lot of it is defining what the artistic vision is, and saying, we are in somebody's mental world and their mental problem is that they are a recluse and they don't wanna leave house, so how do we visualize that, right? How do you make you feel claustrophobic in a space? And so we work with level designers to figure out how that space can work and do some like Euclidean hallway. And then I work with the art team, to say, okay, well how do we make this Euclidean space, work as a visual element?
[00:18:54] So now you're kind of moving through an endless hallway that turns into a cake. 'cause the [00:19:00] cake now has layers. Right?. Um, and so where does this cake take you? okay, well, if I go through this little Kian hallway, then I add about this precipice where I see the environment that I'm now in. And so you're building the story while you're testing the elements that need to come together for that story. And then it all comes together. Then you tie that in with timing and narrative and, and cinematics. So it is like this constant cooking. And everyone's adding to the pots and you, you hope somebody doesn't get sour.
Mentoring
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[00:19:30] Susan Gold: Yes. and we've seen that happen, but you've spent a lot of time mentoring. You've mentor a lot of young people, and you speak to students on a regular basis. And you talk about tech and games. Do you try to tell them what the secret sauce is? how do you describe. preparing and being able to work in a creative industry, and especially when your mind is young and you don't believe that anybody [00:20:00] should stop your imagination.
[00:20:02] Lisette Montgomery: It's a process and I, but the first thing we tell 'em is there's no secret sauce. The secret sauce is you work your ass off. There's just no other way around it. And you show up, and you show up for other people. and so that's kind of, I think why we have such a strong program. people know that they're gonna have to work twice as hard to get half as far, and they know that they have to learn how to work together to get there. And they learn that from a young age. We start with a lot of our students from 15 and they stay with us till they're at college at 24, 25. Um, we can't get rid of 'em. and I think that that's a testament to the fact that they know that they are getting practical studio skills. They're building games year over year. They're getting an internship and support, they're getting wrapped around services. Like we help you get into college and college prep. and so, we are not just an afterschool program, we're really a community service. and
GameHeads
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[00:21:00] Susan Gold: do a little plug for it as well, because everybody should know that. You built something and you have helped your community. That is also one of the things that makes you so special is that you see immediate needs in, in work and day-to-day life, but you also can see other things in the community that needed help, and were there.
[00:21:23] So go ahead and
[00:21:24] Lisette Montgomery: yeah.GameHeadsOakland.org is an organization that we have been part of for 12 years, since 2014, where we created a gaming accelerator for Oakland underserved youth. Low income youth. So it's a free all year program where we train them with industry professionals on how to create their games in the winter and, spring semester.
[00:21:47] And then their summer semester they do an intensive where they build their first demo and or get their next demo, where we have a huge showcase where we invite industry professionals out, to demo their games at the end of the summer. [00:22:00] And then we release them on itch.io and other platforms in the fall, and we do this year over year.
[00:22:05] And our students come back year over year um, and now we're working on placement programs. We're, we have pipeline programs with Sony. we have UbiSoft we had a pipeline program with Activision as well. So now our students are getting hired at studios like ILM 20 students got placed in Sony, last year.
[00:22:23] and so for us it's educating and serving a community with the best of the game industry, and essentially teaching the next generation to work one, how we want them to work, and to work together. And, that's extremely hard to find these days as a team that knows how to work together.
[00:22:40] and it's happening at,an interesting time when we're having so many HB work visa problems. So we're seeing more increased demand for our students because not only are they learning how to work properly in a studio environment, they also are gaining like industry level skills. so it's been a really wonderful program to develop and now I'm growing my own [00:23:00] studio so that I can hire them 'cause I've already taught them how to work.
[00:23:03] and so now I, I need to pay them.
[00:23:06] Susan Gold: Well, I think that is a great leading to you know, you finding your own space and creating your own studio. You from your vantage point, you saw all these structural barriers for young people and that you decided to actually help is one of the things that is so admirable about you. I truly feel like there need to be more programs like this.
