EA Romania – the success story behind the games!

EA is a truly global company with operations scattered all over the world. No matter whether it is a small regional sales office in Europe or a large development Studio in the US, one thing that EA people over the world share is passion, passion to deliver the world’s best games!  One location that so proudly typifies this is the Romanian team in Bucharest.

Nestled away in the South-Eastern corner of Europe, Romania is a charming and relatively small country that has gone through a massive transformation over the last 20 years, turning it into a truly modern country.  With a reformed health and educational system, a much lower crime rate than most of its European counterparts and an influx of foreign investment, Romania is now genuinely a great place to live, work, and build games. Add to that the ability to ski in winter and chill out on the beach in summer, and it should come as no surprise that EA has been based in Romania’s capital city Bucharest for more than 5 years and employs top quality gaming talent.

Originally a Jamdat office (a mobile games company that EA acquired in 2005) with a handful of employees, EA Romania has exploded over the last 5 years into a 600 person strong strategic development & testing hub housed in new state-of-the-art offices. What makes EA Romania really special is its people and their genuine passion for creating the world’s greatest entertainment. This passion can be felt all around the office. Walls are lined with popular characters from EA’s games and people can be heard keenly discussing work (i.e. making games!) all over whether it is during their lunch break or over a game of fussball. EA Romania lives and breathes games.

A small army of top artists, designers and software engineers proudly develop games for mobile handsets including the latest platforms such as iPad and iPhone, and the PC & Console testing center ensures the world can enjoy bug free games from some of EA’s best known franchises (Need for Speed, Burnout, Medal of Honour, etc. etc.).

If you want a piece of this then visit www.jobs.ea.com to see the exciting employment opportunities on offer. A simple click will get you closer than you think to a guaranteed unique life and learning experience!

Yes, it’s time to go behind the doors of Playfish

Just in.  Smoking hot off the press.  We all know that social gaming is exploding in growth.  Playfish is one of those cool companies leading the charge in creating innovative, high quality and fun social games.  Great games that trip off the tongue include Restaurant City, Pirates Ahoy, Hotel City and FIFA Superstars.  The team have just released the critically acclaimed Madden Superstars.  And there is so much more to come.  Wish I could tell you more but you’ll have to wait and see.  Nice surprises to come.

But behind all the great games, what’s it like to work for Playfish?   That’s where this great video helps us wrestle open the doors of Playfish and see the faces behind the games describe their lives, challenges and fun at Playfish.

Let us know your views.

And yes……Playfish is recruiting right now.  To learn more about Playfish visit:  www.playfish.com   To look for a job at Playfish, your next stop should be:  www.jobs.ea.com

EArl

Here’s the new video:

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Very cool insight into gaming in India and an illustration of one way that EA are trying to message out about building successful careers in videogames.   

Last week, EA attended ‘Game On’ events held in Delhi and Mumbai.  These events, organised by the MAAC, were aimed at raising the general awareness about careers in gaming in India.    

    En route to the event, fighting through the traffic   

MAAC were the event organisers.  Here’s a little more information on them….The Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC) is one of India’s leading educators in 3D Animation and Visual Effects. Founded in 2001 to cater to the specific needs of high-end 3D Animation and Visual Effects companies, MAAC is a division of Aptech Ltd. which is a key driver of education, training and content in various domains like, IT, Hospitality, Language with more than 3 lakh students in 35 countries.  Today MAAC has a network of more than 70 academic centers spread across India and abroad, and a 30,000 alumni members who have been major contributors to the rapid growth of this exciting industry in India.   

 Inside MAAC Delhi:  Students get vital development practice & schooling

With the rapid growth of the games industry globally and tremendous growth in India, MAAC is totally focused on driving initiatives to bring awareness about the scope of gaming as a great career option. To help drive awareness MAAC organised a specialized COUNTRY TOUR on GAMING in India and asked EA to join it in two key cities with Delhi on 20th Aug & Mumbai on 21st Aug. The GAMING TOUR focused on case studies and insight into the global gaming industry, how the education system in India is going to serve the gaming industry and a live gaming contest. The gaming event was introduced to more than 5000 students and professionals.   Matthew Jeffery, Global Director of Talent Brand, represented EA.

  ’Game On’  Careers in Gaming event in Delhi entrance    

 EA’s Global Director of Talent Brand represented EA in Delhi

Jeffery messaged that EA is excited about gaming in India for several reasons and drew attention to the success of Indian films.  ‘India has a rich culture and heritage.  As we have seen from the worldwide success of Bollywood films, it is obvious that there is a Global appeal to Indian cultural films.  Now the question is, which Indian games development studio will be the first to create a globally successful ‘AAA’ game?  If it is possible in film, why not games?  Just think that there are people sitting in this room who could have that potential to create such games.  They could be the next Will Wright, Miyamoto or Kojima.  EA aims to help and uncover that talent and nurture them.  Very exciting times for gaming in India’.   

    Over 800 students and interested industry professionals crowded into the Auditorium   

What makes India so exciting for growth?  Jeffery continued to enthuse the audience: ‘We see India as a good long term growth opportunity for the industry.  There is demand for consumer electronics/entertainment products like PC’s, LCD TV’s, Digital Camera’s, Mobile Phones and Game Consoles, and rapid adoption of internet with over 40 million current users. Those elements, plus new game offerings and delivery platforms will help the industry grow in this market.  We see opportunity for long term growth.  There is a strong talented pool of artists, programmers and game designers across India that can help contribute to the global interactive entertainment industry. We see potential here for talented individuals to build, grow and solidify a world class, unique gaming proposition. We also have to break through the myths of careers in gaming.  Gaming is the fastest growing media segment, and offers jobs in a stable industry, well paid, with companies like EA that offer well defined career paths, including promotion prospects.  And are fun !   The Indian games industry has so much potential.  Individuals need to believe in what is possible and achievable and make a difference.  Those bed room programmers, artists and game designers have to take risks, pursue a dream and start making those games that will place India on the gaming map’.

