51²è¹Ý

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Steve Stringer

Director, GameLab; Professor of Practice, Production & Team Game Projects; Academic Advisor
sstringer@mail.smu.edu 214-768-5132 Office: 316A
51²è¹Ý Guildhall faculty member, Steve Stringer
Steve Stringer is a 30-year veteran of the software industry. With a unique background blending fine arts, software engineering, and business, Steve is able to tackle almost any creative software project.

Steve started his career producing video games in 1995. He has worked for Activision, Electronic Arts, and Atari on dozens of titles, as well as many original IP and third-party titles.

Education:

  • MBA in Marketing, IT — University of Utah
  • BA in English, Film, Photography — Tulane University
 
Games shipped:

Released

  • Mission: Impossible – Operation Surma (PS2 & XBox, GCN Atari) – Sr. Producer, level design, & in-game cinematics
  • Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit 2 (PC & PS2, Electronic Arts) – (Initial) Producer & Designer
  • Big Air Freestyle (GameCube, Paradigm & Atari) – Senior Producer & conversion design
  • MXRider (PS2, Paradigm & Atari) – Senior Producer
  • Star Trek: Elite Force (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – Producer
  • Soldier of Fortune (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – Producer
  • Need for Speed: High Stakes (PC, Electronic Arts) – Producer
  • T’ai Fu (PSX, DreamWorks Interactive & Activision) – External Producer
  • Independence War (PC; Particle Systems, Infogrames, Activision) – External Producer
  • Heretic II (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – External Producer
  • Hexen II Mission Pack: Portal of Prævus (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – Ext. Producer
  • Judge Dredd (PSX, Gremlin Interactive & Activision) – External Producer
  • Hexen II (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – External Producer
  • Quake II (PC, id Software & Activision) – (Initial) External Producer
  • Quake Mission Pack No. 1: Scourge of Armagon (PC, id & Activision) – External Producer
  • Quake Mission Pack No. 2: Dissolution of Eternity (PC id & Activision) – External Producer

In Development

  • TBA (Atari) – PS2, XBox, GCN

Unreleased

  • Split-Second (PS2 & XBox, Electronic Arts) - Producer & designer
  • P10 (PS2, XBox & GameCube; Paradigm & Atari) – Senior Producer
  • F1 2003 (PS2, XBox & GameCube; Paradigm & Infogrames) – Senior Producer
  • Spider-Man (PSX & N64; Paradigm, Neversoft & Activision) – (Initial) External Producer
  • Planetfall 2 (PC, Activision) – Associate Producer

OEM Versions & Bundles

  • Heretic II (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – Various versions, Fall ‘98 - Winter ‘99
  • Hexen II (PC, Raven Software & Activision) – Various versions, Spring - Winter ‘98
  • MechWarrior 2: Mercenaries (Activision) – Various versions, Spring & Summer ‘97
  • MechWarrior 2 (Activision) – Various versions, Winter & Spring ‘97

 

 

Q&A:

Can you share the backstory behind what brought you to a career path in game development?

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, so my version of “I grew up playing games” meant biking to arcades and dropping quarters into Asteroids, Joust, Tempest, and Centipede machines and spending hours in front of the TV playing on the Atari. My Dad worked for IBM, so we always had a PC in the house, but the early offerings were janky and slow. Microsoft Flight Simulator got a lot of play time. So did Xaxon. Then everything changed in the CD-ROM era. Before that time, it was more likely that I’d be an astronaut than someone who made games for living. But then I read Wired articles about the startup studios like Presto and Cyan, and suddenly it became an attainable dream. So I went to business school with he goal of starting my own studio and got hired by Activision as a producer. I say that like it was easy. I was incredibly lucky to get the job, and I am so grateful to those who helped me start my career.

What is the most interesting thing that has happened to you since you started your career? Did you learn a lesson from it?

Interesting for me? Meeting my wife in the elevator at Activision for sure. Getting to drive some Porches, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis when I was working on Need For Speed was definitely highlight. But I think my biggest “pinch-me” moment was going to the first E3 and seeing a 30-foot tall Mech in the Activision booth. At that moment, I knew I picked the right career path. In terms of learning the business, I had an incredible mentor at Activision who gave me my start in business development. He took the time to teach me everything I couldn’t learn in business school including studio finance, putting together deals, and survival in the corporate world. I got another similar opportunity at EA as part of their internal leadership development program where they’d bring together producers and leads from throughout the organization and expose us all every aspect of the business from production to HR to finance to manufacturing. It was an intensive but incredibly valuable period in my career. In fact, to this day, I rely on those lessons and contacts and try my best to pass them onto my students.

How would you define a successful game? Is there a game or franchise you think best captures these tenets?

There are many different metrics to gauge success. Is it internally consistent and build out a world or a universe for the player? Is it fun and satisfying to play? As a player, do I find I think about it all the time and it becomes a universe that’s real for me? Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, Satisfactory, and Baulder’s Gate 3 do this exceptionally. Is it commercially successful? Sure. That’s certainly a metric, but I’ll answer it in the context of the 51²è¹Ý Guildhall games we publish. Did the team perform well and work through the iterative process smoothly to find the fun and deliver something exceptional? That’s success for me at the moment. We have several examples of this in our catalog you can go play for free.   

Our metrics for success are not the same as they would be if we were a commercial studio. Everything we do is for the benefit of the students. It’s not about Metacritic scores or revenue. It’s about them being able to demonstrate clearly that they are capable of making games at a professional quality. It’s critical that they are proud of what they create and that they can point to their game with any potential employer and say, “I’m capable of making more of this.” So we put an emphasis on quality over quantity when it comes to scope.

What advice would you give to those interested in attending 51²è¹Ý Guildhall? What can help bolster student success before and during their time here?

Preparation for a career in the industry starts early. Fortunately, 51²è¹Ý Guidlhall can be the last stop along the path towards that career. But it starts early. STEM is hugely important for all of our disciplines, especially programming. Game Dev requires some of the most performance-critical programming around, so programmers need to learn advanced math and have a solid understanding of programming fundamentals. Artists need to develop basic art skills that include perspective, anatomy, color theory, composition, and rendering, and you’ll also want to develop a range of styles, not just anime. For designers, you’ll want to download Unity or Unreal and start learning how to assemble assets into something resembling a fun game experience. You’ll want to learn as many engines as you can. Mostly, you have to develop the ability to create a fun and varied game experience collaboratively through ideation. Producers are a special breed. Key qualities I look for in producers coming through my door are empathy, strong communication skills, and the ability to be calm under pressure. Learn math, business, organizational behavior, and communications in school. Whichever path you choose, join the IGDA and start to network while you build your portfolio. Join GameJams and have fun with it. Then, when you’re ready, come to 51²è¹Ý Guildhall and learn how to do it all at a professional level so you can crack that door open and start your career.