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February 1, 2021 75 mins

In the inaugural episode, we sit down with fellow Full Sail University Alumni, dear friend, Detroit’s own Douglas Burton currently working as a Senior Designer for PolyArc in Seattle, WA.

Doug has worn various hats in game development riding the full spectrum between Game Design & Coding to refine his specialty in Puzzle Design. 

I got to work with Doug at Midway Austin on our first shipped game Blacksite: Area 51 where he’s gone on to work for various studios throughout the US and in the UK.

In this episode we'll discuss:
  1. (0:00) the dream of being a game dev consultant for Hollywood
  2. (3:10) cheers, sante , salud, let's enjoy a stout
  3. (4:28) developing in the pandemic
  4. (6:00) working in mobile slot games at Scientific Games in Austin Texas.
  5. (15:28) figuring out game development was his calling
  6. (18:15) meeting Steven Spielberg while working on Boom Blox
  7. (30:20) finding the right college to achieve his goals
  8. (43:20) discuss the responsibilities of a game designer
  9. (53:00) approaching high-level puzzle design
  10. (1:03:00) his perspective on the importance of studio culture and equitable hiring practices at Polyarc

 

Links mentioned in the show:

Doug Burton's Game Credits on Mobygames

Reducing Bias in Game Audio Hiring

xMiraMira's Sims Melanin Pack

Follow Doug's team Polyarc - @PolyarcGames Follow Doug's work - @Dougomite_Dev

Follow your host John Diaz - @elkingpin

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