The Life and Times of London Developer Ian Bullock

Ian Bullock - Photo from  IanBullock.ca

London, Canada is successfully attracting, training and retaining talented digital interactive professionals who often have one thing in common: they have attended the DIG conference.

I had the opportunity to chat with one local web developer who relocated to London for school, found a rewarding career in his field and is thriving in the city.

Ian Bullock, web developer extraordinaire at Digital Echidna and I talked about about life, internet and... well... DIG of course.  Ian’s life is an open book; he is active on twitter (@ian_bullock) and generally posts most of his secrets on the feed. A lesser known interesting fact about Ian is that he was a goal tender in hockey for 13 years, playing  in small across Ontario towns such as St. George and Paris. Maybe this info is on Twitter somewhere, but it’s published here now for your trivia pleasure.

Ian was born in London, moved away, then came back and stayed (#YAY). He studied at Western and Fanshawe:  Multi media Design and Production at F-shawe coupled with a degree in MIT at Western. I feel like I can use the abbrev. “F-Shawe”... being a very proud Alumni of the college and all. Ian has worked at 3 agencies in London in both front and back end development, which grants both the inner artist and programmer the opportunity to shine. Bravo internet soldier. 

Ian knew from an early age that his career would focus around graphic design, with interests in photography and painting Ian gets to express himself in his chosen career. Having a strong parental influence in computer science and visual arts, web development proved to be the perfect fit. My homeboy Ian and I bonded over our love of the craft and if you ask us, Code is Art.

Ian’s first web project was a re-design of the Club Phoenix site in college a mere 5-6 years ago. Now he is working on large projects with Echidna for organizations like WOTCH and has witnessed his skill set evolve from the table-design and image-based text in HTML used 5 years ago to the CMS’s of today. The web development world is rapidly evolving and changing, you have to remain ahead of the curve as new technologies challenge the skill set of a developer daily. Ian will not have to fret this November 2012; we have him covered at DIG.

From networking with fellow web developers and friends I have learned that we all have a certain way of computing. With 8 browser tabs open, grooveshark playing Ska and Dubstep and art supplies handy Ian is ready to work, or be stranded on a dessert island in peace. Although Ian was not sure how he felt about Dubstep, I reassured him that “haters are going to hate” and that it is fine to Lub the Dub. 

Thanks to Ian Bullock for meeting with me! I leave you with this clip from our interview where I ask, “What is the best part about being a developer in London, Canada” and hear about Ian’s experience at the DIG Conference.

Katie Wilhelm is a Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the London Economic Development Corporation. The top 3 things she is good at are The Internet, Photoshop and listening to Eddie Murphy’s “Party all the Time.” Follow her on twitter today: @KatieWilhelm

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EXTREME SPACE: The Relocation & Style of Digital Extremes Ltd.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Trisha Beausaert

Tucked into the corner at the end of a hall, two sets of glass double doors and a mounted security feature, a fingerprint scanner, form the discreet entrance to a London-based, world-class, video game development studio. The modern, immaculate lobby is small with a salvaged wooden barn door hung on the wall. The large weather-worn door bears the stainless-steel logo of the company, which modestly discloses the space you have entered: unassuming, stylish, contemporary, and warm are your humble first impressions. It is only after leaving the small lobby and rounding the hall corner in search of the company’s president that one’s jaw drops. 30 000 square feet of converted warehouse space and over 180 bustling employees stretch out before you. Heavy-duty, bright blue cables snake across the space high above your head, suspended by metal cages. Several gargantuan, orange nylon flowers rise up amongst the endless rows of pristine, cream-coloured desks and cubicles, with petals perched on the various cubicle corners like giant prehistoric butterflies. The various colours in the open space- including those of action figures on desks and framed game posters- are vibrant, framed by clean white walls and a mix of contemporary grey carpets and glazed cement floors. Thick painted swaths of orange wrap around the room, discernible through the glass walls of the bright offices that are visible from where you are rooted to the ground in awe.

This is the new office of Digital Extremes Ltd. 

Ranked as “one of the world’s top development studios in the interactive entertainment industry,” Digital Extremes is responsible for the multi-player portion of Bioshock 2, the PC version of Homefront, and for the creation of the blockbuster, The Darkness II. Founded by the company’s current CEO, James Schmalz in 1993, the company has experienced significant success and growth since Schmalz’s Epic Pinball game in the early nineties. Digital Extremes is currently working on the development of Star Trek and Warframe, two of the year’s most anticipated games.