    ‘Beat EA’  10 people were selected from the audience to play a game of Crysis and at the end see who had the most hits 

To motivate the excited crowd, 10 people were selected from the audience, based on correct answers to quiz questions, to take part in ‘Beat EA’.  This was a gaming competition in which the 10 audience members would compete for 10 minutes on a LAN on a game of Crysis to see who could get the most hits.  Jeffery joined in, hence the tag line ‘Beat EA’.  In Delhi the highest number of hits was 27 in ten minutes.  In Mumbai the result was 32 hits.  This well exceeded what Jeffery achieved. 

 Delhi life  

An Insight into EA offices in Hyderabad   

Before we take a look at the event in Mumbai, let’s get an insight and refresh ourselves of what EA is doing in India.

EA has a large studio team situated in great offices in Hyderabad   with teams from 3 major global business units: EA Mobile, Central Development Services (CDS) & Global Finance. To give you more of a flavour, the mobile studio develops original mobile games and adapts games for a variety of mobile handsets. EA Mobile is the number one mobile games publisher worldwide developing a host of the world’s most popular mobile phone games including Tetris, FIFA, Need for Speed, The Sims,   to name but a few.  CDS India works with EA studios around the world on a range of next generation game projects for Xbox 360, Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii & PC. The team is made up of talented Software Engineers and QA Engineers who share a common passion for making games better this team of young professionals is led by an experienced management team in an  informal but professional atmosphere where creativity and innovation are strongly encouraged. At EA, people are expected to be bold, accountable and think quality first. EA India provides an environment where one can learn and grow while working and playing hard. The CDS India team has worked on multiple instalments of major franchises such as FIFA, Need for Speed, Sims, NBA, NHL, Skate, NCAA, Spore, The Godfather & Army of Two.  And finally, Global Finance is a key and critical support group within EA that delivers and supports services for our global business.

‘Game On’ Mumbai

Jeffery discusses just how far gaming has come in 25 years in Mumbai   

A key goal is to ensure that creative talent in India gets to understand the excitement of the games industry.  Jeffery told the audience:  ‘We have to help demonstrate the great careers that talent can have in our industry.  Let’s also   look how far gaming has come in 25 years – remember back to the early days of gaming, the simplicity of Pong, with two bats and a square ball!  Moving on to pacman and space invaders.  Graphically basic games but compelling for their gameplay.  Fast forward to today and you have compelling game worlds like those found in Dragon  Age or Dead Space.  Games that look graphically superb, but also draw you in with compelling story and gameplay.  Videogames have come a very long way in 25 years.  What is fascinating is the choices where talent artists, engineers, producers etc can work.  There are vast differences between film and gaming and this provides different career challenges.  Obviously, the big difference between film and game is that an individual watches a film, they are required to do no more than that.  With games they interact and that already starts to demonstrate the technical challenges of working in game. In film, the film director is in control and takes you through a roller coasters of emotions.  But these are linear and controlled.  In gaming, the control is handed to the games player.  A game can have multiple outcomes, driven by user choice, AI & simulation.  In a film, the audience have no control of what happens.  In game, so much changes, be it camera angles, number of gamers, interaction, events, lighting etc.  Even just starting to comprehend these complex technical challenges is enough but add to that the complexity of producing online games, running in real time, with huge online worlds all interacting.  The complexity of realistic AI.  Real time physics.  Or creating controllable game characters with emotionally believable characteristics’.   

Over 1,000 packed a huge Auditorium in Mumbai    

Let’s hope that events like these and others being organised across India demonstrate to the creative talent the exciting challenges…and fun…of working in videogames.  Currently, creatives are actively competing to work in film, (which makes sense due to the global appeal of ‘Bollywood’ films).  Word of mouth and the media have a key role to play in helping to demonstarte the strong future potential of videogames in India.  In the words of the MAAC events…’Game On’ for India.

EArl

A last view of life at EA in Hyderabad   

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners   

EA’s stand:  Looking very cool

OK.  Thanks to our good friend Chris Battson, we can show you behind the doors of Gamescom before the public arrive tomorrow.  Very cool.

Take a look:

Our own Harry Potter on the Xbox 360 Kinect stand…

Need for Speed very prominent…

 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Peter Moore, President of EA SPORTS, captivates the audience at Gamescom

Exciting times for EA.

Missed the latest EA announcements and game footage?  Well take a look at the EA Press conference at Europe’s largest gaming event.  Gamescom in Germany.

What better way to catch up with the latest news than watching these videos.  (Those reading this on the InsideEA email newsletter will have to visit the site to see the videos).

The EA Press Conference for your Viewing Pleasure

Please note that these videos are set at 360p BUT to view in a higher resolution, click on the panel which says 360p and you get the chance to watch in 480p and even 720p HD.

The EA Gamescom2010 press conference kicked of with The Sims for Consoles and first gameplay from The Sims Medieval.

Next up in the EA Gamescom2010 press conference was Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1. The “Weasley Twins” from the movies demoed the new Xbox 360 Kinect version. After that Executive Producer Steve Papoutsis introduced a never before seen gameplay scene from Dead Space 2.

Producer Matt Webster from Criterion Games introduces the new Autolog feature in Need for Speed Hot Pursuit. Stay online connected with all your friends and challenge them.

Greg Goodrich, Executive Producer for Medal of Honor, takes the stage and introduces part 4 of the video series. After that Dr. Ray Muzyka from BioWare has news for three of their upcoming RPGs: SWTOR playable for the public at gamescom, Mass Effect 2 for PS3 in January 2011 and the first trailer for Dragon Age 2.

