Games Gone Feral

Growing up my parents always thought video games were a waste of time and so only allowed me to play every other day for thirty minutes at a day. It was absolutely torture. I loved them so much I would sit in front of the tv while it was off with a NES controller in my hand going through the levels of super mario bros. in my head while doing all of the motions on the controller. Suffice it to say that I have loved video games, especially ones that push boundaries (be them artistic, emotional, speed, graphical, or any other) for my entire life.

I am one of the few people that liked Super Columbine Massacre RPG. I don’t like it because I thought it was a good game (truth be told, I’ve never actually played it), but I like it for the discussion it sparked throughout the entire gaming community. Elephant came out as a movie much earlier than SCMRPG did, and yet it was much more widely accepted as a piece of art than the game was. It’s a shame, but I don’t believe that people have accepted video games as a true artform quite yet although some certainly get very close (I’m looking at you Okami and Bioshock). I think that these days a lot of the games that come out have either sequelitis or play it safe too much. I’m looking to change that as I think video games can really tell stories and interact with people in a way that no other medium can. I don’t think we’re even close to causing emotions in people like music, film, or tv is quite yet. I can’t wait for the day when we can make people cry, laugh, and feel sad all within the span of a half hour of gaming. I think we’ve just touched the edges of what we can do and we, as game developers and designers, are going to have to really push the boundaries. I also love the indie gaming scene. It tickles me to think that people make games on their own time and come up with stuff like Cave Story and Everyday Shooter. The former was made completely buy a guy in his spare time over five years. All of the art, sound, programming… everything was done by him. Not only is that an achievement, but it’s a really fun and polished game as well. (more…)

Hi there! Glad you could make it! Take your shoes off, grab yourself a nice drink of something comfortable and here, let me light that cigar for you. No, the other end… Oh wow, is that Cuban? Very nice!

I’m Simon Cooke, and I’m a Principle Technology Engineer at Surreal. (I bounce around a lot; I’ve also been Lead Gameplay Programmer on our currently unannounced super-secret-squirrel title, and before that I was Lead Tools Programmer on Suffering: Ties That Bind).

I got my start in this industry at the tender age of 15, working on ports of Prince of Persia, Lemmings, Populous and Zub (if you know that last one, you’re probably British) for the SAM Coupé home computer (and if you know what that is, you’re either British, Czech or from New Zealand). And then for a while I threw it all away and became a journalist (I used to write the Spec Tec Jr column in Your Sinclair magazine in the UK, as well as a number of other not so gamey magazines).

These days, I’ve left the green rolling pastures of industrial inner-city-center Manchester and moved to the much greener, lakier and mountainier fjords and volcanoscapes of Seattle. And I’m loving it. Where else in the world can you commute by driving over a bridge that’s floating on a lake? (more…)

Like a madeleine for Proust, the sights and sounds of an old video game can bring a whole host of other sensations welling up from my memory. The music from SNKs Crystalis fills my nose with the smell of an old friends carpet, while I can’t think about Tron without tasting a slice of cheeze from the Village Inn Pizza Parlor in Champaign, Illinois- a place I spent many of my parents quarters while they socialized after a softball game. It makes sense that many of my stronger memories would be associated with games. I am, after all, one of the newest members of Surreal’s Systems Design team and I’m living the dream! If you’ll bear with me for a few (or more) paragraphs, I’ll tell you how I got here.

My parents probably never expected that I would one day be earning a living doing anything related to video games. Oddly, I owe it all to my dad. He was an avid pinball player, and while he was flipping that metal ball around, I was entranced with the colorful, noisy, and just plain action packed videogames that were dominating the arcade. By the way, thanks, Dad.

I got my start in the industry working in the QA department at Volition, hometown heroes and creators of classics like Descent, Freespace, Red Faction, Summoner, and Saints Row. It’s pretty cool that answering an ad in the jobs section of the local newspaper let me make the giant leap up from pizza parlor bartender to Game Tester! I think I got the job because I wrote an essay for my application on why Thief was one of the best games of all time. My future boss agreed, and I started my real education in making games testing the sequel to Red Faction for the PlayStation 2. I went on to test games for almost 2 years before I took a risk and quit to devote myself to getting a job as a developer. I traveled along the west coast for a month after that, submitting my resume to various development studios. In Seattle, I was lucky enough to land a job at Gaspowered games in nearby Kirkland. After a few years at Gaspowered, I took another chance and left to work with a startup company, Primate Games, on a project of my own design. That risk didn’t work out quite as well as the last one, and the company had to fold shortly after I joined the team. However, my brief time there was an invaluable experience in getting a project started from the ground up.

Now I hope to put that experience to good use here at Surreal! I’m really excited about working with everyone here. In the few weeks I’ve been here I’ve seen how much everyone here really loves playing and making games, and that passion is inspiring. I’d love to tell you about our super top secret project but… then it wouldn’t be super top secret anymore. Keep checking our company main page for announcements, and thanks for reading!

Hello!

 My name is Johan (Yo-han) Eickmeyer, and I’m an Associate Systems Designer here at Surreal Software.

I feel really lucky to start my Game Design carrier at such a top notch company like Surreal. I was really afraid of being stuck in some lame job, making casual games for the first few years. Plus, how many other game developers can claim to have the best waterfront view in Seattle?

