Guru

Ric Moore: Q&A

Posted: 13 Mar 2012

Ric Moore, part of the team behind double BAFTA nominated video game Monstermind urged future generations to “do something original” as he talked to us about his love of games.

The designer/developer behind Facebook’s first real-time Player vs Player game Monstermind also talked about his path into the industry, what his plan B would have been and his predictions for the industry…

QWhat first inspired you to get into your craft?

AI was always into games as a kid. My brothers had a Spectrum and next I had an Amiga. As a programmer I find making games the most interesting thing to code. I was naturally drawn to making them inspired by all the great games I'd ever played.

QHow did you first break into the industry?

AI actually spent the first ten years of my career in web development, mainly doing PHP and Flash contracting. I got to make a few web games while at Endemol but it was mostly web agency work, micro-sites for big brands etc. In 2010 I quit my job to start a social games studio. It was just me coding, designing and producing and I outsourced the artwork to Ukraine. Four months in I met Henrique [Olifiers] and within an hour we had decided to team up with Imre [Jele] and Roberta [Lucca], and that's when Bossa started.

QWhich professional figure in your field do you find the most inspiring?

AI always admired the developers who consistently churned out good games. I don't hold any one individual above others but coders like Jon Hare, Andrew Braybrook and John Carmack are the people I admired the most when I was growing up.

QIf you hadn’t managed to break into your field, what was your plan B?

AI'd probably be web developing still. Actually programming was my plan B. I always wanted to be a film director. Although I think I'm better at making games than films.

QWhich game do you wish you could have worked on?

AI was utterly obsessed with Plants vs Zombies. I'd be very proud to have made that.

QWhat single piece of advice would you give to a young person trying to break into your discipline and get noticed? How do you stand out from the crowd?

ALearn to code and make a kick ass casual game. Polish it lots and do something original. If you can do that I'll hire you.

QWere there any people who supported/mentored/championed you in the early stages of your career? How important are these kinds of relationships?

AThere were a few coders who taught me better practices. I personally find that kind of mentoring much more effective than just reading a book. I learned faster that way as they could help when I got stuck.

QHow do you think the games industry will change in the next few years?

AI think the big thing this year will be mobile social games. We're also planning to get into trans-media games; games fused with TV shows. No one's really done it yet so it will be interesting seeing what gets made.

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