Nathan Camarillo from the EA Partners Studio Crytek introduces Crysis 2 multiplayer live on stage. Use the nanosuit in the dense urban surroundings of New York City.

Tanya Jessen, Producer from Epic Games, and Adrian Chmielarz, Creative Director from People Can Fly, demo the SciFi Shooter Bulletstorm. After that EA SPORTS’ Peter Moore introduces EA SPORTS Active 2. Football superstar David Beckham will act as spokesperson for this new fitness game.

FIFA 11 rounds up the EA gamecom press conference with an epic trailer and the announcement of the “Be a Goalkeeper” mode. René Adler will accompany Mesut Özil on the german FIFA 11 packshot.

EA Press Conference: A Pictorial Insight  (note pictures are Copyrighted)

EA SPORTS Active 2

NFS Hot Pursuit Mustang Cop Car

BulletStorm Presentation

Dead Space 2 Presentation

Crysis 2

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Just as I promised the other day, let’s travel today to EA’s Head Office in San Francisco.

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Everyone wants to be a game designer.  It is by far the most popular topic that the recruitment team is inundated about…..how do I become a game designer?  What qualifications do I need?  

Everyone wants to create the holy grail.  That ‘AAA’ hit that sells millions across the globe to huge critical acclaim.  But not everyone will be the next Will Wright or Miyamoto. 

In the past we have highlighted a presentation made at the Swansea International Animation Festival called ‘Mum, Dad, I want to be a Game Designer’.  This is published on our YouTube Channel and has had 23,440 viewings and been rated at 5 Star by the Community.  It is a 50 minute presentation, so grab a coffee and settle in……click here and enjoy

Also, extremely noteworthy is an interview published on our sister site www.ea.com by Lucian Tucker.   Lucian met with Rom Rodriquez, a Level Designer on Dead Space 2 to get more insight into breaking into Game Design…..over to you Lucian…

You know how when you play horror games like Dead Space you start to walk slowly around every corner and point your gun at every dark space you see? And just when you think it’s safe some bizarre creature drops from ceiling and you start spraying circles around it while running backwards as fast as you can. But oh no! You hit a wall behind you and now you’re forced to focus and aim for a leg to slow the enemy down so you can reload and go for the kill.

Well that’s all partly thanks to a great Level Designer who help map out environments and decide where and when enemies appear. Level designers, like Visceral’s Rom Rodriguez, are essentially the ones who “help determine the experience the player [should have] in a rough form,” leaving the artists and animators to make it come to life.

My interviewee Rom here also draws, so read on if you’d like to see a piece of art that helped influence the original Dead Space.

Can you tell me your name, job title, and job description?
Romulo Rodriguez, Associate Game Designer, and I set up game play in Dead Space 2.

I know there are many different types of “designers” and what each of them do is different depending on what company you’re at. What exactly does an Associate Designer do at Visceral?
I am a Level Designer but the Associate Designer determines my level. I’d say I am a low level designer at the moment. My duties involve blocking a level based on the story and desired combat for that point in the game. I then pitch the ideas to my managers, the Lead Level Designer, and the Creative Director and make changes if needed. I later block out combat with simple enemy set ups to help determine the experience we want the player to have in a rough form.

By blocking, I set up square rooms connected by hallways with no cool textures or architecture. I place markers in the environment to indicate where important events take place as well.

Would you mind walking me through a typical day as a Level Designer?
It would depend on the state of the project. If it’s in mid-production, I’ll come in early and get into the level design tool. I would probably be looking at my whiteboard with notes I took down of game play that remains to be implemented, or notes from a review of the level the day before.

If this game was Dead Space 1, I would proceed to start placing some scripting entities like spawners and some enemy types and position them in the 3D environment. After about 15 minutes of doing this-given it’s a simple setup-I’d go and build the map. After it’s built I will load the checkpoint on the PS3 and play through to see if it’s what I’m looking for. If so, I’d continue to the next task, say setting up the next room for bigger combat which can take at least 1.5 hours just roughing it in. Then, take another 1 or 2 hours to clean it up and iterations.

Next step would be to find time in my lead’s schedule or the creative director’s schedule to take a look at it. I would look for feedback, or maybe we have an enemy that’s being built that would be better in this space. Then maybe create tasks for the lighters or other artists to make this room scarier so the moment is more intense. The days can really vary.

One day could be combat, another day could involve implementing a complex scripted moment with the main character talking with other people. In that case I would be talking and working with animators, engineers, and my managers. This would take most if not all day-sometimes two days depending on the complexity.

That is pretty interesting stuff. Your job sounds really cool.Yeah, it has its fun moments but at the same time tough times, like working overtime to fix bugs. But I think my favorite moment in level design was when I worked on the first Dead Space. When it first came out and there was a line outside of the company store to pick up Dead Space… I was so proud to be a part of that game.

I can imagine that feeling. And Dead Space was a great game too. Did you play it through when it was complete to look for your name in the credits? I imagine that being a cool feeling too.
I did play all the way through, mostly to reminisce over the good times on the project. I did look at the credits though to look at my name but also other people.

As a level designer, how early on in the process do you get involved? Do you have much input on the story or do you come in after everything has been decided on a story level, and you just pitch ideas on how that might play out for the player?
I joined the Dead Space 2 team very early on so there were times where some of my layouts helped influence the script, when new enemies were introduced, or when dialogue sequences would occur. The story was at its infant state at that time. As the story begins to solidify later, levels will not have as much room for change but there still remains certain flexibility as to the timing of certain events.

How long have you been at EA then?
7 years. I started in QA, and then I worked as a Graphic Artist, then a Tools Tester. Afterwards, I went into Level design on my first project, James Bond, From Russia with Love.