Can you really call it “work” when it’s something you do anyways for a hobby? I’ve been doing game design related stuff since the age of 10 when I would make my own games in HyperCard and create game design docs for Nintendo. Most people would not enjoy what I do, but for me? Pure heaven! This is the first job I’ve ever had where I wake up before the alarm clock and can’t wait to get to “work.” Don’t tell my boss, but I actually sneak around schedules to get in more than 40 hours a week. (more…)

Hello,

I’m Dan. I am a Technical Designer on an unannounced project for Surreal Software. I have been in the industry for about 2 years. I was in QA with MGS until I had an opportunity to join the Surreal Design Team.

I was a Reserve Firefighter with Eastside Fire and Rescue for about 4 years. While I was finishing my Fire Science Degree I was slated to enter the Tacoma Fire Academy. While I was waiting for my start date I decided to study Game Design. After my first day of classes I hung up my gear, got a degree in Digital Game Design and a degree in Animation and Graphic Design and set my sites on working in the industry.

It has been amazing working at Surreal. My job is fun, the people are great and best of all, as a Technical Designer I get to work with multiple systems, a wide variety of design and talented people.

Hi, I’m Ryan Spain, a Systems Designer at Surreal with a great sensitivity to bright light as you can see from my photo.

In 2001, I combined my lifelong love of games with my bullheaded determination and fought my way into the game industry as a writer for Sierra Entertainment on the Hoyle line of casual PC games. My role grew into design territory on the Hoyle games, and on the “tycoon” game Casino Empire. After the fall of Sierra Entertainment in 2004, I parlayed my experience there into a position at Surreal working on our unannounced console game.

Going from casual, niche PC game development to mainstream console development has been a big (and welcome) shift for me. I love what I do every day, I love Seattle, and I’m surrounded by so many talented individuals at Surreal that it’s as humbling as it is educational. Having worked extensively outside the game industry, I feel like I’ve found “my people” inside it, and I hope to continue developing games for years to come.

My name is Todd and I’ve worn several hats at Surreal over the 9 or so years I’ve been with the company - Level Designer, Lead Systems Designer, and Lead Designer.  I’m currently in the role as the Lead Systems Designer on the un-announced project that we are working on.  Hopefully before too long we will be able to “spill-the-beans” on what we are cooking up as there is a lot to share and we can’t wait to let the world in on it.  It is definitely the biggest, most ambitious title by far that we’ve ever set out to create!!

Hello, my name is Jim Shepard and I’m a Gameplay Programmer here at Surreal. Currently I’m involved in building tools and systems to help the designers get their grand vision into place. I’ve built my career out of writing solid gameplay code mixed with a healthy and ever-growing design sense, that alchemical process that distills machine language and ivory tower concepts into controller-mashing, player-thrilling fun. I believe in strong challenge, healthy action and creative systems design. It has been said that I am perhaps too aggressive in terms of design and game difficulty, but I accept that title with pride; someone has to remind these cats what life was like before quicksaves and Gamefaqs.

The game industry is a wonderful place. I have worked alongside towering heroes and repulsive villains, teamed with champions of the craft and deplorable jabronis both. Surreal is a fantastic house to work for, I’ve been here now just about a year and continue to marvel at the quality, tenacity and creativity of those around me. Our game looks terrific, I know we all can’t wait to see it announced to the world. The gameplay programming teams are simply excellent, the sense of teamwork is thick and strong but never stifling. Difficult problems are attacked by a wedge of trained minds, and no one is left to flounder for long. Honest discussion and measured ideas take the place of heated arguments, but a passion for creating something incredible is palpable throughout the building.

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I’m Rick and I’ve been a Content Designer here at Surreal for about a year and a half. My background has a been a bit winding and, interspersed with gaining a somewhat odd Bachelors of Science in English, I’ve done all sorts of creative work over the years from a couple of performed stage plays, to some serious work with the LARP Vampire that White Wolf says they wished they’d supported, to writing for and managing a product line in the doomed Dungeons and Dragons 3E boon.

However I escaped all this by moving to the somewhat insane Dallas, TX to be in one of the first Cohorts (classes) at The Guildhall (guildhall.smu.edu). After a bit over two years in Texas I’m one of the very few people in the world with a Master’s degree in Game Development, a winner in the 2004 Make Something Unreal competition, and credited in Gearbox’s Brother’s in Arms. After moonlighting with a serious games company for a bit I was invited to join the Surreal team here in lovely Seattle and jumped at the chance.

Since then things have been amazing and, even if I want to strangle them occasionally (read: frequently), I can barely conceive of working with a more talented team anywhere in the industry. Look forward to great things ahead. I do.

Hello,

I’ve been kicking around the game industry since I was about 19 serving roles of writer, scenario designer, QA tester, tech support guy, AI designer, system designer…well, lots of hats anyways.  I’ve worked on Game Cube, PS2, Xbox, 360 and PC titles ranging from an RPG, a razor scooter game, and a beat ‘em up with super heroes.

I’m currently the Lead Scenario Designer on an unannounced project at Surreal and have been here for about a year and a half.

Working in the industry has been a childhood dream for me, so getting to do it every day makes me a little excited and long winded when I talk about some topics.   Anyways, look forward to me posting about board games and video games and pretty much anything that I would consider game play.