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We went behind the scenes to find out who the Devs are, and what they are like. Armed with questions from the community, we asked and they answered!
Presenting: Ask Cryptic - Get to know your Devs!
Q: Keymonk -- How did you get into the industry? Do you have any tips for people who are trying to start a career in video games?
A: Chip "Rbrneck" Shirek: I worked at a casino after high school until a bunch of us ended up moving to phoenix for school. I got an associates in 2000 for architecture and ended up working in civil engineering. I hated the job. I was so bored. After I got sick of that, I went back to school for game art. I spent the next couple years doing anything I could....refining my art, making mods, compiling scenes, re-doing my website over and over. I worked as a game tester in Los Angeles and lived out of a hotel for a while. I eventually moved back home and managed a coffee shop while I continued my job search. It felt like I had been everywhere and done everything, but I still wasn't getting anywhere. At some point, I went and stayed a few weeks with a friend of mine in Texas and he taught me a bunch of industry tricks and methods of upgrading my art. He already worked for a game company in Texas. It wasn't long after that I started getting art tests and eventually landed my first job.
Shannon "Poz" Posniewski: Be passionate and talented. Apply to many places. Network with people already in the industry and get them to recommend you. Be willing to work hard doing things that aren't fun. 90% of every job in the games industry isn't as fun as everyone probably imagines it is.
Randy "Arkayne" Mosiondz: Professionally I was working in IT development, but I was also doing freelance writing and editing work on tabletop RPGs for Shane Hensley at Pinnacle Entertainment Group. Shane was also the lead writer for City of Villains and asked if I wanted a job as a mission designer. I thought it'd be an interesting change of career so I moved to California and have been here since!
Benjamin "Restricter" Hanka: Equal parts skill, luck and tenacity. Some people get their start in the QA department and work into other areas (design/production). If you wanted to program, you should probably get a degree.
Joshua "FallingSky" Moline: Networking and if you're still in college look around for an internship, that's how I got started. The full story is I went to my university's hosted career fair looking for a job, and I ran into another student who happened to be going to the fair as the mandatory class assignment. After a bit of talking I learned that Lexeme was already working for Cryptic as an intern and internship positions were still open; I applied for the internship and that's how I got in nearly 2 years ago.
Kristina "PatchworkCat" Tomalesky: The easiest way and the way that works for most people is to already know someone working the industry that can get you that first position. If you do not have those types of contacts, the best thing you can do is become involved as best as you can to build contacts:
Nick "Tumerboy" Duguid: After graduation from college, I worked at Fry's electronics for about 2 months. Then Borders Books & Music for 3 1/2 years. All the while, working with friends on indie game projects, practicing my skills, and applying EVERYWHERE. Eventually, some sucker company. . . er, I mean, some AMAZING Company actually gave me a shot.
Chris "Ame" Matz: Me in particular? I'm already in the industry, why would I need to get in again?! In all seriousness, it's pretty different for many people. I was a big Quake 3 fan, and got involved in the mapping and modding community, won a few awards online for some of my maps, and got an email asking me if I would be interested in working on a project that was using the Quake 3 engine. They were across the country and made me an offer I couldn't accept, and I was pretty bummed out. A month or so later, I got another email from a much more local company asking the same question. I called in sick to work the next day and went and interviewed, and put my notice in at my job (doing IT work) the next day. For many others I know, it helped that they had friends in the industry to get their foot in the door. Many got started as a tester and moved into other departments from there. There is certainly no one answer to this question. The best advice I can give is to be passionate about games, and the area you want to get into in particular, and get involved with the community surrounding those games.
Alex "Lexeme" Ames: While in college I stopped by the CS office one day to look up summer school courses or summer internships. I ran into a friend who happened to know there was an internship spot at open Cryptic. I signed up, took a programming test, and got an in. I was started off doing user interface programming. A few years later and I'm now... doing user interface programming. Only now I own the UI system.
Q: Mothers_Love -- If you could be a ' fly-on-the-wall ' somewhere to spy on someone or something.... where would that be?
A: Rbrneck: I think I'd probably wanna buzz around Air Force One or chill out inside Area 51 probably.
PatchworkCat: BioWare. I am eagerly awaiting the release of SWTOR!
