Ryan Lee
| Cohort |
2 |
| Graduation Year |
2010 |
| Specializations |
Art Creation |
Credits
Work Experience
Technical Artist at MOVES Institute, Naval Postgraduate School
Professional Games Shipped
Retail Games —Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 (PC/Xbox/PS2), Balls of Fury (Wii/DS), Vegas Casino (DS), Iron Chef America (Wii/DS), The Backyardigans (DS), Ben 10: The Rise of Hex (XBLA/WiiWare), Tecmo Family Fun Football (Wii), Zhu Zhu Pets featuring The Wild Bunch (Wii), Nicktoons MLB (DS/3DS); Serious Games (with the GlobalECCO project, globalecco.org) — Contagion (how ideologies spread across nations and affect the political landscape), Follow The Money (out-think terror organizations trying to fund attacks stateside by tracking financial transactions), Spec Ops (experience the core principles of successful special operations missions), Coin of the Realm (port of a board game about counter-insurgency), Cyberstrike (game of international diplomacy and espionage); Other projects with Naval Postgraduate School: Swarm Commander 3D (RTS-like UI for controlling real-life swarms of fixed wing UAVs), Back to Basics (Counter-terrorism trainer for Naval officers)
Q & A with Ryan
What is the best part about your current position?
Artistic and creative freedom, reasonable hours, excellent location
What is the most interesting or enjoyable thing that you have gotten to do in your career?
The most enjoyable thing is working with other smart and talented people.
Why did you choose to get your education from the Guildhall?
I read about it in an AP article in 2003. I'd always wanted to make games, and this was the first time I had heard about any kind of game development education and I thought this could be a way in to the industry.
How did the Guildhall prepare you for your career in gaming, and what impact has it had on your life?
I learned real skills that translated immediately to my next job, and as a result I was able to move up quickly in a small independent game studio. Then because of that experience I was able to get a comfortable wage in a location where the cost of living is high, relatively speaking.
What is your favorite Guildhall memory?
Working on my term 3 and 4 project. We had a lot of late nights, but we loved the project we worked on and the people in my cohort were really great. We had such a good time.
What advice would you offer for students looking to get into gaming?
Get a good gaming education; work really hard at sharpening the skills you're good at; don't be afraid to take a job at a smaller studio to gain experience.