That seems like a perfect career route for what you do now. Was it always your goal to get into design?
Initially my goal was to become a concept or character artist. I wasn’t familiar with level design then-I didn’t really understand the role. It wasn’t until I became a Tools Tester and actually tested the level design tools that I really became interested and wanted to become a level designer.

Did you go to college for graphic design?
Actually my major was 3D Modeling and Animation, but took Graphic Design classes on the side.

I have been an artist since I was kid and have always loved to draw. 3D was new to me so I wanted to find out more. It was my 3D experience that helped me become a tools tester. The tools revolved around a 3D space so it was easy for me to understand the technical language, navigate the environments, and learn to use the interface.

Did you major in 3D to help better position yourself for a job in the gaming industry?
Not intentionally. I wanted to learn 3D to expand my abilities and create 3D forms of my 2D drawings. It wasn’t until the Playstation came out in 1995 that I thought I could use my 3D knowledge for videogames creating characters or scenes. Consoles were a big part of my past so when 3D was introduced I was excited.

You’ve kind of hinted at it already I think, but what can someone do to prepare themselves for a job as a level designer?
Play lots of games and try to understand what works and what doesn’t, which is pretty easy. Play different games and think to yourself, “why is this game so awesome to play?” Or, “why don’t I like playing this game.”

I was lucky to have gained my level design experience from testing the very tools I use. For someone on the outside, I would strongly suggest getting Unreal Editor or an editor of some type to create and assemble your own setups. I’d even suggest looking into modding online multiplayer maps-that’s a good way to get your name out. To be honest, I would like to get the Unreal Editor myself just to play around with combat ideas.

Are the tools you use fairly complicated?
Somewhat. It depends on the person’s background. If they’ve work with a level design tool then they will understand how the scripting works. If not, it will take maybe a week of practice to really understand how to execute some basic setups.

Do you still draw a lot on the side?
I draw on the side as well as at work. When blocking out a level I need a visual representation before I start creating the geometry. I either draw in my notebook or on the whiteboard. This helps me get a better sense of the space and how all the rooms connect and what the game’s flow will look like.

I’ve been doing that since The Simpsons Game-sketching up ideas for environments, hazards, or puzzles. It’s a great way to sell an idea to a group of people. This way everyone can see exactly what I’m thinking. It’s much faster than creating the 3D world.

What games are you playing right now?
Right now I’m playing Bayonetta.

No Mass Effect 2 like the rest of the world?
[Laughter] No. I played the first one. The story was good but it wasn’t my “cup of tea.”

Well, I’m not in the mood to play it right now at least. There are times when I need immediate action from games like Bayonetta, and there are times when I feel like a good RPG.

Alright, I think that’s all. Thanks for doing this.
No problem. It was fun.

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Lucian Tucker from www.ea.com meets with Raasahn a Senior QA Test Lead, who provides a great insight into working as a tester in videogames.

Raasahn leads “the QA team from the start of the project to the finish.” And unlike what you would expect, he came to EA 5 years ago with an interest in testing, not in making games.

What’s your name and job title?
My name is Raasahn Browder and my title is Senior QA Test Lead.

And what do you do as a Senior Test Lead?
Currently I’m training for the Project Lead position but as a Senior QA Test Lead, I’m responsible for multiple projects at a time, leading the QA team from the start of the project to the finish.

How exactly does that work? Can you describe that process from beginning to end?
Sure. At the start of the project, the main goal is information collection and finding out what the responsibilities of the QA team are for the project. Getting a GDD (Game Design Document) and formulating a test plan to see how to tackle the project is the focus at the start.

Also setting up meetings with the developers and producers you are working with is a large part of it. Working within the time frame allotted with the testing plan that is created is the major goal.

Once that is complete, the focus is making sure that all aspects of the title that is being worked on are covered with the staffing that is available.

When that is all hashed out, working towards the milestones and updating the developers and producers with the progress of the title is very important so they can make any changes that need to happen so the title doesn’t miss any of the milestone dates that were set.

Near the end of the project, the focus is more on making sure that all the loose ends of the project are tied up and there are no major issues that still are not addressed as well as making sure the title is in compliance with all the current standards.

Do you test games yourself or just manage the other testers?
For the last two years I didn’t have any in game testing other than training the new employees that I received on my team. Since there are a lot of changes with the staffing lately, I will most likely spend more time testing going forward.

And is there a certain studio, or label, or platform, you test games for?

Yes, for the last 4 years or so, I have been working for the EAP (EA Partners) Label which are producers that work with external studios that hire EA for services. This department is getting updated so currently I’m going to help helping out the Sims label.

And I test on all platforms under the sun, PC to PSP, as long as it needs a QA team.

How long have you been at EA, and how long did it take you to become a Sr. Test Lead?
I’ve been at EA for about 5 years including my temporary contracts. I have been a Test Lead/ Sr. Test Lead for about 1 year.

What was your career path? Like what where you when you first joined as a contractor and what positions have you had since?
Well, I started out in the game tester position. The next step was a Sr. QA tester, which is the first position where you are no longer a contractor. After that you move into the Test Lead Position and then Senior Test lead.

Got it. So, I’ve heard mixed things about being a game tester. Some people think of it as one of the most stressful jobs that sucks the fun out of games, but it’s a good way in if you want to eventually make games. But then I hear some people say it’s hard work, but it’s fun. What are your thoughts?
That’s an interesting question. The only real thing I can say about that is you get out what you put in. If you have a lot of pride about the games that you work on, even if you don’t specifically like the game, you will enjoy your job. If you go into the job looking to just “play” and have fun all the time, that’s definitely not what it’s about so you might not be in for a pleasant surprise.

The real goal is to make a difference and put out a quality game specifically that you worked on, so if you look at it that way, you will get a lot more out of the job.

