Category Archives: LucasArts

From Indy back to Indie

Colors!, LucasArts, New Projects, Personal

Today marks my official “File > New Project” day. It’s with deep gratitude that I’m handing back the Design Director baton to MachineGames and am returning to my previous role as a design consultant.

Working alongside Jerk and the rest of the Uppsala crew on Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (DLC drops September 4!) has been a privilege – and, of course, an Adventure (Daa-da-da-DAAAAAAA!). I’m incredibly thankful for the chance to contribute to such an iconic IP together with my “forever” dev family. And hey, the game turned out alright! Phew.

So going from Indy to Indie, I’m now eager to focus on some of my other passions for a while. First some love to colorslive.com (Switch 2 obvs…) and then onto something a little bit bigger. Too early to say where it will all lead, but I genuinely believe we’re living in the golden age of video games – there’s so much to create and I’m here for it!

Jens

Call to a AAA adventure

LucasArts, New Projects, Personal

It’s been 12 spectacular years for me as an independent developer. Since leaving LucasArts in 2010, I shipped one of the best rated 3DS titles of all time with Colors! 3D, had the honor of receiving a BAFTA for our lovely open-world pinball game Yoku’s Island Express, and even built custom hardware through our Kickstarted game Colors Live (a perfect Christmas present hint hint).

But I’ve now taken the next big step, which is to join MachineGames as Design Director on Indiana Jones. This is also redemption. When I went accepted the offer to go to San Francisco in 2009, it was to lead the design on an Indiana Jones game, but that game got cancelled before I even got there. Now, I get a chance to do what I original hoped to, but this time with I get to do it with some of my oldest and best friends. Joining MachineGames is like coming home — amazing people I worked with during Riddick and Darkness, but also teeming with new ones, whose talent daily blow me away.

I’m so excited about what we are building, and the way get to do it — featuring one of most iconic characters ever, in collaboration with my friends at Lucasfilm, published by one the biggest publishers in the world, and doing it at an amazing studio like MachineGames.

This will be something very special.

Jens

Leaving Lucas

LucasArts, Personal

LucasArts day 572. Last Friday was my last day at LucasArts. It’s been a fantastic time, but now it’s time for me to move on. During my time there I got to lead a design team working on experimental games focused on creating new IPs. As a designer and programmer having worked on both small and big this was an amazing opportunity to really focus on rapid prototyping and building things ground up. It’s surprising how similar and different things are when you work on 6 month projects versus 2 year projects. As we are constantly reminded nowadays, the games and entertainment industry is in rapid transition and it was a luxurious opportunity to be able to touch some of the fronts of that from within the hallowed halls of Lucasfilm.

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Story reflection

Game Design, Interactive stories, LucasArts

LucasArts day 112. So, I never followed up on GDC. The weather was beautiful and I had a great time seeing some of my old friends. I only had chance to attend one day of sessions but that meant that I got to see industry-legend Hideo Kojima’s keynote about Metal Gear Solids evolution and Keita Takahashi’s heart-warming talk about Noby Noby Boy. But the session that gave me most was the Experimental Gameplay Sessions. Again, it’s clear that innovation within games is often not coming from the established developers. It almost seems like we are returning to the age of the bedroom coders with very few right and wrongs. Continue reading Story reflection →

What can you really do in a week?

Game Design, LucasArts

LucasArts day 36. Last December, LucasArts did something that to my knowledge other companies only dream of. They dedicated a full week for the whole company to go nuts with creating game prototypes. No matter if you were a hardcore programmer or if you were a part of the marketing department; for one week, you got to get your hands dirty and try out that idea that you previously only had been able to talk about over lunch. Continue reading What can you really do in a week? →

Celebrity visits

LucasArts, Personal

LucasArts day 22. I’m slowly starting to get settled in here. After a move into a permanent apartment last week, almost all the stuff related to my big move has been taken care of. I got my Social Security Card, all the benefits form are filled out, my banking needs are taken care of, and yeah… I bought an iPhone. I would estimate that about 80% of the LucasArts employees have that thing. Now I do as well.  Imagine that, being a developer for it and all.

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