Archive for the ‘Meet the Team’ Category

Tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I’m a Senior Game Designer at Hi-Rez Studios. I make levels for PvE and PvP, and contribute to designs for new features, but mostly I work with the character art pipeline designing and implementing thebots and bosses that you fight in PvE missions. A typical day for me involves meeting with artists and other designers to discuss and flesh out new concepts, writing documents outlining gameplay or technical elements that artists and animators need to create the art and animations, and combining those art assets with the weapons and minds of the bots, which I create by configuring devices and creating AI scripts in the game’s vast database. I also know all the cheat codes in the game. Did you know if you’re on the title screen and press Up, Down, Left, Right, Up… well, I should probably let you figure it out yourself.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

My first game development job was during college, interning for minimum wage at a company in California that makes educational games for young kids. I spent the summer designing and building prototypes for music-themed minigames to teach young kids how to read music and understand concepts like rhythm and note length values. I’m not sure if the prototypes I made were ever used in the final game, but they were much more fun and educational than most of the existing stuff at the time. I spent the next summer interning at a company that makes lottery games, designing online instant win games for the UK and Denmark lotteries and learning the complex math behind lottery odds and returns. During that time, I also started working part-time at Hi-Rez as a level designer, after learning of the company and the awesome sounding project they were working on at the time, and submitting a design test for an unpaid intern position. I kept working part-time a couple days a week at Hi-Rez throughout my final year of school, and started as a full-time Level Designer when I graduated.

Describe your video game experience. When did you start playing / making games?

My most vivid early memory of a video game was one Christmas break when I was very young and my older cousin brought over his Commodore 64 to set up in the basement at my Grandma’s house. We played all kinds of games, from Donkey Kong to flying space shooters. A year later when the same cousin brought over his new Nintendo, I knew for sure these video games were going somewhere, and once I got a Nintendo of my own, I was hooked! I’ve spent the majority of my life since then fascinated by videogames and the idea of telling stories by creating my own interactive worlds. I was drawing layouts for new Mario 3 levels in Elementary school when I should have been paying attention in class, or drawing monsters, weapons, or writing up character descriptions, abilities, and design docs for RPGs I would have loved to make. In high school, I taught myself some basic programming and started to focus more on school (saving most of the game design for my spare time outside of class) and went to Georgia Tech to study Computer Science where I could learn to program like an all-star, so I could understand the technical back-end and write code for games - knowledge which has been extremely valuable to me as a game designer.

What is your favorite class / build to play in Global Agenda?

That’s a tough call. As a designer, I play all classes and try to keep them under my fingertips, but I tend to cycle through favorites. Medic was my first love, and I enjoy the versatility of Robotics and sheer destruction power of Assault, but lately I’ve been pissing off coworkers with my uber Sniper Recon. It’s teh win in PvP if you have good team support and know what you’re doing, and I’m always top damage in Defense missions.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

The high level PvE content I’m currently working on, hands down. I can’t say much about it yet, but there should be some awesome stuff in the next expansion that is going to really raise the bar for what players expect (and receive) from PvE.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I often draw from my experiences playing other games or interacting with other media, depending on what’s the most relevant at the time. I tend to recall my own favorite experiences in other games when thinking of things that would be cool in games I’m working on, or the way plot unfolds or characters and environments are presented in film when I’m looking for mood reference. It’s not uncommon to describe new ideas in terms of commonly understood content from other media, so referencing the creepy look and feel of Alien or describing an environment or character idea from Bladerunner or referring to an awesome boss experience in Shadow of the Colossus or World of Warcraft can be a great way to find common ground to share ideas with others. I am also always considering the “how” not just the”why” and pull a lot from my computer science background when considering how feasible an idea is in practice.

