Microsoft Game Studios will be coming to see you on Monday, December 6th at 4pm in RZC 119.
Special guest speakers will discuss creative development, user research, creative writing & story-telling, and how to break into the industry. We hope you will join us!
Ken Lobb
Creative Director, Microsoft Game Studios
As Creative Director for Microsoft Game Studios, Lobb guides overall portfolio strategy and handles the incubation of new concepts. With eight years’ experience at Microsoft, he has led some of Microsoft Game Studios’ biggest gaming franchises including “Fable,” “Crackdown,” “Project Gotham Racing,” and “Perfect Dark.”
Lobb entered the game industry in 1988 as a Producer building NES games for Taxan USA Inc. Lobb designed GI Joe and Low G-Man, and produced several other titles including Magician, and Kick Master. Moving to Namco in 1991, Lobb produced several games for the Sega Genesis, Super Nintendo and Gameboy. In 1993, Lobb joined Nintendo as Development Manager for the newly formed Treehouse. During his nine years at Nintendo, Ken was involved in most of the games produced in the west, with highlights being Goldeneye, Killer Instinct, and Tetrisphere.
Ken moved to Microsoft in 2002 as the Director of Portfolio Planning. Within a year, he was running one of Microsoft Game Studios’ publishing studios responsible for Fable, Project Gotham and RalliSport Challenge among others. During the launch of the Xbox 360, Ken’s studio produced all of the 1st party launch titles. In 2007, Ken took on a broad Creative Director role for MGS, which is in today.
Eric Nylund
Head Writer, Microsoft Game Studios
Eric is a veteran of the game industry who helped launch the original Xbox, Xbox 360, and Kinect. He has contributed to dozens of video games for the PC and console, spanning every genre, including the acclaimed billion-dollar, decade-spanning franchises of Halo and Gears of War. Eric is also a New York Times bestselling and World Fantasy nominated author of science fiction and fantasy novels (over 2 million sold). His latest, The Resisters, is a science fiction series for middle-grade readers.
Randy Pagulayan, Ph.D.
User Research Manager, Microsoft Game Studios
Randy Pagulayan is the latest in the line of “work enthusiasts” to manage the User Research group at Microsoft Game Studios (MGS). Joining in 2000, Randy was one of the early members as they pioneered methods in the entertainment space. During his time, Randy has led user research efforts on many games at Microsoft Game Studios, including Halo 2 (Xbox) and Halo 3 (Xbox 360). Randy also co-authored several book chapters on user-centered design in games and has been an invited speaker for the Nielsen Norman User Experience Event (2003) and the Center for Computer Games Research at the IT University of Copenhagen (2005). Randy has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Maryland, and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of Cincinnati, and has published in several journals, including Journal of Experimental Psychology, Brain Research Bulletin, and Human Movement Science.
Jeremy Lee and Rick Martinez
Senior Managers of the College Hire and Internship Program, Microsoft Game Studios
Senior Managers of the College Hire and Internship Program, Microsoft Game Studios.
They work with the best and brightest students from around the world to create the Next Big Thing in digital entertainment products. Combined, they have over 25 years of game industry experience and leverage that to empower, direct, and guide new talent.
Jeremy Lee is a graduate of the University of Michigan’s top ranking Computer Science program, where he also earned a B.S. in Psychology. He began his game career as a Game Tester, then a Programmer, and finally into Production. Lee transitioned into the role of Producer to manage development team for games such as Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Silent Hill: Homecoming, The Da Vinci Code, and most recently as Development Director for Front Mission: Evolved. Having worked closely with the industries top publishers and AAA development teams, Lee now focuses on building academic relationships, cultivating new talent, and helping them contribute to the success of Microsoft Game Studios.
Rick Martinez has been making games in the industry since the early nineties. He has designed, co-designed, and produced over 20 titles, both as a developer and as a publisher. He has worked on RPG, Sport, Simulation, Strategy and Arcade titles. While working for Strategic Simulations, Inc., he worked as Designer – Producer on the Panzer General and Silent Hunter series, amongst other titles. Martinez moved to Microsoft Game Studios in 2000, and as a Senior Producer partnered with Lionhead Studios on the Fable series, helping to create a storied franchise that is still going strong. With his diverse background and experience, Martinez works within Microsoft Game Studios to identify top talent and foster successful careers.
Cordy Rierson
Directory, University Talent Development
Cordy is an 18 year entertainment industry veteran. She started in live action film production in 1992 and spent the next 10 years working on films, television, music videos and commercials in live action, visual effects and post production working on projects such as Independence Day, Batman Forever, Clear & Present Danger, Broken Arrow and Mission Impossible. In 2002 she moved into game development where she has spent the last 8 years developing over a dozen titles for Xbox, Xbox 360, PC, PS2, PS3, PSP and Wii. Cordy has spent that last few years as a studio manager until her recent move to Microsoft where she lead’s the Internship and College Hire program for all of MGS.