The job isn’t too stressful for just being a tester though, As long as you are okay with working longer hours when it calls for it, you should be all set.

Do you think it’s a good entry level job for someone aspiring to someday design games?
It definitely can’t hurt to get some experience with QA before you try to move into a developing position, especially if you are still new or trying to develop skills. It’s possible that there will be intern positions available and someone that you are working with can recommend you if you are showing very promising work.

Do you find that a lot of the people who join your team eventually move to game development? And what about yourself. When you joined was it with plans to eventually make games?
I can’t say that a lot of people I see eventually move into the position that they desire. There are several reasons why people don’t make it but the sheer competition of how many people are looking for the job makes it difficult right from the start.

The career path I chose wasn’t one of trying to design games or anything like that and I didn’t really come into this job looking to try to make games per say. I like working with people and leading teams. I enjoy what I do currently though.

Your name gets in the credits of the games you work on right?
Yes it does. Anything I work on and have a significant role in, I get into the credits.

The first time your name was in the credits, did you play through the game and look for your name?
[Laughter] I can’t say that I did. I still have an unopened copy of the first game I worked on but I did see my name in the credits while I was still working on it. It’s always a pleasure to see people working on their first title and checking to see if their name is in there correctly.

Alright, changing gears a little, what can someone do if they wanted to be a tester? I’m assuming you interview people, so what are some of the things you look for in a potential employee?
Some of the things I specifically look for in a tester… For sure a tester needs to be able to communicate clearly. Testers will be writing up issues in a database so they need to be able to clearly convey any problems they come across to the development team. Also, punctuality and dedication are very important to making sure a project will run smoothly.

Everything else can be taught, but if the person isn’t really into to the work, it’s going to be hard to get them where they should be as an effective tester.

Do you look for them to be really big gamers?
It’s not totally necessary but if they do enjoy playing games, it does help out just so they are bit more proficient. If they have basic knowledge of how to use the consoles and whatnot, it’s a definite plus. If they don’t know how to turn on a console, that might be a problem.

Did you always want to work in the gaming industry as a tester or did you kind of just fall into the job?
For me personally, I was always interested in it. I didn’t know much about it when I started but I had a friend that worked here and he recommended that I start out in the testing department and see if I liked any of the other jobs that EA had to offer. I ended up really liking the job path as a supervisor type in the QA department so that’s what I worked towards.

Did you play games much before you started here? And do you play games much now? I’m just curious whether playing them everyday sucked the fun out of it for you or not.
I played games before I started working here. I play less now because of other reasons but I still really enjoy the job and it has opened my view up to other types of games that I didn’t know interested me before.

I would play more now than before if time permitted it so it didn’t really take any of the fun out for me.

What’s an example of a game you worked on that you might not have played if it wasn’t for working here?
A game like Mass Effect I would not have played. When I worked on that title, I didn’t know anything about the game. After I spent some time to play through it, I really enjoyed it a lot. Now I can’t wait to get time to play through Mass Effect 2 because I enjoyed the first one so much.

Both of them are great games. Is there a game that comes to mind that you wish you didn’t have to work on? Maybe Charm Girls Club, or something like that?
I enjoy working on every title that’s given to me for testing. I make it my job to make it a quality game. Whether or not I like the game play is a bit irrelevant. The people I get to work with make the projects all worth it.

What’s a typical day like for you when you’re in the busy period of testing a game?
A typical day would probably consist of about 3 phone conferences, 3 actual face to face meetings, and 3-4 hours of making sure all the work that we are trying to get done is making progress.

If I have two shifts of team members I might be working 12 hour days 6 days a week just to make sure it’s running smoothly.

Wow. And that’s a typical day, not just an extra busy day, with those 6 meetings a day?
6 meetings… It’s about normal. Not all meeting are very long and some are very short, for instance check-ins with the staff, but they need to happen to make sure that nothing gets dropped on the way.

Do you have any final advice for someone who wants to be a tester, or even eventually a Sr. QA Test Lead?
The only advice I can give is that being diligent with your work and making sure that you have a lot of tolerance for changing conditions will take you far. Keep working hard and don’t expect anything too special but take the opportunities when they present themselves.

Have you had many people start and quickly drop off because it’s too much for them?
It happens a lot. There is a lot of turnover in this department, but the people that make it usually do their job pretty well.

I guess the people that drop off come in thinking it’s going to be a picnic, but then realize it’s actually work?
Yea that happens a lot as well. It’s definitely a job and people should take it seriously if they want to keep it and move up.

Alright I think that’s all I got. Thanks for doing this.
No problem at all.

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

This is a great insight into breaking into gaming, focusing on marketing that was recently carried on our sister site, www.ea.com.

Over to Lucian Tucker for this interview:

Recently, I’ve been seeing advertisements for EA games all over the internet. It’s almost as if the web sites know I’m a gamer. Well, they probably do. They know, for example, that I just searched for Battlefield: Bad Company 2. So if my interviewee Kate Cochran did her job correctly, Google and Bing are going to then show me banners for the game linking to the EA Store. And maybe I don’t click on the EA Store banner but instead go to some other web site–there is still a chance I’ll see another EA advertisement for Bad Company 2.

As a Marketing Specialist however, Kate does more than make sure banners show up on Google. I’m not exactly sure why they call it “Specialist” though. Shouldn’t everyone who focuses on marketing at EA be a specialist?

What’s your name and job title?
Kate Cochran, Marketing Specialist.

What do you do as a Marketing Specialist?
Basically, I’m tasked with acquiring new customers for EA.com and the EA Store for North America, using paid marketing programs.

What kind of paid marketing techniques do you use?
Right now, we’re using paid search on sites like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. We’re also using display banners and shopping engines like PriceGrabber and Google Shopping. We also recently launched an affiliate program and we’re also starting to get our feet wet in social networking.