Tumerboy: I don't think that's appropriate for these forums. So I'll say Apple's R&D Lab.
Q: Amasilver -- Do you play Champs or STO on your own time? What other video games do you play? What other non-video-game games do you play?
Rbrneck: I have Champs installed at home and yes I do play it. I'm into more of the social aspect of the game... I like to go on to check on my art and chat with players.... Lately my gaming has slowed down a bit cause I've been attempting to get fit and I play a lot of hockey. It comes in spurts. I actually sat down the other night to play some GTA with a friend to find out I had RROD. I also like to play wii games with my family. If I was to leave with aliens tomorrow, and take 3 games with me for the rest of my life, I'd probably take Zelda: Ocarina of time, Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow, and the newest Grand Theft Auto. I'm also into flight simulators.
Poz: I played Civilization Revolution a bunch this last weekend. I've been avoiding Starcraft 2 for fear that I'll get hooked.
I like a bunch of non-video-games. Most recently, I've played a lot of Scrabble and Ticket to Ride. I'm also game for quick-hand card games like Cribbage and Euchre.
Keith "GameWalker" Brors : I play CO on my own time. I also play DDO, Dragon Age, Fallout 3, and the old game X-Com UFO-Defense. Non-video games include Magic the Gather and a paper and pencil role playing game I am writing with a friend.
Arkayne: I play Champs a bit in my spare time; my main hero is a Force/Gadgeteering dude. I play any number of console and PC games ranging anywhere from shooters to RTS games. Outside of that I play RPGs, wargames, and board games.
Restricter: I love that we do the "Play with the Devs" events. This way I spend in-game with people who play but do not post (or post often) on the forums. Other video games I enjoy: Civilization, Team Fortress 2, Plants vs. Zombies, Spectromancer. Non-video games: Agricola, Labyrinth, Dominion.
FallingSky: When I'm on my dev account I'm lurking as Final Eclipse around Millennium City. When I'm running around incognito on my personal account, I'm either creating a new character or playing my main and almost always finding and reporting bugs; my main is my highest level character, I created that character way back at the beginning of the head start, I just recently created my first nemesis. I enjoy single player games (almost exclusively for the story). TES Morrowind/Oblivion, Homeworld/Homeworld: Cataclysm/Homeworld 2 are my favorite set of games, and thanks to Steam I have over 260 games (of a variety of single player, multiplayer, or some hybrid thereof).
James "Lucid" Laird: Right now the hot game is Dominion. I also tend to play a fair amount of Battlestar Galactica (where I am always, always a Cylon).
Tumerboy: I just finished 'Limbo' on Xbox live arcade, and if you haven't played it yet, you should. It's an amazing, and gorgeous game. Non-video game games hmm? There's a pretty regular group of us who play board games like Ticket to Ride, Agricola, Bohnanza, etc. on the weekends.
Lexeme: I hop on to the CO live server from time to time, mostly just to socialize and play with the costume creator. The costume creator is my favorite part of the game by far. I play lots of Nintendo games. Pokemon SS is currently in my DS (and I have a pokewalker with me right now, no lie); I just recently got around to beating Mario Galaxy 2 and now I'm playing through No More Heroes; Currently playing Starcraft II on my computer. I've been playing the Battlestar Galactica board game whenever I get enough people around to play with. We had a group of people here for a while and we played it for a few weeks. I also enjoy scrabble and pictionary, and four player chess.
Q: Turmoi86 -- Do you guy pull pranks on each other? If so what the biggest prank you've ever done and was it during work hours?
A: Rbrneck: I've always been a fan of pranking and messing with people.....I have a twisted sense of humor . At my last job, everyone had the sense of humor of a five year old so if you didn't get someone....they would eventually get you. Cryptic is a little calmer.....but, I'm still getting to know people here. At my last job, A common thing people would do would be to wait until you left your desk and then they would quickly change your desktop picture to......(something extremely obscene)..... So of course when you got back to your desk you would continue working and never know it until you minimized your windows and showed your desktop. I guess the object was to have that happen when a large group of people was around...it worked some of time. We all had open desk layouts so it was real easy to see other peoples monitors. It was a good laugh when it worked. I used to have this thing I'd do with my circle of friends....While walking next to someone, I would say something like HEY what's THAT?!?! and I would point either to my left or right (whichever side they were on) so that my hand and finger would go into their face. My friend Cooley fell for it every time. His lips and mustache would get all smashed under my fist and he'd get all bent out of shape. Of course he'd get me back though. He would wait around corners and in dark rooms and wait for me to walk by.....We both eventually become so paranoid about walking next to each other....we would keep extra space between us and eventually learned to duck and roll.