[00:23:32] I only wish I could have the. The bandwidth to do something like that here in Chicago, but I can see this being in every urban area. especially, I have a friend in Argentina who works with children who are in prison and they are illiterate. He's teaching them how to code and make games and you know, I just think there are so many underserved [00:24:00] communities that just no one is taking the time. And these are things that could help eliminate future. issues like, you know, being able to find a job or having the right skillsets. But the one thing I think that you're giving them that games gives people is that an opportunity to hear a whole bunch of different ideas and that they're all good and that they all can be shared.
Cornerstone Studios
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[00:24:26] Susan Gold: That's just an amazing thing. And then as you starting to build Cornerstone, why was it that you decided to do that? Was it something that you weren't seeing in other studios? I mean, at what point do you decide I need to do this myself? That's a lot of a headache.
[00:24:45] Lisette Montgomery: Yes. transitioning from our director to CEO has definitely been a very steep learning curve. but I think I am the better for it, I think. Me and my partner as a co-founders all came to a point in our careers. We felt like it was time. [00:25:00] my partner, co-founder, Raymond Graham and Marcus Montgomery and myself were also board members for Game Heads, and we all grew that program together. So we knew that we could grow a process driven system, with an educated workforce, that also can grow and scale. So not only is Game Heads Oakland, in Oakland. It's nationwide and we have a chapter in Hawaii and all throughout the Hawaiian islands. So we are able to build from literally nothing to a $2 million nonprofit with the help of Damon Packwood, our executive director.
[00:25:35] So we felt like this was the next step for us. It's like we, we know how to build a workforce. We know how to build teams. Raymond Graham is the former director of Platform graphics at Unity, so he is. Literally the person you send around the world to solve the graphics problems. And Marcus Montgomery, just recently left Microsoft, he was the design director, leading the production team, so leading design and across multiple products, in the [00:26:00] AAA space. So for all of us, we felt like we were heavy hitters. We had to reach the top of where we could go and the studio systems, and that our workforce was ready. So really the only problem we had to have is we need money. we we solve the hard part. Just need money.
TechTools of the Trade
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[00:26:18] Susan Gold: So. You've created now, cornerstone. What is your first project and what are on your list of things you wanna do as a studio founder?
[00:26:31] Lisette Montgomery: I think we started in Cornerstone with a question of, how do we make games the way that we would to, and for me specifically, how do we make games the way artists can to, and so when I got off of Psychonauts, I needed to decompress. I was really burnt out.
[00:26:46] and and I just didn't wanna even touch a computer for a while. but I wanted to be creative and I knew that would be a healing space for me. so I went back to what I originally loved, which was clay.
[00:26:56] and so I started building and sculpting. [00:27:00] clay, maquettes and characters, throughout my time off, and I just fell back in love with the process. It's, just getting your hands dirty and smelling the feel of the clay and then, forming a character and a personality, just really appealed to me.
[00:27:13] And I thought like, why am I not doing it this way? Why am I still doing everything in the computer? and then right around the same time you're seeing. All these new AI tools come online. You're also seeing the things like, your phone is now something as simple as your phone is now able to do a very detailed LIDAR scan. Tech cost, tens of thousands of dollars are now in your pocket. and I thought, this is the time for me to reimagine what creating looks like, not just for myself, but also the people that I educate. how can we change the inputs to be more intuitive? instead of, you know, picking up a stylist and picking up, up a lump of clay, and I found that that process is actually faster. I could build a character in a week or two and have it scanned in and moving, with the help of Mixamo [00:28:00] and auto rigging and, and tools. Much faster than my previous processors where I had to build a character,and get it all set up.
[00:28:07] And that was a, four to eight week process. now I can get something in and very, very representative and has a lot more soul, than what I was doing previously. And so we started doing a lot of testing and tools on these new and emergent tools that are coming online focused on ethical and open source.
[00:28:24] so we're doing, animation with Mixamo. we're starting to test inputs like move AI where you are, using your own body to do first blockout. You still need an animator. to center and, and push the, bounds of animation. and we're also looking at tools like Cascadeur, which is a really promising tool for, for, doing key framing and, and leveraging,motion capture.
[00:28:48] but we are all focused on reimagining what creativity looks like and giving control to all designers. I think the way that I AI is being sold is. sells data centers, but that's not how it's [00:29:00] actually going to play out.
