You’ve been in the games industry for quite a while. Can you tell us a little about your previous experience?
I've worked in the video game industry since 2010 and have helped build games in the Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Medal of Honor series. I also worked on Mirrors Edge: Catalyst! Now I'm really excited about VR so I'm really excited I get to work on a game like Budget Cuts that really takes advantage of the hardwares capabilities in roomscale VR.
What is your job working on Budget Cuts?
Most of my time is spent building the levels for our game, from designing the layout, building puzzles, to art dressing them and lighting them! I also help plan our production schedule to make sure we get everything done on time!
What’s the most challenging part of your work?
Reminding myself to take a step back from time to time, look at the big picture, and find solutions to problems that are elegant rather than just duct-taping together stuff so it "works" or just covers up the issue. I think it's very easy when I get into "the flow" of building smaller systems, areas, and levels that I can easily forget about the big picture, what the goal with the game is, and to just focus on finding the fun. It's really easy to forget, so I think I need to get better at remembering to look at what the final experience for the player will be, rather than just looking at the system from my perspective as a developer.
And what is the most rewarding part?
Seeing people play our game with a big smile. Seriously. This is what I live for!
What are your hopes for the game?
I hope that Budget Cuts allows players to have fun in VR by exploring a fictional space, sneaking around and being silly in a way that they haven't done in a long time. I felt like I could just let go and be a kid again, just go all out and have fun and be crazy and silly in a way that I haven't really felt since I was a kid pretending that the floor was lava.
How can we spot your work in the game?
I've worked on the art style, lighting, and level design, so whether you are peering down on a group of robots from a ledge, or sneaking around a dark supply closet trying to find knives, I probably had a hand in creating not only the design of that area, but also the look and feel of it. I was really inspired by the visual style in Mirrors Edge, so I've worked a lot to get bold primary colors into our environments, while still maintaining an office-scape identity to our spaces. The lighting as well needed to look quite iconic for each space, so I focused on making sure we could have the type of ceiling lights you would expect to see in a large corporate office environment without sacrificing the drama of more direct lights with tight ambient occlusion or interesting cast shadows. The contrast between the dark and the light areas are heightened in VR I think, so playing with lighting to really make a space feel cozy and sneaky vs exposed and oppressive has been a really fun challenge.
What is your all time favourite video game?
Oh gosh. So hard to choose just one! I definitely spent a TON of time playing the Myst series, and Mirrors Edge will always have a special place in my heart! Lately though I've been playing lots of MOBAs and Monster Hunter.
Where can we follow your work?
Feel free to follow me on twitter for silly updates about my dog, my adventures in powerlifting, or random photos from the office at Neat Corp! @Dhiel
That’s all from us right now! Thank you for your support - we’re working very hard on finishing up the game for you all.
