Name: Tim Train
Title: Producer/Designer
LDespot: What did you do for SMG?
Tim Train: My main contribution was writing,
editing, shooting, and producing the multimedia footage in the game. This was a lot of
fun, and involved combing through hundreds of hours of archival footage, as well as a trip
to 1997's Gettysburg re-enactment for a little filming. I also assisted with the
marketing\PR effort on the product, and worked on many miscellaneous development support
tasks, such as manual writing, playbalance, and tutorials.
LDespot: What are you working on for Alpha
Centauri?
Tim Train: Two main tasks: working with Brian
on the game design, and organizing parts of the development effort. I'll also probably be
writing the manual, providing marketing support, and assisting Mike Ely with the
multimedia.
LDespot: How did you end up at Firaxis?
Tim Train: I'd worked with Sid on several
products; the original Civilization was one of my first assignments as a MicroProse
playtester, and I tested every single port of Civ that came out in the next three years.
I'd also been friends with Brian since joining a group of bridge players at MicroProse
four or five years ago; that group included other industry notables like Sandy Petersen,
Doug Kauffman, and Al Roireau. My first project with Brian was Civ II, where I worked on
the multimedia with Mike Ely. When Brian and Sid left for Firaxis, I hoped they'd need a
multimedia guy, and so they did!
LDespot: Are there any suggestions you would
have for someone trying to get a job in the game industry in a position similar to your
own?
Tim Train: Learn C, and work and play well
with others.
If you are just starting out, playtest is a great
entry-level position; you work with lots of different teams, see all sorts of projects,
and make your professional mistakes early. You get a lot of exposure as well. It's an
oft-repeated comparison, but Playtest is much like the Hollywood mailroom in the
1920s--the place where the delivery boy catches the eye of some bigwig, and gets his big
chance.
Previous: Greg Foertsch
- Next: Mike Ely
Back to the Focus on Firaxis
main page
