'Touch grass, read a book, throw a ball, get tackled once in a while': Epic Games art director and OG System Shock 2 artist says the best-looking videogames are designed by people who don't just look at videogames

Nate Wells, Epic Games art director and former artist on Looking Glass Studios classics like Thief: The Dark Project and System Shock 2, said in this week's episode of the Nightdive Studios Deep Dive podcast that the ecosystem of games artists where he started his career is extinct. In its place is a landscape of artists who are more skilled than ever—but it's a landscape where it's harder than ever to stand out.

"Young artists who are either new to the business or trying to get into the business ask me questions like, 'How did you get into it?'" Wells said in the interview. "And my answer is 'The way I got in does not exist anymore.'"