My car horn is super loud....even for a stock horn. For months I went around sneaking up behind people and honking at them. I would wait till people came out of the back door, or walked in front of my car....I'd wait for the moment they weren't paying attention and then I'd blast em. I always thought it was so funny, until they started honking me back. All is fair in war I guess. There were many other pranks of course....but I don't think I'm going to write any more about that here. I've probably said too much already. ::laughs::
Tumerboy: Most don't really, there are a few tricksters amongst us though. Including our Art Director. He's pretty famous for them around here actually. One of the best to my mind, was back when he was a Character Artist on COH I believe (before my time). He brought in a full bag of Oreos for the company (we were much smaller back then). Unbeknownst to his co-workers, he'd spent the night before, twisting the tops off of each, scraping the white part out, squirting in some white colored, mint toothpaste, and then replacing the tops. Most people ate one and got the joke and moved on. One of our old employees (not here anymore) Thought they were good, and that they were just new, Mint Oreos. Apparently he ate a few. . . ugh. . .
Q: SenshiBat -- What was your Nickname in Lower Forms or Grade School?
Restricter: I actually made up my handle Restricter when I was 11 or 12. I started playing MUDs for the first time and wanted to make a name that was tough/cool because the MUDs I played were PK/PVP (Kain's Estate, Rogue or Genocide anyone?).
Tumerboy: Never really had one. . . people just called me Nick.
Poz: When I ran for class president when I was in sixth grade (I lost), I started using "Poz" as my nickname. Posniewski doesn't just roll off the tongue. It's stuck ever since. I spelled it with a "Z" rather than an "S" because my Dad also used the nickname and I didn't want to get us confused.
Q: Turmoil86 -- What is your music of choice?
A: Rbrneck: Nine Inch Nails, Filter, Sevendust, Tool, Linkin Park, Armin Van Burren, deadmau5 are a few things I have in my car currently....
GameWalker: My music choices are late 70s early 80's New-wave, Punk and some pop with a few relatively modern groups such as Green Day. A few songs for you all to look up include: Sheena is a Punk Rocker, I don't Like Mondays, 11:59, Suzy & Jeffrey, Video Killer the Radio Star, Mirage, Tainted Love, Zombie Zoo, I Think We're Alone Now (Lene Lovich), Holiday, Runaway Train, Spring Collection.
Arkayne: Wide range: industrial, punk, indie, classical, celtic rock, classic rock, surf guitar and rockabilly. And lounge music covers.
Restricter: I listen to a lot of metal. However, my taste in music ranges from Girl Talk to Phil Collins to Muse to Bloodbath.
PatchworkCat: I could listen to Johnny Cash all day long.
Tumerboy: I listen to all sorts of random crap. Lots of eclectic hip-hop, electronic, jazz, psycho-billy, etc. I love the Gorillaz, M.I.A. Beastie Boys, Theivery Corp, and Lily Allen (shut up!)
Ame: I've listened to many types of music over the years, but currently I pretty much just listen to Bat For Lashes radio on Pandora, and many of the bands that fall into that when I'm not at a computer - The Blow, Florence and The Machines, Lykke Li, Ladytron, and Azure Ray come to mind right away. I'm also a big fan of The Beatles, Dog Fashion Disco, and Faith No More.
Q: mistformsquirrel -- What's your favorite animated series/movie?
A: GameWalker: I really enjoyed watching The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
Arkayne: Avatar: The Last Airbender was a great animated series.
PatchworkCat: I loved Card Captor Sakura. To this day when my husband and I see cake, we will look at each other and say Cakie!!
Poz: Avatar: The Last Airbender. And I love old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoons.
Lucid: Avatar: The Last Airbender is the most awesome animated series in human history. Recent favorites at Anime Night include Toradora, Darker Than Black, Baccano!, and My Neighbor Totoro.
