Jesse Lindsley

Name: Jesse Lindsley

Twitter: @jesselindsley

Gender: Male

Nationality: White

Birth date: 28/02/1974

Title: CEO

Company: Thrust

Some games that you have worked on: 

Cashinko
Cash Darts
Keywords
Words & Cards
Dungeon Crawlers
Zombie Smokeout
Boomblastica
Button Men

Website: http://th.ru.st

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I wanted to make a living doing what I love to do.

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

As a game agency, I am inspired to solve problems/challenges by thinking differently, which for us is about using game science (games, game mechanics, game environments, game tools etc.) to creatively accomplish our goals.

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

I would spend my time and money to continue to develop "Boomblastica", which was a passion side/summer project that we haven't touched in about four years, due to being busy with client projects.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

For a massive multiplayer mobile game, we selected a back-end-as-a-service as part of the architecture for a project with a fairly tight timeline. About a month before launch, during load testing, the BaaS solution was acquired and subsequently sunset. Our game never launched as it didn't  scale and it was slated for a large tv audience. We were devastated. After dusting ourselves off, we overcame this setback by using the framework/engine that we had created to successfully launch another game in a similar genre. 

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

We find partners to bolster areas where we require support, including distribution, brand awareness, content, contacts, budget, etc.

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

You have to love what you are doing. i.e. if you weren't getting paid to do game development, you would be doing it on the side.

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

The downside is that it's a hit business and there are very few winners in the space...i.e. 10% are making 90% of the money. 

On the other hand, the barrier to entry (of launching a game) has come down, which is very exciting and empowering. However it's still quite hard for an indie to make it and the percentages that do are embarrassingly low.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Do it on the side...i.e. not your day job. That is, until you have a stable, unconstrained and properly capitalized environment to give your all to this extremely competitive, hit business. Game development, like most creative outlets, is a subjective venture, so take advice with a grain of salt, meaning you should attempt to get as much advice as you can and then triangulate that shit ;)

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

It takes top notch talent in your discipline, combined with intangibles like being able to problem solve and communicate and you have to have drive and dedication.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

If I knew that I would probably be farther along on this journey...It's easy to say that you should be spending 10% of your time reading and playing the latest and greatest, as the space is moving so fast. I just know for me, finding the time to do this is quite difficult and my reading and playing to-do-list is growing every day. I do however read all of the headlines...

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

Surely, the mobile platform for game developers is broken and not sustainable. I would think that giving up 30% to platform providers, who have driven down the accepted price for games to $.99 or free-to-play, leaves lots of room for improvement. 

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

Nine years ago, which was two years into starting our game dev studio, I was at my first GDC and planning to attend a session on Starting a Game Development Studio. Unfortunately, right before the session started I got an invite to a meeting that I needed to take. So, after my meeting I rushed over to meet up with one of our team members, who had attended the session, and I asked them to tell me what they learned. And they preceded to tell me that the moral of the story was "to NOT do it". Well, looking back, I'm glad that I have lots of funny stories, because if I didn't, I would probably cry! ;)

Timothy Johnson

Name: Timothy Johnson

Twitter: @atlgamedev

Gender: Male

Nationality: USA

Birth date: 22/03/1978

Title: CEO

Company: No, You Shut Up Games

Some games that you have worked on: 

Thred

Adventure Time: Legends of Ooo

Adventure Time: Library of Doom

Adventure Time: World War Wizard

Mike The Knight: The Great Gallop

OddSquad

The Secret Castle

Zombie Room AR

Website: http://www.noyoushutupgames.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I always wanted to make games but I lived in Atlanta and there were few opportunities and the barrier to entry was high. As the internet became more ubiquitous and access to knowledge about engines became easier I stepped closer and closer to it.

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

It depends on the day, but mostly it involves deep reflection on things that I care about, usually by poking holes in it and destroying it logically. From there I spin off into untaken directions. It's crazy fun.

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

I don't need unlimited resources, in fact that would be the worst thing that could happen to me. Limit my resources, limit my abilities. That's where true ingenuity and creativity lie.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

Biggest challenge was overcoming poisonous people with higher positions of authority. I won't tell you where or the circumstances, but I overcame it with cold calculated reason. 

