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Dedan Anderson – Game Designer/Prototyper | We Are Game Devs
Dedan Anderson – Game Designer/Prototyper
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 11, 2016.
“Be Attitude For Gains”
What’s up, Dedan! So glad you could take some time out to be interviewed today. When I decided to do these interviews you were one of the first people I wanted to contact.
“Thanks Marcus! Glad to be here!”
So, can you tell me, where do you work now and what is your official title?
“Yep, sure, I’m currently at IGT as a Game Designer/Prototyper. I prototype concepts for the other designers on the team as well as design games.”
What are the types of games IGT creates?
“They mainly do casino games, both what they call landbased (which are the machines in the casino) and online. So slot machines and slot games.”
When we met years ago, at one of the E3 conventions held in Atlanta, you were a programmer, right?
“Yes, I started in the industry as a programmer, we probably met right around the introduction of the Playstation [laughs], so yeah I was mainly coding back then, I had an interest in design but nothing professionally until later. My first official design project was the Space Invaders remake or remix for Playstation and N64.”
You’ve been in the game industry a long time.
“It doesn’t seem like it but I guess it has been, I came in at the tail end of the 16-bit era, I got to work on Genesis and Sega CD, right before Sony entered the market. So yeah it was a while ago.” [Laughs]
“I really started before that on the Jaguar with a little start-up some friends and I had, but it didn’t really come together.” [Laughs]
Dedan’s mobile game, I Heart Alien
That’s not unheard of for many startup game companies. So, I’m sure you have many titles that you’ve worked on in your career. Can you list some of the ones that have been released?
“Sure, I have to plug my mobile game I Heart Alien, [laughs] but let’s see… We worked on Dance Central 3 together! That was a fun project, man! And some highlights would be NBA 2K4 for Visual Concepts, I mentioned Space Invaders for Activision, Splatterhouse for Namco and Golden Axe: Beast Rider for Sega. Also Monster Force on GBA for Digital Eclipse/Universal Interactive.”
I know that is a truncated list from all the games you’ve worked on. One, that I recall that you didn’t mention was that one Monkey King game for the original Playstation.
“Monkey Hero for BMG interactive which later became Rock Star. [Laughs] That was one of my first titles. I worked on their collision system and some of their tools, if I remember correctly. Blam was a cool company (they were the developer), full of game fanatics, they used to buy import games every week (or almost every week), they had a neo-geo set up as well. I got exposed to a ton of games there! Very pivotal experience… very educational! [Laughs] Crazy and fun place. [Laughs] This was back when the Saturn was out, so we got to see some really obscure titles.. like Umihara Kawase (which was on Playstation), and Dodonpachi and Silhouette Mirage, list goes on and on…”
So, let’s step back a bit and talk about your journey into games. Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in NYC, Harlem to be precise. My first intro to games was probably Pong, if I remember correctly, the one you’d hook up to your TV… and then it was Space Invaders and arcade games of that time, Asteroids, Scramble, Defender etc… I was really into those… I always wanted to know how they were made… around the same time I had started playing around with BASIC, some of the kids at my school had computers, TI’s and were doing LOGO, but my father had an old Commodore Pet so I was doing BASIC. Writing in listings from COMPUTE! magazine and stuff…”
“But yeah, mainly arcade games drew me into the industry.”
That’s a good draw. I had a similar experience. Did you have a computer in your home growing up?
“My father had one, I would go there weekends and plug away at the listings for hours on end… some of the games would be fun but they were rarely graphical… that came a bit later when the Apple II+ was out. My uncle bought one as a present and that was a wrap. [Laughs] Graphics!”
“As a designer, I think you have to be able to analyze experiences and communicate your concepts.”
Graphics! So, did you try any coding in those early days at home? When did you really get exposed to serious programming. College?
“I was writing code on the Apple II+ but it was mainly BASIC, I couldn’t find any information on Assembly, which is what all the games were written in back then, until later. I was very amateur, I would say now, until I went to college, then I learned a bunch about algorithms, data structures and the like. So I would say in college I went from hacker to programmer or somewhere in the middle, to be honest.” [Laughs]
Where did you go to college?
“I went to UC Berkeley and studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Learned a ton! Most of it I forgot.” [Laughs]
We’ve all forgotten stuff from college. UC Berkeley is a great school.
“Yeah, it seemed good, I don’t have anything to compare it to, [laughs] but I learned a ton.”
True. So, how did you journey from Berkeley into video game development? Also, why games and not bank databases or something?
“It’s always been games. I’ve always had a fascination with them and it’s been what I’ve wanted to do since I saw Pong, Space Invaders, Defender, etc… Bank databases probably would have been more stable [laughs] though but i don’t find that compelling.”
“From Berkeley I joined some friends in their startup, they had some Jaguar dev kits and were working on a mech-game concept, they wanted me to help out with music because I DJ’d but they didn’t know i could program too. I was like, I want to help program it! And so that’s how I got started…”
Golden Axe: Beast Rider
How fortuitous! So, did they let you program? How did you meet these friends? Where they classmates?
“Yeah, one went to Cal but was further ahead so I never had him in class, the other was an artist. They did let me code, we were doing voxels and I helped figure out how to do them.” [Laughs]
Voxels?! That’s nuts.
“Haha yeah, well the lead coder, Darryl, is always ahead of the curve. So we were doing voxels using raycasting, they weren’t true voxels since they weren’t 3d cubes but it approximated them with the ray casting, which was what Doom was using to do their 3d rendering. Fun times.” [Laughs]
On the Jaguar. You all were looking for pain.
“Ha, yeah I think we were gluttons for punishment. [Laughs] Darryl was from the demo scene, so always had crazy concepts.” [Laughs]
So, how did you make the transition from game programmer into game designer?
“As a programmer on a game you are lead by the design, I had started to realize that some of the games I was working were being over designed. I was doing a bunch of work but the experience wasn’t improving proportional to the energy going in. Zelda is a good example of a well designed game, the early ones, the enemies weren’t overly complicated but it was how all those parts interacted that made it a compelling experience. So I started realizing this and got interested in game design seriously. I was probably always interested but I wanted to put my ideas to the test, so to speak. I hope that made sense.” [Laughs]
It does. So, how did you make that transition, did you have to convince someone that you are not just a programmer?
“I think it was luck. My first professional design was on Space Invaders, before I got on it, it was in disarray and not fun at all. This was a remix, Asteroids had done well, so Activision wanted to strike gold again with Space Invaders. One of the artist on the project was a good friend of mine, and we always talked design, so I think he suggested that I come in and help finish it. I came in as a programmer on the bosses but also as a designer. I came up with this color power-up system, where you destroy three aliens of the same color and you get a powerful shot that can take out a row or a column. If the levels are designed properly you can chain those power ups to take out the level quickly. It was a fun addition, highly inspired by puzzle games, of course.” [Laughs]
Very nice. So, fast forward, you are IGT now. You talked a bit about your responsibilities there. Can you give us an overview of your typical work day?
“Sure, we usually work on several games at once there, so your day has to be very scheduled. A typical day would be to come in, check emails and I try to check gaming news if I’m not too busy. Then throughout the day you’d have meetings with your respective teams. These are usually just status meetings. If I have a prototype to do, I’d have to meet with the designer and keep them abreast of my progress. Other than that we do A LOT of math. [Laughs] We are checking the game’s math to make sure it’s giving the proper amount of money away, or you are coming up with math for features. It’s pretty interesting because it’s not everyday you get to use math for a fun outcome.”
Nice. So, the prototypes you create, are you coding up the ideas? What do you use to prototype your concepts?
“They have a framework that they have used for a while, it’s C# based. I’ll code up the designers concepts but of course the art and audio are far from final, but the advantage to prototyping is that we can tweak really quickly before committing engineering resources on it. Since online games are a bit more complicated (server and client communication etc…), it’s good to get the kinks out and get the experience, mechanically, you want, first.”
So, you have a job that mixes all of your career experience.
“Yes! Hard to find that. [Laughs] Some companies get confused, we don’t know what you want to do. It’s weird.”
“Something about working in a team that’s fun – especially when everyone is on the same page!”
Yeah, if you demonstrate multiple skills you could get pushed toward choosing one. Or getting spread too thin to do too much. So, keeping that in mind, what skills or traits do you think are important for your area(s) of expertise?
“As a designer, I think you have to be able to analyze experiences and communicate your concepts. As a programmer you have to know how to code but also I think for both you need to have drive, a passion, because there will be points where it’s uphill, as I’m sure you know, where you are like, why isn’t this fun, or why isn’t this working… so drive is extremely key there, it’s easy to throw in the towel, but stick with it!”
Yeah, my mother always said, “If you have a problem, you probably aren’t asking the right question.” It’s hard to develop the skill to step back from a problem and determine the right angle to create a solution.
“So true! Sometimes you have to slow down, step back, and it’s tough to do that because you have a ton of pressure from deadlines, milestones etc… but it’s worth it!”
Looking back, what do you think was your biggest misconception about the video game industry?
“I think I’ve always had a realistic view of what to expect, or maybe I’ve just been doing it so long I have forgotten my misconceptions, or they have been beaten out of me. [Laughs] I do hear a lot of misconceptions from people outside the industry, like you guys get to play games all day, that sounds easy. [Laughs] But no it’s a job like any other, it’s work, and you have to work with other folks, so there’s that factor, and yeah, at the end you hope to put something out that’s fun but it’s work!”
Yes. Yes. And yes. These are jobs and they take work, but there is fun.
“[Laughs] Yes, of course! Something about working in a team that’s fun – especially when everyone is on the same page!”
So, are there any development tools you like to use? Any favorite programs?
“Currently I have become a fledgling master of Excel! [Laughs] Also I use the common tools like Word and Photoshop, Visio etc. Unity, of course, seems to be important but I haven’t got around to it yet!”
“In the past it’s been a lot of proprietary authoring tools.”
Dance Central 3
Hah! Fledgling master.
“I thought I knew Excel before working at IGT… boy, was I wrong!” [Laughs]
Dedan Anderson – Game Designer/Prototyper
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 11, 2016.
“Be Attitude For Gains”
What’s up, Dedan! So glad you could take some time out to be interviewed today. When I decided to do these interviews you were one of the first people I wanted to contact.
“Thanks Marcus! Glad to be here!”
So, can you tell me, where do you work now and what is your official title?
“Yep, sure, I’m currently at IGT as a Game Designer/Prototyper. I prototype concepts for the other designers on the team as well as design games.”
What are the types of games IGT creates?
“They mainly do casino games, both what they call landbased (which are the machines in the casino) and online. So slot machines and slot games.”
When we met years ago, at one of the E3 conventions held in Atlanta, you were a programmer, right?
“Yes, I started in the industry as a programmer, we probably met right around the introduction of the Playstation [laughs], so yeah I was mainly coding back then, I had an interest in design but nothing professionally until later. My first official design project was the Space Invaders remake or remix for Playstation and N64.”
You’ve been in the game industry a long time.
“It doesn’t seem like it but I guess it has been, I came in at the tail end of the 16-bit era, I got to work on Genesis and Sega CD, right before Sony entered the market. So yeah it was a while ago.” [Laughs]
“I really started before that on the Jaguar with a little start-up some friends and I had, but it didn’t really come together.” [Laughs]
Dedan’s mobile game, I Heart Alien
That’s not unheard of for many startup game companies. So, I’m sure you have many titles that you’ve worked on in your career. Can you list some of the ones that have been released?
“Sure, I have to plug my mobile game I Heart Alien, [laughs] but let’s see… We worked on Dance Central 3 together! That was a fun project, man! And some highlights would be NBA 2K4 for Visual Concepts, I mentioned Space Invaders for Activision, Splatterhouse for Namco and Golden Axe: Beast Rider for Sega. Also Monster Force on GBA for Digital Eclipse/Universal Interactive.”
I know that is a truncated list from all the games you’ve worked on. One, that I recall that you didn’t mention was that one Monkey King game for the original Playstation.
“Monkey Hero for BMG interactive which later became Rock Star. [Laughs] That was one of my first titles. I worked on their collision system and some of their tools, if I remember correctly. Blam was a cool company (they were the developer), full of game fanatics, they used to buy import games every week (or almost every week), they had a neo-geo set up as well. I got exposed to a ton of games there! Very pivotal experience… very educational! [Laughs] Crazy and fun place. [Laughs] This was back when the Saturn was out, so we got to see some really obscure titles.. like Umihara Kawase (which was on Playstation), and Dodonpachi and Silhouette Mirage, list goes on and on…”
So, let’s step back a bit and talk about your journey into games. Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in NYC, Harlem to be precise. My first intro to games was probably Pong, if I remember correctly, the one you’d hook up to your TV… and then it was Space Invaders and arcade games of that time, Asteroids, Scramble, Defender etc… I was really into those… I always wanted to know how they were made… around the same time I had started playing around with BASIC, some of the kids at my school had computers, TI’s and were doing LOGO, but my father had an old Commodore Pet so I was doing BASIC. Writing in listings from COMPUTE! magazine and stuff…”
“But yeah, mainly arcade games drew me into the industry.”
That’s a good draw. I had a similar experience. Did you have a computer in your home growing up?
“My father had one, I would go there weekends and plug away at the listings for hours on end… some of the games would be fun but they were rarely graphical… that came a bit later when the Apple II+ was out. My uncle bought one as a present and that was a wrap. [Laughs] Graphics!”
“As a designer, I think you have to be able to analyze experiences and communicate your concepts.”
Graphics! So, did you try any coding in those early days at home? When did you really get exposed to serious programming. College?
“I was writing code on the Apple II+ but it was mainly BASIC, I couldn’t find any information on Assembly, which is what all the games were written in back then, until later. I was very amateur, I would say now, until I went to college, then I learned a bunch about algorithms, data structures and the like. So I would say in college I went from hacker to programmer or somewhere in the middle, to be honest.” [Laughs]
Where did you go to college?
“I went to UC Berkeley and studied Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Learned a ton! Most of it I forgot.” [Laughs]
We’ve all forgotten stuff from college. UC Berkeley is a great school.
“Yeah, it seemed good, I don’t have anything to compare it to, [laughs] but I learned a ton.”
True. So, how did you journey from Berkeley into video game development? Also, why games and not bank databases or something?
“It’s always been games. I’ve always had a fascination with them and it’s been what I’ve wanted to do since I saw Pong, Space Invaders, Defender, etc… Bank databases probably would have been more stable [laughs] though but i don’t find that compelling.”
“From Berkeley I joined some friends in their startup, they had some Jaguar dev kits and were working on a mech-game concept, they wanted me to help out with music because I DJ’d but they didn’t know i could program too. I was like, I want to help program it! And so that’s how I got started…”
Golden Axe: Beast Rider
How fortuitous! So, did they let you program? How did you meet these friends? Where they classmates?
“Yeah, one went to Cal but was further ahead so I never had him in class, the other was an artist. They did let me code, we were doing voxels and I helped figure out how to do them.” [Laughs]
Voxels?! That’s nuts.
“Haha yeah, well the lead coder, Darryl, is always ahead of the curve. So we were doing voxels using raycasting, they weren’t true voxels since they weren’t 3d cubes but it approximated them with the ray casting, which was what Doom was using to do their 3d rendering. Fun times.” [Laughs]
On the Jaguar. You all were looking for pain.
“Ha, yeah I think we were gluttons for punishment. [Laughs] Darryl was from the demo scene, so always had crazy concepts.” [Laughs]
So, how did you make the transition from game programmer into game designer?
