This article is about How to do an interview with a video game developer. Most rock fans sooner or later take up the guitar, and soccer fans attend matches and try to learn as much as possible about their favorite players. Those who have played hundreds of hours in GTA and driven thousands of miles in NFS have probably thought at least once about who and how their favorite games were created. And if information about rock stars and soccer players is more accessible, there are not so many interviews with famous developers of computer games. We required some essay writer help and tips on interviewing a video game developer to make it fascinating both for the audience and the interviewee.
Preparation
Before you go to the interview, try to find as much information about your interviewee as possible. Google the name and find out what games and projects they have worked on. You might even be able to find their CVs or see their LinkedIn profiles to learn a little more about their experience.
The resource you’ll be writing the interview for has a significant impact on the questions you should ask. For example, if you are writing for an industry-related magazine, you should know a lot about technology and programming languages to ask the right questions. Moreover, if the target audience of the resource speaks the same language as the developer, your questions will be different if you were writing for people who do not know computer slang.
Knowing your audience, you should also warn your interlocutor about this before you start talking so that they explain complex terms or replace them with synonyms.
Childhood
Someone dreams as a child of becoming an astronaut, a doctor, and someone decides to create engaging computer games. There comes a turning point in everyone’s life when they choose to master a certain profession. Learn about how, when, and why your interviewee decided to become a game developer. Maybe they had a favorite game that inspired them. Perhaps, their teachers at school told them they were wasting time playing computer games because it was impossible to make money from it, and they decided to prove them otherwise. Either way, this story is sure to be entertaining and help set the tone and get everyone talking more openly.
The first game they worked on
The first job can be either a great start in your career or a complete failure. Ask about the first game your interlocutor created. Maybe they started as regular developers and made educational websites with lists of and then worked on their arcade or shooter games at home after work. Ask them about the fate of that project and why it turned out that way.
A game they are proud of
People like to talk about things they are proud of. If your interview is deadlocked, ask about a project your interviewee is proud of. Ask about the challenges and their role in creating the game, how long it took them and how many people worked with them. Be sure to specify why the developer is proud of this particular project and what makes it so unique among the other games they have worked on.
The most challenging and easiest jobs
We never know how much work is put into the creation of a particular game. A project with the most realistic graphics, elaborate characters, and an exciting storyline can be less complicated than developing a mobile game. Learn about the most challenging and the easiest projects and why they were so. If you can steer the conversation in the right direction, the game developer can also tell you about the biggest failures and problems that happened in the development process because of them.
Hobbies and Non-Coding Life
Many people associate game developers with tedious nerds and geeks who spend hours sitting in front of computer screens, wearing glasses, not washing their long hair, and speaking incomprehensible terms. You have an excellent opportunity to break this stereotype and find out what your hero is like when leaving the office or going on vacation. Maybe they like to cook Japanese food or go horseback riding. Who knows what kind of person is behind the creation of your favorite game?