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

It’s a very competitive industry and most of the people in it are very passionate about their work, so you’ve got to have a strong drive and be devoted to what you do if you want to stand out. I wouldn’t be where I am now if it weren’t for my willingness to work hard and passion for what I was doing, while at the same time being willing to work for peanuts or even free in some cases to get the experience needed to eventually get the job I wanted. If you want in, be prepared to have to work for it, and probably swallow your pride (but not your ambition) in the process. It’s especially not going to be easy to break in right out of school, so I would recommend applying for internships to get professional experience, or working on mods and personal projects to hone your skills and get experience on real, tangible projects early on. Shipped titles and playable demos are a big plus. I know when I’m interviewing new applicants, in addition to the obvious skills with the tools, I’m looking to see if they have the fire to devote themselves to what they’re doing, and the work ethic and patience to get it done, and seeing that a recent graduate has done serious work on projects not related to class is always a big plus. If you can show that you’re the kind of person who’s willing to applying yourself even when there was no real compensation (aside from personal pride) to be had, that can help you get a foot in the door. Dabbling here and there or being a casual weekend hobbyist isn’t going to get you nearly as far as diving in and getting your hands dirty, and with the amount of competition for jobs (especially in today’s market), you really need to find ways to set yourself above the rest.

Favorite game(s)?

This is probably the most difficult question. I like a lot of games and genres, but at core, I’m kind of an old-schooler in many ways. I think the games focused more on fun simple gameplay, innovation, and story telling without being able to hide behind crazy visuals, fast-cut trailers and cinematics, and (usually) awful VO. That said, my list looks something like:
Final Fantasy 3 (US), Chrono Trigger, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,  Diablo 1 and 2, FF7, Final Fantasy Tactics, The Simpsons Arcade Game, Doom 1 and 2, Super Mario World, Super Smash BrosMelee (Brawl just didn’t live up), Sonic 2, D&D: Shadow Over Mystara (an awesome classic arcade game), and the Megaman series.

What do you do in your free time?

When I’m not playing or creating videogames, I enjoy playing piano, drawing, cooking, going on bike rides, playing or running table top RPGs, smoking hookah, playing UNO, and spending time with my lovely lady and our ridiculous cats.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

I listen to a wide variety of music. Lately it’s been a combination of Bonobo, Mux Mool, Ratatat, and Megadeath, but you can almost always find me with Aphex Twin and the three ‘B’s (Bach, Beethoven, andthe Beatles) on hand.

What is your favorite quote / meme from the office or game?

When a new feature, bot, or game type works for the first time without a hitch - “Ship it!”

Personal Work

Will’s illustrations are featured in the Commonwealth art book and poster available inside the Limited Edition Game Box.

Will, tell us what you do at Hi-Rez.

I’m a Senior Artist at Hi-Rez. I spend most of my time doing concepts for the environments in Global Agenda- everything from rough paintovers to Disneyland-style maps of levels and detailed landscape and architectural renderings. I recently contributed to the illustrations for the poster and timeline book that shipped with the GA collector’s edition box. I work exclusively in Photoshop with a Wacom Cintiq digital tablet monitor.

Describe how you got into the gaming industry; how long have you worked on games and what brought you to Hi-Rez Studios?

I’ve been working full-time in the game industry since 2000, making illustrations for Vivendi Universal Games titles like Curious George and Spyro the Dragon before moving on to Hi-Rez. I heard about Hi-Rez from another illustrator named Skip Kimball, who referred me here after he went to Radical to lead the art team on “Prototype.” I originally just fell into the games industry by accident when an art school buddy who was busy with other projects passed along a job lead at an educational software company. I kept in touch with people there and one project led to another.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing? What really got you thinking about game development?

I’m showing my age, but I actually started playing games on the Commodore 64. I tried programming some graphics when I was about 10 and quickly realized that my talents lay elsewhere. Years later when I was in college, Myst came out. I loved the detailed environments in that game and I decided that’s what I wanted to work on. But that same year FPS games just exploded, and the requirements of frame-rate made graphics go to crap for about five years. Counter-strike got me back into PC games again, and I jumped at the first opportunity to make one.