Making the move in October 2011, one cannot deny that Digital Extremes Ltd.’s relocation to this extreme space in downtown London was a practical one. According to the company’s president, Michael Schmalz, brother of James, an expired lease and insufficient space were the main reasons for the move. With the opportunity to move, the list of requirements for the new office grew: “We wanted to be on one floor, which is really hard to find [when] we also knew that we needed about thirty-thousand square feet of space,” Michael explains. “We have a lot of young people on staff, so we wanted to make sure that we were downtown. Parking was also important. After deciding on those needs, the list of available spaces that met those needs was pretty short. Then this place came up.” However, it wasn’t love at first sight for the company’s president; “At first, the space was just depressing. I took one look, and I was ready to move on and see the next place on the list. It took some imagination to reach the potential.”

Starting with “absolutely nothing- a sterile space-“ the design process and implementation took 6 months, and was undertaken by the company’s VP of Communications, Meridith Braun. The new Digital Extremes location went from sterile and empty, to stylish and functional. The entirely custom-designed space includes a built-in theatre often used for large meetings to discuss in-depth game features on a colossal screen with a sound system capable of reaching 10 000 watts. Michael jokes “it will make your ears bleed, but we wanted it.” There is also a full commercial kitchen with three full-time chefs, an employee lounge and a stocked bar complete with a ping pong table, a pool table and modern fireplace. Between the theatre and lounge space, there is a space for game analysts to test new games, a large corporate meeting room, and a sound room. It is in the sound room that Fanshawe educated sound engineers use swords and other props to record realistic sound effects for projects in-house. Glass-walled offices split the space in two halves for the separate teams that work on different projects simultaneously. The entire office is trimmed with antique wood reclaimed from a barn outside of London that is over a hundred years old. And what was it like to move 180 employees, including critical servers and technology? “It wasn’t as bad as you think,” Michael smiles. “A lot was left behind at the old place [for the next tenants]. It wasn’t like we packed everything up into eighteen moving trucks. Everyone took just took their chairs, computers, and personal affects. That was it. We moved into a space where everything was brand-new.”

From the wooden beams in the ceiling of the coffee nook and up-cycled cream and orange vinyl booths to the industrial light fixtures and velvet King Louis armchairs in front of the fireplace, it is safe to say that the Digital Extremes office space packs a punch. However, Michael Schmalz insists that they are not quite settled yet, “Everything is still too white for us. We have our original artwork we would like to hang and use to personalize the space.”  Looking around, it is hard to believe that there is still more work and personalization to be done to such an extreme space that perfectly represents what the studio is celebrated for: creativity, innovation, and the pushing of industry standards. “For the most part, everything is working out well, and we are 98% there.” 

See the slideshow below for more Images of Digital Extremes:

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DIG London 2012 Twitter Contest: Halfbot Codes

DIG 2012 is proud to announce that today, Wednesday August 8^th, a new Twitter contest will be taking place! Halfbot, an independent game developer founded in 2010 by Derek Laufman and Melvin Samuel in London, ON, has made available a limited number of game codes. The codes unlock Halfbot’s “The Blocks Cometh,” a game where “the world is crumbling around you and your only chance for survival is to climb.” Halfbot uses codes that are made to be played on Apple handheld devices, making “The Blocks Cometh” experience innovative and mobile. 

 DIG’s “Codes in an Hour” twitter contest will start at 11am, with a new game code released every fifteen minutes. To win the code to Halfbot’s “The Blocks Cometh,” entrants must do 2 simple things:

1. Follow @DIGLondon on Twitter
2. Retweet the original DIG Contest Post (containing hashtag #DIG2012Contest)

Winners who successfully complete the 2 requirements will be randomly selected and contacted by DIG London social media personnel.

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The Freelancers Guide to DIG : Why One Girl Decided to Attend

Savanah Sewell (JLC) & Katie Wilhelm (LEDC) of 379 Collective at DIG 2010

DIG London is an exciting experience for game and web developers, where us industry folk can come together at Canada’s largest Digital Interactive conference.

As a past DIG attendee, I wanted to share from the prospective of a young developer attending the conference; those questioning whether or not to go, READ ON.

Walking into the busy room, laptop on my hip and pen in hand, I stopped at the doorway to gaze inside the Convention Centre’s grand ballroom. Artists, developers, engineers and programmers walking around tweeting on their smart phones and utilizing today’s top technology in the same room as me. I caught the Networking bug and began shaking hands like a whacky waving inflatable arm flailing tube woman. The contacts made through the first day of the conference not only inflated my twitter followers count, but won me new business and some pretty awesome new friends.

Friendly chatter aside, when it came down to dull the lights and use that pen that I had not lost yet I was instantly glad that I came. The Information and Knowledge about all aspects of industry was something that I did not learn in school. I read a lot of blogs, tutorials and general news feeds but there is something to be said about the social merit in person-to-person engagement. I realized that this human being standing behind the podium knows a lot of things that I don’t, and I have the opportunity to rub elbows and pick their brain. Living off ramen noodles and energy drinks, these chances do not arise often for a college student and “freelancer,” and for such a great price.

