Goodbye Thomas Lee

Sad news: Game Developer is reporting that veteran Origin artist Thomas Lee has passed away after a battle with cancer. Early in his storied career, Mr. Lee worked as an artist on a range of projects from The Sims 2 to Final Fantasy IX. Later, he entered the business side of the industry as a development executive where he was fondly remembered. And his game career started in our universe!

In March 1994, Origin was staffing up to cover the unprecedented development needs of the Wing Commander III project. They were desperate for artists, TDAs, quality assurance personnel and more. One of their advertisements caught the attention of Thomas Lee's brother, James Lee, at William Paterson University in New Jersey. James applied for a job as an Advanced Graphics Specialist and during the hiring process ended up getting his brother the same job on the strength of his experience with ALIAS.

The Lees' job was to help build the huge amount of textured 3D models that would populate Wing Commander III's missions. That meant building everything from spaceships to tanks to storage containers and skyscrapers… and building them under the extreme technical limitations of Wing Commander III's early 3D engine. Using the processes and techniques that Paul Steed had developed for Strike Commander and operating with the new style for Wing Commander developed by project art director Chris Douglas, Origin's team of "graphic specialists" worked endless miracles to build a new world.

The entire process was a learning experience. No one was doing real time textured 3D in games, no one was putting the amount of assets into a game that Wing Commander III needed. In the process, the young team members developed a set of first-in-the-industry skills that would propel their careers forward for years. Many would later refer to the experience as "Origin University". Thomas Lee seemed to recognize that, happily remembering those early days when sharing George Oldziey's orchestral project on Facebook:

Our condolences to Mr. Lee's family and friends, this is a true loss. We will close by noting that he lives on in a small way you wouldn't consider: he's credited alongside several other members of the Wing Commander III art team as an interior artist in the Victory Streak manual… which is presented in universe! That means that there's always going to be another Thomas Lee working on art aboard the TCS Victory six hundred years from now. And through that–and his work–we'll keep his memory alive.