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

Probably Recon, but being a good one means you’re a total a-hole, so I only play that class with my alt.

What part of Global Agenda are you most excited about?

I enjoy seeing people get blown up on the environments I design.

What experience do you draw from when creating the content that you do for the game? Is there anything specific you draw from for inspiration?

I was fortunate enough to spend several years designing storefronts and fixtures for flagship Disney stores. I had to work with architects and think about how my designs would actually get built, and even do plan and elevation views to scale. Now when I design for virtual environments, I still try to make them look like they could really be built, and be structurally sound. Although GA has a futuristic setting, I try to keep things plausible by researching present-day environments and then extrapolating them into the future. I do my best to avoid ripping off well-known sci-fi franchises like Star Wars and Aliens. Instead I go directly to the source. With GA, my inspiration was a mix of industrial/military technology and cutting-edge architecture by people like Frank Gehry and Norman Foster.

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

I can only speak to my specialty, which is environment illustration. I guess my advice to budding artists would be to spend a lot of time drawing, painting and learning perspective before you try to break into the industry. Technology changes all the time, but the fundamentals of art never do. No software will help you make great art if you don’t have the chops. Once you put in the time to learn your craft, just be persistent and your portfolio will speak for itself.

What are some of your favorite games?

Jumpman- You never get over your first game.

Counter-Strike- I’ve logged more hours in Chateau and Italy than I care to admit.

Company of Heroes- The sound of that V2 rocket coming down still gives me chills. Jawohl!

What do you do in your free time?

When I’m not playing with my kids or running, I’m in therapy trying to get over the last four Braves seasons.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Cannibal Corpse and ABBA.

Environment Artist Rick Ruiz on his past experience as an architect, previous games he worked on, and some clever use of Lego’s.

Rick, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I am an Environment Artist.  I model and texture many of the architectural sets as well as many props and key objective structures.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I have been in the industry for nearly ten years.  I majored in architecture when I was in college and in my free time taught myself 3D Studio Max and Photoshop.  I decided architecture was not the route I wanted to go, so I decided to pursue my hobby as a career.  I went to a school in Santa Monica, California to study computer graphics and 3D modeling, and through the school was offered and internship to work on one of the Spyro the Dragon games.  After working on a few big name titles over the years I stumbled upon Hi-Rez Studios (which was then, hiring a new team to develop an online game) while looking for a job in my hometown of Atlanta.  Turned out that one of my co-workers in California was friends with a former art lead at Hi-Rez and the rest was history.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I was pretty much raised on video games.  I remember first playing games on my Atari 2600 when I was just a few years old.  As I got older, I remember spending many late nights with my brother and cousins trying to master the latest game on the NES.  Over the years, my brother and I owned almost every console when they came out.  With the amount of time I spent playing video games as a kid it was only fitting that my career would be to make them.

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

Assault. I have mastered the art of using tracking rocket launcher as a sniping weapon much to the dismay of others during our internal play test. Nothing more satisfying than blasting someone from the opposite end of the map.  Sometimes I’ll switch to Recon to mix it up a bit.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

I’m most excited about the release of Global Agenda after working on the game for the past few years. Also excited about the environments and how they are shaping up.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I draw a lot of my inspiration from architecture around the world.  Also much of my inspiration comes from film and art, especially science fiction.

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

Master one facet of the industry whether it is art, animation or programming.  Always be ready to learn new techniques and grow your skill set. Be willing to keep up with the latest technology.  As an artist, having a killer demo reel would be a great asset.

Favorite game(s)?

Many of the NES classics like Legend of Zelda, Metroid, and Kid Icarus.  Newer favorites include the Sim City series, Team Fortress 2, Rock Band, and World of Warcraft.

What do you do in your free time?

Aside from video games, I like to get creative.  I enjoy painting, but my medium of choice is Lego.  I build a lot of Lego structures in my free time.  I’m not talking about your kid’s Lego set they got for Christmas, but building realistic larger-scale structures with Lego.  I have a large collection of buildings I have made from the past 8 years which are inspired by real-world architecture including several skyscraper models that are several feet tall.