Tumerboy: Man, that's tough! There are so many amazing animations out there. I love anything and everything Don Hertzfeldt ever did. If you don't know who he is, look up 'Billy's Balloon', or 'Rejected'. There is a group of us who watch Anime every Wednesday night. What is at the front of my brain because we are currently watching it, is 'ToraDora', which I absolutely adore. Ya, ya, it's just another high-school drama anime. No, it's so much more. The character interactions and subtitles are spot on! Other favorite Anime: Beck, Eden of the East, Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei, Gurren Lagann, Samurai Champloo, and probably 15 others I can't think of right now. Favorite Pixar Movies: Wall-E, Finding Nemo, Probably Toy Story 3 now. Gah, gotta stop, or I'll just keep rambling. . .
Lexeme: Show - Avatar: The Last Airbender. Movie - I don't know if I could choose just one, but Despicable Me was one of the best ones I've seen this year. Inception was great too.
Q: Loganius -- What jobs did you take right out of college and what is the video game industry, Cryptic in particular, looking for in a potential employee?
GameWalker: While I was in college I got hired into the computer game industry, therefore I never finished getting a degree.
Arkayne: I got a degree in Computer Science and worked in the IT industry for about 10 years. I also did freelance writing/editing in the RPG industry at the same time.
Poz: I was pretty lucky in that I was able to find work at computer places in High School and college rather than working at the market or bank. There wasn't a lot of jobs like that when I was in High School or college. I started in HS as a tester for a local company cleverly name The Software Group, which gave me my start with IBM-PC flavored computers. In college, I got a job as an intern doing programming at another local company called Image Systems Technology. They liked me enough that they kept me on afterward. I worked as a programmer, lead programmer, architect, and manager at various places unrelated to computer games for a while. Cryptic Studios is the place I've been at the longest and also first game company I've worked at.
Passion, smarts, independence, and discipline are what I look for in candidates. One needs passion as a motivator and driving force behind one's work. One needs smarts (which I think of as a blend of intelligence and creativity) to make good decisions in a short time. One needs to be independent because otherwise you're a load on someone else and they are basically doing your job for you. And one needs discipline to hunker down and get the job done regardless of how boring, difficult, tiring, repetitive, or complicated it is.
PatchworkCat: Oh my! I feel like I have done a ton of different things. I waitressed. I worked in a hotel. I worked at a bank. I worked for a Private Investigator. I worked for a lock manufacturer. In the game industry, Producers wear a lot of different hats. We not only handle the scheduling of groups and features, but the communication of problems and issues. Over the years, I have QA tested, redone art assets, adjusted audio files, and written text. Basically, anything that was needed at the time to finish my project on time. For someone just getting into the industry, I would want someone who is organized and can handle multiple tasks at the same time. My ideal candidate would have above average written and verbal communication skills as well as be proficient in the Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook). The candidate would not have to be a hardcore gamer, but the person would need to be familiar with industry terminology and standards.
Lucid: I applied to a number of gaming companies out of college, did some interviews... and got no offers. Instead, I programmed software for a data format and did games as a hobby for a couple of years before getting an offer from Cryptic. Moral: Be persistent, and have a backup plan.
Tumerboy: As I mentioned above, I worked at Fry's for a couple of months. I'm a computer nerd who had just spent the previous 4 years with a lot of similarly minded people. As such, I knew a fair amount about computers. I applied at Fry's, and they hired me, but instead of putting me into computers, or something I knew about, I was put into Car Audio Sales. I had never even owned a car at this point, let alone a car stereo. Suffice it to say I wasn't there long. My second job out of College was working at Borders Books and Music in Sunnyvale, CA. I started as a cashier, and by time I left for Cryptic I had worked my way up to Merchandising Supervisor. That was a far more enjoyable job than Fry's. My advice to you, if you have to work retail, work at a bookstore.
Cryptic is looking for the same things any company is. Someone who's damn good at what they do. If you're an artist, make great art, if you're a designer, make great designs, if you're a programmer. . uh, type those semi-colons!
livingdeadjedi -- Do you all come to work in T-shirts and jeans or formal wear or maybe you dress up like your characters all day?
A: Rbrneck: I usually wear shorts, a t-shirt (or button up), and sandals every day. I hate shoes.
