#systems designer

What games have you worked on in the past?

I worked on a couple titles at 3DO, WarJetz, Jonny Moseley, and the unreleased Jacked (not to be confused with another Jacked that used some of the tech we sold).

I think that the other Jacked actually was renamed… if memory serves, they slapped a license on it and called it “Torque” or something.

Was it? It will always be Jacked to me. I don’t know what they turned it into.

At Rockstar San Diego, I was the lead designer on Table Tennis, and I also worked as an ambient designer on Red Dead Redemption. If you find me, you can shoot me in the face.

Then I went to make toys, work at a pharmacy, start an art group, and think about life.

Now I’m back in games at Sony Santa Monica.

What made you decide to work on games?

I thought games were the next big thing as a kid. ...the next art form. I wanted to be a part of that, and I’d always been into computers and art, so it just kinda fit.

How did you get into the industry?

I studied computer science at Michigan State. I wanted to be sure that I got into the industry. Design and art seemed too arbitrary, and if I had to, I could just code my own game. Once I got my degree, I started contacting every video game studio I could find and bombarded them with custom resumes and cover letters. Then I’d call the company themselves and try to talk with someone. I actually got a return call from Mark Turmell, a higher up at Midway. After that, it was just following up with interviews, and seeing who’d take a chance on hiring a junior programmer.

Ah, I know that story well. It sounds a lot like my own. What made you decide to jump to the design side of the fence?

I always wanted to design, but I needed to do more than place power ups in a level and decide where a tree should go. While at 3DO, my supervisor, Howard Scott Warshaw (yes, the E.T. programmer), said that I should hang out with the designers more and learn from them. Over time, I ended up pushing new designs into games because I could program them. So when I applied to Rockstar, I removed programmer from my application and wrote in “designer” to see what would happen.

What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?

Getting Table Tennis on store shelves. If you remember, it was only announced about two months before it was released. I don’t know who actually thought it would make it into players’ hands, but it did. That team really came together to make a solid project.

What is the greatest misconception about what you do?

Come on, you know the answer to that one. I just sit around and play games all day, right?

Some people actually answer differently!

I suppose, but in general, there’s this tra-la-la attitude that people seem to think game developers have at work. It’s a freakin business.

I think it's because we wear T-shirts and jeans to work. Moving right along...

What is the one thing that got cut during production that you wish you could have saved most?

Hmmm...I’m not one of those guys that gets too attached to things in a game, but like a lot of Rockstar Games, there’s so much content that a lot ends up on the cutting room floor that you stop feeling sorry for it. Besides, much of it is a learning experience and might end up in the game or another title in some other form. I can’t think of any good examples.

What is your one favorite thing that you saved from getting cut during production?

The Focus meter in Table Tennis was actually on the line at one point. Though we modeled some of it from a fighting game perspective, it almost felt a little like a super-power. We were trying to play the game as more of a simulation, and that was a point of debate. But then we looked at Midnight Club’s use of abilities and went with it. Just enough fantasy to not get stupid.

What development practice do you think developers don’t do enough?

Developers often have an aversion to experiences in the real world. Like, I don’t care how many shooters you’ve played or how many times you’ve watched Rambo, unless you’ve been in the field shooting a gun, you’re missing part of the experience. Play dice games all day and learn probabilities, but go out and get some context to what you’re creating, it’ll make a difference.

Which is more important to you, visual fidelity or gameplay responsiveness?

Gameplay responsiveness by a mile. BUT...I will say that people confuse visual fidelity with well-applied art. I don’t care if your crate has only 8 polygons or 80,000, I need to look at a scene in the game and feel like I’m there and I’m a part of a play experience. Everything and everyone has to work together. 

That’s a fair response… can you give an example of what you mean?

Sure. If you are making a game where all the enemies are red and all of the attacks are things like red lasers, red flame, red spikes, etc. You have established that red is bad. Later on in the game, you can’t have the player eating cherry pie like everything is just great. That’s a silly example, but you can see how it breaks coherence. Artists are notorious for breaking rules like that, and designers often create set ups that don’t necessarily make visual sense. And of course, you’re going to be working with whatever the programmers create, so they have to be included too.

What is the one game that influenced you the most?

Super Mario Kart SNES

It’s an interesting choice. Why Super Mario Kart?

It just hit really hard at the time.

There was nothing quite like it.

It was a new and novel use of the Mario universe.

It had great race mechanics that non-racing fans could get into.

It had a great battle mode that I hadn't gotten into since like...Atari's Combat.

There was a wide range of skill levels.

Drinking game.

What is the one thing you wish gamers knew about game development?

I wish gamers could actually express their feedback in a more constructive manner. I mean, it’s often difficult when someone says “This level sucks.”, but they keep playing it. Or they say it’s good, but can’t explain why. It’s like gaming has very little critical dialogue (en masse) to push the industry forward.

I know that feeling well. It seems like they lack the sort of context to fully explain why they like or dislike something.

Ha. And I’m not even speaking like a high-and-mighty developer either. I know producers that will type pages of bad feedback that don’t really help. 

It’s certainly a prevailing problem with people both in and outside of the industry. I guess that’s why “excellent written and verbal communication” skills are always top on a designer job description.

Good luck finding those guys. LOL

What advice would you have for someone wanting to get into the game industry?

Make things fast and often. Copy if you have to for the experience. Don’t try to make a “game” all the time, but get in the habit of actually creating something. That could be a character sheet, a ruleset, a new controller, etc.

Share with your friends/family/Internet. This can be a humbling experience, but you don’t have to take anything said personally. It’s just how people are responding to what they see. 

Where can people find you?

http://mrbenja.com

Twitter: @mrbenja

Instagram: mrbenja

Anything you’d like to say that wasn’t asked? Shout outs, last-minute thoughts, advice, or anything else goes here.

Well thanks for this opportunity, it was really cool talking with you. I like what you’re doing here. I’d like to shout out the guys that have worked with me on building everything at 8bitcubist.com and keeping me on my game: Jeff, Raphael, Ryan, Marcellus, Andrew, Marc, Theo, Chris, etc. We basically keep each other tight and on top of our game.

And I’ll leave the readers with this. Don’t be lame. Find your art. I’ve been in the industry for about 13 years, and it’s too easy to create lame nowadays. Don’t try to create a GTAV or a Mario Kart or a FlappyBird or whatever, just create what you want to see next. Get out your personal dreams however you can. It might not even have anything to do with “games” as we know them. Go make some new interactive experience and blow everyone’s mind. You never know who wants to see what you’ve got cooking in your head.