So, I’ve been seeing a lot of EA Store banners on sites like IGN.com and other non-gaming sites. Are you part of that too?
Yes! There’s a lot of really cool advertising technology out there, like behavioral targeting, which can serve an ad to the type of consumer we’re looking to target. So if we’re running a promotion around, say Mass Effect 2, and someone searches for that title, they will be served that ad, since we already know they are interested Mass Effect 2.

Oh. I have a question about that. Some people might think it’s an invasion of their privacy for someone to be able to target them based on their online behavior. What are your thoughts on that?
That’s a tough question. I can see it being an invasion of privacy when say you’re gaming and they serve you an ad in the middle of the game that may ruin the gaming experience. I think some pop up ads can also be really disruptive, especially when they take up the entire web page and the close button is so small and hard to find. But other display banners that aren’t that intrusive don’t really bother me.

I think there’s always going to be a small audience that will be annoyed with advertising, as long as it doesn’t offend the majority, then I think it’s okay.

Ever see Minority Report with Tom Cruise?
It’s been a really long time, and the one scene I remember is when he’s strapped to the chair and they tape his eye lids open. It’s kind of a hard scene for me to stomach. It reminds me of when I go to get my eyes checked [Laughter].

The part I remember is when Tom Cruise goes into a clothing store, and the store could somehow read his eyes and serve advertisements just for him. That makes me excited for the future. I like the idea of ads tailored to me instead of getting ads for things I don’t care about.
I completely agree with you. It’s amazing how much advertising has changed over the last ten years.  Big brands are spending more of their advertising dollars online rather than on TV, radio, magazines, and newspapers. They want to be where the consumer is, which is online.

And now big brands can make their advertising dollars work harder and go farther by targeting ads and search to be more relevant. DVR/TIVO has really changed the TV landscape as well as consumers now being able to watch full TV shows and movies online, with limited to no commercials

Did you study marketing in college?
I actually studied advertising. It really interested me, since it was more about people’s behaviors and how they consumed media.

It seems like a lot of what you learned in college applies to what you’re doing at EA now right? I know a lot of people never use what they actually get a degree in.
It really does. When I first graduated college, I worked in high-tech PR (public relations) and Analyst Relations. I liked PR, but I always was looking to have a career in marketing and advertising, so the job at EA is a perfect fit for me.

So after college you only had one other job besides EA?
Yes! But while I was in college, I worked at my college newspaper. I created ads as well as did advertising sales. I initially wanted to be a graphic designer, but realized it wasn’t for me.

I really liked designing ads, but realized I couldn’t be as creative as I wanted because the client always told you exactly what they wanted, even if it visually wasn’t appealing. So now I leave art to just being a hobby.

You draw and do graphic design fairly often at home then?
I try to draw or paint when I can. I also like to knit–yes, I’m an 80 year old woman–and read.

The programs change so quickly with graphic design, so I try to use them when I can so I can still stay up-to-date with how to use them.

Yes I know! You get Photoshop, and just when you get comfortable you start hearing about a new one coming out.
I know! I really need to take a refresher course.

So, what drove you to EA? Was it the job description, or were you particularly interested in working in EA as a company?
EA is such a well known, innovative brand. I was looking to work more in the consumer space rather than in high-tech, and I also wanted to get back into marketing and advertising. When I was hired on, I was given the opportunity to work in all the different groups within the EA.com and EA Store team and figure out what area I specifically wanted to focus on, and that is now acquisition marketing.

And how long have you been here?
It was a year last Sunday. Time flies!

Congrats! Do you play games at all?
I am actually addicted to Pogo! I play it a couple nights a week while I’m watching TV. I’m more of the casual gamer and I love solitaire, hearts, bingo, and things like that.

What about Nintendo Wii and DS, and X360
My roommate has the Wii and 360. He plays on a regular basis and I’ve played with him a couple of times. I actually really want to try out the EA Sports Active, since I’ve heard so many great things about it. I’m also really good at Wii bowling and I get spares and strikes every time!

Ah, I remember playing that in college. Fun times…
Really fun!

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now in terms of your career?
EA is a great place to work, so I’ll be here for a long time! Ideally, I would still like to be in marketing, maybe eventually down the line, do marketing for a specific title.

Video games are changing so quickly, so it will be interesting to see where it will be in 10 years.

What’s a typical day like for you?
My typical day is a bit crazy, which I like! We’re constantly working closely with our agencies and internal people at EA to launch our different paid marketing campaigns and also spending time looking at data to see if our promotions were successful, so we can use that data when brainstorming future promotions.

Do you get to think of ideas for promotions?
I do! We meet on a weekly basis to brainstorm new ideas around game launches, holidays and seasons. I also help write the copy for the banners. It’s a fun part of my job.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to be a Marketing Specialist?
I would advise anyone looking to get into marketing, to first work at an agency, whether it’s a PR, Advertising, or Search agency. I think it really gave me the skills to be detail oriented, learn the importance of deadlines, and learn the in’s and out’s of how specific marketing function work.

Gotcha. And any last thoughts?
Keep gaming, whether it’s an EA titles or someone else’s.

But preferably EA…
[Laughter] Of course!

Alright. Thanks for doing this. I really wasn’t sure what you did until just now, even though we work in the same group.
I know–our group keeps expanding.

Interview bu Lucian Tucker.

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

We always love to bring you up close and personal with our teams.  Those of your considering a career in gaming have been emailing us like mad asking us how people have got into EA and what skills and experience they have. 

So, what better, let’s profile some of our staff. 

Let’s start with an insight into some of the characters working at our offices & studio in Hyderabad India……..Let’s start with our sky diving friend Madhur! 

