WHO WE ARE AS A STUDIO
Steel Wool Studios, AKA Steel Wool Games is an independent studio of 20-ish superstars based in Oakland, CA. We create games. Sounds simple but it is a little more complex. We create games for entertainment as well as create games for enterprise projects. What does that mean? We use our game-making skills to both make games for fun but also to help in different areas such as Virtual Training and Virtual Therapy. Games are a universal language that has so many applications across the world and across different mediums. It is a common thread that binds us together and allows us to use our passion to help make others happy.
Fortified by veterans of Pixar, Midway, HTC, Intel, and Telltale Games who bring decades of experience in collaboration with an insanely talented crew of artists and engineers looking to help define the next decade of gaming. We’re so lucky to be able to work together and share a vision of what we want Steel Wool Studios to be.
MEET OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM
ANDREW DAYTON
CEO
Andrew Dayton is a 12-year veteran Senior Technical Director at Pixar Animation. Andrew worked on such films as The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Toy Story 3, Brave, Inside Out, Monster’s University and numerous Shorts. While at Pixar, Andrew helped design the asset management system and earned a Co-Patent for an advanced 3D modeling technique. Andrew has taught and lectured at Pixar, NYU, LEGO - Denmark, Game Developer Conference SF, School of Visual Arts, California College of the Arts, Pratt Institute, Parsons School of Design, Animation Workshop – Viborg Denmark, among other schools and companies.
JASON “JTOP” TOPOLSKI
Creative Director
Greetings program. I am Jason Topolski, the Co-Founder/Creative Director at Steel Wool Studios. Prior to Steel Wool, I worked at Pixar Animation Studios from 2000-2014 followed by two years at Telltale Games (Minecraft Story Mode and Tales from the Borderlands). I generally answer to “jtop” which was my login name when I joined Pixar in 2000. It stuck.
My role as Creative Director includes, but is not limited to:
CONCEPTS: I stay up late devising story and game ideas on post its, graph paper, note pads, and napkins.
WRITING: I write production dialogue as well as recording scripts for our voice sessions.
ACTING: I record my own temp “scratch” or placeholder dialogue during production prior to casting and recording the final voice actors. I am one of our studio voice directors.
STORYBOARDING: They aren’t great, but my rough, poorly drawn storyboards help me get my weirdo ideas out.
REVIEWS: Art, Design, Animation, Audio reviews. Play game builds and give notes/direction to departments.
GAMING: I play a LOT of tabletop and console games. We work remotely, so in my spare time I mostly play on console since it’s in a different chair with a different monitor in a different corner of the room. It’s almost like I am not still at work.
I basically have Rob McElhenney’s job on Mythic Quest.
My fave fnaf animatronic:
I have to pick two for very different reasons (HUMOR and FRIGHT).
1) Helpy - Helpy is a perfect example of Scott’s dark humor in Pizza Sim. He’s so happy and eager to help. Then your poor timing makes him miss that ball pit… (sad crunch).
2) Foxy - The first big scare I ever got on the original Freddy’s was Foxy. The game had just launched and I really had no idea how to play. I didn’t pay much attention to Foxy hiding behind the curtain. Then he came running down the hall! I watch a lot of horror and don’t scare easy, but Foxy totally got me to flinch!
Fun Fact:
My college theater background opened up the opportunity for me to become a “scratch” voice actor and eventually join the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA). At Pixar and Telltale, I did table reads, scratch VO, and a few parts that shipped, including Bossanova (Tales From the Borderlands), Ghostburger (Small Fry), and more.
EVAN LAMPI
Creative Director
My name is Evan Lampi, Creative Director at Steel Wool Studios. I originally joined the company right out of art school at its founding over ten years ago as an animator, but as the studio evolved my role has expanded to include game design and direction. As a Creative Director, my job is to cultivate and champion the creative vision of a project and work with our awesome team to bring it to life. Essentially, my job is to make cool things with cool people! My favorite fnaf animatronic has got to be Chica (in all her many incarnations) because just like her I love food! Let’s Eat! A fun fact about myself? I love animals - who doesn’t? My wife and I currently have three dogs and a cat which makes life outside of work a chaotic mess of fur and slobber, but that’s the way I like it!
Chase Hernandez
Executive Producer
My name is Chase Hernandez and I am one of the studio’s Executive Producers. I’ve moved around the Chicago game development industry for the past 10 years, finally finding a home here at Steel Wool Studios. While my passions and talents lie in production, I’ve filled various roles throughout my career including UX research and development. Bottom line, I like figuring out how to make things fast and easy for the folks working on our projects!
I oversee projects in the studio that fall outside the realm of the FNAF franchise. As an EP, my duties include: making sure every project has the right talent to make a great game, coaching and mentoring our production staff to drive efficient development, and getting every tool the team needs to be successful in their hands as quickly as possible.
Favorite Animatronic
DJ Music Man - He’s just so extra in every respect. I love big, gaudy spectacles!
Fun Fact
It costs more for me to feed my dog every month than it does to feed myself…AND SHE’S WORTH EVERY PENNY! She was born with allergies to chicken, beef, lamb, pork and fish. The only food she can safely consume is raw venison without turning into a puffy pink allergy balloon.
