Hey guys and gals!
We often mention our team in terms of "Amplidudes and Amplidudettes", but we decided we should give you folks an idea of who we mean. You've guessed it, it's time for another installment of our (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.
Some call him Grandpa, other call him names, meet Nicolas, aka Marcelo!
Who are you and what do you do at Amplitude?
Hello! I'm Nicolas and my username on the forums is Marcelo_O. I am a Producer at Amplitude and I have been for more than two years in charge of Endless Space 2. My work consists in... well actually I do the same as Laurent. :p Do I really have to write this again here? I manage production teams (artists, programmers and external collaborators) with the help of my Associate producer, JP. I am pretty much the central hub for all these lovely people and I make sure everything goes well. :)
What were you doing before you joined Amplitude?
I have gone through many different jobs before I joined the gaming industry. I started as a Programmer for Renault (the car manufacturer), then I was a bartender in London for a year, then I went back to studying to switch careers towards art then game design. After this, I spent three years in a start-up making casual games on PC where I did a little bit of everything and ended up as Project manager. I then did web project management for two years, before coming back to games when I became Producer at Arkedo where I worked with SEGA on Hell Yeah!
Eventually, I joined Amplitude as Producer on Endless Space 2. :)
When did you join the studio?
I joined the studio three years ago now.
What feature have you worked on that you're super proud of?
I don't work on features, I make others do it!!! For the anecdote, I worked on Endless Legend's tutorial with the Marketing director (Skamaks) and a Game designer (Kaboomer). It took us over two months to write the fifteen pages document, which for a lack of time were cut down to one page... Sadface.
What are you currently working on?
I manage production on Endless Space 2. It's becoming more and more intense!
What's your favorite game of all time?
17 year-old, sprightly young me would surely say Final Fantasy VII, 23 year-old me would say Jak and Daxter, old me would say Red Dead Redemption!
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
Youpo... Oh no I meant, no... hum... What was the question again? :)
What's your favorite race or character in our games?
I love the Hissho and the Cravers in Endless Space. I'm a fan of the Necrophages and the Forgotten in Endless Legend, and I'm crazy about this race I can't yet talk about in Endless Space 2! :D
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
I shot a nerf dart in one of our Game designers' eye (sorry Meedoc!), I ruined my back goofing around on a hoverboard, and I'm also the guy Michaël broke his ribs on during our ski seminar last year. I'd like to reiterate that it was his fault entirely. I've done many other silly things but to enumerate them all would make for a pretty long list... ;) The short of it is that I'm a gaffe specialist.
What's your favorite quote?
"You’re the doc, Doc." Back to the Future II
What's your favorite fictional character?
I think I'll will go for Kaneda (Akira) and Marty McFly (Back to the Future), I have seen the movie like 10 000 times and read Akira over and over since I was 8!!! ;)
That's it for Nicolas! We hope you found this interesting. Comments or additional questions, feel free to comment!
If there's a question you would like us to ask the interviewees, let us know!
