Joe Shochet

Toontown Online

Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold

Current project:
Disney's Toontown Online -- a massively multiplayer PC game for kids. Responsible for game design and programming.

Academic Info

College: University of Virginia
Degree: BS Computer Science

Were there any particular projects or areas of study that you pursued?
I worked in a virtual reality and user interface research group. We worked on a 3D graphics system called Alice that was designed to make it easy for novice programmers to make interesting interactive environments.

Did you do any internships?
Yes, at my current employer, Disney Imagineering.

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?
My first experience in the industry was an internship at Disney Imagineering. I secured the internship after my advisor in college recommended me. When the internship was over I was offered a full time position. The internship was good experience because I had a chance to learn the tools and see how a development studio operates. Because I already had most of the skills needed, I immediately got to work on real projects for the studio. We were working on a large-scale VR attraction. I created some models, mocked up some scenes, and generally helped out where needed.

What jobs have you held in the games industry thus far? Briefly describe the career path you took to get where you are today.
After finishing school, I returned to Disney where I have worked for about 5 years. My career path has not taken any drastic turns, but being in research and development, there are a wide range of projects available to work on. Every year there is something different and challenging. I have worked on simulations of attractions for theme parks, several location based entertainment rides, and most recently massively multiplayer PC games.

Advice

What fields of study, specific courses, or life experiences would you recommend to students interested in your field?
I find it useful that I studied perceptual psychology in college. Many things I learned in that field are useful as a game designer, for instance how humans perceive motion and color, and it only takes a semester or two to learn the basics. It is also useful to have an artistic background. I recommend taking art classes or just sketching things in your spare time. Being able to convey ideas visually to co-workers eliminates confusion and helps sell your ideas. Familiarize yourself with classic video games and classic board games. It is easier to understand the concepts of balance and playability when the graphics, music, and technology are not overwhelming. It is important to understand the core elements before adding all the bells and whistles.

Is there anything you wish someone had told you before you got into the games industry? Is there anything you would have done differently?
For the most part, my job has been what I expected, though I have learned a few things the hard way. Network programming and distributed computing are really hard, not just to program, but even to think about. Every part of your game design has new and unusual constraints because of the networking. Building games for a mass audience is difficult too. You cannot take for granted the lexicon that game developers and hard-core gamers have built up over the years. You are constrained to build games that will run on old hardware, but still compete visually with the cutting edge.

As games increase in complexity, what are the various kinds of jobs that you foresee development companies needing in the next five years?
Scripting: Since games are increasing in complexity each year, but humans are not getting any smarter on the evolutionary scale, we need better tools. I believe scripting languages help bridge the gap between seemingly simple game ideas and extremely difficult implementations. Scripting allows you to build, test, and iterate faster which encourages trying out more complicated and riskier ideas. We code up our entire game including AI, game logic, events, state machines, etc, in a high level language. I encourage anybody building games to integrate a scripting language into their game engine.

Client-Server programming: People who have expertise in programming multiplayer applications will become more and more valuable. As more developers discover how difficult a task this is, people who have been through the gauntlet will be in high demand.

Do you have any other advice or recommendations to share with students who are interested in doing what you do?
Keep your inner child happy, or have kids of your own - I've been lucky enough to do both. Having fun is what playing games is about. Being able to enjoy and understand why others will enjoy your game is crucial to making the right decisions as a designer. Play games at work, play games at home, and understand what you like or, more important, what you do not like about each one. Oh, and make sure you get a nice, big whiteboard.