If you’ve ever wondered who the brilliant minds are behind our amazing games like Charming Ace, The Haunted Horsemen and The Newsmen, you’ll find the answer in High 5 Blog’s special column – Employee Spotlight! Meet Anthony R!

1. What is your role in the creation of H5G games?
I started off at High 5 Games as an animator, I also film some of our greenscreen sessions, and now work as a Technical Animator in charge of creating and managing tools for the artists so they can get all that high quality art finished easier.

2. How long have you been a part of High 5 Games?
I have been at High 5 since February 2014, so over 2 and a half years!

3. Name three games that you’re most proud of working on at High 5 Casino?
a. Out of those three games, choose your favorite game and tell us why it’s your favorite!
b. What inspired you to create the game?
c. Did the characters in the game come out like you had envisioned it would?
I was the animator and the director of photography for both Charming Ace and The Haunted Horsemen, and I really love the way those two games came out. I also animated The Newsmen and that game was really fun! If I had to choose my favorite it would be Charming Ace since my dad was in the Air Force when he was young and it was always something I admired, and because I got to take photos and film all the actors, I really got to be part of the design process from the beginning. One of the best parts of the job is that all the games we make are so different, I get a chance to play around with a whole bunch of different genres month-to-month so it’s always exciting and inspiring to start a new project, especially when it’s something as different as The Newsmen and The Haunted Horseman. I worked with an amazing Art Director and Illustrator on all those games and I think we really got the characters looking and acting the way we liked; we were a great team!

3. What is the hardest part when making a game?
The hardest part of making a game is that we make so many so quickly! Sometimes you get really attached to a theme or an art style but then you have to move on to the next one so quickly that sometimes you don’t get to do everything you always want to do.

4. What theme of games do you prefer to create? (Ex. Animal, Fantasy, Historical)
My favorite type of games are definitely the more science-fiction and fantasy type games, those are by far my favorite genres.

5. If you could be a High 5 Casino character who would you like to be? Why?
I think if I had to choose it would be cool to be someone from The Newsmen. I could be a TV reporter by day and a crime fighter by night! Also they have way better hair than I do.

6. Who/What inspired you to become an artist?
I got into art through filmmaking and through doing visual effects. I think growing up watching movies like Star Wars and TV shows like Star Trek and the X-Files really inspired me a lot. Movies definitely got me inspired to become an artist and they continue to inspire me today.

7. What is your favorite type of art? Why?
My favorite types of art are all the things I am personally terrible at. I love paintings and sculptures, I really admire the artists that can create beautiful paintings because there is no way I can! I do all my art on the computer, I can’t draw well at all!

8. If you weren’t an artist what other profession would you have chosen?
Hmmm, that’s a good question! Does someone who designs LEGO sets count as art? I would say that’s debatable… And if we’re being un-realistic, astronaut.

9. Which game on High 5 Casino is your favorite (aside from the ones you have helped create)?
Chicago is my favorite game that I didn’t have any part of at all. I really enjoyed watching the team behind that put it all together. It really came out great!

Which High 5 Games’ game has your favorite animation? Comment in the conversation bubble located on the top right of the blog post to let us know!