MIGS2010: A talk with Olivier Proulx and Ollie Sykes
Fortunately for me, the very busy team of Producer Olivier Proux and Creative Director Ollie Sykes from EA Mobile had a bit of time for an interview. A couple years ago I was one of the lucky NAD student to have had Ollie Sykes as a design teacher and so it was with much anticipation that I couldn’t wait to meet them.
Producer Olivier Proux @ EA Mobile
Olivier Proulx is an industry veteran that has been in the games industry since 2001 working on notable games such as Scrabble and Tetris for Ipad, Rock Band for Iphone, SimCity Metropolis and Trivial Pursuit Mobile. Ollie Sykes, also an industry veteran who worked at Psygnosis, Ubisoft UK, DC Studios and EA is now heading the think-outside-the-box department of EA Mobile. Tasked with creating new games he makes sure to use the latest mobile devices such as the Iphone, Ipad, Android and others to their fullest potential.
Creative Director Ollie Sykes @ EA Mobile
I asked Olivier and Ollie about the plus-side and challenges of working with smaller teams and projects with shorter development cycles. Olivier explained to me that this actually pushes creativity and helps the teams stay motivated and challenged about constantly innovating. He also added that the team really takes user feedback seriously for it is what really helps the team improve their product and drive it to always be better.
I asked both developers what game they enjoyed the most working on and playing with. They both agreed they loved Rock Band as a developer and as a player. Olivier also added the Ipad products like Scrabble were an amazing experience.
I also made an interesting observation regarding Ollie Sykes; for any aspiring designers studying at the NAD Centre, Ollie is the first designer we meet. He is a senior in the industry and has been teaching for a long time as well. He is at ease with people and well outspoken. For every designer I’ve met that has attended NAD as a student; Ollie Sykes becomes our idol and legend. He is basically what inspires every students in design to keep on going and get in to the industry. Sykes laughed and thanked me but I must say: I mentioned that as a fact. You become our first live idol of the industry to each and every one of us. Olivier added he is assured that the design team is in very good hands over at EA Mobile with a veteran like Ollie.
To all future NAD students; you will see what I mean.
