Biography
With almost 30 years of game industry, development, and software design experience, working on a wide variety of consoles, games and genres for clients such as THQ, Namco and Konami and well-loved IPs such as Micro Machines, Pacman, Bratz, Action Man and SpongeBob Squarepants. I’ve held a variety of creative roles ranging from 2D/3D senior artist, lead games designer, creative producer and creative director resulting in over 50+ released entertainment and games-based learning products and 50+ projects being signed for development.
Other notable projects include award-winning serious games such as GuideWeld VR and Enclosed!, Superman: Requiem DC offically licensed fan film and Tiga award winning mobile game Raceline CC.
It's a hobby I'm doing for a living, which is is perfect way to look at a job, I suppose.
Paul's Q&A
What Is Draw & Code?
Andy sums this up perfectly. He says it’s the smooshing of the physical and the digital realms. I just love it. And when he said that, it really struck a chord with me. So, yeah, that would be my answer, but I know it’s stealing off him.
What are Draw & Code Good at?
They’re really good at technical problem solving. That’s something I’ve seen across the board since I started.
Also, I suppose, the skill set in the team, we’ve got traditional programming, we’ve got print artists to user interface designers, there’s all that standard stuff, but then you’ve got all the periphery things like the build team, again, bringing in the physical dimensions to things to make the more immersive experiences.
That’s really exciting from my background is traditional game design. I was in the games industry for just over 20 years and then I moved into serious games, which are sort of using all gamification techniques for corporate learning.
Which project past or present are you most proud of?
I suppose the better answer to this question is it’s not necessarily the project, it’s the people you work with. Because no projects made in solitude. I’m part of a team and it’s the people around you that make the moments, really, and make the products what they are.
What strengths do you think are most important in your role?
Number one, communication. That’s the linchpin of good design. Secondly, collaboration – being open to others, having ideas and working with them to get the best of what everybody wants. In line with client requirements and end user requirements. Being open is important, being open to ideas. You never know who’s going to have the next big idea to think of ideas of seeds that are planted and they take their own organic form based on decisions you make as a team.
Fun Fact About Paul
The first console game I worked on was Micro Machines ’96 Turbo Tournament for the Megadrive. I have an almost complete Gamecube games collection. I have double jointed-thumbs!
Paul's Skills Keywords
Art Direction, Visual Design, UI/UX design, Game Design, Playification, Software Development, Team management & Direction, Pitch & Proposal