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

Listen to the ideas and opinions of others, but don't let it pivot you from your goal. Also, boil the idea down to one sentence and then write it on the wall in big block letters. Judge all of your decisions by this sentence.

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

I can't recall. I've gotten a lot of constructive criticism, but nothing sticks out as being profound. 

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

It's the entertainment industry, meaning it can be feast and famine. Also, the whole indie movement has both progressed gaming and harmed it. Due to the continually lower barriers to entry the mean quality overall is being depressed. It's a problem that will correct itself, but now is a difficult time.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Don't specialize, ever. Are you a designer? Go pick up a book on LUA or JS and start scripting. Are you a c++ graphics programmer? Learn more about the art of design or the overall infrastructure architecture.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

C++ is a must. So many devs are coming out with very little knowledge. They're all learning node.js or some other functional stack. I know that's out of fashion, but that doesn't make it less true.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

John Carmack, Will Wright, Gareth Bourn. Find a game you love, find out who made it, find out what they read, what they follow. Do that.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

It would be great if people thought games were worth spending money on again, but that goes back to my earlier point about the mean level of quality currently being depressed. 

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

Working on a prototype for The Sims and accidentally reclassified toilets as refrigerators. It was equally gross and hilarious.

Robin Hunicke

Name: Robin Hunicke

Twitter: @hunicke

Gender: Female

Nationality: USA

Birth date: 15/03/1973

Title: CEO

Company: Funomena

Some games that you have worked on: 

The Sims2

MySims

Boom Blox 1&2

Journey

Luna

Wattam

Website: www.funomena.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I wanted to build programs that told stories. I started off as an artist and aspiring poet, became an AI researcher, and eventually began working in Games because I loved the people, projects and potential of the medium.

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Film, food, friends, fashion... lots of things. :D

I love living. When I need to think big, it's a trip, a hike, a long bike ride or time in the garden. When I need to laugh and brainstorm, it's cooking dinner and drinking with friends, or camping and singing around a fire. When I need to believe that we can do anything, it's out to dance, see music or catch a film. When I need to feel introspective - curling up with a great book or taking a trip to the museum. And when I need to remember why I do it all - I spend quality time with a great game. :D

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

I am making the games I want to make right now - for which I am very grateful.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

My largest challenge, always, is accepting my limitations and taking the time I need to see the big picture. It's very easy to get lost in the details of work, problems at hand. I will forever struggle with developing the strength to step away from my "to do" list.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

I talk openly about our dreams, challenges and ask for help and support. Being honest about how small and fragile Funomena is can be humbling - but it's essential, I think, to connect with our future fans.

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

Listen more, talk less.

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

Games are an interdisciplinary endeavor that require constant problem solving and thinking on your feet. That's the core attraction and challenge for me. :D

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Be honest. Don't make promises you can't keep. If you say you will do something - do it. If you can't get something done, admit it and re-negotiate your commitment. Meeting the commitments you make is key in building trust with everyone around you.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

Listening and letting people come to solutions on their own. Most of the time, there are good ideas inside people's heads... you just need to encourage them to come out. This is true for producers, designers and business leaders.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

See my answer about inspiration. Just live a full life and follow your heart. Have friends and relationships. Be loved and love others. The rest follows.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

I want more people from different/diverse cultures and backgrounds and perspectives to be successful making commercial game and interactive experiences. Diversity is the key to reaching more people, and is a virtuous cycle of expansion.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

A long time ago I was still in graduate school, studying robots, when I met Will Wright. After a talk he gave, I waited to talk to him and peppered him with questions. After patiently enduring me for about 10 minutes, he said... "You sure sound like a game designer."

:D

Sometimes, your curiosity and passion will make you look dorky, act silly or over-excited... but it's not always a bad thing to be enthusiastic. I left graduate school to work on The Sims2 and it changed my life. Be excited and ok with who you are. It will take you to amazing places.