I also enjoy spending time with my wonderful wife Macy, traveling, watching football and hanging out with friends and family.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Everything from more popular bands like U2, Coldplay, and Moby to more obscure stuff like The Echoing Green and the Benjamin Gate.  I also have a lot of soundtracks, classical, Techno, 80’s and 90’s rock, and video game music as well.

Personal art from Rick Ruiz:

LEGO CREATIONS

Sr. Character Artist Ben Knapp on his love for digital art, his past experiences with gaming, and even some personal art from his collection.

Ben, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I am a Senior Character Artist/Concept Artist at Hi-Rez Studios.  I create in game assets dealing with characters, weapons, and devices.  I also do allot of concepts for the character team, usually to just to give a jump start on a model to get it going in a direction as well as come up with design solutions if people are having trouble with ideas.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I have been in the game industry for about 5 years.  I started doing freelance in 2004 after graduating from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh.  Eventually I landed a gig in studio at Tripwire Interactive LLC working on Red Orchestra Ostfront.  After doing some WWII I really wanted to put some of creativity and conceptual skills to use so I synched up with Hi Rez and its been magic every since.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I remember getting an NES way back in the day, though I really couldn’t get into Mario Bros., I guess something about playing as a plumber wasn’t a big turn on for me.  But once some good titles started coming out, Mega Man, Contra, Punch Out, Castlevania, Double Dragon, Star Tropics, TMNT II: The Arcade Game…. man… it was on.  I was hooked.  It was more of a leisurely thing at first, I didn’t look at it as a career.  What I wanted to do was be a Comic Book artist.  I’m a big comic and 80’s cartoon nerd.  I eventually realized that the market for comics has dried up substantially, so I figured next best thing to get into would be the game industry.  So I applied at AIP and learned the game artisan craft.

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

Assault. Period.  I like to get in the mix and get my adrenaline pumping when I play.  For me assault is the obvious choice, plus its the most similar to other shooter, aim and shoot.  I rock the Sticky Launcher though, and pretty much support the team and fight on the objective utilizing AOE damage.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

Well I cant wait for it to be released.  Other than that, I love the characters and robots.  There are so many cool designs, great eye candy.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I get inspiration from pretty much everything, especially Movies, Comics, and Games.  Also I check allot of other game artists work to get the creative juices flowing.  Polycount, Zbrush Central, and Game Artisans FTW.

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

Hard Work and Dedication.  Nothing will get you a better shot at breaking into the industry.  Check allot of game art forums and study others work, wireframes, textures, color theory, design.  Also knowledge of anatomy, especially as a character artist saves the day.  Aside from the knowledge you got to have passion.  This industry is ever changing, and you got to be ready to change with it.  The mentality I had when I was starting out was that I had to be good enough to get a job that other professionals could be applying for that have had many more years of experience than me.  Always power up and keep getting better.

Favorite game(s)?

RESIDENT EVIL, FINAL FANTASY VII, METAL GEAR SOLID, DEAD SPACE, ASSASSINS CREED, WARCRAFT, MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2

I look at games as a story telling medium.  Its like a book or a movie, but interactive.  I love games with great stories and these games always had neat stuff to offer story wise for me.  Marvel vs Capcom 2 is just a classic, and it has all those comic characters.. mmmmmmmm.

What do you do in your free time?

I fight crime. After, I do allot studying about game art.  Trying to always get better.  I also do a good amount of freelance, for the same reason. That and I find it keeps me fresh. Dealing with different subject matters lets you try out new stuff and makes you more flexible, being able to do a variety of things.  I also love playing basketball, exercising, and hanging with peeps.  Oh yea and video games… lots and lots of video games.  Beer too.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Rise Against, Atmosphere, Zebrahead, Asher Roth,  Aesop Rock, Cobra Starship, Muse, Binary Star, Fort Minor, Talib Kweli, Common, Gym Class Heroes, Cartel, Weezer, Counting Crows, Tom Petty, Rocky Soundtracks, AFI, Deltron, and allot of classic rock and game music.

