What is the Ubisoft Quebec Experience?

Nate LaMartina can’t quite believe what just hit him. It’s lunchtime on Friday and he’s spent the past 48 hours “getting to know” his future hometown of Quebec City. Except “getting to know” Quebec City with Ubisoft isn’t just a matter of figuring out which school to send your kids to, deciding where to buy your groceries and learning the quickest route to the studio in the morning.

For the past two days, LaMartina has lived the “Ubisoft Quebec Welcome Experience” – an accelerated version of the very best of life in Quebec City, including a helicopter ride, limousine trips, the Festival d’été de Québec (one of Canada’s biggest live music events) and going on stage in front of tens of thousands of people. He’s even ticked off one of the most ambitious items on his bucket list – skydiving. You can check out the full experience in the video below:

“It’s been a crazy week that has left me exhausted,” LaMartina told us. “It was incredible!” Originally from the US, Nate grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Having worked on a mod project in college called COR, a Transformers-type mod for Unreal, he started work as a character artist at Mythic Entertainment back in 2005 and has spent the past ten years building his expertise at various studios across North America, most recently with BioWare.

LaMartina’s “Ubisoft Quebec Welcome Experience” highlights how much Quebec City has to offer for videogame industry experts who are looking for a new challenge in a new location. Although he was already excited about joining the team as Assistant Art Director, LaMartina admits that he did have some reservations when it came to the big move, for which he’ll be accompanied by his wife and four children.

“After five years with BioWare in Edmonton, I had wanted to head back East for a while, but it needed to be the right opportunity,” he explains. “Quebec City has its own special charm, and Ubisoft Quebec ticked all the boxes. The studio has great values, it’s working on exciting projects and it’s a place where I know I can continue to grow my own career and expertise.”

LaMartina adds, “The team has been just great; they’ve really taken me and my family seriously. They didn’t just think about me moving here in relation to my work life, but my personal life outside the studio too. I really appreciate that.”

Joining a new company doesn’t usually involve such a demanding (or exciting) introduction period, but to mark LaMartina’s arrival, Ubisoft Quebec didn’t do things by halves. The studio is in the throes of one of its biggest years ever – Assassin’s Creed Syndicate, which Ubisoft Quebec is taking the lead on, will be released this October and the studio is also celebrating its ten year anniversary.

“We’ve grown a lot in the past few of years, but we’re determined to stay faithful to our roots,” explains Andrée Cossette, Executive Director of HR & Communications at the studio. “Creative, ambitious, friendly: Nate fits perfectly with our values. It’s so important to make new team members feel like part of our family, so they can thrive as soon as they get here. Nate’s arrival coincides with so many great studio milestones that we really wanted to pull out all the stops and show him a good time. It seems to have worked!”

So once he’s all settled in, what is Nate hoping to achieve at the studio? “There’s so much cool stuff already being done at the studio,” he says. “I’m looking forward to making my own mark, and doing more great things together. I want to help the studio grow, and the company too.”

Bienvenue chez Ubisoft, Nate. À très bientôt!

You can keep a lookout for more from Ubisoft Quebec here on the UbiBlog.

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