What was your first memory of a videogame?

There were a few, but the formidable ones were either Adventure or Yars Revenge on the Atari 2600. I thought the 2600 was so amazingly cool at the time. When you look back at those games now you realize that while they were rough, they really laid a foundation for future games/developers.

There’s always something that makes you say: “this is what I want to do for the rest of my life”. What made you realize that?

When I was in University my roommates and I would play non-stop. The Goldeneye/Waverace N64 tournaments would last for HOURS! I also remember going through Persona with one of my roommates for weeks on PS1. Later, when I started working for Ubi Soft I would do pretty much anything needed. One of the first things I did there was assembling office furniture as well as helping to build our New York office with recruiting trips to local schools. Later, when I started working for Ubi Montreal, the atmosphere was really creative and you could feel the excitement. I was fortunate to be there at the time we acquired the Red Storm/Tom Clancy licences. It was a really interesting period as it marked a pivotal shift in the company’s direction from children’s entertainment to more serious content. I feel lucky to have been a part of it.

Do you think videogames are necessary? Can we live without them?

I think video games provide a creative outlet that few other entertainment mediums can provide. Most other forms of entertainment are passive for the consumer, ours is an active one where we are challenging ourselves everyday to provide better and more engaging content for our customers. I hope we don’t have to live without them anytime soon.

If you had to create “the ultimate game” what would it be?

Actually its funny, I think there is a difference between your “ultimate game” and one you think could be successful in the marketplace. One of my favourite games in recent years was Bully. I think what Rockstar did with that title was really impressive. On some level, I would like to do another game in a high school/university. It’s a really interesting time in people’s lives, and almost everyone has a story from it. That being said I don’t believe another game like that would necessarily be commercially successful. Bully was a great game but from what I heard, it did not meet sales expectations. Its really unfortunate.

You’re leaving for a space trip and you have to bring only one game and/or one videogame character with you, it would be…

Again, I come back to Bully, I would want to have that with me. I really liked that game that you could create mischief and have this amazing sense of freedom. I really hope they make a sequel to that game at some point. I think I would also want to bring a copy of Gears so I could have some contact with the outside world and get out some frustration.

If you had one tip to give to someone who wants to start working in the industry, what would it be?

First off I would say “don’t take no for an answer”. I know the economy is tough right now, but if you really want to get into the business then you need to do whatever it takes to get in. If that means being an intern and working for free at a developer then do it. When I started in the business I was working for very low money, but I wanted to get in and learn. It was my passion for games that kept me going. Also, most of my friends from Business School thought I was crazy. Now, things are a bit different and many people want to get into the business. Another thing I would recommend is to familiarize yourself with as many engines/3D Packages (Maya/3DSMAX/XSI/etc) as possible. The more you know the better you’ll be…

One silly personal factoid about you

Before I started working in video games I worked briefly for New Line Cinema. This was New Line before Lord of the Rings so it was not exactly a household name, or pulling in huge dollars. While I was there they were making the movie “Island of Dr. Moreau.” I remember seeing the executives come out of “dailies” screenings with the most angry looks on their faces. When that would happen I would make myself scarce as they were ANGRY. Also, while I was there the Chairman of the Studio would bring his dog to work. It was actually the dog from the original “The Mask” movie with Jim Carrey. Part of my responsibilities was walking the dog. It was an awesome/humbling/eye-opening experience. I left with AMAZING stories…