Alternate Fun Fact
I have the best, worst photographic memory. Names, appointments and pretty much everything a functioning adult needs to remember go in one ear and out the other. BUT, I can tell you pretty much every questline from the original release of World of Warcraft. Which NPCs gave them, where you needed to go, everything! Not sure why my brain works this way, but it’s a fun party trick.
Stewart Johnston
Head of Engineering
I’m Stewart Johnston and I am in charge of everything engineering related at Steel Wool Studios. I guide the engineering team to our goals, work on gameplay code, systems code and help build tools for the team to use. Before coming to Steel Wool I was working on software to validate graphics chipsets at Intel. I really enjoyed being able to work on something at such a low level, but my passion was always for working on games. Video games are the whole reason I went to school to become a software engineer. I still do enjoy the low level stuff and definitely love to take on debugging some of our more difficult to track down crashes. I have always worked on tons of game projects on the side because I enjoy testing out technology and features. I also like composing music and have played Clarinet, Trumpet, Trombone and Piano. I am certain I am not very good at composing music or playing any of those instruments. My favorite fnaf character is Chica. Lets Eat! Chica is always hungry and will even eat out of the garbage.
Ray McCaffrey
Executive Producer
Hello! I'm Ray, the Executive Producer at Steel Wool Studios, overseeing all things Five Nights at Freddy's. With a decade of experience in the games industry, I've worked in various production roles, developing fighting games, puzzle games, strategy games, and shooters.
I began my career at NetherRealm Studios, contributing to iconic franchises like Mortal Kombat X, Injustice 1 & 2, WWE Immortals, and Batman: Arkham Origins. Being part of a team that shapes the industry as a whole was an indescribable feeling.
Later, I joined Level Ex, a Chicago-based studio specializing in creating video games for medical professionals. Transitioning from games that depict violence to games focused on healing was a significant shift for me, both personally and professionally.
In Spring 2021, I joined Steel Wool and was immediately drawn to the team's love, passion, and dedication to their craft. It's an honor to work with such an amazing group of people who constantly strive to be the best versions of themselves. I'm incredibly proud of our accomplishments and excited about what lies ahead.
As the Executive Producer, my primary focus is Five Nights at Freddy's. I handle strategic planning, implementation, and driving the overall development, updates, and marketing strategy for the franchise.
When it comes to favorite animatronics, I particularly enjoy the various versions of the Daycare Attendant for their Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde dynamic. Additionally, although not technically an animatronic, Map Bot holds a special place in my heart, despite sometimes wanting to kick it into the sun.
A fun fact about me is that I'm highly competitive in games. Two of my proudest achievements were reaching the #2 spot on the leaderboards for Halo 2's Double Team mode and ranking #304 as a support player in Overwatch 1.
Brian Freyermuth
Design Director & VO Director
Hey there! I’m Brian Freyermuth, the Game Design Director/Voice Over Director at Steel Wool Studios. It seems like only yesterday that I was writing quests for Fallout. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of working on Star Trek: Starfleet Academy, Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two, and Minecraft: Story Mode among others.
As the Game Design Director, I help come up with the core of the game and oversee the design direction for all the titles in the company. In doing so, I provide guidance and make sure my designers have everything they need while fostering an environment of creative freedom.
As a Voice Over (VO) Director, I change into a different hat. First, the Creative Director and I review their script, making sure I understand what they are trying to convey and brainstorm any changes. I also evaluate auditions, listening for the best performance while searching for a unique character voice. In the booth, I provide guidance to the actors on what motivates the characters, emotional nuances, and their pacing. Sometimes, the Creative Director and I rewrite the line if it doesn’t fit.
Who’s my favorite animatronic? I’m torn between the Daycare Attendant with his Gollum tendencies of good and evil and the Endos going all Weeping Angel on you as you try to sneak past them.
Fun fact about me is I write The Sundancer Mysteries with my wife, Juliet. We’ve been together since a mortician drove us to prom in our senior year of high school. She’s been my partner in crime ever since.
LIFE AT THE STUDIO
On a typical day at the studio, we get right down to business. We do stand-ups in our “war-room” for daily check-ins with the entire studio and begin to narrow down the progress of different projects in order to keep everyone working as closely as possible with one another and to ensure that things are going as planned! In our meetings there is plenty of opportunity for ideas to flow. While keeping things organized is one of our priorities, we believe that every person here is responsible for their own creativity, direction, and collaboration!
At noon, we all venture out to grab a bite; whether it’s the local food trucks, a walk to Jack-London Square, or a carpool out to Alameda Landing, there’s always endless possibilities of delicious foods around us. In our down time, a couple of us love to head over next door to our neighbor, Old Kan Beer & Co. Brewery for an awesome meal (and beer, of course!). In the Bay Area we are always finding something new to eat!
Some of us stay behind and play a variety of co-operative or competitive games. Once or twice a week, we hold D&D sessions or movie screenings. After work, there are tons of fun activities to participate in. The studio is more than just a work environment, it’s also a place to be social and have a little fun!
Here at Steel Wool, we are a family!