Personal art from Ben Knapp:

Global Agenda’s Sr. System Architect, John Dew talks with us how he helps keep the game going, his first video game experience and his excitement for Global Agenda.

John, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

My main focus is the design and implementation of the platform services that run on our servers.  This includes everything from handling the initial handshake from the client running on your computer, placing the player in the correct world space, connecting the player to the chat and voice, all of the coordination that goes on until the client disconnects.  In general things that are not part of the actual in game play / combat.  I guess you could call me the unofficial Sr. System Architect.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I have been a professional game developer for about 5 years.  I worked for the company that Erez owned prior to starting Hi-rez Studios.  I heard some talk that Erez was wanting to start a game company so I ‘volunteered’ to be a part of that endeavor.  We started out playing with game concepts and learning the ropes.  A few months later, Erez made it official and formed Hi-Rez Studios, Inc.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I played my first video game at the local hamburger joint, so many quarters ago.  Later came the Odyssey, Atari, and the Apple computers.  It was when I learned about programming on the Apple that I became more interested in how to make a game and AI’s verses just playing a game.  I later got into  playing the RTS games and started thinking about how one could design a game where a lot of people could play against each other in a persistent environment instead of a hand full of players going through rounds or levels that started over.  Of course I was paying the bill writing point of sale / restaurant software so the game programming remained in notebooks and little test apps.

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

I used to play the medic class a lot, then switched to the robotics, but I think I’m going to go back to the medic.  So until I change my mind - again, it’s the medic.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

There’s the gameplay itself which is very fun and I’m excited to play it once its released.  I am also excited  for the big puzzle of networking, multiple servers and game logic to come together as a world — the world of Global Agenda.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

Most of past work experience has been related to platform level, networking, and high through put code so performance and writing tight code comes in handy when implementing services that will handle all of the players that are online.

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

Really, I do not have anything new and enlightening to add to what so many others have said before.

The standard stuff: work on projects to be familiar with the technology; keep an eye out for opportunities in the industry.

Favorite game(s)?

The game that I have invested the most time in is World of Warcraft.  WoW is good for just going out solo and grinding when you want and has the social aspect when you want to play with friends.

A classic I fall back to is Transport Deluxe.  Occasionally I just feel like doing some micro management and construction.  I know there are some new RTS games out that have my name on them, but I really do not need another time-sink.

What do you do in your free time?

Play with my kids, play WoW, work here and thereon a project in the wood shop…

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Maybe one day I’ll get one and then I’ll let you know.  In general I have a very eclectic taste in music.

Global Agenda’s Senior Game Designer, Scott Zier talks with us how he got started with Hirez Studios and his excitement for the campaign portion of the game.

Scott, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

I’m a Senior Game Designer at the studio, and also head up the Level Design team. I’m responsible for writing design documents, fleshing out features for programmers and artists, and also for placing a good bit of content into the game through world building, NPC creation, and assisting with device balancing.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

Well, I was very lucky; I found an independent studio hiring designers for it’s first major title, which happened to be only an hour away from my home! At the time, there wasn’t but a handful of game studios around Atlanta, so the timing was very fortunate.

I’ve been with Hi-Rez Studios for well over three years now. Global Agenda is the largest game I’ve worked on, having previously done a number of small projects and a great deal of mod development. I graduated from Mercer University with a degree in Computer Science and minor in Art, but working on Mod projects is certainly how I got my industry start.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I remember back in 2nd Grade, there was only one monochrome Apple IIE for a class of 25 students. Anyone could use it during free time, but it was pretty much first-come first-serve for getting to the keyboard. Let’s just say, when the bell rang, I threw more than a few elbows to make sure I got my game time in! Sure, it was just number-munchers, but I was hooked. My first PC came soon after, (meant for my father, but I laid claim to it as quickly as I could) and I’ve been upgrading ever since.

