Salrough

Bewildering, due to culture clash and politics. EA acquired Westwood, and merged with the Irvine studio in California (developers of the Generals series of C&C games). I had switched to a production role from design just before Westwood closed, so I was picked up at EA as production. Moving into a culture steeped in politic, with the scarlet letter of being from an acquisition, in a field I was just learning, I'd say it was a bewildering test of my capabilities. I learned a lot in a short time, and I worked too many hours. However, the benefits were tangible.

As we progress, the perceived division between consoles, PCs and mobile devices will shrink rapidly. This means games will adapt their interfaces and methods of delivery to accommodate this newer audience, which has been raised with a phone in hand. VR will play a big part in this as well. At first I think it will harm the industry, similar to how people complain about console games being ported to PC without any form of refinement or advanced control schemes. Later, as the dust settles and handhelds become more powerful, as my television truly becomes my PC, we'll see this argument fade I think.

Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. Can you believe they are making a sequel?

I once wrote code which crashed, but suddenly worked just fine if I put a //comment line in it. I never did figure out that Borland compiler.

1. When I began there were few college courses related to game design. I am mostly self-taught, but I did take a course on C programming to learn how object oriented code works. Once you learn one language the rest are much easier, they are all very similar. I recommend learning some coding skills: even if you don't program, knowing how an engine works (and its limitations) is critical. Game design, though, is in my blood. I can't explain that, but I can't stop doing it. I like to entertain others.

2. I didn't even consider the possibility until a friend in the industry told me to apply as a tester. Half a year later I was in the design group. If a project needs people and you prove talent, it won't take you long at all.

3. I'll be honest, it's a volatile industry as it can be difficult to time the ending of one project with the beginning of another financially. For this reason, many companies lay off a good majority of the workforce when a project completes, and then re-hire when they are finally ready to "ramp up" for the next one. This causes you to move a lot if you aren't retained, so it can be difficult for families.

4. Stress has a lot to do with how you approach the work. It can catch you off guard, for two reasons. First you are passionate about the work you do, so constant changes to the project can be painful. You have to learn to "kill your children" so to speak, and move on with the team. Sometimes, a game is too ambitious for its budget, and pieces need to be left behind which you hold dear. You have to learn to be Zen about it and focus on the next thing. Second, in an environment where everyone is stressed people can thrive on the adrenaline of it, which has a negative side effect. It used to be a point of pride to boast about "crunching" long hours. As for the hours, even with the best of intentions, sometimes you live at work to get the project done on schedule. The trick is how you approach it: EA at that time was new at handling this concern, causing the "EA Spouse" fallout as you recall. Petroglyph asked the team to put in the effort instead, approaching the concern from a more positive angle. Either way, it was a time investment.

5. For getting into the industry today as an artist, one great method is making a noteworthy mod of an existing product, a reskin or an environment addon. Many artists get noticed from their mod work. Be sure to have a website with a portfolio of your art, so the curious can easily see more of your work. Don't be afraid to promote yourself - the internet can be your resume.

I didn't work on the original C&C, but I did design most of the maps for C&C Renegade. I paid homage to the earlier crashed spaceship easter egg by including one in a Nod base later in the game: http://cnc.wikia.com/wiki/Crashed_UFO