“As a programmer on a game you are lead by the design, I had started to realize that some of the games I was working were being over designed. I was doing a bunch of work but the experience wasn’t improving proportional to the energy going in. Zelda is a good example of a well designed game, the early ones, the enemies weren’t overly complicated but it was how all those parts interacted that made it a compelling experience. So I started realizing this and got interested in game design seriously. I was probably always interested but I wanted to put my ideas to the test, so to speak. I hope that made sense.” [Laughs]
It does. So, how did you make that transition, did you have to convince someone that you are not just a programmer?
“I think it was luck. My first professional design was on Space Invaders, before I got on it, it was in disarray and not fun at all. This was a remix, Asteroids had done well, so Activision wanted to strike gold again with Space Invaders. One of the artist on the project was a good friend of mine, and we always talked design, so I think he suggested that I come in and help finish it. I came in as a programmer on the bosses but also as a designer. I came up with this color power-up system, where you destroy three aliens of the same color and you get a powerful shot that can take out a row or a column. If the levels are designed properly you can chain those power ups to take out the level quickly. It was a fun addition, highly inspired by puzzle games, of course.” [Laughs]
Very nice. So, fast forward, you are IGT now. You talked a bit about your responsibilities there. Can you give us an overview of your typical work day?
“Sure, we usually work on several games at once there, so your day has to be very scheduled. A typical day would be to come in, check emails and I try to check gaming news if I’m not too busy. Then throughout the day you’d have meetings with your respective teams. These are usually just status meetings. If I have a prototype to do, I’d have to meet with the designer and keep them abreast of my progress. Other than that we do A LOT of math. [Laughs] We are checking the game’s math to make sure it’s giving the proper amount of money away, or you are coming up with math for features. It’s pretty interesting because it’s not everyday you get to use math for a fun outcome.”
Nice. So, the prototypes you create, are you coding up the ideas? What do you use to prototype your concepts?
“They have a framework that they have used for a while, it’s C# based. I’ll code up the designers concepts but of course the art and audio are far from final, but the advantage to prototyping is that we can tweak really quickly before committing engineering resources on it. Since online games are a bit more complicated (server and client communication etc…), it’s good to get the kinks out and get the experience, mechanically, you want, first.”
So, you have a job that mixes all of your career experience.
“Yes! Hard to find that. [Laughs] Some companies get confused, we don’t know what you want to do. It’s weird.”
“Something about working in a team that’s fun – especially when everyone is on the same page!”
Yeah, if you demonstrate multiple skills you could get pushed toward choosing one. Or getting spread too thin to do too much. So, keeping that in mind, what skills or traits do you think are important for your area(s) of expertise?
“As a designer, I think you have to be able to analyze experiences and communicate your concepts. As a programmer you have to know how to code but also I think for both you need to have drive, a passion, because there will be points where it’s uphill, as I’m sure you know, where you are like, why isn’t this fun, or why isn’t this working… so drive is extremely key there, it’s easy to throw in the towel, but stick with it!”
Yeah, my mother always said, “If you have a problem, you probably aren’t asking the right question.” It’s hard to develop the skill to step back from a problem and determine the right angle to create a solution.
“So true! Sometimes you have to slow down, step back, and it’s tough to do that because you have a ton of pressure from deadlines, milestones etc… but it’s worth it!”
Looking back, what do you think was your biggest misconception about the video game industry?
“I think I’ve always had a realistic view of what to expect, or maybe I’ve just been doing it so long I have forgotten my misconceptions, or they have been beaten out of me. [Laughs] I do hear a lot of misconceptions from people outside the industry, like you guys get to play games all day, that sounds easy. [Laughs] But no it’s a job like any other, it’s work, and you have to work with other folks, so there’s that factor, and yeah, at the end you hope to put something out that’s fun but it’s work!”
Yes. Yes. And yes. These are jobs and they take work, but there is fun.
“[Laughs] Yes, of course! Something about working in a team that’s fun – especially when everyone is on the same page!”
So, are there any development tools you like to use? Any favorite programs?
“Currently I have become a fledgling master of Excel! [Laughs] Also I use the common tools like Word and Photoshop, Visio etc. Unity, of course, seems to be important but I haven’t got around to it yet!”
“In the past it’s been a lot of proprietary authoring tools.”
Dance Central 3
Hah! Fledgling master.
“I thought I knew Excel before working at IGT… boy, was I wrong!” [Laughs]
Do you have any favorite websites or resources you like to reference?
“Youtube is my goto, I have a ton of subscriptions. I also like Siliconera.com as my taste align with theirs, and anything Sega!” [Laughs]
I love Sega! Hedgehog for life!
“Yes! That’s your legacy, your lineage!”
We have a bit of time left, I’d really like to know what’s on your mind? Think of this as your platform to reach the masses. What would you like to share?
“Hmm… if you are thinking of getting in the game industry, I would recommend making some games with some friends, learning a programming language or at least familiarize yourself, even if you are an artist! It’s a fun industry, and it’s a place where you can be creative within realistic boundaries of course!”
ESPN Basketball aka NBA 2K4
How true. If you could go back in and start your career over, would you do anything differently?
“Hmm, I think it would be to work closer with marketing, sometimes you can have a great concept but if marketing doesn’t set up expectations correctly, it doesn’t matter! [Laughs] I look back on NBA 2K4 and the relationship with marketing was really good, the 24/7 feature was communicated to them, they even named it, it was called growth mode before that (yuch!)… and they felt ownership and championed it. That’s key, the synergy between design and marketing.”
Last question. If given “infinite time and budget” what game or game genre would you make?
“If I didn’t have to give the money back? [Laughs] I would probably just make a lot of small games, probably mobile, different genres. If I didn’t necessarily have to make their money back, I could experiment a ton… if I had to give it back, I’d do slots. Hah!”
Thanks for your time Dedan. If people wanted to reach you, where can they find you on the internets, socials and such?
“Thank you, Marcus!!!”
“Youtube is my goto, I have a ton of subscriptions. I also like Siliconera.com as my taste align with theirs, and anything Sega!” [Laughs]
I love Sega! Hedgehog for life!
“Yes! That’s your legacy, your lineage!”
We have a bit of time left, I’d really like to know what’s on your mind? Think of this as your platform to reach the masses. What would you like to share?
“Hmm… if you are thinking of getting in the game industry, I would recommend making some games with some friends, learning a programming language or at least familiarize yourself, even if you are an artist! It’s a fun industry, and it’s a place where you can be creative within realistic boundaries of course!”
ESPN Basketball aka NBA 2K4
How true. If you could go back in and start your career over, would you do anything differently?
“Hmm, I think it would be to work closer with marketing, sometimes you can have a great concept but if marketing doesn’t set up expectations correctly, it doesn’t matter! [Laughs] I look back on NBA 2K4 and the relationship with marketing was really good, the 24/7 feature was communicated to them, they even named it, it was called growth mode before that (yuch!)… and they felt ownership and championed it. That’s key, the synergy between design and marketing.”
Last question. If given “infinite time and budget” what game or game genre would you make?
“If I didn’t have to give the money back? [Laughs] I would probably just make a lot of small games, probably mobile, different genres. If I didn’t necessarily have to make their money back, I could experiment a ton… if I had to give it back, I’d do slots. Hah!”
Thanks for your time Dedan. If people wanted to reach you, where can they find you on the internets, socials and such?
“Thank you, Marcus!!!”
Raymond Graham – Senior Software Engineer | We Are Game Devs
Raymond Graham – Senior Software Engineer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 12, 2016.
Hey, Ray! Thanks for taking time out to talk with me today.
“No problem.”
Can you tell me where do you work and what is your current title?
“I’m currently at Unity working as a Senior Software Engineer on the Spotlight Team.”
“I’m mostly specializing in 3D graphics.”
You’ve always been mostly focused on graphics programming throughout your career, right?
“Yeah. I was always fascinated by how the pixels get on the screen from when I was playing on my IBM PCjr.”
IBM PCjr.? That’s pretty old school.
[Laughs] “Well I’m pretty old now. But yeah, time flies.”
You’ve been in the game industry for awhile. Can you give a list of some of the titles you’ve shipped in your career?
“Sure, the first title was NBA Live 99 for N64 followed by NBA Live 2000. After that I worked on the first NBA Street on PS2. Then I worked at Visual Concepts on NBA 2K2-2K4. I wanted to get away from basketball games so then I started at EA working on The Godfather, The Simpsons Game and a little bit on Dead Space early on.”
“These were followed by BioShock (PS3) and Bioshock 2 and finally Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist.”
Were you fearful you may be “typecast” as the basketball programmer?
“Yeah, that was for sure happening. It was a bit difficult to make the transition out of basketball games, since different type of games have different challenges.”
You just started working at Unity recently. Can you describe what your typical work day is like there?
“Well the Spotlight Team was created to help external Unity developers enhance their games. So a typical day would be working towards implementing features to help these devs and maybe even features that can make it to the asset store or back into the stock engine.”
Let’s jump back a bit. Get a bit of your history. Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in Toronto, Ontario Canada; Specifically, Scarborough.”
When did you first get introduced to computers?
“I was around 8 years old. My mother bought me my first computer. That was the IBM PCjr. My mom was a programmer at IBM so she wanted to get me a computer to do my school work. I think I used it more for games.”
“Most important thing is to slow down and take a look at a problem calmly.”
Wow, a parent who was a programmer! Did she teach you how to code a bit?
“Actually no. She did buy books and send me to computer camp later on. But the primary reason I got the computer was for school work. I don’t think it occurred to her that early.”
Did your mother support or understand your interesting in game development?
“Nope.”
Like most parents, I imagine.
“It’s an interesting story. when I was graduating from university I had a job offer to work at IBM. I think it was on Visualage C++. Kind of a Visual programming IDE. But I really wanted to work on games. So I applied to a bunch of different game companies and got rejected pretty much everywhere.”
“I saw a job posting for a job in Chicago and applied. When I got the offer my mother wasn’t too pleased about me not going with the more ‘stable’ company.”
“I think she saw it as me wasting my degree to work on toys.”
Was this EA Chicago?
“It was the company formerly known as NuFX before it got purchased by EA and renamed to EA Chicago.”
So, did you “convince” your mom this was the right move for you? How did that resolve?
“I think I convinced her to let me make the decision. I think she probably was still worried about it for sure but she supported me all the way. I was pretty passionate about it.”
“She also came down and saw the studio when I was working there. It was pretty funny that the bosses rolled out the red carpet for her. They treated her better than the employees for sure.”
Always got to respect “mama”.
[Laughs]
So, it seems it quelled her concerns enough. So, did you go to school for a more formal training into programming? You did end up going to a university. What did you get your degree in?
“I didn’t get more formal training until high school. I took a class that taught some of the principles using the Turing programming language.”
“I got a BMATH in Computer Science with a minor in Combinatorics and Optimization.”
“Combinatorics is kinda useful in some aspects of game development.”
You’ve been a professional in the game industry for how many years?
“17 years now.”
So, in your 17 years, what skills do think are key to your continued success in the industry?
“For me personally, I think my intelligence and ability to not get completely flustered when the pressure is on. Most important thing is to slow down and take a look at a problem calmly.”
I find most conflicts in the game industry result from a sense of pressure from somewhere. Schedule, executives, supervisors…etc.
“Yeah for sure. I think it’s all time. When money is on the line you have to spend the minimum amount of it to get the game done, so schedule and time become really important. But games are also very creative. Most of the time you can’t schedule the creativity, thus the conflict.”
Creativity is the hardest thing to time box. Good ideas don’t always come when you want, but making decisions is important to keep a project on track.
“Yeah sometimes good ideas come from pure accident too.”
“Well, being a programmer, the one tool I can’t live without is Visual SlickEdit.”
So, looking back, would you have done anything differently? Studied something different in school? Used a different programming technique for a project?
“I think all of the decisions I’ve made from going away to school, to moving to Chicago, were all pretty risky at the time but I would never have changed them. The only thing I probably do regret was not making more games while I was in school and really getting involved in the process earlier. Back in that time it was pretty hard to make something and there were very few tools.”
I feel the same way.
“Now, kids in school have no shortage of tools that make game dev a lot easier. Unity being one of them.”
So, are there any specific tools or plugins you like to use in your work?
“Well, being a programmer, the one tool I can’t live without is Visual SlickEdit. Which is a code editor. Basically, does everything that I need it to do to get my work done.”
What trait or skill is most important in your area of expertise?
“PROBLEM SOLVING!”
“Being able to see a problem and break it down to it’s base pieces and find solutions that match the constraints you are dealing with.”
If you had infinite time/funds, what sort of game would you make?
“Turn based game like X-COM probably with some sort of IP as the skin. Maybe G.I. Joe.”
X-COM is a crowd favorite. Somewhat niche. G.I. Joe brings it into the mainstream. Very nice. The game industry, and tech industry in general, is constantly changing and evolving, there are always new trends popping up. What interests you right now? What do you see as the next big thing?
“I don’t even know, man. That’s the thing, there are always trends popping up. These trends are always used to try and energize the player base. I would say what about FUN? I just want to play interesting games that keep evolving as you play and are fun. If that’s VR, AR or whatever is next, just make it fun.”
Fun and innovation are hard. Hard to predictably create on a regular clip.
“Yup. Game dev is hard period. We have some indicators that give us our best guess. Like open world games are open world cause a lot of players love that level of breadth.”
So, if I were a young student, about to graduate and I said, I want to be a graphic programmer, what advice would you give me? Specific shader techniques to study? Any areas I should concentrate on?
“The advice would be to study everything related to it. Start at the foundation and work up.”
“Right now PBR(Physically Based Rendering) is the buzzword of choice. But it’s a huge area to study with a lot of foundational work and technical papers so read all of them.”
“Mess around with your own graphics test bed and try different techniques.”
Any particular websites or resources you like to use?
“Well, I think the SIGGRAPH talks are always good.”
“GDC talks.”
Any parting thoughts? Consider this your 15 seconds of internet fame. What would you like to share?
“I really don’t know what else to say. But the most important thing to me in relation to the game industry is to just make something FUN.”
Is there a way for our readers to reach you for additional questions? Twitter? Instagram? Snapchat?
“I don’t even know how to use Snapchat….But I am available on twitter at @wadarass”
Ray, thank you for your time. This was great.
“Thank you.”
Raymond Graham – Senior Software Engineer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 12, 2016.
Hey, Ray! Thanks for taking time out to talk with me today.
“No problem.”
Can you tell me where do you work and what is your current title?
“I’m currently at Unity working as a Senior Software Engineer on the Spotlight Team.”
“I’m mostly specializing in 3D graphics.”
You’ve always been mostly focused on graphics programming throughout your career, right?“Yeah. I was always fascinated by how the pixels get on the screen from when I was playing on my IBM PCjr.”
IBM PCjr.? That’s pretty old school.
[Laughs] “Well I’m pretty old now. But yeah, time flies.”
You’ve been in the game industry for awhile. Can you give a list of some of the titles you’ve shipped in your career?
“Sure, the first title was NBA Live 99 for N64 followed by NBA Live 2000. After that I worked on the first NBA Street on PS2. Then I worked at Visual Concepts on NBA 2K2-2K4. I wanted to get away from basketball games so then I started at EA working on The Godfather, The Simpsons Game and a little bit on Dead Space early on.”
“These were followed by BioShock (PS3) and Bioshock 2 and finally Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Blacklist.”
Were you fearful you may be “typecast” as the basketball programmer?
“Yeah, that was for sure happening. It was a bit difficult to make the transition out of basketball games, since different type of games have different challenges.”
You just started working at Unity recently. Can you describe what your typical work day is like there?
“Well the Spotlight Team was created to help external Unity developers enhance their games. So a typical day would be working towards implementing features to help these devs and maybe even features that can make it to the asset store or back into the stock engine.”
Let’s jump back a bit. Get a bit of your history. Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in Toronto, Ontario Canada; Specifically, Scarborough.”
When did you first get introduced to computers?
“I was around 8 years old. My mother bought me my first computer. That was the IBM PCjr. My mom was a programmer at IBM so she wanted to get me a computer to do my school work. I think I used it more for games.”
“Most important thing is to slow down and take a look at a problem calmly.”
Wow, a parent who was a programmer! Did she teach you how to code a bit?
“Actually no. She did buy books and send me to computer camp later on. But the primary reason I got the computer was for school work. I don’t think it occurred to her that early.”
Did your mother support or understand your interesting in game development?
“Nope.”
Like most parents, I imagine.
“It’s an interesting story. when I was graduating from university I had a job offer to work at IBM. I think it was on Visualage C++. Kind of a Visual programming IDE. But I really wanted to work on games. So I applied to a bunch of different game companies and got rejected pretty much everywhere.”
“I saw a job posting for a job in Chicago and applied. When I got the offer my mother wasn’t too pleased about me not going with the more ‘stable’ company.”
“I think she saw it as me wasting my degree to work on toys.”
Was this EA Chicago?“It was the company formerly known as NuFX before it got purchased by EA and renamed to EA Chicago.”
So, did you “convince” your mom this was the right move for you? How did that resolve?
“I think I convinced her to let me make the decision. I think she probably was still worried about it for sure but she supported me all the way. I was pretty passionate about it.”
“She also came down and saw the studio when I was working there. It was pretty funny that the bosses rolled out the red carpet for her. They treated her better than the employees for sure.”
Always got to respect “mama”.
[Laughs]
So, it seems it quelled her concerns enough. So, did you go to school for a more formal training into programming? You did end up going to a university. What did you get your degree in?
“I didn’t get more formal training until high school. I took a class that taught some of the principles using the Turing programming language.”
“I got a BMATH in Computer Science with a minor in Combinatorics and Optimization.”
“Combinatorics is kinda useful in some aspects of game development.”
You’ve been a professional in the game industry for how many years?
“17 years now.”
So, in your 17 years, what skills do think are key to your continued success in the industry?
“For me personally, I think my intelligence and ability to not get completely flustered when the pressure is on. Most important thing is to slow down and take a look at a problem calmly.”
I find most conflicts in the game industry result from a sense of pressure from somewhere. Schedule, executives, supervisors…etc.
“Yeah for sure. I think it’s all time. When money is on the line you have to spend the minimum amount of it to get the game done, so schedule and time become really important. But games are also very creative. Most of the time you can’t schedule the creativity, thus the conflict.”
Creativity is the hardest thing to time box. Good ideas don’t always come when you want, but making decisions is important to keep a project on track.
“Yeah sometimes good ideas come from pure accident too.”
“Well, being a programmer, the one tool I can’t live without is Visual SlickEdit.”
So, looking back, would you have done anything differently? Studied something different in school? Used a different programming technique for a project?
“I think all of the decisions I’ve made from going away to school, to moving to Chicago, were all pretty risky at the time but I would never have changed them. The only thing I probably do regret was not making more games while I was in school and really getting involved in the process earlier. Back in that time it was pretty hard to make something and there were very few tools.”
I feel the same way.
“Now, kids in school have no shortage of tools that make game dev a lot easier. Unity being one of them.”
So, are there any specific tools or plugins you like to use in your work?
“Well, being a programmer, the one tool I can’t live without is Visual SlickEdit. Which is a code editor. Basically, does everything that I need it to do to get my work done.”
What trait or skill is most important in your area of expertise?
“PROBLEM SOLVING!”
“Being able to see a problem and break it down to it’s base pieces and find solutions that match the constraints you are dealing with.”
If you had infinite time/funds, what sort of game would you make?
“Turn based game like X-COM probably with some sort of IP as the skin. Maybe G.I. Joe.”
X-COM is a crowd favorite. Somewhat niche. G.I. Joe brings it into the mainstream. Very nice. The game industry, and tech industry in general, is constantly changing and evolving, there are always new trends popping up. What interests you right now? What do you see as the next big thing?“I don’t even know, man. That’s the thing, there are always trends popping up. These trends are always used to try and energize the player base. I would say what about FUN? I just want to play interesting games that keep evolving as you play and are fun. If that’s VR, AR or whatever is next, just make it fun.”
Fun and innovation are hard. Hard to predictably create on a regular clip.
“Yup. Game dev is hard period. We have some indicators that give us our best guess. Like open world games are open world cause a lot of players love that level of breadth.”
So, if I were a young student, about to graduate and I said, I want to be a graphic programmer, what advice would you give me? Specific shader techniques to study? Any areas I should concentrate on?
“The advice would be to study everything related to it. Start at the foundation and work up.”
“Right now PBR(Physically Based Rendering) is the buzzword of choice. But it’s a huge area to study with a lot of foundational work and technical papers so read all of them.”
“Mess around with your own graphics test bed and try different techniques.”
Any particular websites or resources you like to use?
“Well, I think the SIGGRAPH talks are always good.”
“GDC talks.”
Any parting thoughts? Consider this your 15 seconds of internet fame. What would you like to share?
“I really don’t know what else to say. But the most important thing to me in relation to the game industry is to just make something FUN.”
Is there a way for our readers to reach you for additional questions? Twitter? Instagram? Snapchat?
“I don’t even know how to use Snapchat….But I am available on twitter at @wadarass”
Ray, thank you for your time. This was great.
“Thank you.”
Travis Williams – Senior Producer | We Are Game Devs
Travis Williams – Senior Producer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 15, 2016.
“Great ideas are common… Great executions are rare.”
Greetings Travis! It’s been awhile.
“Yes, it has been a while. Thanks for reminding me how old I am.”
That sword cuts both ways, my friend. Since I spoke with you last, I believe you’ve made a few moves to different places. Where do you work now, and what is your job title.
“I am currently working at Magic Leap my title is Senior Producer (Content)”
What is Magic Leap’s focus? They create augmented reality content, correct?
“Well, I am really not allowed to comment on what we are doing specifically. All I can tell you is that the work I am involved in sure is fun. You are free to go to our web page and see what you can see. Anything beyond that is mum for now. When I can speak, I will let you know.”
Prior to Magic Leap, you worked at a few different game companies. Could you list a few of the released titles you’ve worked on?
“This is always the question that makes me feel old. I really started making games in 1990 at a company called White Wolf Game Studio. We were a pen and paper RPG company where we were mostly known for the World of Darkness setting. That includes: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Mage: The Ascension. After working in pen and paper gaming I transitioned into electronic gaming. Companies like Gametek (Tarzan, Super Street Fighter II Turbo) to Acclaim (X-MEN Children of the Atom), ASC Games (Sanitarium), Interplay (Giants, Run Like Hell) Warner Bros (Matrix Online, DC Universe), Sigil (Vanguard), Sony (PAIN) I could go on but even typing this makes me tired….”
I completely understand. I think when we first met, it was at E3 in Atlanta and you were working at ASC. I believe the game One, was about to come out.
“Yeah, I had a lot of fun at ASC a lot of us left there to start what really became some of the foundation of Rockstar New York. We published the PC version of Grand Theft Auto at ASC. It was a fun time. I also did Sanitarium there which won CGW Adventure Game of the year. I really loved that place. I also remember getting a pitch from my old co-worker Vince Zampella. He described a first person gaming experience that was not unlike what I believed was possible. I told him it wasn’t possible. When his team made Medal of Honor I was humbled. He and his team have been making hits ever since. (Call of Duty anyone?)”
You are one of the few people that I’ve heard make a leap from paper and pen into digital media. I’m sure it’s not unusual for some, but can you describe how you ended up at White Wolf in the first place?
“I was always the Dungeon Master as a kid. I remember the Wilderness Survival Guide came out and I didn’t have enough money to buy it. So I looked around for another book. I came across a book called Ars Magica that was cheaper so I bought it. I then ran games using that system. After doing that for 3 years I knew the rules and the systems better than the people who wrote the books. I moved to Atlanta and so did the company making Ars Magica. So I hung out with them all the time and eventually they asked me to run games for them at conventions. The company was called Lion Rampant which eventually became White Wolf. So I was there when all the madness started. Some of the people who helped start White Wolf eventually became founding members of Wizards of the Coast.”
Where did you grow up?
“Everywhere. I was a Military brat… Mostly in the south. Born in Miami but lived in Germany (K-Town) Georgia (Savannah and Atlanta) and Louisiana (Baton Rouge).”
So, how did you make the leap from White Wolf to digital games?
“I always wanted to make games. Back in the early 90s gaming was really getting big. So I was also in charge of talking to companies about taking properties like Vampire and making computer games. When I would talk to companies about that it would turn into some odd sort of interview. So they would end up offering me a job instead of licensing the property. Eventually I said, ‘OKAY’.” [Laughs]
“There are plenty of schools that teach you how to make a game. There are very few that can teach you how to manage the BAND that makes a game.”
So, trial by fire. You showed knowledge and it led to opportunity.
“Essentially. I had been programming since I was nine. My whole teenage life was spent as a hacker. So I knew games like no other person I knew. I knew I wanted to eventually make them. White Wolf was a step in that direction but once I had a shot to make computer games it really was where I wanted to be. I’ve been here since ‘93.”
Did you go to college? Or did you jump into the workforce?
“I went to DeVry and ALMOST graduated. I already knew how to program and so I really just wanted a way to get into gaming. It was rough because there really was no way to educate yourself into gaming in the late 80’s. So if you wanted to be a designer for example you were just out of luck. Now it’s odd for me to see college level courses in things we ‘made up’ in the 80’s/90’s.”
Yeah, I remember trying to teach myself game programming. There were some books, but it was sparse early on. Did you program professionally at first or were you a producer?
“College cured me of wanting to be a programmer. All of my time spent as a programmer was a loner life. I enjoyed it. When I had to collaborate in school I found that I was either vastly inferior or superior to my peers. It frustrated me. So I just ended up being satisfied with knowing how to program. When I entered the professional world it was as a designer. I became a producer when I found that bad producers mess up products. I wanted to enhance and protect the process.”
So, explain to me what a producer does.
“You keep the process going. Usually a producer will champion a product and get it going. He keeps the product from going haywire and is responsible for its health. That means any and all things really. You hire/fire. You order dinner. You guide the leads of product (Art, Design, Code, Music) and you are the liaison to other departments in the company. Since you supervise the leads you know what the status is of your project and can tell other departments if you are on time and what the project needs at any given point… So kinda like a janitor. Yeah…”
You wear a lot of different hats. You jump in and do what’s needed.
“A good producer does wear a lot of hats. Producers usually come from another discipline and become producers so they know enough to ask the right questions. A good producer enhances a product. Bad producers meddle and don’t give teams the opportunity to be great. You should empower a team not lord over them. Producers have a lot of power, and I have seen it go to their heads.”
What are key traits or skills you need to be a successful producer?
“When people say they are a people person you have to MEAN it as a producer. People who make games or art in general are a mixed crew. You need to know how to motivate and inspire. Know when to get in the weeds and know when to shut up and let other people be GREAT. You have to change depending on the team you are managing. You must be organized and have attention to detail. It’s not an easy job.”
Those are hard waters to navigate. In my experience, having a producer know when to push and when to back off is the biggest challenge. Is it easy to learn the line between the two?
“When I first met Warren Spector I asked him when was the best time to take a team to task on something. He said when they are working on items that don’t support the mission statement and when you think the choices the team makes will cost you sales.”
“Usually, when you are making a product you have some sort of goal in mind. Making sure the team always keeps that in mind is one of the core things a producer must do. Not having ego and always keeping the team’s health in mind is essential. They are all artists (Code, Design, Art, Music) and it’s better to empower them than to oppress. No one makes fun when the team isn’t having any themselves.”
Having a clear and focused mission statement creates a razor by which all chaff can be eliminated. As a producer, there a many things to keep track of through out the project. Are there any tips or tools you use in your day to day that you cannot live without?
“There’s been a move to Agile development in games. I like agile for one reason; It makes people responsible for what they are doing. Well, two reasons; It forces people to also communicate. You’d be shocked at how two people who sit right next to one another won’t talk to one another unless they are compelled to. So having those daily standups where everyone says what they did, what they are doing, and what is keeping them from being awesome helps a lot. It’s the questions producers have been asking since I started. Agile forces people to say those things to one another on a daily basis. THANK YOU, JESUS!”
“Usually, when you are making a product you have some sort of goal in mind. Making sure the team always keeps that in mind is one of the core things a producer must do.”
The gaming industry is always changing, such is tech. Are there any new trends that interest you?
“I am always interested in gaming as a lifestyle. How can games be integrated into your daily routines? Not in an intrusive way but how they can enhance your quality of life. How does gaming equate to your morning cup of coffee/tea. I don’t think graphics for example matter as much anymore. We could always make pretty pictures. How does that improve how I feel on a daily basis is my question. So real cohesive social hooks that aren’t really money related but just an emotional tissue. That’s what interests me trend wise.”
I’ve been asking this question to a few other people, looking back over your career. Is there anything you would do differently? Anything you wish you knew before encountering it?
“I think I wish I got into the mobile space earlier. I think mobile games are GREAT at compelling people to engage. The problem is they are engaging in shallow experiences. So it’s almost like they are good at keeping your attention as long as you are hypnotized but once the spell is broken you don’t care because the game loop is stupid. It’s kinda like a black art. Now mobile games are starting to have more meat, which is great. I think that it’s not that they generate so much money but it’s usually a shallow experience, which is sad.”
It’s kind of funny. Mobile is almost like the arcade of “yesteryear”. Remember, an arcade game had to catch you in like the first 30 seconds. Attention spans were short then, and they are now. With so many games on mobile, you have to find a way to catch them. And if done right, they will age into an elder experience that is hopefully less shallow.
“Yes, but I think the arcades were more honest. They asked for your quarter right away and didn’t tease you. If they did tease you you knew what you were getting immediately. Most gamers don’t mind giving you money. You have to let them know why.”
Travis Williams – Senior Producer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 15, 2016.
“Great ideas are common… Great executions are rare.”
Greetings Travis! It’s been awhile.
“Yes, it has been a while. Thanks for reminding me how old I am.”
That sword cuts both ways, my friend. Since I spoke with you last, I believe you’ve made a few moves to different places. Where do you work now, and what is your job title.“I am currently working at Magic Leap my title is Senior Producer (Content)”
What is Magic Leap’s focus? They create augmented reality content, correct?
“Well, I am really not allowed to comment on what we are doing specifically. All I can tell you is that the work I am involved in sure is fun. You are free to go to our web page and see what you can see. Anything beyond that is mum for now. When I can speak, I will let you know.”
Prior to Magic Leap, you worked at a few different game companies. Could you list a few of the released titles you’ve worked on?
“This is always the question that makes me feel old. I really started making games in 1990 at a company called White Wolf Game Studio. We were a pen and paper RPG company where we were mostly known for the World of Darkness setting. That includes: Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Mage: The Ascension. After working in pen and paper gaming I transitioned into electronic gaming. Companies like Gametek (Tarzan, Super Street Fighter II Turbo) to Acclaim (X-MEN Children of the Atom), ASC Games (Sanitarium), Interplay (Giants, Run Like Hell) Warner Bros (Matrix Online, DC Universe), Sigil (Vanguard), Sony (PAIN) I could go on but even typing this makes me tired….”
I completely understand. I think when we first met, it was at E3 in Atlanta and you were working at ASC. I believe the game One, was about to come out.
“Yeah, I had a lot of fun at ASC a lot of us left there to start what really became some of the foundation of Rockstar New York. We published the PC version of Grand Theft Auto at ASC. It was a fun time. I also did Sanitarium there which won CGW Adventure Game of the year. I really loved that place. I also remember getting a pitch from my old co-worker Vince Zampella. He described a first person gaming experience that was not unlike what I believed was possible. I told him it wasn’t possible. When his team made Medal of Honor I was humbled. He and his team have been making hits ever since. (Call of Duty anyone?)”
You are one of the few people that I’ve heard make a leap from paper and pen into digital media. I’m sure it’s not unusual for some, but can you describe how you ended up at White Wolf in the first place?
“I was always the Dungeon Master as a kid. I remember the Wilderness Survival Guide came out and I didn’t have enough money to buy it. So I looked around for another book. I came across a book called Ars Magica that was cheaper so I bought it. I then ran games using that system. After doing that for 3 years I knew the rules and the systems better than the people who wrote the books. I moved to Atlanta and so did the company making Ars Magica. So I hung out with them all the time and eventually they asked me to run games for them at conventions. The company was called Lion Rampant which eventually became White Wolf. So I was there when all the madness started. Some of the people who helped start White Wolf eventually became founding members of Wizards of the Coast.”
Where did you grow up?
“Everywhere. I was a Military brat… Mostly in the south. Born in Miami but lived in Germany (K-Town) Georgia (Savannah and Atlanta) and Louisiana (Baton Rouge).”
So, how did you make the leap from White Wolf to digital games?
“I always wanted to make games. Back in the early 90s gaming was really getting big. So I was also in charge of talking to companies about taking properties like Vampire and making computer games. When I would talk to companies about that it would turn into some odd sort of interview. So they would end up offering me a job instead of licensing the property. Eventually I said, ‘OKAY’.” [Laughs]
“There are plenty of schools that teach you how to make a game. There are very few that can teach you how to manage the BAND that makes a game.”
So, trial by fire. You showed knowledge and it led to opportunity.
“Essentially. I had been programming since I was nine. My whole teenage life was spent as a hacker. So I knew games like no other person I knew. I knew I wanted to eventually make them. White Wolf was a step in that direction but once I had a shot to make computer games it really was where I wanted to be. I’ve been here since ‘93.”
Did you go to college? Or did you jump into the workforce?
“I went to DeVry and ALMOST graduated. I already knew how to program and so I really just wanted a way to get into gaming. It was rough because there really was no way to educate yourself into gaming in the late 80’s. So if you wanted to be a designer for example you were just out of luck. Now it’s odd for me to see college level courses in things we ‘made up’ in the 80’s/90’s.”
Yeah, I remember trying to teach myself game programming. There were some books, but it was sparse early on. Did you program professionally at first or were you a producer?
“College cured me of wanting to be a programmer. All of my time spent as a programmer was a loner life. I enjoyed it. When I had to collaborate in school I found that I was either vastly inferior or superior to my peers. It frustrated me. So I just ended up being satisfied with knowing how to program. When I entered the professional world it was as a designer. I became a producer when I found that bad producers mess up products. I wanted to enhance and protect the process.”
So, explain to me what a producer does. “You keep the process going. Usually a producer will champion a product and get it going. He keeps the product from going haywire and is responsible for its health. That means any and all things really. You hire/fire. You order dinner. You guide the leads of product (Art, Design, Code, Music) and you are the liaison to other departments in the company. Since you supervise the leads you know what the status is of your project and can tell other departments if you are on time and what the project needs at any given point… So kinda like a janitor. Yeah…”
You wear a lot of different hats. You jump in and do what’s needed.
“A good producer does wear a lot of hats. Producers usually come from another discipline and become producers so they know enough to ask the right questions. A good producer enhances a product. Bad producers meddle and don’t give teams the opportunity to be great. You should empower a team not lord over them. Producers have a lot of power, and I have seen it go to their heads.”
What are key traits or skills you need to be a successful producer?
“When people say they are a people person you have to MEAN it as a producer. People who make games or art in general are a mixed crew. You need to know how to motivate and inspire. Know when to get in the weeds and know when to shut up and let other people be GREAT. You have to change depending on the team you are managing. You must be organized and have attention to detail. It’s not an easy job.”
Those are hard waters to navigate. In my experience, having a producer know when to push and when to back off is the biggest challenge. Is it easy to learn the line between the two?
“When I first met Warren Spector I asked him when was the best time to take a team to task on something. He said when they are working on items that don’t support the mission statement and when you think the choices the team makes will cost you sales.”
“Usually, when you are making a product you have some sort of goal in mind. Making sure the team always keeps that in mind is one of the core things a producer must do. Not having ego and always keeping the team’s health in mind is essential. They are all artists (Code, Design, Art, Music) and it’s better to empower them than to oppress. No one makes fun when the team isn’t having any themselves.”
Having a clear and focused mission statement creates a razor by which all chaff can be eliminated. As a producer, there a many things to keep track of through out the project. Are there any tips or tools you use in your day to day that you cannot live without?
“There’s been a move to Agile development in games. I like agile for one reason; It makes people responsible for what they are doing. Well, two reasons; It forces people to also communicate. You’d be shocked at how two people who sit right next to one another won’t talk to one another unless they are compelled to. So having those daily standups where everyone says what they did, what they are doing, and what is keeping them from being awesome helps a lot. It’s the questions producers have been asking since I started. Agile forces people to say those things to one another on a daily basis. THANK YOU, JESUS!”
“Usually, when you are making a product you have some sort of goal in mind. Making sure the team always keeps that in mind is one of the core things a producer must do.”
The gaming industry is always changing, such is tech. Are there any new trends that interest you?
“I am always interested in gaming as a lifestyle. How can games be integrated into your daily routines? Not in an intrusive way but how they can enhance your quality of life. How does gaming equate to your morning cup of coffee/tea. I don’t think graphics for example matter as much anymore. We could always make pretty pictures. How does that improve how I feel on a daily basis is my question. So real cohesive social hooks that aren’t really money related but just an emotional tissue. That’s what interests me trend wise.”
I’ve been asking this question to a few other people, looking back over your career. Is there anything you would do differently? Anything you wish you knew before encountering it?
“I think I wish I got into the mobile space earlier. I think mobile games are GREAT at compelling people to engage. The problem is they are engaging in shallow experiences. So it’s almost like they are good at keeping your attention as long as you are hypnotized but once the spell is broken you don’t care because the game loop is stupid. It’s kinda like a black art. Now mobile games are starting to have more meat, which is great. I think that it’s not that they generate so much money but it’s usually a shallow experience, which is sad.”
It’s kind of funny. Mobile is almost like the arcade of “yesteryear”. Remember, an arcade game had to catch you in like the first 30 seconds. Attention spans were short then, and they are now. With so many games on mobile, you have to find a way to catch them. And if done right, they will age into an elder experience that is hopefully less shallow.
“Yes, but I think the arcades were more honest. They asked for your quarter right away and didn’t tease you. If they did tease you you knew what you were getting immediately. Most gamers don’t mind giving you money. You have to let them know why.”
Some have said, they feel like an outsider in game development because of their skin color. I’m sure women and some LGBT folk have had similar feelings. What would you say to those folks?
“I remember writing fiction for World of Darkness and being the one person in the room screaming: WHERE ARE THE BLACK PEOPLE?! I went so far to insist one kind of Vampire got BLACKER as they got more powerful (Assamite Clan in Vampire). This eventually got my coworkers to include more people of color into the fabric of our mythos. Prominent minority characters were always included because it was fitting and proper. Not just because they didn’t want to answer my pointed questions like how come white people are the only people allowed to be Vampires, Werewolves and Wizards. I am sure my years of doing this led to my character Dante being on the cover of Mage: The Ascension.”
“I honestly give the gaming community a lot of credit for being progressive. In my history of being in this business some of the most influential and creative individuals have been gay, lesbian and transgender. I have been lucky to be in that mix because it really reaffirmed for me what I already knew. It doesn’t matter who you love or how you feel about yourself… you just need to have creative ideas and you can make it in this business. Good ideas come from everyone.”
“Diversity (in my opinion) means you will have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. That perspective is important in entertainment. I think it’s the nexus of a great narrative. Think of how different Star Wars would have been if Chewie told the story.”
“When I started in this business I was typically the lone minority in the room full of white guys. Last year I went to a Blacks In Gaming function and we filled up a whole ballroom. It was a fantastic experience. It made me feel great to see how diversity and tolerance is getting better in gaming. We are not done yet, but it’s far better than when I started. I got a little emotional during that function, it wasn’t because I won some XBOX games.”
True. So, last question, if I wanted to become a producer. What advice would you give me? How could I break in?
“I don’t believe you can start off being a producer. A producer is a job that you get after you understand the game making process. Starting in QA or Art, Code, Design is the best route to go. A producer is as good as her gut tells her. So what you need to do is spend time inside the process first so that your decision making is ‘seasoned’. You will be leading people and they need to be secure in what you know what you are doing. There are plenty of schools that teach you how to make a game. There are very few that can teach you how to manage the BAND that makes a game.”
“That being the case… Be addicted to detail, quality, and people. I don’t manage projects as much as I manage the team that makes the product and when I do that correctly the by-product is kick ass software. They respect you for that, trust me.”
Thanks Travis. This was very insightful. I appreciate your time.
“Anytime!!”
“I remember writing fiction for World of Darkness and being the one person in the room screaming: WHERE ARE THE BLACK PEOPLE?! I went so far to insist one kind of Vampire got BLACKER as they got more powerful (Assamite Clan in Vampire). This eventually got my coworkers to include more people of color into the fabric of our mythos. Prominent minority characters were always included because it was fitting and proper. Not just because they didn’t want to answer my pointed questions like how come white people are the only people allowed to be Vampires, Werewolves and Wizards. I am sure my years of doing this led to my character Dante being on the cover of Mage: The Ascension.”
“I honestly give the gaming community a lot of credit for being progressive. In my history of being in this business some of the most influential and creative individuals have been gay, lesbian and transgender. I have been lucky to be in that mix because it really reaffirmed for me what I already knew. It doesn’t matter who you love or how you feel about yourself… you just need to have creative ideas and you can make it in this business. Good ideas come from everyone.”“Diversity (in my opinion) means you will have the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. That perspective is important in entertainment. I think it’s the nexus of a great narrative. Think of how different Star Wars would have been if Chewie told the story.”
“When I started in this business I was typically the lone minority in the room full of white guys. Last year I went to a Blacks In Gaming function and we filled up a whole ballroom. It was a fantastic experience. It made me feel great to see how diversity and tolerance is getting better in gaming. We are not done yet, but it’s far better than when I started. I got a little emotional during that function, it wasn’t because I won some XBOX games.”
True. So, last question, if I wanted to become a producer. What advice would you give me? How could I break in?
“I don’t believe you can start off being a producer. A producer is a job that you get after you understand the game making process. Starting in QA or Art, Code, Design is the best route to go. A producer is as good as her gut tells her. So what you need to do is spend time inside the process first so that your decision making is ‘seasoned’. You will be leading people and they need to be secure in what you know what you are doing. There are plenty of schools that teach you how to make a game. There are very few that can teach you how to manage the BAND that makes a game.”
“That being the case… Be addicted to detail, quality, and people. I don’t manage projects as much as I manage the team that makes the product and when I do that correctly the by-product is kick ass software. They respect you for that, trust me.”
Thanks Travis. This was very insightful. I appreciate your time.
“Anytime!!”
Shawn Alexander Allen – Founder/Game Director | We Are Game Devs
Shawn Alexander Allen – Founder/Game Director
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 17, 2016.
“Artist. Writer. Game Designer. Activist. Critic. Speaker. Thinker.”
Shawn, thanks for talking with me today! It’s been awhile since we spoke. Are you still working on your indie project?
“Yeah, still working on it.”
What’s the name of your project?
“It’s called Treachery in Beatdown City.”
How would you describe your responsibilities in the creation of the game?
“That’s a big question [Laughs]. I came up with the initial idea, originally creating artwork and a basic story. I reached out to my friend Manny to see if he wanted to code on it, but it wasn’t until I set up a project in GameMaker and hooked up the player with controls that he realized I’d make it without him. So I basically do everything that isn’t direct coding. I also don’t do the music.”
Sometimes you need to start something before others will jump in. It builds confidence in others that you are serious. Or at least they feel like they don’t want to be left out.
“It’s true. It was pretty much just a concept at the time. It can be easy to just throw ideas out there, but people will get really motivated when they can see some aspect of the game working.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Concepts take shape when they get out of your head and into a tangible, physical space (paper, concept art, prototype, etc…).
“That’s also true. I had a lot of ideas that changed when we started actually making the game. The basic gameplay changed drastically, partially because of trying to resolve issues in GameMaker with animation, but the conceit actually made the game more interesting. Even still, I get to this point where until an idea is up and running I usually don’t know the amount of work that will need to go in in order to get it working right. (our game is also fairly complex in terms of development, as a beat ‘em up/action RPG).”
I can’t wait to play your game. The mashup of concepts intrigues me. Are you still using Game Maker to create the game?
“No, it’s running in Unity currently. We started building it in GameMaker, got a proof of concept done, and then used that to pitch Sony for a Playstation Mobile contract. PSM didn’t have anything to do with GameMaker, so we had to use their specific SDK which relied on C#. Then when PSM folded we moved it into Unity completely using a lot of the C# knowledge while also having to relearn how to do almost everything [Laughs]. (not to say GameMaker isn’t viable, most Vlambeer games are made in GameMaker).”
“Learning how to think, how to create and think about creation, or just learning how to creatively code, are far more important than a ‘game design degree’ which might actually limit you.”
Such a huge undertaking. Treachery is not your first experience with game development. You were not always indie. What was your first job in game development?
“My first job working in games was working as a ‘Gameplay Capture Artist’ at Rockstar Games, which pretty much meant I would make the footage that would go into trailers using a variety of debug tools (like things such as invincibility cheats, spawning vehicles, detaching/moving the camera, etc.). I also helped, via writing request documents, to make the debug tools more robust.”
“I didn’t have a whole lot of design responsibilities, if any, really, at my job. Treachery was where I started flexing my design muscles, but also I worked on some games in game jams before I went full time on the project. I also wrote game design criticism for my own website a few years back. I spent a lot of time thinking about games and how they work.”
So, what do you think influenced your design sensibilities more, working at Rockstar, the game jams, or the critiques? I assume they all had equal influence.
“Well, I started coming up with game ideas in a somewhat serious manner in high school. It’s why I wanted to make them eventually. That lead me to start writing about them more critically. It was actually really frustrating working at the publishing side of a game company with no real influence over direct game design ideas, which definitely lead me to want to make my own games, even more so.”
Yeah, working on the video end, the game is practically done by the time you see it I imagine. You’re not early enough in the pipeline to influence. Also, being on the publishing side you aren’t embedded in the game development team.
“Actually I worked on a couple of games from a really early on aspect, it’s just the design philosophies were already being worked on by the designers, which I wasn’t. I think that gave me a unique view, seeing the games without being so close to the design, which was pretty much locked. But also, I don’t enjoy open world games from a basic design standpoint, and the things I wanted to change were probably too big for the scope the team even had.”
“It’s why working on smaller scale games, more focused games, made more sense for me. You can have ambition without breaking some predetermined open world game’s systems.”
“I wanted to have a more design centric role, but that didn’t exactly work out.”
Did you get a formal education in video editing prior to your Rockstar position? If so, where did you go to school?
“I went to School of Visual Arts for Graphic Design, then transferred to ‘Computer Art’ which basically means 3D animation. We were tasked with making short 3D movies, and yet there was zero in the way of editing and camera training in any of our classes. They didn’t even actually teach us much in the way of environmental modeling, just characters and animation.
“I did, however, love comics a lot, and I read things like How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way as a kid, so I had ideas of camera angles that could create powerful emotions. I took a panel class in lieu of there being any sort of storyboarding class in the cartooning (comic) department, which no one else did.”
“So when I graduated, despite not being that big of a film guy, I understood camera work. Over my 4+ years at Rockstar I educated myself about film and camera work and cinematography to keep improving my work.”
I loved that book. I had a copy of that as well. How has your education served you in what you are doing now?
“I honestly have no clue. College overall feels kind of wasteful. I’m over $100K in debt, which makes working on my own projects very difficult. My thesis (short film) in school got me my job at Rockstar, and being at Rockstar definitely opened some doors for me, but I can’t really pinpoint if SVA did more good than harm.”
“Attending free talks and conferences at places like the NYU Game Center have done more for validating my design skills, as well as participating in game jams, too.”
“But I do know that I am an anomaly. People tell me that all the time. I am very good at dissecting and teaching myself things.”
The value of school is somewhat debatable when related to game development. Some people feel it is necessary, while I know some who have done well without completing a formal education. The common denominator is people still need a drive to learn.
“Yeah for sure, I can’t speak for anyone on this but myself, and I had to turn down the MFA program at NYU’s Game Center because I couldn’t afford it. Instead I went and founded my own company, and am a mentor to a lot of people, as well as a critic well versed in explaining these things…”
“How we learn is always different, and everyone needs to examine what is best for them, although I would absolutely caution against attending most game design programs that aren’t ‘the best’. Learning how to think, how to create and think about creation, or just learning how to creatively code, are far more important than a ‘game design degree’ which might actually limit you. It’s a buzzword these days, and places will try to take advantage while selling you a bunk degree.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Can you explain what your typical work day is like, in your indie experience?
“I wouldn’t say I have one. I am in the middle of a lot of flux right now. I had to take a job recently to keep myself alive, and the job ended unexpectedly.”
“I know I used to wake up and work from home meeting my coworker once a week and that was actually not a good idea – working together is the best way to work.”
“This is probably the aspect of the project that needs the most attention, constant reevaluation and rethinking.”
Are there any tools or plugins that you use regularly? Anything you can’t live without?
“For me? Google docs, Photoshop, Sketchbook… Spotify?”
“Also FRAPS and Handbrake for video recording for playtesting/bugtesting.”
How do you stay up on the latest trends in game design and the industry?
“I guess I pay a lot of attention to Gamasutra.com, I also follow a lot of people on Twitter, and I’m friends with a lot of game developers. Sometimes I participate in judging, I also go to conferences.”
“I play games that seem like they have something to add to my own experiences, either overall or on a more minute scale, like a specific menu style – but that can take from whenever, not just the most up to date things, because I’d say games actually have this amnesia where newer designers who may have skipped whole game generations or genre’s try to reinvent things and actually do a worse job of it.”
There are many things that have had previous iterations in prior games. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
“Yeah, exactly. At my first game jam even one group made an infinite runner but the team wasn’t familiar with other games in the genre, so they made all of these mistakes which were mitigated in other games prior… and that’s a fairly recent genre.”
What advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the game industry today?
“[Laughs], that’s always this really loaded question.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Do your best [Laughs].
“I’d say, the best thing I can offer, is that games are not just these utilitarian things that don’t matter. Games in general have been important to who we are as humans. So by all means, make video games, find something you like about them and bring that to the table, but also don’t treat them as these empty, soulless vessels devoid of cultural weight. Think of games like music, like TV, like poetry, like novels, like movies. They matter, and if you just make X game in Y genre without thinking it through, you’ll probably get your idea copied and you’ll be mad, especially if the copies do better. But, if you inject your game with your essence, with some cultural weight, you will be able to create something that is bigger than just the idea, the art style, or the core mechanic.”
If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say? What is your tagline?
“For that I had to go to my twitter profile. Artist. Writer. Game Designer. Activist. Critic. Speaker. Thinker.”
Where can people find you?
“I can be found at @anuchallenger on Twitter, that’s the easiest way to say what’s up or follow what I’m doing. I also post a bit more infrequently at @beatdown_city about my game, and those tweets are usually more detailed and game specific (so less crossover).”
Shawn, thank you for your time. This has been a pleasure.
“Thanks for reaching out, I had fun.”
Shawn Alexander Allen – Founder/Game Director
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 17, 2016.
“Artist. Writer. Game Designer. Activist. Critic. Speaker. Thinker.”
Shawn, thanks for talking with me today! It’s been awhile since we spoke. Are you still working on your indie project?
“Yeah, still working on it.”
What’s the name of your project?
“It’s called Treachery in Beatdown City.”
How would you describe your responsibilities in the creation of the game?
“That’s a big question [Laughs]. I came up with the initial idea, originally creating artwork and a basic story. I reached out to my friend Manny to see if he wanted to code on it, but it wasn’t until I set up a project in GameMaker and hooked up the player with controls that he realized I’d make it without him. So I basically do everything that isn’t direct coding. I also don’t do the music.”
Sometimes you need to start something before others will jump in. It builds confidence in others that you are serious. Or at least they feel like they don’t want to be left out.
“It’s true. It was pretty much just a concept at the time. It can be easy to just throw ideas out there, but people will get really motivated when they can see some aspect of the game working.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Concepts take shape when they get out of your head and into a tangible, physical space (paper, concept art, prototype, etc…).
“That’s also true. I had a lot of ideas that changed when we started actually making the game. The basic gameplay changed drastically, partially because of trying to resolve issues in GameMaker with animation, but the conceit actually made the game more interesting. Even still, I get to this point where until an idea is up and running I usually don’t know the amount of work that will need to go in in order to get it working right. (our game is also fairly complex in terms of development, as a beat ‘em up/action RPG).”
I can’t wait to play your game. The mashup of concepts intrigues me. Are you still using Game Maker to create the game?
“No, it’s running in Unity currently. We started building it in GameMaker, got a proof of concept done, and then used that to pitch Sony for a Playstation Mobile contract. PSM didn’t have anything to do with GameMaker, so we had to use their specific SDK which relied on C#. Then when PSM folded we moved it into Unity completely using a lot of the C# knowledge while also having to relearn how to do almost everything [Laughs]. (not to say GameMaker isn’t viable, most Vlambeer games are made in GameMaker).”
“Learning how to think, how to create and think about creation, or just learning how to creatively code, are far more important than a ‘game design degree’ which might actually limit you.”
Such a huge undertaking. Treachery is not your first experience with game development. You were not always indie. What was your first job in game development?
“My first job working in games was working as a ‘Gameplay Capture Artist’ at Rockstar Games, which pretty much meant I would make the footage that would go into trailers using a variety of debug tools (like things such as invincibility cheats, spawning vehicles, detaching/moving the camera, etc.). I also helped, via writing request documents, to make the debug tools more robust.”
“I didn’t have a whole lot of design responsibilities, if any, really, at my job. Treachery was where I started flexing my design muscles, but also I worked on some games in game jams before I went full time on the project. I also wrote game design criticism for my own website a few years back. I spent a lot of time thinking about games and how they work.”
So, what do you think influenced your design sensibilities more, working at Rockstar, the game jams, or the critiques? I assume they all had equal influence.
“Well, I started coming up with game ideas in a somewhat serious manner in high school. It’s why I wanted to make them eventually. That lead me to start writing about them more critically. It was actually really frustrating working at the publishing side of a game company with no real influence over direct game design ideas, which definitely lead me to want to make my own games, even more so.”
Yeah, working on the video end, the game is practically done by the time you see it I imagine. You’re not early enough in the pipeline to influence. Also, being on the publishing side you aren’t embedded in the game development team.“Actually I worked on a couple of games from a really early on aspect, it’s just the design philosophies were already being worked on by the designers, which I wasn’t. I think that gave me a unique view, seeing the games without being so close to the design, which was pretty much locked. But also, I don’t enjoy open world games from a basic design standpoint, and the things I wanted to change were probably too big for the scope the team even had.”
“It’s why working on smaller scale games, more focused games, made more sense for me. You can have ambition without breaking some predetermined open world game’s systems.”
“I wanted to have a more design centric role, but that didn’t exactly work out.”
Did you get a formal education in video editing prior to your Rockstar position? If so, where did you go to school?
“I went to School of Visual Arts for Graphic Design, then transferred to ‘Computer Art’ which basically means 3D animation. We were tasked with making short 3D movies, and yet there was zero in the way of editing and camera training in any of our classes. They didn’t even actually teach us much in the way of environmental modeling, just characters and animation.
“I did, however, love comics a lot, and I read things like How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way as a kid, so I had ideas of camera angles that could create powerful emotions. I took a panel class in lieu of there being any sort of storyboarding class in the cartooning (comic) department, which no one else did.”
“So when I graduated, despite not being that big of a film guy, I understood camera work. Over my 4+ years at Rockstar I educated myself about film and camera work and cinematography to keep improving my work.”
I loved that book. I had a copy of that as well. How has your education served you in what you are doing now?
“I honestly have no clue. College overall feels kind of wasteful. I’m over $100K in debt, which makes working on my own projects very difficult. My thesis (short film) in school got me my job at Rockstar, and being at Rockstar definitely opened some doors for me, but I can’t really pinpoint if SVA did more good than harm.”
“Attending free talks and conferences at places like the NYU Game Center have done more for validating my design skills, as well as participating in game jams, too.”
“But I do know that I am an anomaly. People tell me that all the time. I am very good at dissecting and teaching myself things.”
The value of school is somewhat debatable when related to game development. Some people feel it is necessary, while I know some who have done well without completing a formal education. The common denominator is people still need a drive to learn.
“Yeah for sure, I can’t speak for anyone on this but myself, and I had to turn down the MFA program at NYU’s Game Center because I couldn’t afford it. Instead I went and founded my own company, and am a mentor to a lot of people, as well as a critic well versed in explaining these things…”
“How we learn is always different, and everyone needs to examine what is best for them, although I would absolutely caution against attending most game design programs that aren’t ‘the best’. Learning how to think, how to create and think about creation, or just learning how to creatively code, are far more important than a ‘game design degree’ which might actually limit you. It’s a buzzword these days, and places will try to take advantage while selling you a bunk degree.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Can you explain what your typical work day is like, in your indie experience?
“I wouldn’t say I have one. I am in the middle of a lot of flux right now. I had to take a job recently to keep myself alive, and the job ended unexpectedly.”
“I know I used to wake up and work from home meeting my coworker once a week and that was actually not a good idea – working together is the best way to work.”
“This is probably the aspect of the project that needs the most attention, constant reevaluation and rethinking.”
Are there any tools or plugins that you use regularly? Anything you can’t live without?
“For me? Google docs, Photoshop, Sketchbook… Spotify?”
“Also FRAPS and Handbrake for video recording for playtesting/bugtesting.”
How do you stay up on the latest trends in game design and the industry?
“I guess I pay a lot of attention to Gamasutra.com, I also follow a lot of people on Twitter, and I’m friends with a lot of game developers. Sometimes I participate in judging, I also go to conferences.”
“I play games that seem like they have something to add to my own experiences, either overall or on a more minute scale, like a specific menu style – but that can take from whenever, not just the most up to date things, because I’d say games actually have this amnesia where newer designers who may have skipped whole game generations or genre’s try to reinvent things and actually do a worse job of it.”
There are many things that have had previous iterations in prior games. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.
“Yeah, exactly. At my first game jam even one group made an infinite runner but the team wasn’t familiar with other games in the genre, so they made all of these mistakes which were mitigated in other games prior… and that’s a fairly recent genre.”
What advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the game industry today?
“[Laughs], that’s always this really loaded question.”
Treachery in Beatdown City
Do your best [Laughs].
“I’d say, the best thing I can offer, is that games are not just these utilitarian things that don’t matter. Games in general have been important to who we are as humans. So by all means, make video games, find something you like about them and bring that to the table, but also don’t treat them as these empty, soulless vessels devoid of cultural weight. Think of games like music, like TV, like poetry, like novels, like movies. They matter, and if you just make X game in Y genre without thinking it through, you’ll probably get your idea copied and you’ll be mad, especially if the copies do better. But, if you inject your game with your essence, with some cultural weight, you will be able to create something that is bigger than just the idea, the art style, or the core mechanic.”
If you had to describe yourself in one sentence, what would you say? What is your tagline?
“For that I had to go to my twitter profile. Artist. Writer. Game Designer. Activist. Critic. Speaker. Thinker.”
Where can people find you?
“I can be found at @anuchallenger on Twitter, that’s the easiest way to say what’s up or follow what I’m doing. I also post a bit more infrequently at @beatdown_city about my game, and those tweets are usually more detailed and game specific (so less crossover).”
Shawn, thank you for your time. This has been a pleasure.
“Thanks for reaching out, I had fun.”
Caleb Epps – Audio Director | We Are Game Devs
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Caleb Epps – Audio Director
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 18, 2016. 0
“Like the ’99 Summer Jam”
Caleb, so good to talk with you!
“Great to talk with you! It’s been too long!”
If I remember correctly, when I first met you, you were employed at Harmonix. I was working at Backbone on Rock Band or Dance Central. I can’t remember. Where are you working now?
“So, I’ve made a couple of moves since my Harmonix days. About 4 years ago, I came west, to EA, and worked at a small studio that was formed on the Redwood Shores campus, called Waystone Games. About 4 months ago, I left EA and joined some ex-Waystone folks at a new venture called Spiritwalk Games.”
The Dawngate team?
“Exactly. We were put together specifically to make Dawngate, I was the Audio Director on that game, my first gig running the audio show for a game, so I was pretty crushed when it was canceled. I’ve had some time to process though.”
So, what is your job title now?
“Well, we’re doing the whole flat structure thing at Spiritwalk, so I’m just a person who is on the team. For all intents and purposes though, I’m still Audio Directing”
So, with most startups the flat structure means you have an area of focus, but you need to wear different hats. Can you give us some insight into your current responsibilities? What is your typical workday like?
“Sure, there’s still a lot of baseline setup for audio stuff that the game needs, so I’m doing a bunch of audio work right now, but I’m also helping out with design, marketing strategy, building things, basically, whatever needs doing. The startup life is really all about asking yourself ‘What would be the most helpful thing for all of us right now?’; And if that’s hanging a TV on the wall, you hang a TV on the wall. I worked at a place that sold TV mounts right after college so I know way too much about TV mounts.”
Right, it’s about what work needs to be done. Are you capable of doing it? Then jump in.
“Exactly. After Dawngate was cancelled I was really fortunate to bounce over to do some work on the mobile side of EA, and I worked under a tremendous designer named Ian Hetu, who just let me pick up whatever I wanted to help with, he was down to mentor me in design stuff, so I did some design. I picked up shuriken, unity’s particle effects system (we were prototyping in unity) and did some VFX work. It was a great time to do a lot of learning and just be curious and expand my skillset.”
So, you got a crash course in several new disciplines.
“Right. Part of why I love making games is that there’s always interesting problems to solve. I always try to be ‘conversant’ in as many disciplines as possible so that I can work better with my colleagues who are super skilled in those areas. Also, if I ever go out and try to make my solo magnum opus, I’ll be better prepared.” [Smiles]
Yes. You must be willing to learn a lot of different things to be able to be a one man shop. So, you’ve contributed to several games, not just in an audio capacity, but in many other areas. Can you list a few of the games you’ve worked on in your career?
“Sure, it’s not a terribly diverse list so far! I’ve worked on Rock Band 2, 3, Beatles Rock Band, Lego Rock Band, Green Day Rock Band, Dance Central 1 and a little bit on 2, Rock Band Blitz, and I did some early work on Fantasia: Music Evolved. After that was Dawngate, and after that it’s all unannounced things.”
“The startup life is really all about asking yourself ‘What would be the most helpful thing for all of us right now?’”
Working at Harmonix, was probably a dream come true for an audiophile. I assume it was your first job? If so, how did you get that job?
“It was through college connections. I used to DJ at parties when I was an undergrad at Harvard. I closed out a party one night, playing after a band called The Blanks, which was full of guys who went on to Harmonix: John Drake, who’s now at Sony, Jon Carter, who was on stage at the Apple TV press conference recently, and Matt Boch, who’s now teaching at NYU while still working at Harmonix. After I finished up my Masters degree out north of LA at CalArts, I gave Matt a call and he got me an interview at Harmonix. I’m afraid that my story really does corroborate the whole ‘it’s who you know’ thing.”
It’s very true. Connections help you get ahead and in the door at most game companies. So, you went to Harvard and CalArts? What did you get your degrees in?
“My undergrad degree is in Afro-American Studies, and my graduate degree is in Experimental Sound Practices… not the most likely combo.”
So, did you always want a career in music or sound? When did you decide this could be the area in which you could build a living?
“I knew I wanted to make sounds (be it sound design or music) after I was invited to sit in on a workshop led by a couple of electronic musicians who collectively go by Matmos. Another electronic musician named Keith Fullerton Whitman was also there. They talked about their process, and how they worked with sounds and samples and I was really intrigued. At that point I had been messing around with making hip-hop beats on my computer a bit, mostly using a program called Reason, which is still going strong today. Seeing what those guys were doing though, made me realize there was so much more I could be doing than just messing around with an emulated TR-808. At about the same time, I had decided that I wanted to get back into acting in theatre productions (which I had done in high school) and I landed a part in a super experimental play both as an actor, but also as the sound designer/composer. I wrote a CRAZY weird score for that show.”
Did this happen before or after Harvard?
“This was while I was there, my senior year. After that first show I kept on doing theatrical sound design until I headed off to LA for grad school.”
So, what is Experimental Sound Practices?
“It’s what CalArts calls its electronic music program. It’s been going for quite some time.”
Where did you grow up?
“Just outside of Harvard square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was a university brat, my dad worked at Harvard, and my mom worked at Suffolk University, which is in downtown Boston.”
Upon getting the masters degree, did you want to get into games? Or was it just a possible opportunity? Did you consider other fields?
“Not really, well, I had this ‘plan’ that I was going to become an A&R guy for a record label, and be the suit in the back of the room that discovers bands, but that was before I decided to head to grad school. At that point I was really focused on being an artist first, maybe being some mix of a rapper/producer and a contemporary artist. My first year in grad school though, one of the guys who was doing audio for the PS3 reboot of Warhawk came by and gave a talk about his job. I had always been a very devoted gamer, I think I was in the middle of replaying Chrono Trigger for like the 3rd time when he came by for that talk. Seeing how interesting the technical challenges were in order to ship a game, it made me realize that I could merge my vocation and avocation and find a career that could satisfy both. At that point I was dead set on working in games. Even though my advisor at CalArts looked down on it. He thought I would be selling out.”
It’s hard for some people to see the industry as a viable career with real growth and creativity.
“Yeah, I think some people just don’t see games as a viable form of media. I mean, it’s true that games are an intersection of art and product, so to some extent the purity of artistic expression can be compromised there, but there’s just SO MUCH potential in this medium. It’s so exciting to be a part of figuring this out.”
How long have you been in the game industry?
“It’s been about 8 years now. It’s kinda flown by. Constantly shipping games helps with that I guess.”
Have you seen techniques in game audio implementation change in significant ways? Are there any trends you see developing? Anything new that interests you?
“Totally. I mean, there are a bunch of different threads you can follow there. There are aesthetic trends, like Battlefield 3 came out and everyone was all about DISTORTION for a bit (me included) and then there are technical trends, you have the rise of the use of middleware like Wwise and FMOD, which are bring some great workflow improvements and controls to making game audio, also, not to lean too heavily on DICE here, but you have the development of HDR (High Dynamic Range) Audio, which came out of the Bad Company series, and that’s changed how games are mixed in a big way. Now everyone is trying to figure out audio techniques and best practices for VR, which is an interesting challenge, not one I’m currently picking at, but it’s nice to participate in the #gameaudio discourse and try to help with big problems like that.”
How do you stay up on the latest developments? Books, websites,… Twitter?
“There’s a pretty strong game audio twitter community, and we now have a slack channel where folks hang out and swap ideas. GDC is great, and the game audio community there is really strong and very welcoming. Also, there’s some great game audio podcasts: Tonebenders, the Game Audio Podcast, the Game audio Hour. Between all of those, plus designingsound.com and createdigitalmusic.com most of the info is out there to stay up to date.”
What skills or traits are important to a successful career in game audio?
“There’s a baseline of skill that’s necessary; You need a good ear, and you need to know your way around a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) but I think the most important thing that’s often overlooked is that you need to be a really strong collaborator and have excellent interpersonal skills. It’s very important to try to reach outside your discipline wherever possible; to be conversant enough in code to know how best to ask your engineering partners for the help of hookups that you need, and to work closely with the artists whose work you’re in an artistic dialogue with.
Interpersonal relationships are also how you advance your career. Without a group of friends and allies who are happy to help you succeed, it’s hard to make your way. It can’t be done by pure skill alone.”
Collaboration is the backbone to a successful project. Collaboration and patience.
“Also massive amounts of caffeine.”
“…that doesn’t really touch upon the need for other types of stories, there are still a vast number of very personal stories to be told.”
Yes, the appropriate amount of “go juice” is needed. Are there any tools or programs you like to use on the job? What are your most used/favorite programs?
“I use a program called REAPER as the backbone of my audio workflow. I started using it when I was setting up the process for RBN (Rock Band’s user generated content initiative). This project is the first time I’ve given up the ‘industry standard’ DAWs in favor of a REAPER only setup. I also started using a set of standard VST plugins called uhbik not that long ago. If someone wanted to get started in sound design, I’d point them at those two sets of software. Also, every sound designer has to have a portable field recorder, I carry a Sony PCM M-10 around with me pretty much all the time. For this latest project, I’ve started down the horrible rabbit hole of hardware eurorack synthesizer modules, which is a dangerous place to go for one’s budget, but you can make some really unique sounds with that stuff.”
Looking back over your career. Is there anything you would do differently? Anything you wish you knew before encountering it?
“Hmmm, I think if I could do it again, I would’ve taken some time for an indie project. The Afro-American studies side of my brain has a lot of game ideas that I’d love to take a crack at at some point. But it’s hard to pour your passion into one game during the day, be a good and involved father, AND make another game on the side. There’s always time though, life is long.”
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Audio
Caleb Epps – Audio Director
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 18, 2016. 0
“Like the ’99 Summer Jam”
Caleb, so good to talk with you!
“Great to talk with you! It’s been too long!”
If I remember correctly, when I first met you, you were employed at Harmonix. I was working at Backbone on Rock Band or Dance Central. I can’t remember. Where are you working now?
“So, I’ve made a couple of moves since my Harmonix days. About 4 years ago, I came west, to EA, and worked at a small studio that was formed on the Redwood Shores campus, called Waystone Games. About 4 months ago, I left EA and joined some ex-Waystone folks at a new venture called Spiritwalk Games.”
The Dawngate team?
“Exactly. We were put together specifically to make Dawngate, I was the Audio Director on that game, my first gig running the audio show for a game, so I was pretty crushed when it was canceled. I’ve had some time to process though.”
So, what is your job title now?
“Well, we’re doing the whole flat structure thing at Spiritwalk, so I’m just a person who is on the team. For all intents and purposes though, I’m still Audio Directing”
So, with most startups the flat structure means you have an area of focus, but you need to wear different hats. Can you give us some insight into your current responsibilities? What is your typical workday like?
“Sure, there’s still a lot of baseline setup for audio stuff that the game needs, so I’m doing a bunch of audio work right now, but I’m also helping out with design, marketing strategy, building things, basically, whatever needs doing. The startup life is really all about asking yourself ‘What would be the most helpful thing for all of us right now?’; And if that’s hanging a TV on the wall, you hang a TV on the wall. I worked at a place that sold TV mounts right after college so I know way too much about TV mounts.”
Right, it’s about what work needs to be done. Are you capable of doing it? Then jump in.
“Exactly. After Dawngate was cancelled I was really fortunate to bounce over to do some work on the mobile side of EA, and I worked under a tremendous designer named Ian Hetu, who just let me pick up whatever I wanted to help with, he was down to mentor me in design stuff, so I did some design. I picked up shuriken, unity’s particle effects system (we were prototyping in unity) and did some VFX work. It was a great time to do a lot of learning and just be curious and expand my skillset.”
So, you got a crash course in several new disciplines.
“Right. Part of why I love making games is that there’s always interesting problems to solve. I always try to be ‘conversant’ in as many disciplines as possible so that I can work better with my colleagues who are super skilled in those areas. Also, if I ever go out and try to make my solo magnum opus, I’ll be better prepared.” [Smiles]
Yes. You must be willing to learn a lot of different things to be able to be a one man shop. So, you’ve contributed to several games, not just in an audio capacity, but in many other areas. Can you list a few of the games you’ve worked on in your career?
“Sure, it’s not a terribly diverse list so far! I’ve worked on Rock Band 2, 3, Beatles Rock Band, Lego Rock Band, Green Day Rock Band, Dance Central 1 and a little bit on 2, Rock Band Blitz, and I did some early work on Fantasia: Music Evolved. After that was Dawngate, and after that it’s all unannounced things.”
“The startup life is really all about asking yourself ‘What would be the most helpful thing for all of us right now?’”
Working at Harmonix, was probably a dream come true for an audiophile. I assume it was your first job? If so, how did you get that job?
“It was through college connections. I used to DJ at parties when I was an undergrad at Harvard. I closed out a party one night, playing after a band called The Blanks, which was full of guys who went on to Harmonix: John Drake, who’s now at Sony, Jon Carter, who was on stage at the Apple TV press conference recently, and Matt Boch, who’s now teaching at NYU while still working at Harmonix. After I finished up my Masters degree out north of LA at CalArts, I gave Matt a call and he got me an interview at Harmonix. I’m afraid that my story really does corroborate the whole ‘it’s who you know’ thing.”
It’s very true. Connections help you get ahead and in the door at most game companies. So, you went to Harvard and CalArts? What did you get your degrees in?
“My undergrad degree is in Afro-American Studies, and my graduate degree is in Experimental Sound Practices… not the most likely combo.”
So, did you always want a career in music or sound? When did you decide this could be the area in which you could build a living?“I knew I wanted to make sounds (be it sound design or music) after I was invited to sit in on a workshop led by a couple of electronic musicians who collectively go by Matmos. Another electronic musician named Keith Fullerton Whitman was also there. They talked about their process, and how they worked with sounds and samples and I was really intrigued. At that point I had been messing around with making hip-hop beats on my computer a bit, mostly using a program called Reason, which is still going strong today. Seeing what those guys were doing though, made me realize there was so much more I could be doing than just messing around with an emulated TR-808. At about the same time, I had decided that I wanted to get back into acting in theatre productions (which I had done in high school) and I landed a part in a super experimental play both as an actor, but also as the sound designer/composer. I wrote a CRAZY weird score for that show.”
Did this happen before or after Harvard?
“This was while I was there, my senior year. After that first show I kept on doing theatrical sound design until I headed off to LA for grad school.”
So, what is Experimental Sound Practices?
“It’s what CalArts calls its electronic music program. It’s been going for quite some time.”
Where did you grow up?
“Just outside of Harvard square in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I was a university brat, my dad worked at Harvard, and my mom worked at Suffolk University, which is in downtown Boston.”
Upon getting the masters degree, did you want to get into games? Or was it just a possible opportunity? Did you consider other fields?
“Not really, well, I had this ‘plan’ that I was going to become an A&R guy for a record label, and be the suit in the back of the room that discovers bands, but that was before I decided to head to grad school. At that point I was really focused on being an artist first, maybe being some mix of a rapper/producer and a contemporary artist. My first year in grad school though, one of the guys who was doing audio for the PS3 reboot of Warhawk came by and gave a talk about his job. I had always been a very devoted gamer, I think I was in the middle of replaying Chrono Trigger for like the 3rd time when he came by for that talk. Seeing how interesting the technical challenges were in order to ship a game, it made me realize that I could merge my vocation and avocation and find a career that could satisfy both. At that point I was dead set on working in games. Even though my advisor at CalArts looked down on it. He thought I would be selling out.”
It’s hard for some people to see the industry as a viable career with real growth and creativity.
“Yeah, I think some people just don’t see games as a viable form of media. I mean, it’s true that games are an intersection of art and product, so to some extent the purity of artistic expression can be compromised there, but there’s just SO MUCH potential in this medium. It’s so exciting to be a part of figuring this out.”
How long have you been in the game industry?
“It’s been about 8 years now. It’s kinda flown by. Constantly shipping games helps with that I guess.”
Have you seen techniques in game audio implementation change in significant ways? Are there any trends you see developing? Anything new that interests you?
“Totally. I mean, there are a bunch of different threads you can follow there. There are aesthetic trends, like Battlefield 3 came out and everyone was all about DISTORTION for a bit (me included) and then there are technical trends, you have the rise of the use of middleware like Wwise and FMOD, which are bring some great workflow improvements and controls to making game audio, also, not to lean too heavily on DICE here, but you have the development of HDR (High Dynamic Range) Audio, which came out of the Bad Company series, and that’s changed how games are mixed in a big way. Now everyone is trying to figure out audio techniques and best practices for VR, which is an interesting challenge, not one I’m currently picking at, but it’s nice to participate in the #gameaudio discourse and try to help with big problems like that.”
How do you stay up on the latest developments? Books, websites,… Twitter?
“There’s a pretty strong game audio twitter community, and we now have a slack channel where folks hang out and swap ideas. GDC is great, and the game audio community there is really strong and very welcoming. Also, there’s some great game audio podcasts: Tonebenders, the Game Audio Podcast, the Game audio Hour. Between all of those, plus designingsound.com and createdigitalmusic.com most of the info is out there to stay up to date.”
What skills or traits are important to a successful career in game audio?
“There’s a baseline of skill that’s necessary; You need a good ear, and you need to know your way around a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) but I think the most important thing that’s often overlooked is that you need to be a really strong collaborator and have excellent interpersonal skills. It’s very important to try to reach outside your discipline wherever possible; to be conversant enough in code to know how best to ask your engineering partners for the help of hookups that you need, and to work closely with the artists whose work you’re in an artistic dialogue with.
Interpersonal relationships are also how you advance your career. Without a group of friends and allies who are happy to help you succeed, it’s hard to make your way. It can’t be done by pure skill alone.”
Collaboration is the backbone to a successful project. Collaboration and patience.
“Also massive amounts of caffeine.”
“…that doesn’t really touch upon the need for other types of stories, there are still a vast number of very personal stories to be told.”
Yes, the appropriate amount of “go juice” is needed. Are there any tools or programs you like to use on the job? What are your most used/favorite programs?
“I use a program called REAPER as the backbone of my audio workflow. I started using it when I was setting up the process for RBN (Rock Band’s user generated content initiative). This project is the first time I’ve given up the ‘industry standard’ DAWs in favor of a REAPER only setup. I also started using a set of standard VST plugins called uhbik not that long ago. If someone wanted to get started in sound design, I’d point them at those two sets of software. Also, every sound designer has to have a portable field recorder, I carry a Sony PCM M-10 around with me pretty much all the time. For this latest project, I’ve started down the horrible rabbit hole of hardware eurorack synthesizer modules, which is a dangerous place to go for one’s budget, but you can make some really unique sounds with that stuff.”
Looking back over your career. Is there anything you would do differently? Anything you wish you knew before encountering it?
“Hmmm, I think if I could do it again, I would’ve taken some time for an indie project. The Afro-American studies side of my brain has a lot of game ideas that I’d love to take a crack at at some point. But it’s hard to pour your passion into one game during the day, be a good and involved father, AND make another game on the side. There’s always time though, life is long.”
The Black experience is fertile ground for a game. I’m hoping one will be created someday that will do it justice. “Agreed. I think there’s a really large array of experiences that aren’t yet being captured by games. While I do think that there are some that deal with the experience of otherness, which black folks experience as part of daily life, there aren’t many that really get specific. I think that there have been big changes within the industry in terms of how we collectively think about race, and exactly who we’re telling stories for. I think that Manveer Heir’s GDC talks helped to get the conversation started around inclusion, around letting everyone feel like they can participate, but that doesn’t really touch upon the need for other types of stories, there are still a vast number of very personal stories to be told.”
Yes, a personal experience in the vein of Gone Home would be a great story and perspective. Historical fiction is also good, like the Assassin’s Creed game. I think the book/film The Spook Who Sat by the Door would be great material.
“Definitely! I’ve always wanted to take a crack at Black Skin White Masks by Franz Fannon. It’s a bit of beating a dead horse at this point, but I think there was something really profound about the racial passing gameplay in Assassin’s Creed: Liberation.”
YES! Such a great mechanic!
“And so well tied into that experience as well. Folks hold up Braid as an excellent example of a tight integration between mechanic and narrative, and that being where games are at their best. I think that passing mechanic hits that mark as well. I got the same feeling playing that as when I get uncomfortable about code switching.”
Code switching. A unique personal experience in race.
“Exactly. Especially for me, being A) mixed race and B) working in a predominantly white, highly technical industry. That really hit home.”
If you could give advice to someone who wants to break into game audio, what advice would you give them?
“I think now is a really good time to break in. There are so many indie projects popping up at any given time, there’s a ton of opportunity to get familiar with game audio by doing it. It’s also not that hard to get involved in the community and start working on building connections to the people who will be in the know to let you know about what will be your first gig. Being the ‘person trying to break into the industry’ is a hard social role to play well though, it’s very easy to be too pushy or too eager. I did the exact same thing when I was younger, passing out burned CDs of my hip-hop beats to anyone who would take them. In the end though, I got into the industry through regular friendships that I developed with my peers. Just be nice and be involved, and with some luck, opportunities will come along. Also, it doesn’t hurt to have a sick demo reel. That being said, I think most people will hire the nice person with a good reel over a jerk with an amazing reel. The key is to be the nice person with the amazing reel!”
That is great advice. Everything you’ve shared is good knowledge to know. I hope many will find it helpful. If people wanted to find you, how could they do that?
“I’m @Neccobus on Twitter.”
Thank you for chatting with me.
“It was a pleasure.”
Scott Anderson – Rendering Engineer | We Are Game Devs
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Programming
Scott Anderson – Rendering Engineer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 20, 2016. 1
“Virtual Reality Code Magician”
Hey, Scott! I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
“Hi, Marcus. It’s my pleasure.”
I’ve been excited to talk to you in this format. When I first met you a few years back I found you very interesting. One of the few African-American programmers, I’ve met. Could you please tell me what is your current job title?
“I’m currently a rendering engineer at Sledgehammer Games. The last title I worked on was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I’m currently working on an unannounced title.”
“Its cliche, but I learned to be cautious about who I choose to start a business with.”
What other titles have you worked on in the past?
“I’ve been in the industry for about 8 years. The first game I worked on professionally was Stargate Worlds, an MMORPG based on the Stargate SG-1 TV show. After that I worked for Kaos Studios on Homefront. I left Kaos Studios to start my own indie studio, Enemy Airship, in order to develop a game called Shadow Physics. After that I briefly worked on Project Copernicus at 38 Studios.”
Call Of Duty: Advance Warfare
I didn’t know you worked on Shadow Physics! I think I remember a demo being shown at GDC a few years back. Very clever. What happened there? The concept seemed very original, although it seemed like it needed a bit more exploration in the game design.
“It was a fun concept to develop and generally something I’m still very proud of. It started from a conversation I had with the co-developer of the game, Steve Swink. The concept fascinated me and a couple of years after that conversation I decided to prototype the game. It was shown at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at the Game Developers Conference in 2008, and that in combination with a viral Youtube video generated a lot of press attention. Microsoft shortly contacted us about getting the game on Xbox Live Arcade. This took place during the early formation of Indie Fund and they agreed to fund the project after it was greenlit on XBLA.
Wow! Indie Fund, that’s a pretty big deal.
“It was and still is in many situations. Especially in 2010 when it wasn’t clear if crowdfunding would work for indie games. I know that sounds funny now, but I actually got access to Kickstarter in beta during that time and it wasn’t clear if I could raise more than five or ten thousand dollars.”
So, being part of Indie Fund gave you access to some unexpected perks. How did you find the working relationship with Indie Fund?
“Although I’m grateful for the opportunity and the funding, and Indie Fund consisted of highly talented and successful developers that could, at times, have great insight and provided useful mentorship, I was generally unhappy with the working relationship because it put me in a position I wasn’t comfortable with. Looking back at it a lot of it is small business founder problems 101, but the working situation with Indie Fund, as investors, exasperated that.”
Hindsight is 20/20. What would you say was the biggest lesson you’ve learned from that experience?
“Its cliche, but I learned to be cautious about who I choose to start a business with. This isn’t to say that Enemy Airship couldn’t have worked out better than it did, but I think because of some of the hype surrounding the game and the desire to jump straight into full development we didn’t establish a solid enough working relationship before we had a lot of pressure to succeed and ship the game.
“I’ve gone into detail about what happened with project in a publicly available GDC talk (GDC Vault - The Failure Workshop).”
So, give me a bit more background on you. Where did you grow up?
“I grew up in Chicago.”
Chi-Town! What part? Everyone I know you have to ask where in Chicago they live. It’s like they are fact checking.
“I’m from Lincoln Park, which is one of the most well off neighborhoods in Chicago. Even when I was growing up it was very heavily gentrified already. That’s become more pronounced over the years.”
Gentrification seems to be happening everywhere nowadays. From Chicago, I assume you graduated from high school, did you go to college?
“I went to college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I majored in computer science and dropped out of school in my junior year.”
Interesting, why computer science? And if you don’t mind me asking, why did you drop out?
“I wanted to make games from an early age, which came from early access to computers and game consoles and an active imagination. My mom is an artist and my dad is a journalist, so early on I also had an interest in art and storytelling. At around age 8 or 9 I became more aware of the need to program in order to make games, and by my teens I was obsessed with programming. So my interest in games lead to an interest in programming and computer science in general, which lead me to pursue a computer science degree. When I first enrolled in school in 2001, game development programs were rare and questionably respected. If I had started school five or ten years later I think I would have gone in a more game specific route.”
“I dropped out of school because I had an opportunity to work as a software engineer and a company in Chicago doing early mobile application development. This was in 2005, so it was years before iPhone or Android existed. The work was primarily early Windows Mobile, Symbian and Brew. The modern smartphone didn’t exist.”
It’s like you were drafted out of college.
“Hah, you could say that. It really started as a break from school that I’m still on 12 years later.
“Willingness to constantly learn new things and improve is extremely important for a software engineer.”
Nice, I can see how working in games could be seen as a break. If you could go back and do it again, would you do anything differently?
“At the time I was interested in the proto-indie scene. This was before what we might think of indie now even existed. I worked on casual games part time after work. A couple of games, Boxen 3 and Dope Trail were available for sale. I entered the first 48 hour Ludum Dare when I was 18.”
Homefront
I didn’t realized Chicago had an indie scene.
“I think now Chicago has a very strong indie scene. Back then it wasn’t many people. A lot of the more successful people were acquired by big casual game companies at the time like Big Fish games and Popcap. Much of the community was built around the Dexterity forums and later Indie Gamer Forums.”
Jumping back to the present, what is your typical workday like?
“My day to day work is very focused on programming. Although I have a couple of regular meetings I attend I mostly focus on writing code and working with artists and designers on tools and features.”
What is your favorite or most used development tools?
“I mostly work in C++ using Visual Studio, and that’s been the one constant throughout my career. At Sledgehammer Games I work with a variety of different languages primarily C++, Lua for user interface, HLSL for graphics, C# for tools and a custom language called GSC for gameplay scripting. We use a custom game engine that has been developed by various Call of Duty studios over the years. Throughout my career I worked on a lot of titles that used Unreal Engine 3. I’m a fan of both Unity and Unreal Engine 4 and I’ve dabbled in both for game jams and prototypes.”
What trait or skill is most important in your area of expertise?
“Willingness to constantly learn new things and improve is extremely important for a software engineer. When it comes to actual practice, the ability to break down systems in simpler parts and understand how complex systems work is invaluable. Reasoning and experimentation skills are important. Knowing how to debug and read documentation are two of the most important practical skills for getting this kind of insight into your code.”
Looking back, what have you found most challenging about your work experience in video game development?
“Shadow Physics as a project was definitely most challenging. I built most of the engine for an experimental game, which required a lot different skills and knowledge.”
If you had infinite time/funds, what sort of game would you make?
“I’d be very ambitious and build a game that isn’t possible with today’s technology. I’d like to build a game where you can re-examine any point in your real life, make different choices and see how they play out. No one has ever built a game with infinite time and money so why not go big
.”
Looking back, what would you say was your biggest misconception around game development?
“I like to think I came into the industry relatively informed about practices and day to day work, but one thing that continues to surprise me is that even very successful, experienced developers that have been working on major franchises for years don’t usually have process completely figured out. There is a feeling that, at some point, game development becomes easy for the best developers, but this just isn’t true anywhere in the industry. Game development is always a hard process.”
If I were just starting out now, what advice would you give someone to become a programmer?
“There is a wealth of resources for a beginning programmer right now. Major game engines are freely available, there are many open source games big and small out there. My advice is start small, take advantage of those resources, read a lot of source code and make a lot of small games.
I completely agree. In some cases the only thing keeping you from making games yourself is a desire to make games and an internet connection. Thanks for your time, Scott. This was great.
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Programming
Scott Anderson – Rendering Engineer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on January 20, 2016. 1
“Virtual Reality Code Magician”
Hey, Scott! I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with me today.
“Hi, Marcus. It’s my pleasure.”
I’ve been excited to talk to you in this format. When I first met you a few years back I found you very interesting. One of the few African-American programmers, I’ve met. Could you please tell me what is your current job title?
“I’m currently a rendering engineer at Sledgehammer Games. The last title I worked on was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. I’m currently working on an unannounced title.”
“Its cliche, but I learned to be cautious about who I choose to start a business with.”
What other titles have you worked on in the past?
“I’ve been in the industry for about 8 years. The first game I worked on professionally was Stargate Worlds, an MMORPG based on the Stargate SG-1 TV show. After that I worked for Kaos Studios on Homefront. I left Kaos Studios to start my own indie studio, Enemy Airship, in order to develop a game called Shadow Physics. After that I briefly worked on Project Copernicus at 38 Studios.”
Call Of Duty: Advance Warfare
I didn’t know you worked on Shadow Physics! I think I remember a demo being shown at GDC a few years back. Very clever. What happened there? The concept seemed very original, although it seemed like it needed a bit more exploration in the game design.
“It was a fun concept to develop and generally something I’m still very proud of. It started from a conversation I had with the co-developer of the game, Steve Swink. The concept fascinated me and a couple of years after that conversation I decided to prototype the game. It was shown at the Experimental Gameplay Workshop at the Game Developers Conference in 2008, and that in combination with a viral Youtube video generated a lot of press attention. Microsoft shortly contacted us about getting the game on Xbox Live Arcade. This took place during the early formation of Indie Fund and they agreed to fund the project after it was greenlit on XBLA.
Wow! Indie Fund, that’s a pretty big deal.
“It was and still is in many situations. Especially in 2010 when it wasn’t clear if crowdfunding would work for indie games. I know that sounds funny now, but I actually got access to Kickstarter in beta during that time and it wasn’t clear if I could raise more than five or ten thousand dollars.”
So, being part of Indie Fund gave you access to some unexpected perks. How did you find the working relationship with Indie Fund?
“Although I’m grateful for the opportunity and the funding, and Indie Fund consisted of highly talented and successful developers that could, at times, have great insight and provided useful mentorship, I was generally unhappy with the working relationship because it put me in a position I wasn’t comfortable with. Looking back at it a lot of it is small business founder problems 101, but the working situation with Indie Fund, as investors, exasperated that.”
Hindsight is 20/20. What would you say was the biggest lesson you’ve learned from that experience?
“Its cliche, but I learned to be cautious about who I choose to start a business with. This isn’t to say that Enemy Airship couldn’t have worked out better than it did, but I think because of some of the hype surrounding the game and the desire to jump straight into full development we didn’t establish a solid enough working relationship before we had a lot of pressure to succeed and ship the game.
“I’ve gone into detail about what happened with project in a publicly available GDC talk (GDC Vault - The Failure Workshop).”
So, give me a bit more background on you. Where did you grow up?“I grew up in Chicago.”
Chi-Town! What part? Everyone I know you have to ask where in Chicago they live. It’s like they are fact checking.
“I’m from Lincoln Park, which is one of the most well off neighborhoods in Chicago. Even when I was growing up it was very heavily gentrified already. That’s become more pronounced over the years.”
Gentrification seems to be happening everywhere nowadays. From Chicago, I assume you graduated from high school, did you go to college?
“I went to college at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). I majored in computer science and dropped out of school in my junior year.”
Interesting, why computer science? And if you don’t mind me asking, why did you drop out?
“I wanted to make games from an early age, which came from early access to computers and game consoles and an active imagination. My mom is an artist and my dad is a journalist, so early on I also had an interest in art and storytelling. At around age 8 or 9 I became more aware of the need to program in order to make games, and by my teens I was obsessed with programming. So my interest in games lead to an interest in programming and computer science in general, which lead me to pursue a computer science degree. When I first enrolled in school in 2001, game development programs were rare and questionably respected. If I had started school five or ten years later I think I would have gone in a more game specific route.”
