The first game I ever worked on was a game for the Gameboy Advance called Scurge: Hive. It was both a blessing and a curse. Scurge was pretty much exactly the type of game I had always dreamed of working on. I was the target audience.
I look back on the days that I was working on Scurge very fondly. I remember working almost around the clock with my mentor the great Mr. Graham Scott. Now that I’m a little older and a little wiser, it astounds me that Scurge ever saw the lite of day. The team was too small. The scope was too big and we were all under experienced. The only thing that got the game done was our passion.
Soon after Scurge wrapped up, things went haywire and long story short, the team was shattered. So here I was, having just worked on a dream project only to have the notion of doing it all again ripped right out of my hands.
For the next few years, I found myself making “Casual Games”. It turns out, I was quite good at it. One might even say I found my calling. That said, I was not the target market and having had that early taste with Scurge, I know there’s something really special about building something for yourself.
Now I’m about two or three weeks away from completing my next game and it represents a very important and perhaps pivotal moment in my career. For the first time in many, many years, I truly am the target market again.
We’ve worked very hard to make this game special and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Daniel Kratt, Senior Designer
BigStack Studios
Category : Blog & Career & Game Industry
This week I had a chance to speak at a career day for a local high school.
Preparing for the event gave me reason to reflect on the past five years of my life.
I was certifiably obsessed with video games from age seven.
By grade eleven, I thought I would be either a math teacher or an art teacher.
I ultimately decided to pursue a career in computer animation in the hopes of breaking into the video game industry.
Fast forward a few years and BFA in hand, I was totally unprepared for a career in computer animation. I was however very well equipped in critical thinking and still obsessed with video games.
Fast forward a few more years and I’m a game designer.
It all makes perfect sense now. Life had a way of pushing me exactly where I should be. I always loved video games and I now spend my days balancing art and math.
You know what you love even when you’re very young. By the time you’re in high school, chances are you know what you’re good at.
I would urge everyone trying to find a career path to look back on what they loved as a child. Then, identify what you’re good at and find a way to make it all work together.
By the way, my cousin who is now a aerospace engineer had a sizable collection of space themed Lego growing up.
Daniel Kratt, Senior Designer
BigStack Studios
Category : Career & Game Industry