DevCon 2016: How I Got Started in Gaming
2016-04-21
Electronic Arts
We’re thrilled to have had so many of our amazing developers at EAHQ last week for EA DevCon, an annual event that brings together more than 250 of EA’s brightest minds from all over the world.
This year marked the sixth multi-day DevCon celebration, featuring guest speakers, workshops and deep dive sessions that allow our development teams to share best practices, solve problems and bring new ideas to the table as one team.
Since we often hear from so many people who are curious how they can get their start, we tabbed some of the brightest minds at EA DevCon to tell us how they broke into the business.
Ever wanted to work in video games? Here’s your cheat sheet.
Name: Aaryn Flynn
Role: I am the general manager for BioWare. I oversee development at our three locations in Edmonton, Austin, and Montreal, where we work on Dragon Age, Mass Effect, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and new IP.
How I Got My Start: I started as a programmer (engineer) 16 years ago at BioWare. I worked on tools that our artists and designers used to make Baldur’s Gate II.
Since then, my role has shifted from a front-line developer to a manager of multiple teams at multiple locations. It’s been a big shift full of lessons, mistakes, successes, and a lot of fulfilling work.
Free Advice: I would remind myself that the difficult times pass and to stay true to what your fans and players want. When an all else fails, you can lean on that relationship.
Name: Scott Warner
Role: I’m a game director at Visceral. My job is to work with the Creative Director and the rest of the team to translate the vision of the game into all of the mechanics, modes, levels, and tools – I’m the gameplay guy!
How I Got My Start: A long time ago the first game I worked on was a CRPG called Planescape:Torment. If something is moving around in the world, talking to you, or attacking you, there’s a good chance I placed it in there and scripted it using Bioware’s first generation Infinity Engine tools.
When I Knew: My dad bought me a TI-99/4A when I was really young and I was hooked immediately! It was too long before I made a crude Transformers Text Adventure game and decided that making games was what I wanted to do with my life.
Free Advice: I wouldn’t change a thing, honestly. Maybe I’d say “Keep playing those games!” because that’s what I would have done anyways.
Have you always wanted to work in gaming? Have a look at our careers site!
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