Needless to say, I returned the following year with a slightly better computer and a brand new pen that I had picked up from an exhibitor booth because obviously I lost the other one. Having a decent pocket of contacts and new friends attending with me, I was able to spread my digital wings and Explore the conference. A room filled with wonderment called DIGX showcasing interactive workshops caught my A.D.D. in the best kind of way. Travelling from exhibitor booth to exhibitor booth I was able to share my witty banter with more industry professionals and win even more business. Score for the Katers.

Surrounded by new friends and peers at the DIG After Party, I wound down and buckled in for my wild ride into fun-town, I had a non-refundable one way ticket to party-ville with a purpose: to Connect on a personal level with all these geniuses I just heard speak. I ran out of business cards and left feeling pretty special.

Here we are, going into another year of DIG and a familiar feeling is stirring inside of me. Now I am helping to spread the word about DIG and working with the amazing group of people who put this thing together. I have never been a bigger fan than right now of this conference and know that I still have a lot to learn and a lot of hands to shake.

Young and seasoned professionals alike, trust me when I say that you are going to “DIG” this year’s conference on November 14, 2012. Too much? Maybe I can improve my stand-up act this year... J

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Katie Wilhelm is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for the London Economic Development Corporation. She enjoys gold nail polish, graffiti art and a good RSS feed.
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Video Game Development in London Ontario

Vikas Sharma 

London Ontario is quickly becoming a strong contender in the global development field.

Many people aren’t aware of the remarkable development companies in London Ontario, but they have put London on the map. This post will highlight some of London’s incredible game development companies and in a later post we will cover digital media companies. The companies I will be highlighting are Digital Extremes, Big Blue Bubble, Antic Entertainment, and Big Viking Games.

Digital Extremes:

Digital Extremes (DE) started its journey with a game many of us have played in our leisure time, Epic Pinball. The first time I realized that Epic Pinball was made in London I was proud to know that such a well-known game came from my home town. Digital Extremes is mostly known for Unreal and Unreal Tournament: both legendary games have set a bench-mark for first person shooters. DE also worked on last year’s blockbuster hit Darkness 2, which introduced a brand new graphic style, cell shading, which made the game look almost like a comic book. Digital Extremes is currently working on the much anticipated Star Trek The Game, and are creating an in house free to play game called Warframe. With an ever-growing list of AAA titles DE is solidifying its name in the gaming industry. The diversity of their portfolio makes them an iconic Canadian game developer.

Big Blue Bubble:

Big Blue Bubble’s continued success can be attributed to their radical research and development efforts. The company has created games for all platforms; which no small feat for any developer.  Big Blue Bubble has provided customers many different gameplay styles and has successfully captured gamers from casual to hard-core. Paper Munchers really got me interested in their work. The game’s physics and character design are engaging and entertaining. Big Blue Bubble is very active in supporting the local video game community by speaking and promoting local gaming meet-ups.

Antic Entertainment:

Antic Entertainment makes casual games for hard-core players. Many would think it is difficult to create casual games and still have a hard-core player interested in playing, yet Antic has shown that it is possible game after game. With games like Zombie Misfits, Platoonz, and Junk Wars Antic Entertainment provides the player with a very addictive gaming experience. Zombie Misfits was the first Antic game I played. It’s a tower defense style game with graphics that are above the norm for social games. The gaming experience it created kept me coming back for more. In a time when social media and social games are on the rise, Antic provides a relief for the hard-core player who doesn’t have the time to play console games.

Big Viking Games:

Big Viking Games is Canada's leading social and mobile game development studio who is passionate about creating amazing games that are played and enjoyed by millions of people all over the world.

Founded in 2011, Big Viking Games has quickly gained recognition for its innovative game design. I heard that they are working on some amazing new projects, which will take the social world by surprise. I am really looking forward to the new releases by Big Viking Games, and I know they will turn me into a social player.

London Ontario has a very successful and large gaming community, and the game development companies are assisting in keeping the community strong. They have made it possible for indie developers to gain experience and learn from these large gaming companies. With the support of Digital Extremes, Big Blue Bubble, Antic Entertainment, and Big Viking Games DIG is able to enhance its program year after year. 

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To Market, To Market, We Will Go!

Trisha Beausart

DIG is the ideal place to start and advance a career. Between the industry and schools exhibiting, DIG showcases a growing industry that is in demand. Experts, amateurs, and students can network and explore opportunities and advances in their respective fields.

The digital interactive industry is full of “research and Innovation jobs.” A recent report by Toronto Region Research Alliance, “Research & Innovation Jobs: Opportunities and Challenges in the Toronto Region Labour Market,” outlines the definition for a research and innovation job as:

“[an occupation] that incorporate elements of either research or innovation . . . in science and technology fields, and require university or college studies. R&I jobs fall within the broader scope of ‘knowledge economy’ jobs, which can be identified as those jobs requiring higher levels of knowledge and/or training and a broadly based skill set.”

