I began my career in entertainment software in 2001 at High Voltage Studios in Chicago, Illinois, one of the largest independent game developers in the United States. I paid my dues working as an Assistant Producer and as an assistant to the Vice-President of Creative. This led to a Game Design position on a Disney project with a movie tie-in, and afterwards I worked for several years as a Senior Writer/Game Designer on Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude and a heretofore unreleased title during which I would grow as a professional by leaps and bounds.
In 2005 I earned a "Best Writing" nomination from the Game Developer's Choice Awards and a "Best Dialog" nomination from the Game Audio Network Guild. I have contributed to a book on writing for games, have taught game design, and am a former co-host of "Write Club", a game writing workshop held at the Game Developers Conference.
In 2006 I left High Voltage to return to my hometown of Portland, Oregon and began my career as a full time freelancer. Current and past clients include: Telltale Games, Sony (SCEA), Idol Minds, 3D Realms, the humor website The Onion, THQ*ICE, Screenlife Games, iWin, GameHouse, Paramount Digital, Engine Software, Social Moray Games and more.
I specialize in story based games, especially those with a light-hearted touch. I am very passionate about my work and love what I do. For specifics on projects I have worked on please see my resume.
If you need help planning, conceptualizing, or implementing your vision for an interactive project, or need someone to assist with character creation, story, or writing dialog please email ed@egkinteractive.com
It's a fair question and one I get a lot from people unfamiliar with the games industry. The role of Game Designer can vary dramatically depending on the environment they are in, but at it's core, a Game Designer is someone who works with the rest of the development team (programmers, artists, sound engineers, producers, license holders, executives, and others) to form a vision for the game they are to create. They lead discussions on which programmable features, art assets, and story elements are needed, and combine them in such a way as to create fun.
During the course of the development Game Designers will document this vision, creating a roadmap for the rest of the team to follow. They will work with others to create whatever story, characters, dialog, environments, objects, monsters, etc. that may be necessary. They will play the game thousands of times, fine tuning each and every experience using software that allows them to make edits to a programmer's work, and strive to create a "hit".
Creating a video game is much like creating any type of software, though games can be extremely complex. The same game can include sophisticated 3D graphics, artificial intelligence, physics, complex sound and visual FX, motion capture direction, voice over direction, and more- and if it isn't fun, it won't matter how many features were coded correctly or how good your artists were, the game will suffer bad reviews, poor sales, and consumers will move on.
In the non-gaming world, a Game Designer would be (depending on their experience) a great candidate to work on any kind of interactive software or products that are meant to engage with the user. Writing for interactive software is quite different than for passive mediums and Game Designers can be especially useful in this regard as well.
Game Designers can be great candidates for any of the following positions seen outside gaming: Interactive Designers, Interaction Designers, or Narrative Designers. All will have their own unique skills and experiences to bring to the table, but overall the demanding nature of video game development lends itself to the creation of hard-working, creative people who understand the software development process and understand how to bring creative types from all sorts of disciplines together and focus them on a common goal.
-Ed