Our Associate Producer, Adrienne works hard behind the scenes to help the whole team work smoothly together. Here are some cool things about her you should know.
Why did you choose to work in game development?
I grew up playing video games – 4 kids in the family, 4 controller ports – it was perfect. Wanted to get into the game industry and went from Art, to Player Support, to QA, and finally made it to my end goal of Producer!
What part of your role do you enjoy the most?
Being able to be a part of EVERYTHING! I wasn’t satisfied sticking to 1 role as an artist, and I wanted to be part of the tech and design sides, too. A Producer often picks up work where needed, and I absolutely love organizing people as well, so it was the perfect role for me!
What inspires you?
Success stories, particularly when they’re about following your dreams. I aspired to follow mine, and I made it! I’m also a nerd about my job and really love listening to others’ postmortems and learnings, so I can improve myself and my team. I even take a lot of these lessons to improve my personal life!
What is your favorite videogame genre?
Does “competitive” count as a genre? I’d love to say “Fighting Games” here, but I love competitive co-op too!
I love the challenge of being able to coordinate a team, a la League of Legends, while also holding my own personal skills and strengths (like in lane). I enjoy using “mind games” to outsmart my opponent in a fighting game scenario. It’s also extremely rewarding to see the results of practice of tech played out in a live match! There’s just so much to analyze and understand, and no match is ever the same.
What moment or memory from a game do you have that has had the greatest impact on you?
The one that comes to mind immediately is the time I got SO SALTY from playing Super Smash Bros. 4, for the Wii U. Now, I don’t consider myself a huge rager in games – I’m pretty mild-mannered and just enjoy the competition. However, I played Princess Peach in that game, and was in a tournament match vs. a Cloud. I landed a CLEAN Forward Air on him (which is Peach’s killing move), and he survived. Once again, I landed a sweet spot Up-smash, and I thought the game was over – but he survived!
Then he came back, did an Ftilt (forward and tilt with the joy stick), and I died.
I remember FUMING after that. All of that patience, practice, the complicated tech and landing hits that really should have closed out the game… just to be beaten by a character whose stats were better.
… Player experience is so important. I keep these kind of things in mind when I feedback on the games we make.
What would you be doing if you couldn’t make video games for a living?
I honestly wonder sometimes if I should have been a surgeon. Grew up in a medical family, so I don’t get queasy very easily. I’ve also got that sharp concentration and steady hands, think of all the ways “things could go wrong” which makes me cautious and careful, but I make decisions quickly – so I think I’d be a great one.
I don’t know if I would be as happy or satisfied, though. But props to all the surgeons out there doing the things they do!
If you could give some advice to someone who wants to work in this industry / do what you do, what would it be?
Just, “DO!” Do what you love, keep making what you want to make. Don’t stress over not being there NOW, keep your eyes on the goal. It’s very common in this industry for people to make weird paths towards their true goal. I only know a few select rare people who immediately became an artist/designer/programmer/whatever they wanted to be. Everyone else has had a swerving, shambling path – and that’s totally normal.
If you had a superpower, what would it be and how would you use it?
Teleportation, hands down. I’d love to teleport to places – cut the commute, go on vacation, get to where I want to go without the travel.
That’s not to say I can’t enjoy the journey from time to time… but teleportation would make things so easy!
Any favorite YouTube channels you want to recommend?
The KNKL Show is my favorite channel for learning digital art. I also love Mother’s Basement because I’m a big anime fan and I love his snark.
Lastly, Lindsey Ellis is totally looked over! I recommend her!
My YouTube is full of analysis/review vids and background work music. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ That’s all I’ve got for now!