According to TRRA’s report, DIG industries are one of the technologically-advanced industries experiencing a growing demand for skilled and talented workers. The report proves that it is not your grandparents’ job market. Rewind to a generation or two ago, and DIG industries barely existed. Now, specialized degrees are the standard, as is a passion and drive to succeed in the chosen field against amplified competition. In addition to the new standards, is how social media has changed the way the younger population approach employment. Employees find fulfillment and inspiration through social engagement. Work and leisure have become inextricably linked, and what we do in our “off-hours” affects and shapes what we do while we are “on the clock.”

Knowledge-based are now about fulfilment and interest, rather than about just about “bringing home the bacon.” However, in the IT industry, the bacon is a nice addition. According to a recent article run by the Globe and Mail, “Six Jobs with Six-Figure Salariesin Tech and Digital Worlds,” “[the] 2012 Salary Guide, by Robert Half Technology and the Creative Group, found that information architects, data-security analysts and user-experience (UX) designers often enjoy compensation of $100,000 or more. “ As well, “[the] high pay reflects the high demand for workers with these skills, as companies invest more in information technology and the digital world.” It is no wonder that the research-and-innovation job market is booming. Between increased access to specialized-post secondary education and the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s (OMDC) investment in the industry, the talent for the sector is in high demand as job opportunities are plentiful.

It is because of the industry growth, partiality, and availability of R&I jobs in Canada that the DIG conference is relevant, and growing every year. With the focus on the various branches of the digital interactive development sector, DIG is the ideal event to attend. The conference supports information-sharing, networking, and a collaborative experience as individuals at all stages and levels in the industry can discuss and show what they’re passionate about. As well, job-seekers can have their questions answered in-person about what it takes to break into the market, and how to succeed once there. All participants at the conference are keenly aware of the significance of their professions in the growing and changing entertainment and business worlds, especially at a time when other professions are not as stable moving forward. Taking into consideration the market and demand for tech-centric jobs, DIG is the best career move you’ll make this year. 

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DIG and the Olympic Athlete Symbiosis

With the hype around the London 2012 summer Olympics abounding I had a Eureka moment recently: Olympic athletes and digital interactive professionals are extremely similar performers. Farfetched you say? Then read on young computer jockey.

Specialization and the Mere Mortal

Each position in the digital production world suits a different individual, just like each sport suits a different athlete.

A runner is not going to do gymnast training, and an artist is typically not going to be proficient in programming. Of course there is the occasional cross-over, but that person is a machine and a god among mortals. If you are one of these people, let us know because we’d all like to praise you. 

Trying to do it all usually results in the infamous burnout. The metrics of trying to do 4 things at once delineates to 25% of your effort to each thing.  Specialization is a good thing and will have you playing with the big dogs at expert level eventually, with some help from our next point...

There is No Spoon 

Focus and dedication: uncompromised, unconditional and uncanny. As Dr. Marco Cardinale, head of sports science and research of the British Olympic Association puts it, “What separates Olympic athletes from the rest of us is their mind set and dedication.” And really, what other professional has no problem staying up for 24+ hours working on a project?  We are amazing.

A clear mind accompanied with hours of training and fine tuning to the industry skills creates a gold medal winner, hence why DIG pulls the best of the best to coach and share their knowledge.

Stay Fuelled

This just in: without proper nourishment the body and the mind cannot perform at optimum levels. Both Olympians and desktop athletes are versed in this principle. A level of fitness is required to do any task no matter how small, and being free of injury permits the creation of the good stuff. A balanced diet, fitness regimen and adequate rest will go a long way in making sure that you are running at full speed: keep your head in the game!

GOOOOOOOAL!!1

The feeling of scoring a goal in any sport is the adrenaline rush that a completed website or game creates in digital interactive gurus everywhere. The ultimate score and the end goal is to improve performance, that may mean honing skills and earning some medals before levelling up or just becoming stronger in general within a defined field. 

To be the best, you gotta train with the best and ally yourself with the people who have scored game winning goals and are giving out the medals.  At the DIG arena, we put our attendees through rigorous training and hours of physical and mental activity that is currently unmatched in this country. Just kidding, it’s not that rigorous, it’s just plain fun and that’s why we have the best jobs in the world.

So when you are watching the 2012 Summer Olympics this July I hope you have the same eureka moment as I did and realize, “hey bud, we aren’t so different you and me.” While the Olympians may have the bodies of Adonis’s  the strength of Hercules we can stand to learn something and affiliate ourselves with the key points that keep us all close to the flame.

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 Katie Wilhelm is a Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the London Economic Development Corporation. In her spare time, she enjoys producing electronic music and working on her tan. Follow her on twitter today: @KatieWilhelm

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