Interview with Epic’s Mark Rein and Jerry O’Flaherty

They were the rockstars of the show at X’06 Canada, held October 18^th in Toronto and from what I can tell, y’all just didn’t get enough of them at X’06.  So I got in touch with Mark Rein and Jerry O’Flaherty from Epic Games last week to get their thoughts on the launch of Gears of War and their impressions of X’06 Canada.  They even shared some tips on how to get a job at Epic – so dust off that resume and read on.    

Jade: Mark, as a former Toronto boy, how did you break out to become involved with some of the biggest games in history with id and now Epic?

Mark: I just got lucky. A chance phone call and a conversation about marketing were pretty much my ticket in. I wasn't at id very long but I've been with Epic now for 15 years - since the company was running in the basement of Tim Sweeney's parents' house. We really bootstrapped the company by making games and selling them ourselves, then using our notoriety to attract other small game developers to work with us. The first day on the job I started recruiting Cliff Bleszinski who is the lead designer for Gears of War. The secret to Epic's success is having a founder, Tim Sweeney, who understands not only how the intricate technicalities of creating great games but also the business as a whole and has an uncanny ability to attract some of the best gaming talent
there is. The secret of my success is latching on to him :)

Jade: Jerry, Gears of War has a gothic, but muted feeling when moving through the environments. What was your inspiration in designing the look and feel for the art?

Jerry: To play against the normal sci-fi video game setting of industrial metal and rust we looked to classically beautiful buildings and architecture to fill our cities. Ravaged by over a decade of war with the Locust we took these beautiful structures and tore them apart. Layering weeds and age over that gives a wonderfully organic look that adds to the overall beauty of the settings. The muted tones again speak to the weathering and fading that comes with age and decay.

Jade: You were the stars of the show at X'06 Canada. What was the most memorable part of the event in Toronto?

Jerry: The enthusiasm and excitement that we felt from everyone there and specifically the community folks that showed up was amazing. To pour the amount of work and passion into a project like GEARS for years and then finally see how real people react to it is a very exhilarating
feeling as a developer.

Mark: It was great to see the reaction of the Xbox Live community fans at the X06 Canada event in Toronto. We Canadians aren't as rowdy as our American counterparts and we don't get sucked into marketing hype as easily as they do. So it was great to see the enormously positive reaction of fans who got to play the game at X06 and I think it was a great foreshadowing of what was going to actually happen in the marketplace once Gears went on sale. As I write this we've now amazing sales for Gears of War and today it was announced that Gears is the #1 top played game on Xbox Live. So Canadian fans proved their tastes are extremely accurate... but I always knew that :)

Jade: The community went wild to find out as much as they could about Gears of War at X'06. Do you ever hold events or special days for fans of Epic to test your game concepts and ideas, or give the gamers a sneak peek at upcoming games?

Mark: We bring friends and family to do that informally at Epic but Microsoft Game Studios has extensive focus-testing and play-testing labs that gives us fantastic feedback that helps us understand what gamers feel when they're playing our game.  We learn a lot from it.

Jade: For Canadian gamers looking to take a leap into video game development, where would you suggest they start?

Jerry: Epic has a huge commitment and following in the mod community and has hired dozens of folks that started by working on mods of their own. We love what we do and the tools we make and want to help give everyone a shot at making great games as well through our support of the mod community. Bottom line is if you want to be a part of game development, go find a team that needs help on a mod and get in there and do it.

Mark: When we release UT2007 it will come with the Unreal Engine 3 toolset we used to create the game and end-users will be able to take those tools and create modifications (mods) of our games. That's a great way to learn about game development. Several of the people currently working at Epic were hired because we noticed their skills at making mods for previous Unreal Tournament games. In addition we license out our Unreal Engine technology to many of the top developers and publishers in the industry and they're also looking at people with skills acquired through modding to add to their staffs as well. Electronic Arts and Ubisoft are examples of major game companies who are using Unreal Engine technology and probably have available jobs for
people with Unreal Engine skills right in their Canadian development offices. Of course being highly skilled with Unreal Engine technology opens the doors to jobs all over the world, not just in Canada.

Jade: What do you look for in an employee at Epic? What helps make future game designers, programmers or art directors stand out?

Jerry: Passion for what you do is almost as important as being skilled at your profession. Dedication to your craft and the need/desire to do it no matter what are always good things to see in up and coming developers.

Mark: As a mature independent studio that grows very slowly, Epic has very high standards for potential employees. The first thing it takes to get in the door is to be able to show us that you can produce code or content that stands up to the quality standards of our games. We want people who can excel. For those who can, the rewards at Epic are among the absolute highest in the industry.

Jade: What's next for you both as you wind down from the launch of Gears of War?

Jerry: Unreal Tournament 2007. Epic is a small shop that is passionate about each and every product we work on and so while much of the UT team has been cranking away while we finished GEARS it is now getting all the internal focus it needs to be another amazing title from Epic.

Mark: I wear a lot of hats at Epic so now that the game is launched my focus shifts back a little bit more toward the Unreal Engine licensing business. But before long I'll have my marketing hat back on for UT2007. For the company overall we get to refocus on UT2007 plus we'll also be
doing quite a bit of work supporting Gears of War with enhancements and improvements to the online portion of the game. Anyone who has bought an Epic game since the original Unreal Tournament knows that we have a very strong history of supporting our games with functionality and content improves that we provide online. It will be no different for Gears of War.

No rest for the wicked, but we love you both for it. Looking forward to what tweaks and content come next for Gears of War.  But until then, we have plenty to keep us busy – and happy – so grab your chainsaw, and meet me on Xbox Live.

Have some cool tips or tricks to share? Dish on Gears in the Xbox Canada forums.