I’ve always tinkered with and modded my games, making new levels and adjusting game play for friends to try out. I nearly failed calculus in high school, writing an RPG for my TI-82 calculator during class. I think I DID cause a few people to fail out of college, wiring up our hall with a network (there wasn’t one built in), and running all-night Quake/TF matches. As long as I can remember I’ve wanted to work in the game industry.
It hasn’t all been PC games, I play a good bit on console systems as well, but my love has always been for the PC.

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

I love them all equally! I know that sounds like a cop out, but I do enjoy elements of every class.

I prefer to build as a tank when I play the Assault Class, soaking up damage and attracting attention. I focus totally on healing as a Medic. I’ve seen some very successful poison medics builds, but I get more enjoyment coming up to a battle where a teammate thinks they are about to die, and blowing all of my healing cool downs to save the day. I favor infiltration and bombs as a Recon, and as a Robotics I love turrets, pets, and force fields.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

The persistent campaign!

I think one of the most exciting parts has always been the combination of intense combat, on a scale where individual actions and teamwork really matter, with a larger campaign that makes the outcome of your mission potentially effect thousands of players at the strategic level.

We’re letting the players write the history of Global Agenda, with Alliances forming, claiming territory, building empires, backstabbing each other, and declaring wars… but all of it boils down to intense missions where individual players and groups of players can really make a name for themselves.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

Naturally, I draw from games that I’ve really enjoyed playing in the past. Just about every genre and every game has something to offer, with lessons to learn from.
Because I did a lot of mod work early on, and studied both CS and Art, I like to think I have a very broad knowledge base for how games are put together.

That knowledge helps a lot when interacting with other departments at the studio, which design has to do on a daily basis. It’s especially helpful when asking for features and tools to have an understanding of what’s been done in other engines and toolsets.

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

Start making games right now! Joining a mod team or starting your own little project is free, and the tools developers provide are often very similar to the ones they use. You’ll have to commit some free time, but the more experience and self motivation you can show, the better. If you want to be a level designer, start making community maps. If you want to be a game designer, start making your own game types. Plus, while working on a mod, you can really get a feel for if working in gaming is something you’ll enjoy.

Favorite game(s)?

If I was forced (and I think I am) to pick my favorite games of all time, it might look something like this:

X-Com (original), Battlefield series, Baldur’s Gate II, Company of Heroes, Total War series  …and just about anything from Valve or Bioware.

What do you do in your free time?

Fortunately, I have a wife who enjoys playing video games with me, (we may have actually fell in love while playing Baldur’s Gate II together - thank you Bioware!) and she doesn’t mind me spending most of my nights playing online with friends!

Recently, I’ve also been on a kick of designing board games, and I enjoy working on the pieces and art for the prototypes.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Audio Books of the Sharpe series by Bernard Cornwell. Curse you Andy for hooking me on Audio books! I was perfectly content to read before.

Global Agenda’s Character Rigger, Bret Kroll talks with us about realistic articulation and his bias toward the Robotics class in this weeks meet the team

Bret, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

Senior Character Technical Director (TD).  I create the underlying skeletons or "rigs" that allow Global Agenda characters to have realistic articulation.  With the help of Bryan "Riggs" Cere, my team also creates and maintains custom MAXScripts for the studio’s proprietary artist toolset in order to streamline the creation and management of game content.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

This is my first job in the gaming industry.  I was actually contacted by McKinley( Mick )  Larkins, the Tech Art Lead at Hi-Rez, 4 years ago about a MAXScript export tool I had posted on the Internet.  After setting him straight on how the script functioned, he mentioned that Hi-Rez was looking for a Character Rigger, so I applied.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I had all the early game systems - Nintendo, Sega Genesis, etc.  Then there is a gray period of about 10 years when I didn’t play video games.  I’m not even sure video games existed during that time.  If they did, nothing must have caught my attention.  But now, it’s a great time to be part of the game industry with the timely development of more sophisticated graphics cards that can truly showcase the amazing power of the Unreal Engine 3.