<3

Jesse Schell

Name: Jesse Schell

Twitter: @jesseschell

Gender: Male

Nationality: USA

Birth date: 13/06/1970

Title: CEO

Company: Schell Games

Some games that you have worked on:

Toontown Online

Lexica

DisneyQuest

Pixie Hollow

I Expect You To Die

Water Bears

Orion Trail

Website: http://jesseschell.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

I've always loved magic, and anything that seems magical. Games are a powerful kind of magic, and so is technology. Putting the two of them together creates all kinds of fascinating new magicks. All this led me to start creating my own games at an early age. You can read about one of the games that influenced me most here: http://press.etc.cmu.edu/content/mines-minos-jesse-schell

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Everything. The world is full of magical things. You can read about some of my inspirations here: http://thingsifinished.com

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

It would be a VR MMORPG. I love MMO games because of the depth and the social interaction. Combining those things with the deep immersivity of VR is the kind of experience I've been waiting my whole life to make.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

The biggest challenge of my career was my decision to leave Disney and go independent. It required quite a bit of bravery from both myself and my family, but we did it, and it has worked out well.

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

Work with excellent teams, and use best-practice project management techniques. You can hear many of my thoughts about that here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y92-vkyHKbY

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

I revel in learning new things, and when I was younger, someone very close to me pointed out my tendency to act like a know-it-all. I had no idea that I was being perceived that way -- it was quite a shock. I have worked to curb that tendency, but most of all, I took away the lesson that when people behave badly, they often have no idea that they are doing so.

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

The main advantage to making games is that it is exciting and really fun to make games! You work directly with positive human psychology all the time, and that can be very rewarding. The downside is that it is a very challenging business, and it is easy to get your ego crushed.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Make as many games as you can -- and work with as many people as you can.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

Critical thinking about games is very important, and this comes through practice. Teamwork and diplomacy are also important, but *listening* is the most important skill for any game designer... Listening to your team, to your players, to your game, and to your self.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

Play the games that interest you most. Read everything. Don't worry about following the work of others. Focus instead on writing every day, and creating as many games as you can.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

I am hoping that better ways appear for players to pay for games. Right now the business models are very chaotic, and to create great things is a terrible risk. I am hoping business models can stabilize somewhat.

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

Once, we made a pitch to a publisher for a certain game, and they liked it, but they wanted us to do it in too short a time, so we said "no thanks." The publisher said, "Well, in that case, are you interested in this other project?" and it seemed more doable, so we took it. Turns out it was much harder than we thought, and the project was in some peril. At GDC, I met the head of another studio who looked glum. I asked her what was wrong, and she told me that she took on the title we passed on, and that it was way over budget. I told her I sympathized, as my project had similar problems -- she asked what game it was, and when I told her, her eyes got all big -- she had passed on the game, because she was certain it would go over budget! Neither of us could stop laughing... and of course, as is so typical in the game industry, we both found ways to get our projects done. It proves the old saying -- everything looks like a disaster in the middle.

Thijmen Bink

Name: Thijmen Bink

Twitter: @thijmenbink

Gender: Male

Nationality: Dutch

Birth date: 31/05/1985

Title: CEO & Tech Director

Company: Digital Dreams

Some games that you have worked on: Metrico (and some smaller ones).

Website: www.digitaldreamsgames.com

1-What did motivate you to become a game developer? 

Not sure actually. I guess the combination of playing games, learning how to code and wanting to make 'something'. It's pretty cool to make stuff, whatever that may be, and this is something that I appearantly was able to. I also like to have people enjoy themselves, and preferably learn something in the meantime. Games can do all that!

2-What does inspire you creatively? 

Every new sight, smell, sound, touch or realization can trigger ideas.

3-If you had unlimited resources to make any game you wanted, what kind of game would that be? 

Heh, well, I guess it would be a VR game when we've figured out properly how to get interfacing right, preferable through Kinect and/or Leap Motion kinda things. I'd like the player to have total freedom, and design a world and mechanics that support that freedom. It would let the player be able to explore in so many ways. Then the game itself could be anything, there is a lingering RPG concept that I'd go for first, but it's that freedom/exploration that's most important to me.

