Meet Caitlin Lomax — The Producer of Guild of Guardians
We’re on a mission to onboard hundreds of millions of gamers into digital ownership via NFTs, by building the world’s most popular mobile RPG where players can turn their passion for gaming into real assets.
It’s a bold ambition, and bold ambitions require relentless focus, teamwork and some of the best talents in the industry. In this ‘Meet the Team’ series, we take a behind the scenes look at the team who are passionately building and spearheading the next frontier of gaming.
We might be biased, but there’s something very special about Guild of Guardian’s Producer, Caitlin Lomax.
One way to describe her would be — An ambidextrous chameleon with all the layers of an onion. Or, as some of our community members would say — ‘The Swiss army knife’. With a plethora of ever-surprising skills, blended with technical competence and production management experience, we’d say she’s pretty damn unique. A creative and strategic problem solver, Caitlin is driven by finding the best possible solution for all team members, with the Guild of Guardians community top of mind.
Caitlin, tell us about yourself…
Hiiiii, I’m Caitlin, the Producer of Guild of Guardians!
I grew up in Bunbury, Western Australia until I was 17 and moved to Sydney where I started a crazy journey as a Model, an adventure that brought me to places like New York, Japan, and Paris. For more than seven years, I was part of this sometimes weird, sometimes exciting and always challenging world of fashion — but it never overshadowed my love for IT, programming and game development. So I returned back to that and became a Producer at a VR and Animation studio, Red Cartel.
Since then I’ve produced a range of games, virtual production and digital projects for Traffik, CHE Proximity, The Social Lab, Mod Studio and eventually even founded my own AR/VR studio, INTR, in early 2021, which is still up and running well — but managed by my own producer, as my focus is now 100% on Guild of Guardians.
Another passion of mine is empowering/supporting girls and women in games and tech, as well as improving the standards of IT education and relevant courses in my WA home base. I firmly believe that we need broad and easily accessible ways to learn and discover, experiment and level up for our youth all across Australia. Especially in regional areas.
You built your very first game when you were just 13 years old. What is it about game development that you love?
I’ve always been addicted to games. I learnt to code and made my first game when I was 13 because I was completely addicted to The Sims. I didn’t just play it though, I used to mod it and make all my own custom things for the game! My Dad thankfully realised I was doing something cool and brought me a coding book. He got it with the intention that if I wanted to play The Sims I had to do a few hours of learning to code.
I actually loved learning to code! I finished the whole book in a weekend!!
I really just love making things.
You’ve been dubbed the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ because of your diverse skillset and varied life experiences. How does your experience as an international model serve you as a producer for Guild of Guardians?
I would say resilience and the ability to deal with new and unknown situations play a role here. In modelling, you often fly in and get ready to go, in a short timeframe, against high expectations. Dealing with stressful and unexpected situations is part of that lifestyle, and while producing Guild of Guardians is for sure less stressful, I have to expect the unexpected daily. Keeping a cool mind while dealing with unforeseen issues is critical.
Having seen the world and lived in several different countries and cultures is also a valuable background when working with an International team scattered all around the world.
It’s no secret that you are passionate about the Metaverse. What is it specifically about the Metaverse that excites you?
I was going to say that it’s a new way to interact with people and experiences but it’s really not. I think it’s a more defined set of ways we interact with the digital world/extension of what we currently do (playing games, buying things online, social filters, VR etc). It all ties into the definition of web3. We aren’t just reading and writing when we interact with these digital elements but we also now have the layer of ownership.
Instead of consuming something designed, developed and sold by companies for passive customers, everything is being developed, expanded and experienced as a collective.
What does a day in the life of Caitlin Lomax, Producer of Guild of Guardians look like?
Actually, I get up early — really early most of the time, as I work Sydney hours but live in Bunbury, WA, which is three hours behind. This means I usually get up at 5:30 AM, have my morning coffee, enjoy a few cuddles with Roxie (my Pomeranian) and then I jump into Slack and Jira to start my workday. After our morning huddle I am usually in planning sessions or meetings, in the afternoon (still Sydney time, so closer to my lunch) we have engineering standups and in between, I work on solving problems that have been raised or support my colleagues in other areas of the game. The time difference to Sydney then allows me to go for a walk or hit the gym before we meet with our mobile developers (Stepico) in the evening. The evening is for relaxing, chilling or getting creative — and more cuddles with Roxie.
What is your favourite part about building Guild of Guardians?
The Team! — We have such a diverse team with so different backgrounds working towards a common goal! A mix of veteran game developers, Cryptonatives, economy wizards, design gurus and marketing experts; people from so many different countries and cultural backgrounds and yet it feels like a harmonic group united in our vision and ways of thinking. We support each other, learn from each other, empower each other and fill each other's gaps. Perfect synergy!
The Community! — Our community feels quite different from many others in the web3 space. We are all in this together, not for short gains, but for the long run. Our director Derek once mentioned it is a marathon, not a sprint — and I think that nails it. The level of engagement and enthusiasm, the joy of being part of an exciting journey, vibes through our community and the feedback from the Closed Alpha were amazing validation of our work. I think it’s the community that brings out the best in the team, motivating us to go above and beyond with Guild of Guardians.
There’s so much buzz around the fashion industry and the Metaverse right now. What kind of impact do you think the Metaverse will have on the fashion industry in 5 years?
All these virtual worlds that are popping up give brands an opportunity to engage with their audience. The average time consumers are spending interacting with brands virtually is rising and playing a significant role in brand awareness and connection.
With the way that technology is evolving, It’s hard to guess where it will be in 5 years. Especially as we move towards more community-driven projects and platforms — we just don’t know what crazy ways people are going to use the tools!
However, if I was going to guess, there are going to be a lot more augmented try-ons for real-life fashion pieces (studies already show that ecom products with AR/3D models have a 97% higher conversion rate). Digital Fashion marketplaces are going to grow (Deloitte predicts that customer demand will surpass $55 billion by 2030). There will be a stronger link between owning a garment for your avatar in your digital world and owning it in real life.
Besides Guild of Guardians of course, what games are you currently playing?
I have so many on the go at the moment! I love blocking out a whole day for a Civilization 6 session or getting my best Pirate voice out for some Sea of Thieves.
I recently got back into Destiny 2 again as well, so grinding that a fair bit.
Also, it’s not exactly a game, but I was recently introduced to the Early Access version of GameGuru Max and I am now playing around with it in my spare time. While being rough as expected for an Early Access and not a professional game engine for larger teams, the gamified and accessible way of designing games is interesting.
How can people follow you?
Twitter: @luvkattt_lomax
Website: caitlinlomax.com
We hope you enjoyed getting to know the Producer of Guild of Guardians, Caitlin Lomax. Stay tuned for the next edition to learn more about the people behind the game, Guild of Guardians.
Until next time, Guardians.