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

Right now, my favorite class is Robotics.  I like finding strategic areas to place turrets and then watching to see how they impact the Game play.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

Besides getting the chance to kill AndyA, I think Global Agenda has the best character models I have ever seen for an MMO.  I am constantly in awe of the creativity and craftsmanship displayed by every member of the character team.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I draw from both sides - the technical and the artistic.  At an early age I was interested in mathematics, logic and problem solving.  That continued through college where I focused on computer programming and linear algebra.  Fortunately, I was able to take many art classes as well which were led by amazing professors that always embraced the link between technology and art.  My role at Hi-Rez requires both a solid understanding of technology while still having an eye for the aesthetics, so I am lucky to have had the opportunity to have a well-rounded education.

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

Take as many math classes as you can and read as many math books that you can get your hands on.  You would not believe how often you will utilize the fundamentals of vector math over the course of a game’s development.  It seems like I am constantly being asked if it should be (b-a) or (a-b) [for those curious, it's (b-a)].

Favorite game(s)?

Sim City because it’s awesome, get used to it.

Double Dribble because it was the only game my brother would play and he always made the craziest shots right at the end to win the game.

Super Metroid because it is one of the few games I actually beat.

What do you do in your free time?

I like to run, play tennis and pronounce the movie Star Wars as "Star War".

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

I’ve been listening to a lot of low-fi music lately - Iron & Wine, Neutral Milk Hotel, Ray LaMontagne and Lucero.

A General Quote from Bret

I once proclaimed that Snakes on a Plane was a better movie than Star War.  As of this publication, I still have not retracted that statement.

Global Agenda’s character specialist, Jerry Gardiner takes some time to talk with us about how he makes the characters look fantastic in this weeks meet the team.

Jerry, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

As a Senior Character Artist,  I model and texture character suits, weapons, devices and NPCs.  I also oversee the technical aspects of weapon and device creation and keep track of those assets through the pipeline.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

Hi-Rez is my first job in the gaming industry and I’ll have been here for 4 years at the end of July.  Like most of the artists at the studio, I’ve been an avid gamer since I was young.  Somehow though, I never really considered getting into game development.  I tried studying engineering for a year and a half and hated it, so i ended up going to school and getting a BFA in Art, specializing in painting.  That, by chance, led to the Digital Production Arts program at Clemson University, though I was going there with movie animation in mind. After graduation I began applying for jobs. My friend Mick Larkins [now, lead Tech Artist on Global Agenda] had been hired at Hi-Rez soon after the studio formed and he was nice enough to help me get my foot in the door. Thanks Mick!  I can’t imagine the work environment anywhere else being as great as it is here.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

Growing up I played mostly console games, starting with the Atari 2600.  I’ve had most of the major consoles since then, and of course got into computer gaming along the way.

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

I do best as an Assault, but really enjoy the various strategies behind the Robotics class most.

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

Tracking Rocket Launchers.  I love seeing someone jet packing away, trying to escape when their health is low. Let them get a little further away…a little further… they think they’re going to make it! Then I launch a missile that swerves and connects, and they fall from the sky like a rock.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I look at a lot of the stuff being created for the Unreal engine by various studios.  But also a get a lot of inspiration from the other character artists here, who are top-notch.

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

Find out who is the executive producer of a local gaming studio, like our own Todd Harris for instance.  Stalk them relentlessly, which is easy to do what with the internet and all.  I’m sure they will be impressed by your determination and hire you in no time.  Or you could work extremely hard. You decide.

Favorite game(s)?

I don’t know, here are some that I remember liking over the years:

Gladius

Neverwinter Nights

Bioshock

Red Dead Revolver

SSX series

Baldur’s Gate 2

Final Fantasy VII

Warcraft III

WOW

Zelda

Final Fantasy Tactics

Dune

Soul Calibur series

Portal

Galaga…

What do you do in your free time?