EArl:   Hey Madhur, where were you educated and what degree did you get? 

Madhur:  Bachelor of Engineering (Instrumentation & Control), Chennai, India 

EArl:  Cool.  What job do you do at EA? 

Madhur: Develop automation scripts and tools for different game titles 

EArl: What do you love about your job? 

Madhur: Playing at work is my job and I love it! 

EArl: Why did you choose to work in gaming? 

Madhur: Loved playing NFS II when I was a kid. Always wanted to know how games were developed and yup, am here! 

EArl: Why did you choose to work at EA? 

Madhur: Working is fun at EA 

EArl: Describe Life at EA 

Madhur: Freedom to innovate , Fun filled, dynamic work atmosphere 

EArl: What are your favourite games?  Dont just restrict to EA! 

Madhur:  Need For Speed Most Wanted, Burnout Paradise 

Now time to say hi to our friend striking a Rock band Pose……Sanjana 

EArl:  Hey Sanjana, what’s your educational background? 

Sanjana:  BA Mass Communication, Hyderabad, India. 

EArl: And what do you do at EA? 

Sanjana:  QA FT Tester. Ensuring bug free applications & R&D on various Platforms. 

EArl: What do you love about your job? 

Sanjana: All the gaming, testing, gaming, some more gaming….did I mention GAMING??? 

EArl: Tell us why you came into gaming 

Sanjana: I love gaming & what better field to choose than the one I am passionate about. (and all the free games!! ) 

EArl: Why did you choose to join EA? 

Sanjana: Because it is the largest gaming company in the world. I don’t settle for small fish!  

EArl: What’s it like for you to work at EA? 

Sanjana: Life at EA is casual & fun filled. A great environment to work in. Awesome co-workers! 

EArl: What are your career ambitions? 

Sanjana: I want to move up further in the industry, maybe as a game designer. 

EArl: Favourite video games? 

Sanjana: God of War (1 & 2), Crysis (Multiplayer), Call of Duty, Burnout (All), Tekken, Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, Pirates of the Caribbean: The legend of Jack Sparrow, Spore, Nascar Rumble (that I used to play on my old PS1) 

Next up, our NBA loving friend Amit. 

EArl:  Hey Amit.  Nice shot!  So tell us about your background.  Where were you educated and what qualifications do you have? 

Amit:  B.Tech in Computer Science, India 

EArl: What are you doing at EA? 

Amit: Working as a developer for Juice product with EA, Hyderabad 

EArl: What do you love about your job? 

Amit: I love to face new things everyday which give me opportunity not only to apply the things I already know but also the opportunity to learn what I never did in my past. I love the excitement  I get every time when I get success in such new things 

EArl: Why work in videogames? 

Amit:  What’s better than getting paid for doing something you actually enjoys.  From the starting I have been inclined towards gaming. I was always curious to know the actual thing about gaming and EA provide me that platform to fulfil my dreams and desires. 

EArl: Why EA? 

Amit: EA provide me the opportunity to work on the domain I always wanted to. It provided me the strong base from where I could really start dreaming high in my career. 

EArl: Describe your life at EA 

Amit:  I really love the working environment what EA provides to its employees, we get lots of motivation from our supervisors to face new challenges in job every time. I love the Supervisor-subordinate relationship which provides us the friendly and open environment where we can always ask for help without any hesitation and the managers are always ready to give their best to their subordinates for everything they asked. 

EArl: Career ambitions? 

Amit:  We should always dream high so I do. I not only want to earn lots of money but also dream to do something innovative and new in IT for which I would earn not only money but also the name and fame. 

EArl:  Favourite games? 

Amit: Cricket, NFS, Counter Strike 

Cool.  Now say hi to our high jumping friend Trilok……. 

EArl: Hey Trilok, great to see you again.  So did you go to University? 

Trilok:  Though I am a Computer & Science Engineering student, I know only 10% of programming when compared with the developers around me:D 

EArl: What do you do at EA? 

Trilok:  QA – iPhone Floor Lead.   

EArl:  What do you love about your job? 

Trilok:  Gaming, Interviewing, Reviewing Games & Testing them in & out to give sleepless nights for developers. 

EArl: Why work in gaming? 

Trilok:  I am a person who has heavy interest in Gaming since my childhood & a big Gadget freak around my friends circle. The general Hobby & Interest of mine is now my work. Who will not be happy if they were paid to play games? 

EArl: Why are you working at EA? 

Trilok: Firstly, I want to meet the people behind the curtains & now, I myself am one by giving my whacko thoughts which might enrich the look & feel of the game. And being a part of Gaming family is every kiddo’s dream. 

EArl: What’s life like at EA? 

Trilok: Challenging, Exciting, over whelming, inspiring with fun filled environment & always learning new while owning & pawning noobs. 

EArl: Career goals? 

Trilok: I aspire to become a Manager. 

EArl: Favourite games? 

Trilok:  EA – Snood iPhone, Crysis Wars, NFS Series, Spore iPhone & Burnout Paradise on 3D Glasses! Alienated in EA: FarCry2, Counter Strike, COD4, HL2-DM, Quake Series, Halo Series & FNR3. 

And last but by no means least, our friend Shenbagaraj, standing next to that legendary Barcelona footballer……. 

EArl:  Hey Shenbagaraj.  Education? 

Shenbagaraj: B.Tech (Information technology) in Thiagarajar college of engineering, Madurai. 

EArl:  Whats your job? 

Shenbagaraj: Response for developing feature/product assigned to me. 

EArl: What do you love about your job? 

Shenbagaraj: Work hard and play hard. 

EArl: Why work in gaming? 

Shenbagaraj: As the motto says work hard and play hard, I get the option to do what I like best. 

EArl: Why work at EA: 

Shenbagaraj: It is a global company and helps in my career growth. 

