Interview MCA wants to be a game designer - you can too!

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Chris Avellone; Neverwinter Nights 2

<a href="http://www.gamespot.com/">GameSpot</a> has <a href="http://www.gamespot.com/features/6129276/index.html">an editorial/interview</a> with several game designers, including our bestest buddy in the whole wide world, <a href="http://www.obsidianent.com">Obsidian</a>'s <b>Chris Avellone</b>, about how to be a game designer. Here's a clip:
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<blockquote><b>GameSpot: lot of people think they want to be game designers but don't have much of an idea about what the work entails. What exactly does a game designer do? Tell us about the job, both in a general sense and on a day-to-day level.
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Mister Chris Avellone:</b> The duties of a designer vary from project to project and from game genre to genre. I can tell you what Obsidian designers do on a day-to-day basis, but even that varies depending on the month and milestone. Keep in mind there are a lot of different types of designers (systems, level builders, technical designers, writers, area designers, lead designers, etc.).
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As designers on Neverwinter Nights 2, the job is to take the chunks given out by the lead designer (Ferret Baudoin) and flesh them out. This generally involves doing a lot of area overview work, drawing maps on paper or in Photoshop, writing all the dialogues and quests, making creature lists for the areas, placing objects and critters, building levels in the editor, and proofreading/play-testing each other's work. You also do a lot of jumping up and down on implemented designs to see what breaks. If you've ever done a NWN module of your own, then you'll understand what we do on a day-to-day basis firsthand.</blockquote>
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It still kills me there's a guy out there named <b>Ferret</b>.
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Spotted at: <A HREF="http://www.shacknews.com">Shack News</A>

 

[Sol Invictus]

Haha. You said Ferret.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Ferret Baudoin sounds like a French soup made from floppy rodents to me. Hey, if the French will eat snails, they'll eat ferrets.

 

[Ap_Jolly]

Ferrets is good eatin'!

 

[Surlent]

So MCA likes to write comics and has blog ??
(There's link on second page on MCA's profile....)

Seems he digs puppies, one of his fav groups is called Gay for puppy. I have to say, weird name for dog fans.

 

[DarkUnderlord]

If you've ever done a NWN module of your own, then you'll understand what we do on a day-to-day basis firsthand.

# BREAKING NEWS # Obsidian announce they're hiring NWN Modders.

 

[Atrokkus]

MCA clearly stated that any modding experience is welcome. And NWN-toolkit is the best out there, so go figure.

Here's the quote:

3. If a game comes with level or map editors, play around with them. Try out levels or scenarios with your friends, and use that as an acid test for your work. There are tons of editors out there, like the level editors for Warcraft, Arcanum, Neverwinter Nights, or any others you can get your hands on. Put your levels or mods up on the net, get critiques, and try to make a name for yourself as a good level or map designer before you even go to a game company. It helps when the interviewer's already seen your work on the Internet and has perhaps even played one of your levels.

I myself like to tinker with WarCraft3 World Editor. It's quite challenging and fun to try to create an RPG there, but it's certainly possible.