Play games and hang with my daughter, Paige.  Occasionally paint, play basketball and watch movies.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Mark Lanegan, Clutch, Antony and the Johnsons, Richie Havens, Tool, Monster Magnet, Bjork, None More Black, Jimi Hendrix, Dropkick Murphys, Flight of the Conchords…

Some Personal Art From Jerry Gardiner

Here are a few of my paintings from when I was back in school, I havent taken the time to photograph any of my current stuff….

Global Agenda’s Art Vanguard Charles Vinson takes some time to talk with us about injecting “awesome” into everything and the Science of Bad-Ass

Chuk, tell us a little about what you do at Hi-Rez Studios.

Depends on where I’m currently needed.

My title is Art Director, but I function more in an “art trailblazing” capacity. I focus on prototyping and initial establishment of new art assets, developing initial art pieces for new game play elements and then directing their evolution into art that fulfills the game play needs and artistic aesthetic of Global Agenda. Once the process of developing that type of art asset is a known quantity, I generally move to another area. I’ve worked on special effects, player suit designs, device/weapon designs, PvE enemy design, level concept design, marketing materials, UI shaders… currently I’m working on city development.

How did you get into the gaming industry? How did you get to Hi-Rez Studios?

I’ve worked in games since I graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design in 2000. I sent my demo reel and a book of concept art to a lot of companies until I got an interview at a small [Atlanta-based] studio called Heuristic Park. I went in overdressed in my best suit and pleaded with them to hire me, which they did. Eventually, I was the lead (and for a while the only) artist on a prototype project that we eventually pitched to a publisher called Dungeon Lords. I made all the art for the 1-level demo myself, which was an awesome experience. The development of the game itself was ill-fated, but I worked on every type of game art possible on that project and learned a massive amount about making art for games. After that project completed, I heard Hi-Rez was opening up and was more than happy to come on board.

Describe your video game experience; when did you start playing/making games?

I’ve been playing and making video games since you could play and make them. In my youth I drew dream Nintendo platformer levels on taped together stretches of office paper and imagined playing through them. I coded on MUDs, I ran D&D games, I made a Playstation game in my college game development class… any way you could make games, I was there doing that. Game development has always been in my blood.

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

I play everthing but Recon (don’t get me started on Recons), but TheKrushalator is generally rackin’ up kills as an assault. I looove tanking and mowing people down with the Minigun while a medic keeps me alive. Rrrrrrraaaah!

What are you most excited for in Global Agenda?

I love trying new builds RPG style and fighting tactical FPS style. Global Agenda is a shooter but it’s more about strategy and placement of your character and your shots rather than twitch accuracy — a change of pace which is very satisfying! I’m also very excited about the persistent campaigns.

What experiences do you draw from when creating content for the game?

I am most influenced by my history of prototyping gameplay through art, which I have almost always been tasked with. So foremost I develop concepts and designs that fulfill the needs of the game design itself. What is this piece of art for? Once you’ve got that, you infuse it with awesome till it can’t stand it any more. Do we fight with a knife? No, its a giant, high-tech claw. It is the science of bad-ass.

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

Don’t just play games, make games; learn to program, learn to mod. If you’re not trying to make some kind of games now, you have not even one foot on the path…

Favorite game(s)?

Guardian Heroes

Castle Crashers

Resident Evil series

Diablo II

Starcraft

Company of Heroes

Supreme Commander

What do you do in your free time?

I play games, I make art, I try to eat great food and drink great beer whenever possible.

My daughter is the most awesome being ever, and I hang with her as much as I can and try to teach her about the world.

What is on your iPod/MP3player?

I’m on a Hall & Oates’ Pandora channel kick right now.

“Yeah i’ll do anything you want me to

I’ll do almost anything that you want me to

But i can’t go for that

No can do.”

You tell me what that’s about now, eh?

Some Personal Art From Chuk Vinson

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.