GameWalker: I normally wear shorts to work.
Poz: T-Shirts (or other casual shirt) and jeans is de rigueur.
I'm wearing this shirt right now. And I'm known for my red sneakers.
Arkayne: T-shirt and jeans! Very comfortable!
Restricter: I used to work in finance. So I had to wear nice clothes to work to make sure investors wouldn't be turned away by the way the employees dressed. Here I get to wear t-shirts and shorts almost every day. I would even wear shorts in the winter here in California (I'm originally from the Midwest). People looked at me funny in the grocery store enough that I had to stop. I still think it's funny that people will wear a full winter coat when the temperatures fall to 50 degrees.
PatchworkCat: Typically, I just wear jeans or slacks and shirt. Nothing special.
Lucid: Folks wear what they're comfortable in, which is usually T-shirts and jeans. A few folks in Design observe Formal Fridays; I usually wear a shirt and tie on Fridays. Last week I wore a suit, and tomorrow I'm planning to wear a full tuxedo.
Tumerboy: I wear tee-shirts, shorts, and sandals most of the year. Sandals get swapped out for Chucks for probably 6 months out of the year, and shorts get swapped for pants for about 3 months. Most of us are the jeans & tee-shirt types, there are a few that opt for button downs or something else. One of our employees has successfully started up Formal Fridays since we're casual most every other day. It seems to have caught on with a few people. Still haven't seen anyone come in a costume yet. One of our former programmers, asked in his interview, if he could wear a cape to work. The answer of course was, yes. I was severely let down when he showed up the first day, capeless.
Ame: I am not a t-shirt and jeans kinda guy, but many of the people here do. I normally wear button-down shirts and some form of cargo pant. Gotta have lots of pockets!
Lexeme: Pretty much always jeans and a t-shirt. Maybe shorts if it's a hot day. There are a few people who dress up for formal Friday - the inverse of casual Friday.
Mothers_Love -- What is your most prized possession?
Rbrneck: I don't know if I have one. I try not to get attached to material stuff. I do have a watch with a picture of Boris Yeltzin on it that I'm fond of. It's a way old school, wind up, gold watch head with Russian writing on it that I put on a fossil band. I really have no idea where it came from....I just have it.
PatchworkCat: A drawing. It shows an older woman (wrinkles and all) dressed in her shadbelly and top hat walking beside a horse in a double bridle. I always imagine she has just finished riding a dressage test. The look of concentration on her face is amazing. Every time I walk past that drawing at home it reminds me of what I want in life.
Tumerboy: A single lock of Lexeme's golden hair.
Q: Sekiman -- How often do you guys play through your own content, or that of your colleagues?
A: Gamewalker As lead on the project I find it helps to have played through as much content as possible.
Arkayne Constantly - usually a designer unit-tests their own content, then the design team plays it as a group, sometimes with artists and programmers.
Poz: All the time. In fact, I'm getting the evil eye from my producer because I'm answering these questions instead of playing in a playtest he's set up.
PatchworkCat We do playtests on content in development at least once a week on the Dev team.
Ame: I'm in game pretty much every day, even though I spend a lot of my time looking at spreadsheets and word docs. Many times it's just playing with powers for various reasons, but we also get together as groups - sometimes informally, sometimes as scheduled meetings - to play through some new content or test something that is getting changed.
Lexeme: Any time there's a big new thing like Serpent Lantern, Vibora Bay, or Demon Flame we set some time aside to play through it as a team, so we all play it at least once, though we have a dev server where we can play the content from home before it's released, or even on PTS.
Q: The_Arkady -- Do you feel PvP should be a part of MMOs? If so, what should a good concept look like?
A: Rbrneck: Sure. A good concept to me is one that creates total immersion.....it makes me forget who I am and engulfs me in another world. It revolves around a simple, fun mechanic, is easy to understand and has lots of replay ability factor. How it's done...could be accomplished in many ways....but I find that I am most attracted to roles and games that simulate a profession.
Arkayne: MMOs appeal to a wide range of people, and some of those people like PvP. In general I prefer scenario-based PvP as well as having a decent PvP reward structure.
