Game Industry Interview with Chris Rogers

by Andrea Emmes

I had the pleasure of meeting Chris while working at Bento Box Interactive not too long ago as he came in and filled the very much needed position of Technical Director of the interactive eBook we were working on.  Very soft spoken and mild manner, this guy is one of the nicest men I’ve met with a really funny sense of humor. Just ask him about his hilarious tribute game about traffic in L.A.. OH, and he is a heck of a bowler 🙂

Let’s have a chat with him, shall we?

How did you get started in the game industry?

CHRIS:  I’ve always been most interested in 3D tools and pipelines and processes more than the actual product, but I realized some game projects have solid financial backing.

Tell me some of the games you worked on and did that enhance your passion for gaming or was it disenchanting?

CHRIS:  MLB: The Show for 4 years.  Now I can’t watch baseball on TV, but that’s a good thing.

What about games excites you?

CHRIS:  Doing things that nobody has ever done before, both technically and design.

What is your favorite game and why?

CHRIS:  I like open world games, Grand Theft Auto III was one of the first to really do this in a 3D way. Zork and Wizardry were the first games I played that felt like a virtual world. I am afraid to try Skyrim.
What is a game you hate and why? CHRIS:  Games that try to hide extreme lack of gameplay with fancy graphics….

If you could be any game character, who would it be?

CHRIS:  the Grue from Zork. or maybe I would make a Big Lebowski game so I could be The Dude….

How badly did the “OMG I’m working in gaming” bubble burst once you got in?

CHRIS:  When I realized that game designers (a tester got promoted to be VP at my first job) often don’t make good managers, I realized there would often be management issues in the game industry. the few good designers than can manage a team do well…..

What is the main difference you would say you realized after getting out of school?

CHRIS:  When I was in school I would go party on Friday nights, now on Friday’s I am more likely to fall asleep early.

Tell me something interesting or challenging that you went through and how you dealt with it/overcame it?

CHRIS:  Getting along with people under pressure is always a challenge.  I remember the times I was difficult to work with and try not to repeat those.  When my coworkers are being difficult, I try to defuse it in a positive way, often by reminding them they should be glad they’re not digging ditches for a job, or tell them stories of doing 3D on computers with 32 megs of ram…. walking to school with shoes made of cardboard, in the snow, uphill, both ways….

I gotta tell you, I love talking to gamers. They are always so colorful and have an interesting perspective on life and entertainment. They also tend to be a little silly at times which is ALWAYS A-Okay with me!!  Until next time, when we speak with another one of my gamer-geek friends…

Game On–Andrea