I recently got the chance to talk to Mr Rob Hyder, a video game designer for E.A. Games. I asked him some questions about his job and what it's like working on games that thousands of people play. I hope you enjoy!

Will: What is your job at Electronic Arts?
Mr Hyder: I am what we call the Project Lead for EA SPORTS MMA. This means that I report to an Executive Producer who has responsibility for the profit and loss (P&L) of the game, and the rest of the game team reports in under me. I am the person who is responsible for shipping the game.

Will: What classes did you take in college that help you in your job?
Mr Hyder: Well, I have two degrees, one in management and one in computer science. Having a background as a programmer is definitely helpful. Having said that though, most of the skills that I use in this job are things that I have learned from making software for 20 years.

Will: What are some of the problems you face while making video games?
Mr Hyder: The biggest problem is coordinating all of the efforts of so many people so that nobody is ever blocked and everyone can continue make progress at what they are doing. After that, the next biggest issue is making sure that what you are building is fun. It sounds simple, but there are a great many things that sound like good/fun ideas when you come up with them, but when you actually implement them they turn out to be boring.

Will: What skills does it take to make video games?
Mr Hyder: Making modern big budget titles requires a small army of different disciplines. Animators, character and environment artists, lighters, programmers of various sorts (animation, AI, graphics, UI, etc), sound designers, UI designers, UI scriptors, online engineers, feature designers, producers, testers, contracts folks, marketing, public relations, finance, and managers. You can get away with a small number of folks who can do several things on a small game, but on big titles you can have anywhere from 50 to several hundred folks working on the game at the same time.

Will: How long does it take to make a video game?
Mr Hyder: That really depends on the size of the game. I have seen games created in 3 months, 6 months, and anywhere from 1-5 years. It really depends on the size and scope of the game, the size of the team, and the budget that the game has. MMA has been in development for more than two years and it still seems like we did not have all of the time that we wanted to make everything we wanted to put in the game.

Will: What is the most fun part of making video games?
Mr Hyder: Watching people smile and have fun when they are playing something that you helped make. Most of the joy of the profession comes from the positive feedback that we get from people who enjoy our products. This is why you never want to make a bad game, there is no payoff for all of the hard work if the game is not good and believe me we do work hard to get one of these things out.

Will: Did you like working on Madden or MMA better?
Mr Hyder: Tough call. Madden is iconic in the game industry and I will always be proud of having worked on it. Having said that, it is very rare to be able to create a new AAA sports title from scratch. I really have enjoyed working on the MMA game. Guess I will go with MMA.

Will: What gaming system is your favorite to make video games for?
Mr Hyder: Well, I have only worked on games for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 so the number of choices I have is not large. Generally speaking the X360 is easier to program for than the PS3 so I will choose that.

Will: What kind of office do you work in?
Mr Hyder: I work in a pirate cave. No, really I do. Really.
http://www.easports.com/media/play/feature-video/PirateOffice

Will: What kind of personalities do the people you work with have?
Mr Hyder: Interesting question Will. We get all sorts of folks. Some of them are really talented but very quirky. Some are quiet. Some are just normal folks with families and kids. Generally folks in the games industry are younger (20's and early 30's) so they tend to be more active and that is reflected in their personalities as well. The biggest difference I have noticed between here and other software companies is the addition of artists to the mix. They bring a point of view to the company that is definitely different from how engineers view the world. All and all though it is like almost anywhere else, there are people you like and people you don't, some people are funny and other are not, some people are strange and others are boring, at the end of the day though it keeps thing interesting.

Will: Do you like to play video games at home?
Mr Hyder: Yes, yes I do. I probably would not do this for a living if I was not such a big gamer. I like to play something every day if possible.