Grads from Vicarious Visions Speak to Full Sail Students
Four of the nine Full Sail grads who worked on the studio's new 'Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2' game participated in a game industry panel
Vicarious Visions has been developing successful video games for nearly two decades, with entries in such classic franchises as Doom, Guitar Hero, and Tony Hawk. Following the recent release of the studio’s latest title, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2, our Career Development department was pleased to welcome back to campus a group of four of the nine Full Sail alumni who worked at the studio on the superhero hit.
Coming together for a Q+A session with current students were Dan DiLallo (Game Design and Development, 2006), Dan Doptis (Game Design and Development, 2004), Brad Lindsay (Computer Animation, 2006), and Alejandro Garcia-Tunon (Game Design and Development 2005), who were also joined by their managers on the project – Chuck Carter, Art Group Manager, and Adrian Earle, Design Group Manager.
Michelle Wess, Course Director for the Game Development program’s Design Fundamentals class, moderated the panel. The grads spoke at length about different challenges that came up during the development of the art and gameplay, as well as the logistics of working with such classic Marvel characters as Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk.
“You have to deal with a lot of expectations people have,” said Brad Lindsay. “These characters have a lot of history behind them, and people tend to be very particular about how you present them. If you don’t get it right for the fans, then they won’t appreciate your product – especially with Marvel.”
The discussion was later opened to students, who asked for the grad’s advice on launching their own careers – including tips on developing their resumes, the interview process, to how to make the most of their time at Full Sail.
“Definitely use the resources that you have available to you when you are here,” said Alejandro Garcia-Tunon. “The labs, the professors, the career development office – everything is set up so that you can take advantage of it. Those are really the things can help you get ahead.”
“You have to really be willing to chase your dream job at all times, in every class,” added Dan DiLallo. “Never lose sight of that. You’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work and effort to chase that dream, but it’s so worth it in the end.”
Before the event wrapped, students also took the opportunity to pick the brains of the team’s managers, both of whom have over 20 years of industry experience. The pair has seen the industry go through massive changes during that time, and questions covered the evolution of gaming technology since they first began their careers, and how they see the industry growing with the next generation of hardware.
“When I started in the industry the first game I worked on had to fit into 8KB, the entire game,” Adrian said. “And now you have single textures that are 256KB. So it changes every day, and it’s exciting. It’s why I still love this industry.”
“Technology alone is allowing us to do things that used to be way beyond our imaginations,” Chuck said. “As the graphics have gotten better so has the need for qualified artists – and it will only continue to grow, so the future is very bright in gaming.”
Coming together for a Q+A session with current students were Dan DiLallo (Game Design and Development, 2006), Dan Doptis (Game Design and Development, 2004), Brad Lindsay (Computer Animation, 2006), and Alejandro Garcia-Tunon (Game Design and Development 2005), who were also joined by their managers on the project – Chuck Carter, Art Group Manager, and Adrian Earle, Design Group Manager.
Michelle Wess, Course Director for the Game Development program’s Design Fundamentals class, moderated the panel. The grads spoke at length about different challenges that came up during the development of the art and gameplay, as well as the logistics of working with such classic Marvel characters as Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk.
“You have to deal with a lot of expectations people have,” said Brad Lindsay. “These characters have a lot of history behind them, and people tend to be very particular about how you present them. If you don’t get it right for the fans, then they won’t appreciate your product – especially with Marvel.”
The discussion was later opened to students, who asked for the grad’s advice on launching their own careers – including tips on developing their resumes, the interview process, to how to make the most of their time at Full Sail.
“Definitely use the resources that you have available to you when you are here,” said Alejandro Garcia-Tunon. “The labs, the professors, the career development office – everything is set up so that you can take advantage of it. Those are really the things can help you get ahead.”
“You have to really be willing to chase your dream job at all times, in every class,” added Dan DiLallo. “Never lose sight of that. You’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work and effort to chase that dream, but it’s so worth it in the end.”
Before the event wrapped, students also took the opportunity to pick the brains of the team’s managers, both of whom have over 20 years of industry experience. The pair has seen the industry go through massive changes during that time, and questions covered the evolution of gaming technology since they first began their careers, and how they see the industry growing with the next generation of hardware.
“When I started in the industry the first game I worked on had to fit into 8KB, the entire game,” Adrian said. “And now you have single textures that are 256KB. So it changes every day, and it’s exciting. It’s why I still love this industry.”
“Technology alone is allowing us to do things that used to be way beyond our imaginations,” Chuck said. “As the graphics have gotten better so has the need for qualified artists – and it will only continue to grow, so the future is very bright in gaming.”
