We often mention our team in terms of "Amplidudes and Amplidudettes", but we haven't talked about them in a while. Today, we decided we'd do just that. Introducing our new (semi-)regular feature, Meet the Team! If you want to know more about us, or your nephew wants to learn more about the career path of a game developer, or if you're just curious, read on.
We're starting the series with one of the more regular faces around the forums, Maxence, aka Meedoc!
Who are you and what do you do at Amplitude?
I’m Maxence, also known as Meedoc on the forums. I’ve joined Amplitude as a game designer at the end of Endless Space, and kept working on the different games since then as a game designer (more or less involved, depending on the project obviously). At the moment I’m completely focused on Endless Space 2, trying to build a legendary space 4X.
What were you doing before you joined Amplitude?
Well, I studied game design and project management in a French school, in the north of France. After my last year internship, I struggled a bit to find a job (you know, being a newbie is always hard whatever the industry is). After a few months, I landed interviews with both Amplitude and Ubisoft, eventually getting an offer for both jobs. I had two possibilities: joining an unknown weird French company or joining the behemoth Ubisoft to work with the Rayman Legend team. I jumped on Amplitude’s boat obviously! Never regretted my choice.
When did you join the studio?
As said above, at the end of Endless Space, in June 2012. It’s been almost 3 years and half I’m here, and I hope to stay even more making cool games!
What feature have you worked on that you're super proud of?
I’m rarely proud of my work…. Honestly, every feature is teamwork, so it’s hard to appropriate one idea. So I’d say that I’m proud of all the games I’ve worked on until now:
- Endless Space
- Endless Legend
- Dungeon of the Endless (even if it was only shortly)
- Endless Space 2 (even if it’s not done yet)
What are you currently working on?
Endless Space 2... On lots of stuff that I hope will please you once you get your hands on it!
What's your favorite game of all time?
I think it is Soldier of Fortune II. Yeah it’s a weird choice, but I’ve spent thousands of hours playing with friends from high school, and strangers from the Net. It was the first time I was involved in a competitive scene and creating a social connection with unknown people from the Internet. In the end, ten years later I still speak with most of the guys I played with at that time.
The human experience might weigh a lot in my consideration, but it’s also one of the best FPS gameplays. With their leaning mechanics, it was like you were dancing, avoiding your opponent’s bullets. It was amazing!
Besides that, there are plenty of games I love. That helped me build my vision and pushed me into game development.
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
I’ve started a website once, and I should update it soon: http://meedoc.net
I try to put there the various games I make during game jams, and I like to spend time writing on game design and theory.
What's your favorite faction or character in our games?
I’m fond of Mizi Kurtiz from Dungeon of the Endless. Faction-wise I’d say that one my favorites is the Harmony.
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
A bunch of stories happened to me… Which one should I tell?
Okay, let’s go for a soft one. In late 2013, while we were working on new exciting projects (Dungeon of the Endless just reached Early Access, our brains were focused on Endless Legend…), we had our annual Christmas party. We did it in the kitchen of our office, ordered Lebanese food, got some beers (and other booze)…
We had great fun all together, discussing our plan for the coming holidays… Suddenly, I decided to celebrate the release of the Vaulters in Endless Space, which just occurred in December. However, improvising a Vaulters cosplay isn’t that easy…. So I asked the artists that were still around if they would paint Pilgrim tattoos on my face. Thankfully, they weren’t too drunk and we had some white and blue make-up pens at the office! Aurélien (one of our artists) was brave enough to face the challenge, and drew on my face for 10 minutes, while the others were laughing…
That’s how I’ve done my first (and sole) cosplay of Endless Space; and maybe the first ever.
What obscure movie would you recommend watching?
Beware! It’s not an easy movie to watch, and I don’t know if it’s that obscure, but at least it’s not well-known by our generation. It’s a movie I’ve seen recently (I think it was last year) and it’s considered as one of the most disgusting movies ever made. If you’re sensitive or under 18, you shouldn’t watch it. The movie is named “Pink Flamingos”: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069089/
(I had another movie, but it’s a French one, so I’ll just link it quickly without explaining anything on it as most of you won’t be able to watch it :\ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260556/)
What's the most played song in your music library?
It’s not the absolute most played song in my library, it’s a song that means a lot to me as it influenced my journey. I had known for a while that I wanted to become a game designer later, but after high school, I went into computer science studies. I had like one hour of commute to go there, so I spent a lot of time reading and listening to music, and especially one song: “Ti cul” from “Les Cowboys Fringants”, a Québécois (French Canadian) band who sing in French [Music video here].
Bottom line: it’s a song about believing in yourself, and to keep trying to do what you really want to do without giving up. It pushed me to drop my studies after a few months, instead of completing them, and to really focus on what I wanted to do: and becoming game designer making games.
I still listen to it from time to time, to remember that I’m both lucky to do what I do and to never lose my spirit.
That's it for Maxence!
We hope you found this interesting. Comments or additional questions, feel free to ask!
