Firstly, could you introduce yourself, tell us what games you’ve worked on, how long you’ve been designing games and what you’re favourite games are?
My name is Simon Neech and I’m a Game Designer at Fuzzyeyes Studio, creators of the upcoming Edge of Twilight.  I’ve been officially involved in the game industry for around 4 years (within 3 separate studios) although I have been following its development and products, in one way or other, for decades.  Titles I’ve contributed to so far are: Destroy All Humans 2, Fury and Battlestar Galactica but as a hobby I’ve played, modded and tinkered with hundreds of games before these.
My list of favorite games is in constant flux; the release of new titles has me swinging between genres varying from simple puzzle games to detailed RTS’s. The platforms I play these on are similarly varied: from PC, to Xbox 360, PSP and recently the iPhone.  My favorite game at the time of writing is Anno 1404 but this could easily slip to Battlefield 1943 in the next few days.

You started out as in QA right?  Can you tell us a bit about the transition from QA to game design?  Is this a path you can recommend to people wanting to get into the games industry?
QA was a fun and rewarding experience which, although I didn’t know it at the time, allowed me to acquire skills that would assist me in my future career. I gained first hand experience with the production process that included stages of game development, asset pipelines and even commonly used jargon.  The transition period between the two careers was fairly smooth; I basically went from identifying and documenting bugs within games to creating the bugs myself!
But yes, I would have to agree that working in QA is a great way to break into the industry. Of course, game companies employ testers to assure the quality of their product and not to lay groundwork for a potential career in design; so you need to start down this route with the correct attitude.  When I was first employed, I was overjoyed just to have a role within the industry, in whatever capacity.  I dedicated myself to this position until I found myself in the right place, at the right time and with the right level of experience to start down the design path.  Realistically, I could have continued to do QA for a lot longer and would still be regularly skipping happily to work to this day.

When we worked together you came up with a pitch for a game design almost weekly.  Talk us through the process you take when turning an idea into a document you can pitch to the team.
A simple way to develop a pitching method is to practice on anyone with the patience to listen.  Feedback is your friend, even though it can be devastatingly honest.  My personal process starts with a broad idea. I mentally play through this game idea; over and over until I’ve clocked it on hard difficulty and unlocked all the achievements. When I’m satisfied that it’s something worth developing further, I then document it.  This is the stage where major design flaws become apparent; the relationship between the games constituent parts can often reveal fatal inconsistencies.
My pitch documents consist of two parts: an introductory overview followed by descriptions of the individual features that make the game unique.  The overview should address the basics, such as genre, perspective, platform, intended audience etc. The feature list includes the elements that truly define the idea. These need to be refined into easily relatable terms, while avoiding the trap of micro-explanation; something that will quickly lose peoples interest. The end result should be a few condensed pages, using examples of similar games to clarify points if necessary.

Many people I talk to aspire to becoming a game designer.  What recommendations would you have for game designers who are looking to break into the industry?
In preparation for a design position within the industry, there are many avenues of study that will teach you the tools of the trade.  But before this, I would advise potential designers to simply analyze the games they enjoy playing.  Scrutinize the graphics, sound and gameplay; immerse yourself in the nuances of story and narrative and imagine ways in which you could improve them.  Like most products, the technology and art of games are built upon the many iterations that comes before them.  Having a firm understanding of these, to see what’s been done well in the past and what has not will prepare you for the design challenges ahead.

You’ve used a number of game engines for the various games you’ve worked on.  Could you tell us a little about what you like and dislike in an engine as a game designer.
Overall, Unreal 3 is the engine I have the most experience with.  It’s a powerful design tool for developing games such as Edge of Twilight.  Prior to this, I’ve worked with propriety engines and have even used the accessible editing tools that often get bundled with commercially available games.
As a designer, I consider versatility as the most important attribute of an engine; the ability to accomplish unforeseen tasks at a scripting level really assists the smooth flow of design.  Currently, I work on many facets of the game, but mainly concern myself with camera implementation used to observe the game world. The Unreal engine has allowed me to implement a wide variety of camera techniques, despite its freecam FPS roots not being generally designed to achieve this.

Do you think the growing team sizes and budgets for games is good for the industry?
I think the growing budget of games is a double edged sword.  On the one hand, a large budget contributes to high production values, enhancing the gameplay and narrative experience.  On the other hand, huge budgets carry inherent risks and these risks create a tendency to mold games into predictable, clichéd and ultimately safe titles that achieve little in breaking new ground.
Fuzzyeyes, as an independent developer, balances big budget production with the freedom to explore new possibilities, especially in regards to mature themes. Our storyline, aimed at an adult audience, would probably be toned down in a more mainstream studio.
Of course, as in other creative industries such as film, there is a niche to be filled for games with a wide range of budgets; anywhere from many millions of dollars to free!

You’re currently working on “Edge of Twilight” at Fuzzyeyes.  Can you tell us a little about it?
Edge of Twilight is a third person, action adventure game set in alternate, steampunk themed, universe.  For those not familiar with the term;  ‘Steampunk’ is an aesthetic style based on a modern interpretation of  Victorian-era society and engineering.
The player will assume the role of Lex, an outcast bounty hunter who is a cross between two opposing races; the industrial Athern and spiritual Lithern.  Game play will be split between combat, puzzle-solving and exploration. These elements will in turn be split between two parallel planes of reality that only Lex can traverse; the Lithern influenced night realm, and the industrial, Athern dominated day realm.

What would be your perfect project to work on?
For me, the perfect project would be to develop a game that I truly wanted to play on completion. In this regard, all the games I have worked on can be classed as ‘perfect’ projects! As a long term personal goal, I would like to work on a game from my own repertoire of ideas; taking it from the very initial concept stages right through to release.