Aiming high with Black Rock Studio

Inspiring kids through a mentorship scheme.

'Aim High' for the TV channel Disney XD is a new competition designed to get boys to aim high in life, try new things and be the best they can be through a series of mentorships with dedicated and inspiring professionals. In addition to mentors including Stuart Broad (England cricketer), Darren Bent (Sunderland football player) and Tinchy Stryder (UK NO.1 pop rapper), the video game industry is being represented by Brighton-based Black Rock Studio.

Last week we caught up with Black Rock's Ian Hudson and Steve Rockett, two of the men responsible for the studio's highly regarded off road racer Pure and recent arcade racer Split/Second. Ian is a 14-year veteran of the video games industry, while Steve is responsible for driving the new development of Black Rock’s Audio department.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Ian Hudson: I'm the lead track designer. I've been working at Black Rock for ten years now. I'm in charge of the track design team. We've just finished split second and previous to that we did Pure.

Q: How did you get involved with the Aim High mentorship campaign?

IH: One of the prizes is to show people around Black Rock studio. I thought it was a really exciting thing to do so I tried to get in on it. I wanted to get involved and show the kids how we make the tracks.

The winners will have the afternoon with us. We'll show them around the studio, show them how we made the tracks on Split/Second. From concept stage, all the processes, all the tools. Let them have a go and create a track or something. It should be really cool.

Q: Do you think video games as a career path should be encouraged at schools?

IH: I think it should be. I think it's a lot more common now. It is a valid career now. I don't really know what it's like now at school - how they perceive it - but when I was at school nothing like this was pushed. I guess video games weren't mainstream.

Q: Something like maths is quite a valuable skill.

IH: I think everyone should be encouraged to have a solid base. Whether it is to fall back on or as a way to start out. Something like maths or even computer science.

Q: To all those out there thinking about a career in video games, what advice can you give them?

IH: Obviously the biggest advise is to play games. Try to recognise what makes a good game or a bad game. I polled a lot of the designers at the studio to find out how they got into the studio. Amazingly, one of the top answers was just writing letters to the studios; just finding out what they were after and whether they could get in on work experience.

Q: So don't be afraid to ask?

IH: Yeah definitely. You might strike it lucky. Maybe one studio is hiring and are looking for someone - you could fill that role. Don't give up.

Q: It's all about getting a foot in the door.

IH: Yeah, I'm surprised how many here got a job just by sending in a letter.

Q: As a UK-based development studio tax breaks must be a pretty hot topic down their in Brighton. What's your take on the situation? Do you foresee an exodus of talent and jobs to countries such as Canada and France where schemes are in place to attract video game professionals?

[PR interjection] No comment.

Q: OK then. What do you hope the winners of the Aim High scheme will take away from the experience?

IH: That it is an exciting job. There are so many different roles and they'll see that. Hopefully they'll take away that it's a cool job and that it is a viable career. It is possible to work in games and if they are interested in it they should aim for it.

Will they get to see what you are working on next?

IH: The program is more about how we've made the tracks on Split/Second. They'll be taken through the process, rather than any new products.