4-What was the biggest challenge of your career? In which game? How did you overcome it? 

Challenges keep coming all the time (and that's why running your own companies stays interesting). The challenge scales with the experience you have. So, while finishing Metrico was the largest challende to date, finishing our first Flash game (2 month project) might have also been the biggest, relatively speaking. It's hard to say really.

But I think... the biggest challenge is keeping all of our noses and thoughts in same direction together, all the time, on whichever project or business matter. It's ongoing and requires a lot of communication, dismissal of assumptions.. that's actually really really hard. So far we're doing alright, most of the time ;)

5-What do you usually do for raising the possibility of success in your projects? 

Well, the project has to be good, duh. We think about what what would be interesting for players to experience and explore, and whether that would still be the case when the game is done. We like to think about what a memorable experience will be, something that people are more likely to talk about with friends, as well as have a meaningful impact on the player him/herself. We also plan Marketing and PR well ahead of times, but fail to execute it as such, due to lack of time/resources. We think about what we want to communicate, and how to be consistent with that message. And of course try to get as much visibility from Sony or whomever we're working with.

6-What is the most helpful piece of constructive criticism you ever received? 

The first one that comes to mind is Robin Hunicke's stories about project's stress and insecurities that she and her teams had. That is was perfectly natural to happen, and can even lead to more qualitive productions (or is a sign of a high potential).

7-What are the advantages/downsides to working in games?

We've got a pretty informal and casual industry, which I love. We get to make stuff, bring it to a large audience, joke around.. what's not to love? Well, the insecurity, of both your company and projects failing, which could always happen. There's often the low income, but I don't really mind as long as I got a roof above my head, decent meals on my plate and beers in the bar.

8-What is your best advice to a beginning game developer?

Always be ambitious, but keep your limits in mind. So push yourself, but be able to finish your games too.

9-Which skills are the most important for a game developer in your field/position?

Well, being able to actually code is pretty important. But being able to understand and communicate with the rest of the team, is just as important. I hear from Sound Designers/Composers that few developers really understand their trade, and the possibilities of sound implementation are greatly diminished because of that.
I guess I'm saying, explore disciplines beyond your core, to know what's possible and how people think about their processes.

10-If I want to become a great dev in your field, what games should I play, what books should I read, and whose work should I follow?

Well by now every developer should have played Journey for its flow, Portal for it's new mindset and Limbo for its original set pieces with minimal mechanics. The very minimalistic design of Jeppe Carlsen's 140. I also love To the Moon for it's wonderful narrative. The silliness in Botanicula and Machinarium. And any of the lovely interactions made by Vectorpark. As to bigger productions, I love the The Witcher for introducing grey choices that have consequences later in the game. Dark Souls & co for their 'open worlds' and hidden difficulty curve (unlike JRPGs with the same creature in 20 different colors).

I don't read a lot, but I loved Flatland. I also love to read Warcraft and Magic the Gathering lore, they give a real good idea of what you can do with the universe of a game and how much backstory there can be to it. It helps creating a consistent and meaningful world.

I tend to follow whomever made something that I enjoyed, that makes the most sense right? If there's one person, I'd say AdriaanDeJongh since he's no doubt going to come up with more crazy silly social games, like Bounden and Fingle.

11-What changes do you want to see in the game industry?

Well, I hope we can at one point leave GG behind us and in fact, have everyone in the industry feel comfortable here.

I hope we'll find meaningful interaction design for VR.

Other than that, I'm confident that things will stay interesting as everything is currently going. I wouldn't mind a bit fewer 'nostalgic 8-bit' games though. We've had and played those, it's time to go forward!

Bonus: Tell us a funny story from your adventures in game development.

My pc actually blacked out, 4 days before Metrico's FQA deadline (Sony's quality check). 'Fortunately' is was only the pc's power supply. Not a good time for your pc to die on you!

Also, while submitting to FQA, we were watching the WC soccer match of Spain-Netherlands. Submission was complete just before half-time, and during we raced to Roy's home and continued watching there in disbelief as we beat Spain 5-1 (with a huge plate of Greek meat). That was a good day!