AI
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[00:29:01] Susan Gold: So you, you spoke a little bit about AI. When did those tools start to feel more real to you as a part of your workflow rather than as a science fiction idea
[00:29:13] Lisette Montgomery: they don't feel real to me as of yet because they're not ready for production. They feel like experiments, which is where we're at. Um, everybody right now is trying to define a moving target. that's from the technical standpoint all the way to even legally. You're even seeing the, the. Ball constantly moving, when it goes to litigation.
[00:29:35] So everyone is trying to figure out where they're going to land. I think for us, we're always focused on artists and creativity first. and so we're always going to use ai, how we've always used ai, which is, you know, we've used it for defining pathing. We've used it for muscle deformation and machine learning, and this is, for decades we've been using AI in that way.
[00:29:57] It's always been used as a way to enable and [00:30:00] empower creators, and that's how we will also use it ethically. I.
[00:30:03] Susan Gold: Do you feel there is an ethical line, that's very clear, or is it still just a, a, like you said, moving target and nobody has an idea of what's actually ethical and not.
[00:30:18] Lisette Montgomery: I think there is an ethical line. There's also a legal line, and the two words that hinge on this ethical is human authored. And so that is the two words that the copyright office will not budge on. On good authority, they will not budge on those two words. So anything that is not human authored will not be able to be trademarked and copy written.
[00:30:41] That is also where I think the ethical line is. If you're using an artist's work to generate content, you should be paying that artist. 'cause you are generating it from human authored content and that human who you authored it should be compensated. and if you're going to be generating your own LLMs with your own work, then you know you should be [00:31:00] owning that work.
[00:31:00] and getting paid if people, other people choose to generate from that work. and so for me, it's cutting the artist out, devaluing the artist, essentially saying we're just trash and you could throw away. And that's a lot of the language that I'm hearing is one, not true, and two, just very toxic.
[00:31:17] It's more of. ask for permission later BS that a lot of these VCs do, and it just shows a very deep lack of understanding of how games actually come together and work.
[00:31:28] Susan Gold: No, I, I kind of like that definition, you know, that human authored piece is something that, resonates with me, and I like that.
Roles and Skills for the Future
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[00:31:39] Susan Gold: Um, what kind of new roles do you think are gonna start to come about, and especially for artists and art teams, what type of thing do you think as, is there gonna be an ethicist in, involved in development? What are the rules that you think we should start. Training for or [00:32:00] core skills that students should be thinking about.
[00:32:04] Lisette Montgomery: These are conversations that we've had at Dutchess as a studio, but also as board members and teachers at Game Heads is how do we best prepare the next generation of developers to what utilize these tools if necessary without them becoming a crutch? And I think what the problem is right now is that we're seeing a huge crutch.
[00:32:23] You're seeing the the limitations and the reduction in cognitive,support and over-reliance on ai. And we are also really focused on how do we make sure that our students are empowered by using it? Are they generating their own agents so that they can control how the tools are working?
[00:32:41] Those are the conversations that we are having. and for us as if, if you don't know how to fix the thing, then you shouldn't be building the thing. if you can't reverse engineer something you don't know how you've actually built it, then you haven't really built the muscles that you need in order to build something properly. and so [00:33:00] for us, we're focused on the one building things properly and then allowing the tools to support us with efficiency, or giving our students or learning how to run agenic AI so that we are controlling the exact parts of the process that we want to, and using automation where we get the most benefit, while also not screwing with that human author fact, because that will get you in some legal trouble, right? So those are the balances that I think we're finding right now, as we're all trying to define a new target while also trying to do it ethically.
[00:33:33] Susan Gold: So do you see Cornerstone five years from now, being the kind of place where. Artists are thriving
[00:33:42] Lisette Montgomery: I, I, I think that's where things are absolutely going. Um, if you look at the arc of where CG Art and 3D art is, I started at the very genesis of it. first Toy Story came out that the year I graduated from high school, when I immediately became involved. and I, I [00:34:00] developed, you know. Across multiple platforms and tools. I believe 14 different engines, as an artist. So you start to see where the trends are going. And so for me, I think what we're actually going to see is a huge appetite for original content in reaction to this regurgitated art that you're seeing come from ai. It only can do what it consumed, right?