EArl: Describe life at EA 

Shenbagaraj: It is a mixture of work and fun. It is exhilarating to be here everyday. 

EArl: Career goals? 

Shenbagaraj: To be a good and reliable software developer who deliver quality products consistently. 

EArl: Favourite game? 

Shenbagaraj:  EA game – NFS most wanted.  Non EA game – Age of empires   

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

So we promised to continue to show you under the skin of EA and into our offices around the world.

Let’s travel today all the way to China.

So a little background information.  Established in 2006 in Shanghai, EA China is poised to play a major role in the nation’s rapidly evolving gaming industry. With an ever-increasing expansion of technology usage, the Chinese market is projected to reach more than 180 million Internet users by 2010. Combine that with China’s overall population of nearly 1.3 billion people, and you can see the enormous potential for growth. EA China is a key part of EA’s strategy in Asia, particularly in the development of online games.

Just consider those stats again.  That growth is phenomenally exciting!

As part of our growth strategy in the Chinese gaming market, EA has invested in and is partnering with one of China’s largest online game operators, The9 Limited. EA and The9 Limited have a licensing agreement that gives The9 Limited exclusive publishing rights for EA SPORTS FIFA Online in mainland China. EA SPORTS FIFA Onlineis EA’s leading international sports franchise and is already proving to be a success in Asia.

Based in beautiful offices in the centre of Shanghai, EA China is home to a number of EA’s key strategic organisations namely SHAS (Shanghai Art Solutions which is part of EA’s global Central Development Services business unit), POGO and Online Publishing as well as a number of corporate shared service teams including Finance, HR, Legal & HR. This mix truly provides great career opportunities for talent individuals. The Chinese gaming industry has massive potential for growth and EA are at the heart of it.

EA China is fostering its own unique culture and is establishing itself as a true Chinese employer of choice.  EA staff benefit from working alongside some of the best most highly respected talent in the games industry both on a local Chinese level as well as a global scale which means that they are always at the front-end of cutting-edge technologies and innovation.  Diversity is also at the heart of EA China. The team is built up of people from around the world including local Chinese, US, Canada, British and Chilean to name a few, and this brings different cultures together and results in fresh innovative ideas and team dynamics.

And finally, at EA China of course they work hard but they are dedicated in ensuring their staff love what they do….and they have lots of fun.  They regularly organize employee activities such as offsite team-building trips, ping pong tournaments and mini-Olympics all with the ultimate goal to have fun while work.

Sound cool?

Then why not go to www.jobs.ea.com and look at the job opportunities today.  EA China would welcome your application with open arms.

EArl

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Ssssshhhhhh.

I just grabbed a camera and took a peak inside the offices of Playfish in London.  Playfish are new to the EA family and live, drink and swim, social games.  More on Playfish shortly….but in the meantime….

Have a look at their offices….ssshhhhhhh…I did not take these pictures

EArl

Hello….welcome to Playfish.  The doors to the Studio

Inside a meeting room….relax

Work hard…and yes play hard.  Tough day…chill and bounce round the office…or rock out on Rockband

Office decoration…Playfish style!

© 2010 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Following in our profile series, we continue to introduce you to more members of the Dante’s Inferno Team.

First up, let’s introduce you to the latest member of the team to be profiled.  Rachel Mina Cross.

Title: Lead Lighter

What is it you do here on Dante’s Inferno?
I work with a talented team of six lighters who along with the VFX team add to the final look of the game.

What’s a typical day for you here at EA?
I get in and attend morning dailies, head to the gym at lunch. My afternoons will include Lighting reviews, meetings, updating Lighting schedules and any work that I do at my desk is essentially adding lights to Dante’s path to lead him deeper and deeper into hell!!

What do you enjoy so much about Dante’s Inferno?
The creative background environments and amazing concept art for this game makes my job so much fun!!

Where do you belong in hell?
Gluttony – I crave cake and other yummy snacks! Especially around 3pm:).

Name: Greg Reisdorf

Title: Level Designer

What is it you do here on Dante’s Inferno?
I get to make the levels of hell! From the initial concept (based on the poem, of course) to the super secret hidden cambers that only 1 gamer in every 1,000 will find. I get to come up with ideas, put them in a computer and make them come to life. I also get to find out how bad most of my ideas actually are, it takes a lot of iteration and play time to get things right. However there are some ideas that are just no good at all. That’s when you have to know how to kill your babies, and where better to do that than hell. I’ve killed a lot of my babies… most were disfigured and mutilated from the start. But some I nurtured and tried to raise. But at the end of the day if you don’t kill that bad baby then someone else, generally a producer(baby killers), will. So I create levels by killing my babies.

What’s a typical day for you here at EA?
Since we are close to finaling the game my days currently go a little like:
1) Get in, get coffee
2) Review one of my levels with the other departments and leads
3) Try to fix any major issues from the review
4) Lunch
5) Coffee
6) Keep trying to fix stuff
7) Get tired of fixing stuff and play the game.
Coffee
9) Fix some more stuff
10) Help someone else fix something I broke a long time ago.
11) Think about adding something cool… get my baby killed… go back to fixing stuff
12) Help someone fix something that I just broke when I was trying to fix something else.

What do you enjoy so much about Dante’s Inferno?
The carnage and the variety in the levels of hell. There is a ton of awesome background information and great ideas that we get to pull from when creating the gameplay spaces, scenarios and puzzles.

Where do you belong in hell?
I’m pretty sure I would be sent to Greed.

Before we sign off from the team.  Take a look at the latest Developer Insight Video…Heresy. 

The Dante’s Inferno art leads standing at the Gates of Hell, at the Cantor Art Center at Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA.

© 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners

Take a look.

© 2009 Electronic Arts Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners