Game Industry Insiders #1

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<p><span><span>Having worked in the game industry the last 4 years I have learned a lot about the everyday work behind the scenes. In an attempt to share how it is to work with video games on a day-to-day basis I will provide you with some insights through a series of interviews with various people who are active within the industry.</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>First out is Barrie Tingle who is an Associate Producer at DICE, the game company most known for the Battlefield titles:&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>Hello Barrie, who are you and where are you from?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>I&rsquo;m originally from a small town called Wath-Upon-Dearne in South Yorkshire, England. I&rsquo;ve been working in the games industry ever since I was 18 and worked for companies like Infogrames, Krisalis, Electronic Arts and of course DICE. &nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>What are you doing at DICE?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>I&rsquo;m at DICE as an Associate Producer and have basically been handed the job of working with Battlefield 2, Battlefield 2142, Battlefield 2 Modern Combat and even Battlefield 1942 and Vietnam although the last two haven&rsquo;t really taken much time. &nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>How long have you been working for DICE?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>I have been at DICE for two years now although I have worked for EA for nine years in total. I started my career at Bullfrog which had just been acquired by EA.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>What has led you to your current position?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>While I was at University I signed up with an agency that was being advertised in Edge Magazine, which </span><span lang="EN-GB">specialises</span><span> in finding jobs for people at video game companies. After my first year in Uni they managed to get me an interview with a development company in Banbury, Oxford where I worked for a few months.</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>From there I got an interview with Bullfrog through the same agency. I landed that job and was involved in EA's first attempt at a football manager game on the original PlayStation. That&rsquo;s when my career for EA originally started. </span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>I ended up at DICE when I was working for the EA UK QA department back when they were based in Chertsey</span><span> and was sent to work at DICE for Battlefield 2 and Battlefield 2 Modern Combat. It seems that some people were impressed with my work back then and was offered a chance to work there full time. At that point I had commitments back in the UK so declined the offer. Situations changed and luckily for me DICE were open to me coming back. So I did and here I am&hellip;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span>What were you like during your student days? Did your studies help you to where you are now?</span></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Hahaha, I guess Uni was where I actually got into video games! Before that my plan was to join the RAF (Royal Air Force for those who don't know), however during Maths lessons at Uni we used to play Duke Nukem 3D on the network against each other and even sometimes against our tutor.</span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">Thanks to that I failed my first Maths exam and in exchange I got into gaming. So gaming decided my life choice directly. </span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB">I don't recommend anyone else does what I did at University even though it worked out well for me.</span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>Is there any particular experience that has made you especially suited for your current position (work wise or other)?</span></span></strong></p>
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<p><span><span>My time in EA helped with my professional experience since I knew how it worked and the processes games go through. DICE was in the process of joining EA at the time so transferring was pretty straight forward.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>Outside of work I think the fact I have followed Battlefield since 1942 came out helped along with my console and PC gaming background.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>What is the best thing about working in the gaming industry?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>While free games are a great bonus, I&rsquo;d have to say the people. I&rsquo;ve worked in a couple of places outside of the games industry and I&rsquo;ve never experienced anything even similar. No matter where you work in the games industry everyone is thinking the same and that is that they want to make great games.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>Once you have been in the industry a while you end up knowing people in other companies and even working with old friends again. I have friends I have worked with who now work for SEGA, Activision and THQ. It&rsquo;s like one big extended family circle.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Will you still be in the gaming business?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>I can&rsquo;t imagine myself doing anything else other than being involved in making games so yeah, I expect I&rsquo;ll still be in the industry. Will I still be at DICE or EA? I&rsquo;m not sure but it&rsquo;s a possibility.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>How was it to move to another country to start a new job? How do you like living in Sweden?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>I had been to Sweden before and worked at DICE when Battlefield 2 was being made so I kind of knew what to expect.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>The biggest shock with moving here full time has probably been the taxes, even compared to the UK they are pretty high. It&rsquo;s not all bad though, I&rsquo;ve been lucky enough to get settled in Stockholm which is a great city and found a Swedish girlfriend so I have no plans on going back to England anytime soon.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>What are the biggest culture differences you have experienced so far?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>Sweden seems to have a day to celebrate almost anything you can think of including days where you eat &ldquo;Semla&rdquo; - </span><span><a href=";http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semla" target="_blank">;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semla</a> and &ldquo;Kanelbullens dag&rdquo; (Cinnamon roll day).&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>Swede&rsquo;s are generally very quiet until they get to know you which makes you originally think that they are just ignoring you. When you find out that they aren&rsquo;t then they are probably amongst the nicest people you could expect to meet. Luckily for me they nearly all speak English too.&nbsp;</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>Name a few of your favourite games of all time!</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>Of all time&hellip; Wow. Well, unsurprisingly the Battlefield series of games is a big favourite of mine but I like most FPS and driving games.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>I started on the original Quake with Team Fortress and even got my first PC because of that game. I love what the guys are doing with Quake Live!</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>The Halo series, Call of Duty, RalliSport Challenge 2 and Saints Row are all games I still play and enjoy.</span><span>&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><span><span>The game I probably have the fondest memories of is the original Sonic. I&rsquo;m a massive fan of anything SEGA and still bitter about the Dreamcast dying like it did. If I was to explain about my SEGA fandom it&rsquo;d probably read like </span><span><a href=";http://ukresistance.co.uk/" target="_blank">UKResistance.co.uk</a>. &nbsp;&nbsp;</span></span></p>
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<p><strong><span><span>What game are you currently playing the most?</span></span></strong></p>
<p><span><span>My time is being sucked into one of four games at the moment. Battlefield 2142, NHL 09 (which is amazing by the way even if you don&rsquo;t like ice hockey), Battlefield Heroes and Call of Duty: World at War. </span></span></p>