[00:34:25] but. It's going to create a huge appetite for original art. You're and especially handmade art, you're seeing that coming up in the marketplace. games like South of Midnight that have a handmade style. Midnight Walk just came out was a huge amount of rewards. and everything in that game is handmade.
[00:34:40] um, Harold Halibut is a great game. That also has a stop motion style. then you're seeing a lot of, you know, social media and, uh, transmedia properties like Tiny Chef blowing up. So people are looking for authentic handmade content. We just need more efficient ways to create it and more intuitive inputs in order [00:35:00] for artists to have more control.
[00:35:01] So I think it's more of an opportunity for UGC communities. For example, if a really talented miniaturists can scan in all of their little, you know. Dollhouse toys. I would rather have that in an unreal environment than a bunch of randomly generated props from an ai, generator that has a mixed and uncontrollable style that I doesn't really create a visual language, right?
[00:35:28] So we're gonna start seeing this, like this bifurcation of these very AI slop low value, low quality. Content, which is filler, and then you're gonna see really original creators and the tools that they need developed. and then you're gonna start seeing people looking for very specific content creators and moving away from mass media.
[00:35:51] So I think that's why you're seeing all this consolidation right now. So you're gonna, it's gonna be very interesting, I think for Cornerstone as we are navigating. At this [00:36:00] new technical landscape where we're always gonna be on this side of what is gonna be the most creative original process. because that's what people are going to emotionally connect with, 'cause at the end of the day, our customer is still a human being.
Preparing for the Future
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[00:36:11] Susan Gold: I wanna follow that up with a, a question about preparing yourself for the next five years as a company and as a a leader and trying to design these particular opportunities for growth. What do you, how do you prepare yourself? What are you doing to make yourself. Ready?
[00:36:37] Lisette Montgomery: Mm-hmm. I think we're at a point in time where we're at a new. Epoch as they call it. Um, where you see 25 years of instability and then you see 80 years of like technical advancement and, and so we're coming off of the last. Height of technical advancement, and now we're at another epoch and [00:37:00] a i is creating that instability. so if we're the next, hopefully less than 25 years, you're gonna see a lot of overturn, a lot of unrest, and a lot of technical, advances and devolution happen. And I think that the way you prepare yourself is to, one, center your health and mental health.
[00:37:22] and then also try to find out what your North stars are with everything becoming, so unstable, um, and insecure. Everything's upside down.
[00:37:32] Susan Gold: it,
[00:37:33] Lisette Montgomery: All you could do is find that peace within yourself and your north stars and, and hold onto your values and what's important to you, and everything else you don't have any control over. So for us, we know what our North Stars are as a company and, and what we're willing to support, and anything that falls outside of that, we're just going to ignore.
Wrapping Up
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[00:37:50] Susan Gold: So as we wrap up this conversation, how would you say you've evolved over the past 20 some odd years? what [00:38:00] is the next thing you are looking forward to?
[00:38:03] Lisette Montgomery: I would say that, I've evolved in as a leader and I've evolved as a person who. Has become comfortable being upfront, and speaking up and supporting my community. and I think that that comes from a, depending understanding of my values and, and who I am here for and, and my purpose. and I think that that's never going to change.
[00:38:28] and so for me, I'm always focused on what can I achieve this day? How can I express myself? What stories can I tell? how can I execute on, this really great character design, for example. it's always figuring out a, a way to, to have stories and express yourself and, and to do that with, grace and empathy and to help those around you.
[00:38:47] Susan Gold: Well that is truly evolved and I'm so glad that you have given us your time and I truly appreciate it. I am so looking forward to seeing what Cornerstone is going to create [00:39:00] for us, and I am looking forward to being a part of your future journey. I thank you so much for your time today and I truly am loving what you're saying. It really resonates in inside and I hope that other people hear you as well and understand that the future is not terrible for artists. The future is for us to define, and I'm very happy to be in that same place with you. Thank you so much, Lisette.
[00:39:33] Lisette Montgomery: You too..
[00:39:34] Susan Gold: Thank you.
Outro
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