Chris Butcher

Halo

Oni

Current project:
Halo. Design and program the Artificial Intelligence; provide technical assistance to the game designers in putting together the experiences that make up the game.

Academic Info

College: Massey University, New Zealand; University of Otago, New Zealand
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science, Master of Science in Computer Science

Were there any particular projects or areas of study that you pursued?
I took a particular interest in computer graphics and simulation, and also played a lot of games.

Did you do any internships?
No.

Career Info

Tell us about your first job in the industry. How did you get the job? What was it like? What were your responsibilities?
While working on my PhD at university, I noticed a job posting on Bungie Studios' website for a game programmer. Since I was a big fan of their work, and I was a little disillusioned with my research at the time, I decided to apply. Along with my resume I included a small graphics demo which let you open a map file from Myth II and fly around it in real-time. Bungie liked my demonstration of reverse-engineering and decided to give me a telephone interview, despite the fact that I lived in New Zealand at the time.
After going through another few interviews, some programming tests and some immigration details, I moved to the United States and began working on Oni at Bungie's San Jose development office. While there I developed the effects system and Artificial Intelligence for the game.

What jobs have you held in the games industry thus far? Briefly describe the career path you took to get where you are today.
I have worked at Bungie from February 2000 to the present. When Bungie Software was acquired by Microsoft, I stayed on and moved up to Redmond where I continued to work with them on their new Xbox games.

Advice

What fields of study, specific courses, or life experiences would you recommend to students interested in your field?
I would encourage students interested in game programming to strongly consider a four-year college degree in computer science. There are a number of schools that specifically teach game programming, and these are gaining acceptance in the industry, but it will always be crucial to have a solid grasp of software engineering.

You might consider delving deeper into a specialised field of knowledge. There are a lot of programming specialties that are applicable to games, including but not limited to physical simulation, networking, artificial intelligence, graphics, operating systems and low-level programming. General programming expertise is very important as well - problem solving and mathematical knowledge are the skills that are most likely to get you through a successful first interview.

Even if you have these skills, it won't mean anything unless you are a good person to work with. Game developers are a very eclectic breed, and you need to be able to get along with some real characters. There is a lot of highly detailed knowledge and some tricky concepts that you'll need to communicate to people, and the only way to learn this is through working in a team. Try to get involved in a group project or two at college if you can.

Finally, we almost never hire anyone unless they are passionate about playing games and have an understanding of what makes a good game or a bad game, or at least a strong desire to learn. Play games! Think about what you would have done differently if you made the game, and be prepared to back up your views. If you really enjoy a game that is user-editable, maybe putting together some content in a 'mod project' would be a good idea.

Is there anything you wish someone had told you before you got into the games industry? Is there anything you would have done differently?
I wish that I had spent more time working on hobby projects while at school, so I had a better collection of example programs to show prospective employers. Having said that, quality rather than quantity is important.

I also wish that someone had told me how much hard work is involved in the final run to ship a game. Every game studio is different, but if things go badly you can be looking at months and months of grueling effort, spending up to a hundred hours a week just trying to finish a game. When people tell you this, they aren't joking.

As games increase in complexity, what are the various kinds of jobs that you foresee development companies needing in the next five years?
In the engineering discipline, we will always need hardworking, intelligent programmers who understand how to work with a team to create a 3D world filled with fun and believable characters. Specialist AI and physics programming positions are becoming more common also.

Do you have any other advice or recommendations to share with students who are interested in doing what you do?
There are very few people in the world who are able to find something that they love as much as most game developers love their jobs. Everyone I know who has 'broken in' to the industry rather than just stumbling over it has been driven by a passion that no matter what, they want to make games. If you have this drive, then you will be able to find a place in the gaming industry, given enough determination and ingenuity.