Under Pressure

Finding Passion & Meaning in Work

Under Pressure

Finding Passion & Meaning in Work

Good morning,

This week we chat with Ascendant’s Senior Art Director, Dave Bogan, about the games and the people that have left an impact on his nearly 30 year career in gaming. Then we take a look behind the scenes at the knowledge and creativity our level designers bring to their craft.

Finding Meaningful Work 

Growing up, we’re bombarded with advice about career choices, pursuing our passion, finding the right job. At the end of the day, we still need to pay the bills and take care of ourselves and our families. How do we find meaningful work while some experts or age-old advice cast doubts in our mind?

In our most recent Rise Above podcast episode, we spoke with Ascendant Studios’ Senior Art Director, Dave Bogan, whose nearly 30 year career in game development includes titles like, Grim Fandango, The Curse of Monkey Island, Star Wars: Republic Commando, Sam and Max, Telltale’s The Walking Dead, and many more. Bogan says he feels lucky to have started his gaming career at LucasArts, and shares his wisdom about finding meaning not just in the project, but in the people you get to work with.

“If you're lucky enough and you have the opportunity, try to choose to work on a project that you're passionate about. It changes everything. Sometimes you’ve got to pay the bills and you got to work, right? I understand that not everyone is lucky enough to be a part of their dream project on every project, all the time. It's pretty unheard of, but when you get professionally good enough, you get more of an opportunity to select what you're working on. [...] And if you're lucky enough, the rest of the team will have the same passion that you do. That's a great place to be.”

Dave Bogan, Senior Art Director at Ascendant Studios

Find out more about the passion, challenges, and games that make up Ascendant’s Senior Art Director’s storied career in the full episode on Spotify, YouTube, or your favorite audio platform.

Creative Solutions for Unexpected Encounters

Gameplay has been top of our mind as we unveil more details about Immortals of Aveum™. Flashy trailers are an exciting and eye-catching part of the marketing, but they don’t always reveal the nuance or feel of the gameplay itself. Nothing beats getting to play a game and experience the combat or mechanics first hand, but what goes into making that experience engaging?

We asked our Dev team how they go about finding that perfect balance between fun yet challenging gameplay that gives players a sense of achievement without causing too much frustration. Clemence Maurer, a Senior Level Designer, explains how building on the player’s knowledge of a game mechanic can prepare them to find creative solutions for unexpected encounters:

“I try to balance difficulty by thinking of ways to combine the abilities that the player possesses, in a way that is surprising and fresh. For that, I often need to think of a way to ‘twist’ a known mechanic, even if that means I might create something alien that looks disconcerting because we never planned to have the mechanic work that way.

I rely on combinations of elements and how they relate to the environment, the story, the game progression, and the player’s experience to glue together a setup that belongs yet feels unique, and offers opportunities for the player to feel creative and clever as they go through combat, puzzles, traversal moments, and everything we put in their way.”

Clemence Maurer, Senior Level Designer at Ascendant Studios

Read more about designing gameplay from our team in the blog, Balancing Fun and Difficulty in Games.

In The Press

Check Out These Creators