“I dropped out of school because I had an opportunity to work as a software engineer and a company in Chicago doing early mobile application development. This was in 2005, so it was years before iPhone or Android existed. The work was primarily early Windows Mobile, Symbian and Brew. The modern smartphone didn’t exist.”
It’s like you were drafted out of college.
“Hah, you could say that. It really started as a break from school that I’m still on 12 years later.
“Willingness to constantly learn new things and improve is extremely important for a software engineer.”
Nice, I can see how working in games could be seen as a break. If you could go back and do it again, would you do anything differently?
“At the time I was interested in the proto-indie scene. This was before what we might think of indie now even existed. I worked on casual games part time after work. A couple of games, Boxen 3 and Dope Trail were available for sale. I entered the first 48 hour Ludum Dare when I was 18.”
Homefront
I didn’t realized Chicago had an indie scene.
“I think now Chicago has a very strong indie scene. Back then it wasn’t many people. A lot of the more successful people were acquired by big casual game companies at the time like Big Fish games and Popcap. Much of the community was built around the Dexterity forums and later Indie Gamer Forums.”
Jumping back to the present, what is your typical workday like?
“My day to day work is very focused on programming. Although I have a couple of regular meetings I attend I mostly focus on writing code and working with artists and designers on tools and features.”
What is your favorite or most used development tools?
“I mostly work in C++ using Visual Studio, and that’s been the one constant throughout my career. At Sledgehammer Games I work with a variety of different languages primarily C++, Lua for user interface, HLSL for graphics, C# for tools and a custom language called GSC for gameplay scripting. We use a custom game engine that has been developed by various Call of Duty studios over the years. Throughout my career I worked on a lot of titles that used Unreal Engine 3. I’m a fan of both Unity and Unreal Engine 4 and I’ve dabbled in both for game jams and prototypes.”
What trait or skill is most important in your area of expertise?
“Willingness to constantly learn new things and improve is extremely important for a software engineer. When it comes to actual practice, the ability to break down systems in simpler parts and understand how complex systems work is invaluable. Reasoning and experimentation skills are important. Knowing how to debug and read documentation are two of the most important practical skills for getting this kind of insight into your code.”
Looking back, what have you found most challenging about your work experience in video game development?
“Shadow Physics as a project was definitely most challenging. I built most of the engine for an experimental game, which required a lot different skills and knowledge.”
If you had infinite time/funds, what sort of game would you make?“I’d be very ambitious and build a game that isn’t possible with today’s technology. I’d like to build a game where you can re-examine any point in your real life, make different choices and see how they play out. No one has ever built a game with infinite time and money so why not go big
.”Looking back, what would you say was your biggest misconception around game development?
“I like to think I came into the industry relatively informed about practices and day to day work, but one thing that continues to surprise me is that even very successful, experienced developers that have been working on major franchises for years don’t usually have process completely figured out. There is a feeling that, at some point, game development becomes easy for the best developers, but this just isn’t true anywhere in the industry. Game development is always a hard process.”
If I were just starting out now, what advice would you give someone to become a programmer?
“There is a wealth of resources for a beginning programmer right now. Major game engines are freely available, there are many open source games big and small out there. My advice is start small, take advantage of those resources, read a lot of source code and make a lot of small games.
I completely agree. In some cases the only thing keeping you from making games yourself is a desire to make games and an internet connection. Thanks for your time, Scott. This was great.
Vernon Dunmore – Senior Game Designer | We Are Game Devs
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Vernon Dunmore – Senior Game Designer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on February 9, 2016. 0
“Life has given me a unique lens that keeps the world in focus.”
Vernon, so glad you can take time out to talk with me today.
“No problem at all, I’m glad to be able to help.”
We met a few years ago at a GDC. I think I was shocked and elated to meet another black game designer. In my experience there are not as many as I would like to see.
“Yes, that was some time ago. I was partially surprised as well, though I remember a friend of mine from school telling me she saw that the lead designer on an ‘airplane game’ was black in a video and that gave me some confidence that we weren’t completely non-existent in the industry.”
Gardens of Time
Hilarious. I assume that was my “airplane game,” 1942: Joint Strike. That’s good to hear. Can you give me a list of few of the games you’ve worked on?
“I’ve… been around.”
You’ve worked on both free to play and console games. I’m sure there was a bit of adjustment there.
“There’s certainly an element of learning that comes into play whenever you’re working on a different platform or catering to a different audience. At the same time, the fundamentals of design remain fairly standard — whether you’re slaying a Satyr or solving a mystery, the player’s experience is always the first priority.”
“Stay in touch with your target player, and understand the nature of their experience.”
Player experience, I believe is key to a game’s success. That does seem to get lost within certain games.
“It always comes back to being able to define your target player, and then identifying with them enough to understand what they want out of your game.”
What is your work day like? Describe to me a senior game designer’s responsibilities.
“The day to day responsibilities varied, but the generalized role definition is that of a player advocate. That manifests in a lot of ways in a strategy game, through planning new features or units, as well as observing player trends and opinions about the current state of the meta and adjusting accordingly.”
Did you always want to be a game designer? How did you get your first job in the game industry?
“I initially wanted to be a Game Programmer, back when Game Programmer and Game Designer were pretty much the same role. I attended school for a B.S. in Computer Science, and then an A.S. in Game Design & Development. By the end of my formal education, I found myself tending more toward the design side of things.”
“My first job in the game industry was the result of my first trip to the GDC in… 2005. I was one of those overzealous kids that went to every booth on the expo floor handing out business cards and CDs of my projects. I even remember my hustle when recruiters told me they were ‘out of cards’ — I gave them my card and a pen and told them to write their contact info on the back.”
“One booth in particular caught my eye because they were showing The Nightmare before Christmas on a monitor, I got to talking with an HR recruiter before I realized I was at the Disney booth and she told me that I was perfect for the internship program they were starting up.”
“Following an interview with the head of the program the next day, and several post-GDC calls to the recruiter I was accepted into the program. I moved out to California with 3 duffel bags and a laptop.”
Going to GDC to look for a job is a pricey risk. Not many can afford to attend. Not everyone who goes can get a job. I like how persistent you were. It does take a bit of pushing without being pushy to succeed.
“Pricey is an understatement, for sure. It took being cajoled by my girlfriend, and splitting a hotel room with some of my Full Sail classmates for me to feel comfortable taking the leap.”
“I find that wherever I go, people generally respect hustle, provided it’s applied with a decent amount of charm and tact.”
Rise Of The Argonauts
Where did you grow up?
“Upstate New York. Syracuse to be specific. There wasn’t much of a game industry out that way, so I had to bounce around the country a bit to find what I wanted.”
Where did you bounce?
“I went to school for Computer Science in Delaware, then to a Game Design school in Florida, before finally flying out to Los Angeles to work in games.”
So, you went to a couple different schools? Did you finish a formal education before going to the Game Design school? I assume the Game Design school was Full Sail.
“Ah yes, the plan was always to have a solid degree I could fall back on if I didn’t like game development as much as game playing.”
So, what did you get your undergraduate degree in? Computer Science? What school was this?
“Yes, specifically it was Computer Science with a Game Industry concentration at the University of Delaware. Part of the program there was that all students could make their own minor-esque specializations. I tried to get them to let me take Japanese but my dean thought it wasn’t difficult enough for the program.”
Did you feel the University program didn’t prepare you enough to enter the game industry? Why did you head to Florida?
“The concentration was effectively about 2 semesters of courses that I selected and justified as relevant to being successful in the game industry. I believe it included some computer graphics courses, creative writing, and leadership in business. Pretty general, and not specific to the needs of game development.”
“The key impetus to attend Full Sail (or any gaming school for that matter) was to get hands-on experience developing a game. It’s what anyone hiring is usually looking for — has this person contributed to a team, and have they learned from those experiences. That can come from solo projects, or group projects and attending a school specifically for that experience provided me with both.”
“…don’t forget to go out and experience life. You’ll be surprised how much of it relates.”
Did you find your Full Sail education useful? How well did it apply to your experience professionally?
“It familiarized me with the game development cycle, placed me onto teams with people I wouldn’t have otherwise worked with, and even simulated some of the random encounters that occur in the game industry.”
“Specifically, one of my better teachers, Dustin Clingman, had a very aptly named prop called the Wheel of Misfortune. We were initially given a project to complete in a reasonable time frame, and just when we thought we were finished he brought out this device and prompted each project lead to give it a spin. Some of the slices on the wheel included: ‘Publisher wants Multiplayer’, ‘Localize your Game’, and ‘Create a Tutorial’. Effectively all the things that could go wrong, did. It was a perfect exercise.”
That’s a fantastic set of curveballs.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t realize how perfect it is until you see it happen in the real world on a real project.”
As a game designer, what do you think is the most important trait or skill that makes one successful?
“Contextual Empathy. Stay in touch with your target player, and understand the nature of their experience.”
What advice would you give an aspiring game designer if they were trying to get into the industry today?
“Designers draw from a wide variety of influences to create their work. Take your courses, play your games, work on your projects — but don’t forget to go out and experience life. You’ll be surprised how much of it relates.”
If people wanted to connect with you, how could they reach you?
“@VernonDunmore or vernondunmore@gmail.com.”
“I will say that I’m better at responding to emails than I am at responding to tweets.”
Thanks for your time, Vernon.
“It was my pleasure, Marcus.”
Home
Design
Vernon Dunmore – Senior Game Designer
By We Are Game Devs. Published on February 9, 2016. 0
“Life has given me a unique lens that keeps the world in focus.”
Vernon, so glad you can take time out to talk with me today.
“No problem at all, I’m glad to be able to help.”
We met a few years ago at a GDC. I think I was shocked and elated to meet another black game designer. In my experience there are not as many as I would like to see.
“Yes, that was some time ago. I was partially surprised as well, though I remember a friend of mine from school telling me she saw that the lead designer on an ‘airplane game’ was black in a video and that gave me some confidence that we weren’t completely non-existent in the industry.”
Gardens of Time
Hilarious. I assume that was my “airplane game,” 1942: Joint Strike. That’s good to hear. Can you give me a list of few of the games you’ve worked on?
- Desperate Housewives: The Game (
PC) - Rise of the Argonauts (PC/PS3/360)
- Gardens of Time (Facebook)
- Star Wars: Commander (Android/iOS)
“I’ve… been around.”
You’ve worked on both free to play and console games. I’m sure there was a bit of adjustment there.
“There’s certainly an element of learning that comes into play whenever you’re working on a different platform or catering to a different audience. At the same time, the fundamentals of design remain fairly standard — whether you’re slaying a Satyr or solving a mystery, the player’s experience is always the first priority.”
“Stay in touch with your target player, and understand the nature of their experience.”
Player experience, I believe is key to a game’s success. That does seem to get lost within certain games.
“It always comes back to being able to define your target player, and then identifying with them enough to understand what they want out of your game.”
What is your work day like? Describe to me a senior game designer’s responsibilities.“The day to day responsibilities varied, but the generalized role definition is that of a player advocate. That manifests in a lot of ways in a strategy game, through planning new features or units, as well as observing player trends and opinions about the current state of the meta and adjusting accordingly.”
Did you always want to be a game designer? How did you get your first job in the game industry?
“I initially wanted to be a Game Programmer, back when Game Programmer and Game Designer were pretty much the same role. I attended school for a B.S. in Computer Science, and then an A.S. in Game Design & Development. By the end of my formal education, I found myself tending more toward the design side of things.”
“My first job in the game industry was the result of my first trip to the GDC in… 2005. I was one of those overzealous kids that went to every booth on the expo floor handing out business cards and CDs of my projects. I even remember my hustle when recruiters told me they were ‘out of cards’ — I gave them my card and a pen and told them to write their contact info on the back.”
“One booth in particular caught my eye because they were showing The Nightmare before Christmas on a monitor, I got to talking with an HR recruiter before I realized I was at the Disney booth and she told me that I was perfect for the internship program they were starting up.”
“Following an interview with the head of the program the next day, and several post-GDC calls to the recruiter I was accepted into the program. I moved out to California with 3 duffel bags and a laptop.”
Going to GDC to look for a job is a pricey risk. Not many can afford to attend. Not everyone who goes can get a job. I like how persistent you were. It does take a bit of pushing without being pushy to succeed.
“Pricey is an understatement, for sure. It took being cajoled by my girlfriend, and splitting a hotel room with some of my Full Sail classmates for me to feel comfortable taking the leap.”
“I find that wherever I go, people generally respect hustle, provided it’s applied with a decent amount of charm and tact.”
Rise Of The Argonauts
Where did you grow up?
“Upstate New York. Syracuse to be specific. There wasn’t much of a game industry out that way, so I had to bounce around the country a bit to find what I wanted.”
Where did you bounce?
“I went to school for Computer Science in Delaware, then to a Game Design school in Florida, before finally flying out to Los Angeles to work in games.”
So, you went to a couple different schools? Did you finish a formal education before going to the Game Design school? I assume the Game Design school was Full Sail.
“Ah yes, the plan was always to have a solid degree I could fall back on if I didn’t like game development as much as game playing.”
So, what did you get your undergraduate degree in? Computer Science? What school was this?
“Yes, specifically it was Computer Science with a Game Industry concentration at the University of Delaware. Part of the program there was that all students could make their own minor-esque specializations. I tried to get them to let me take Japanese but my dean thought it wasn’t difficult enough for the program.”
Did you feel the University program didn’t prepare you enough to enter the game industry? Why did you head to Florida?
“The concentration was effectively about 2 semesters of courses that I selected and justified as relevant to being successful in the game industry. I believe it included some computer graphics courses, creative writing, and leadership in business. Pretty general, and not specific to the needs of game development.”
“The key impetus to attend Full Sail (or any gaming school for that matter) was to get hands-on experience developing a game. It’s what anyone hiring is usually looking for — has this person contributed to a team, and have they learned from those experiences. That can come from solo projects, or group projects and attending a school specifically for that experience provided me with both.”
“…don’t forget to go out and experience life. You’ll be surprised how much of it relates.”
Did you find your Full Sail education useful? How well did it apply to your experience professionally?
“It familiarized me with the game development cycle, placed me onto teams with people I wouldn’t have otherwise worked with, and even simulated some of the random encounters that occur in the game industry.”
“Specifically, one of my better teachers, Dustin Clingman, had a very aptly named prop called the Wheel of Misfortune. We were initially given a project to complete in a reasonable time frame, and just when we thought we were finished he brought out this device and prompted each project lead to give it a spin. Some of the slices on the wheel included: ‘Publisher wants Multiplayer’, ‘Localize your Game’, and ‘Create a Tutorial’. Effectively all the things that could go wrong, did. It was a perfect exercise.”
That’s a fantastic set of curveballs.
“It’s one of those things that you don’t realize how perfect it is until you see it happen in the real world on a real project.”
As a game designer, what do you think is the most important trait or skill that makes one successful?
“Contextual Empathy. Stay in touch with your target player, and understand the nature of their experience.”
What advice would you give an aspiring game designer if they were trying to get into the industry today?
“Designers draw from a wide variety of influences to create their work. Take your courses, play your games, work on your projects — but don’t forget to go out and experience life. You’ll be surprised how much of it relates.”
If people wanted to connect with you, how could they reach you?
“@VernonDunmore or vernondunmore@gmail.com.”
“I will say that I’m better at responding to emails than I am at responding to tweets.”
Thanks for your time, Vernon.
“It was my pleasure, Marcus.”