What do you do at Hi-rez Studios? ( List your title or give a few sentences about your job and duties. )

I am the Lead Technical Artist on Global Agenda. My job is to be a bridge between artists and programmers. I am responsible for programming the animation system and am a “generalist” for a lot of features (typically character related) that need programming support for a very visual result. I also create and maintain tools for artists and audio designers.

How long have you worked in Gaming, how did you hear about Hirez Studios, Inc., and describe how you got into the gaming industry?

I officially began my career in gaming at Hi-Rez in the summer of 2005. From the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to make games but wasn’t exactly sure how to make it happen. I began teaching myself 3D art programs such as Lightwave and Maya. I got my undergraduate degree in computer science; at this point I knew I wanted to do something tech-art like, but at that time, technical artists weren’t really an official title at most places. So after graduating from college I went to get my masters degree in fine arts. I discovered Hi-Rez close to the beginning of the formation of the studio and they apparently saw potential in what I could offer! Since then I’ve been involved in quite a few side projects including co-authoring several books on Maya to help people who are like me to just bite the bullet, buy a book, and learn the necessary skills.

Describe your video game experience, when did you start playing, etc..?

I was fortunate to have wonderful parents who bought my brothers and me an Atari 2600. As a kid, I was actually more interested in the production of how a game or movie was made rather than always just playing the games. I would pretend I was demoing features of a game or envisioning how I’d make a TIE fighter move across a blue screen. I turned into a real “gamer” with DOS games such as Commander Keen, Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem, and countless others. A new golden-era of games for me occurred in the mid-nineties with the arrival of DOOM, Quake, Wipeout XL, and a slew of innovating first person shooters that delivered intense, edge of your seat action.

What is your favorite Global Agenda class/character to play?

Recon. Deception, staying hidden, and trickery are the fundamentals to playing this class. When played correctly, the Recon makes you feel like you own the map. You may not always be at the center of the barrage of bullets, but you are behind the scenes, killing people who think they are safe, destroying the infrastructure of their team, and lending a bomb or two for your teammates. If destroying in a flash a deadly patch of turrets that a Robotics has spent minutes setting up just right, then this is the class for you. They don’t get much love though — even your teammates often don’t always realize the fruits of your labor!

What part of Global Agenda are you most excited about?

The classic, intense action game play. No matter the genre, a game keeps me playing if it is intense and action packed. Many modern games have lost this concept in favor of cinematic excess or tedious grinds. Some of my fellow gaming friends have actually fallen asleep while playing a major online title. The exact same excitement that makes 3 hours seem like 15 minutes in games like Quake, Left 4 Dead, Rock Band, Wipeout is alive and shining in Global Agenda. Mix this with modern massively online game play, and you’ve got an incredible game.

Also, I’m quite thrilled we have no elven pointy-eared freaks of nature.

What in your background of experience do you draw from when creating the content that you do for the game?

It may seem like a cop out answer, but my answer is: Everything! Obviously concepts learned while in school are front-and-center (programming, math, writing skills, physics, art direction, etc.). But also there are a lot of other experiences (such as Boy Scouts; how to direct & how to take direction) that can fuel creativity. A major non-gaming, non-educational source of inspiration for me is my passion for music. A lot of what a cutting edge musician goes through is quite similar to what a game developer experiences.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into gaming?

Robert Fripp, guitarist for King Crimson, perhaps put it best to me last year in Marin County, California, the day before GDC began. These are applicable to becoming a professional in any field: Have an aim. Get instruction from someone better than you are. Get out of bed! Practice…a lot! Learn the seven levels of success Understand the differences between the reliable professional & an exceptional professional. Be reliable, repeatable and responsible. For me, the path was primarily through schooling, teaching myself things that my instructors could not, and surrounding myself with others who shared a passion for learning the craft. Remember that there are a lot of people who think they want to make games. There are few who can actually have the discipline to do it well.

Favorite game(s)

The two games that I cannot go several days without playing are currently Rock Band and Left 4 Dead. I am a drum addict in Rock Band and support the incredible breadth of music Harmonix makes available week after week. Left 4 Dead is a great way to spend time with co-workers and other friends; it’s quite satisfying to barf on Dan, Scott, and Travis! As far as the classics go, my “all time favorites” are Quake III: Arena, Wipeout XL, and the Jedi Knight series. All deliver polished game play and edge of your seat action.

What do you do in your free time?

Listen to music, watch TV or movies, play games, cook, and spend time with my wife & schnauzer.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Nothing, because I don’t have one! A lot of the music I enjoy was created as an album rather than a collection of songs, so I don’t mind being “limited” to whatever CDs I bring along. If I had one you’d probably find a lot of Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Yes, and other prog rock stuff. I like a fair amount of electronica as well; Underworld is great programming music! You may even find an occasional pop artist…. I would like to get a large capacity player though. I think it would be neat to rip my nearly 800 CD collection to an iPod and pick my favorite song from every album, even those crazy New Kids on the Block CDs my wife owns, to form a playlist. It would be a good lesson to find things to enjoy in everything, whether it is an old favorite or something I thought I didn’t particularly like.