Measures of social distance and isolation designed to combat the spread of COVID-19 have led to the fact that almost the entire gaming industry has become a kind of remote work model. In order not to stop the development process, people had to create productive jobs in their own homes. Some industry representatives did not hesitate to show and talk about how they adapted to current realities and working methods.
Co-Founders of Romero Games – John and Brenda Romero
Unlike the rest, John Romero and his wife Brenda were more fortunate: they have full-fledged rooms in their house that are separate from each other and the rest of the family. John’s wife had long dreamed of a separate workspace with a fireplace, and after the restoration of the house she received it at her disposal. She opted for a three-monitor configuration: one screen is used directly for the game, the second for any working documents, and the third for the Slack corporate messenger or other communication software. Her room has one large window and two skylights, so she has no shortage of natural light. In the interior you can see a unique theme, which begins with that chair in the center and ends with paintings by Ozzy Osbourne. While sorting bugs and chatting on Slack, she listens to Irish pianist John O’Conor. When Brenda starts playing, she completely switches to the sounds of the game. In the morning, before starting work and before the children get up, she silently drinks coffee in silence.
The left-hand door leads to John’s office.
Currently, the studio of John and Brenda Romero is developing a turn-based strategy Empire of Sinwhich release will take place this fall.
Bree Code, CEO and Creative Director, Tru Luv
Brie huddles and is isolated from everyone in a rented apartment. It is not difficult for her to give up her usual amenities – she likes the liminal space.
She wakes up before sunrise and meditates on the bed for 30 minutes. Then he checks his calendar, e-mail and messages, after which he understands what her day will be. She spends her free time reading, correspondence, and participating in conferences. In addition, Bree listens to music and occasionally communicates with loved ones.
Remedy Entertainment Creative Director Sam Lake
It will be ironic to note that 25 years ago, at the time of its formation, Remedy studio looked like a garage rock band. Team Creative Director Sam Lake decided to return to the roots and settled in his own garage – the quietest place in the whole house.
To settle in it, he had to remove a lot of junk. Remedy is currently pre-producing his new major project. Sam did not need any amenities – just an old table and chair, a laptop with Final Draft (for writing scripts) and the Word program, a notebook and a pen. From time to time he has to go on a video link with the rest of the team. At each video call, his colleagues constantly laugh at his background, because Sam does not bother and does not hide him with some kind of virtual background.
Art production manager and 3D environment artist Reika Yoshina and 2D artist Ashley Coad from thatgamecompany
Colleagues share one apartment for two, and their tables are set opposite each other. They settled in the room where the dining room had previously been located. In quarantine, a little kitty amuses them. In their opinion, such a neighborhood acts as an excellent motivator and allows them to work harder.
In July 2019, the fourth thatgamecompany game called the iOS platform was released Sky: Children of the Light.
Executive Producer Brendan Green from PlayerUnknown Productions
Homemade Brendan’s workplace consists of a table hastily bought at an IKEA store and a good chair. He has two laptops at his disposal: a MacBook is used for most everyday tasks, and a Windows-based laptop is needed to check builds and launch development tools.
Most of the day he listens to music using his Sonus audio system. Typically, Brendan selects classic playlists from the IDAGIO streaming service.
Sam Barlo, creator of Telling Lies and Her Story
For Sam, the main problem was to separate from his wife and two children in the open spaces of a small apartment in New York. The best places for remote work / study went to the rest of the family, and he had to huddle at a tiny table in the corner of the living room. As a reminder that all this is not in vain, Sam placed a BAFTA figurine on the table, which, if the situation was not successful, he could exchange for a roll of toilet paper.
The ‘N’ key fell off his laptop, but it is now not possible to fix the problem: all Apple services are closed for now. He is comforted and reminded that many of his favorite writers wrote from prison and used their own blood as ink.
Jesse Houston, co-founder and CEO of Phoenix Labs
Jesse is located upstairs in the small room of his house, where most of the time two children and his wife cannot reach him. He remade his gaming computer into a working one, placed several light sources to improve lighting, and also replaced broken speakers. For virtual meetings with colleagues and viewing various materials, he uses the iPad tablet.
Payl Rybio, CEO of Tequila Works
Unlike other colleagues in the workshop, Raul was used to working from home and the current situation had practically no effect on his regime. He had already prepared several jobs for different tasks, moods and times of day. On the left we see a multi-monitor system for development, but he uses the “real” home office (pictured right) at night.
The third workspace eats up half of the long dining table. On it, with his child, he builds compositions from Lego and holds daily calls and conferences. For formal meetings, he uses the home theater area. It is very convenient to be there during lengthy and complex presentations, since for this case there is a sofa and a coffee table to accommodate various devices.
Pami Ismail, co-founder of Vlambeer
Rami’s office is a separate lockable room, the design of which is different from other rooms – this allows you to create a working atmosphere. He uses a vertical monitor for coding, and a horizontal one for everything else. Nearby are also located: a deck for streaming on Twitch, a camera, a light installation, a headset, a microphone, devkits of consoles and PS4.
Bergyn Finnbogason, Creative Director EVE Online
Bergur spends most of the day in the kitchen, and from time to time he has to give in to her family. His workspace consists of an old kitchen table and chair. All he needs is a laptop, an iPad, a phone, and two different sets of headphones.
James Dobrowski, vice president of product development for CCP Games
James, too, was quite successful, because he had at his disposal a separate cabinet with a good gaming PC, two monitors and a new super-comfortable chair. This is his personal room and most of the time he spends there, talking with people from other countries, so his daily life, except for the chair and the surroundings, has not changed much.
El Osili Wood, Presenter, Journalist, and Voice Actress
Thanks to the work of the presenter, El can boast of having a whole home studio. During the online broadcast of the BAFTA Games Awards, she spent two full days “parading” in this room, filming an interview. She also has a completely isolated room for recording sound, where she is engaged in dubbing characters from games and not only.
Dan Gray, Head of Ustwo Games
At the disposal of Dan was a single bedroom, converted into a workplace. By a strange coincidence, shortly before the pandemic, he decided to upgrade his space by installing a good ergonomic chair and a height-adjustable table.
Near the window he has a chair, sitting on which, along with his iPad, he likes to make design sketches and learn Pinterest.
Jody Hazard, founder of Teazelcat
Jody’s house has a separate office, which she shares with her boyfriend, a programmer for applications for mobile platforms. Often a companion comes to them company cat Tisel, who likes to sit on her lap or in front of monitors. For her, the owners allocated a separate place.
Simon Bennett, Co-Founder and Head of Roll7 Studio
Simon has been working remotely since 2015, after Roll7 closed a studio in Deptford. For work, he uses a large room overlooking the garden and forest on the top floor of the house.
On his table is a small plant and a BAFTA award, which the studio won with OlliOlli in 2015. She reminds him of one of the best moments of his life and inspires him when things go wrong.
In his opinion, distant work will allow you to save more time for all other activities, but under the conditions of the benefit all benefits are gone.
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