Tumerboy: I'm a carebear myself. I hate getting ganked. So open PVP is out in my, personal book. However, I think that PVP should be part of an MMO. I like the idea of open world, flagged PVP. i.e. you can switch your PVP flag on, and then you can fight with anyone else who also has theirs on, but us carebears can still run missions without fear of gankage.
Q: Mothers_Love -- What is your dream holiday destination?
Rbrneck: I like tropical atmosphere. Hawaii would be nice....maybe some scuba in Fiji or Australia?
PatchworkCat: Germany. It is the Mecca of Dressage.
Tumerboy: Tha MOON!
Q: Heartless50 -- Other than Lex, does any of you guys visit the costume post and post your own creations?
A: Arkayne: I haven't posted any costumes, but I have made some pretty awesome designs. I should do that one day.
FallingSky: Most of my creations are products of the deranged Dr. Mersenne Twister who uses a horrible mutation serum on all my innocent fluffy bunny costumes. I can post some of my more creative costumes that I've created by painstakingly going through all the options.
Tip: the fastest way to create a new character is to create the default female with the electricity powers and a home row keyboard smashing name, it takes too much effort to move the mouse all the way to the male button and then back to the next button. This tip paid for by the People Who Need To Create A Thousand New Characters™ campaign.
Q: Mothers_Love -- How many pets have you owned?
A: Rbrneck: I don't know....Several. My last cat got eaten by a coyote. I'd like to get a bulldog, but I don't have room at the moment. My wife has a cat and it recently urinated all over my video camera......so that's probably enough pets for now.
PatchworkCat: I am not sure. I have lost count. I was approaching Crazy-Cat-Lady status at one point with 5 cats (two of which were special needs). Right now, I have 2 horses and 3 cats. Hubby has cut me off from acquiring any more animals. I dream of one day having my own farm and running a feral cat colony, rescuing horses and donkeys, and raising goats for milk to make cheese. I think my husband is terrified of the future!
Poz: I'm definitely a dog person. When I was a kid, we had several dogs. I currently have two dogs, a neurotic miniature Australian shepherd and a very energetic black lab pup.
Ame: 12 total, never more than 4 at a time.
Q: Chat -- Has anyone accidentlly bitten Tumerboy while hungry?
FallingSky: Blech, tacos! I eat burritos!
Tumerboy: Ya. . . Accidentally :::rolls eyes::: Man, it took me THREE trips to Taco Bell just to fill my head back up...
Q: livingdeadjedi -- What do each of you like to eat at lunchtime?
A: Rbrneck: Lately I've been going to the gym and drinking muscle milk for lunch. lol. I try to stick with basics.....turkey, chicken, and water. Maybe one day every couple weeks, I'll splurge and go to in-n-out.
Tumerboy: I like to get out of the office for lunch. There used to be a regular lunch crew that went with me, but that's kind of dissolved now. We go to a variety of places in the area, Thai, Indian, Burgers, Mexican, etc. Whatever we feel like that day I guess. Some people just grab something and come back, some people bring their lunches from home.
Poz: There are several lunch haunts I have here in Los Gatos. There's a cafe which makes a chicken salad sandwich I like. I also like the salad/pizza special at Willow Street pizza. Today I had the Tres Pedros (enchiladas) at Pedro's. And always a Diet Coke.
Mothers_Love -- What is your favorite memorable moment in life so far?
Rbrneck: I'd probably have to say flying a plane alone for the first time.
PatchworkCat: I was in High School and competing for a chance to go to the North American Young Rider's Championships. I was at a show in Saratoga Springs, NY and had one of the worst rides of my life. I forgot a movement and the judge rang the bell. After the bell rang, my mind went blank! I could remember nothing of where I was supposed to go. After my fourth error on course, I was eliminated. I came out of the ring crying. A woman I did not know stopped me and spoke with me. She was so kind to point out that even though I got eliminated the test was not that bad. My trot half-passes were good. My canter pirouette to the left was good. My extended trot was fine. I found out later that the woman was Lendon Gray, a very respected Olympic Dressage Rider for the US. I saw her at a talk many years later and finally had a chance to thank her for her kindness to me on that day. She remains one of my hero's to this day.
Ame: Proposing to my fiancé. Her saying yes helped make it favorite.
Talk about it in the forums!
