Hey everyone!
We're back with another Meet the Team! Take a peek inside the studio, learn more about the many careers and paths that led our collaborators to join Amplitude!
If you want to know more about us, or your niece wants to learn more about the career path of a game developer, or if you're just curious, read on.
The United Empire has infiltrated our ranks... Meet Noah, aka Kynrael!
Who are you and what is your job at Amplitude?
Hi! I’m Noah, a Game Designer. I joined Amplitude last October as a technical oriented Game Designer (to be fair, we all are!) to help out on Endless Space 2, which had just come to Early Access. My main tasks have been focused on balancing (hero skills, game economy, market trade…), integration (heroes, major factions, ships) and design / work on a few features (marketplace, trading companies, some of the scan views, work on ground battles…). Quite a handful!
What were you doing before you joined the studio?
I was working at a Serious Game company as a Game Designer / Project Manager. Serious games were interesting at first, but there isn’t always a big margin to be creative. After wrapping up an interesting project there, I decided I wanted to try something else. And I ended up at Amplitude!
What do you like the most at Amplitude?
There’s a lot to like! Of course, our games are great fun and interesting to work on. But I think the best definitely is the team – a lot of passionate, talented people who make going to work a real pleasure!
What have you worked on that you're super proud of?
I think that Endless Space 2’s Marketplace is the feature I’m most proud of. Getting it to feel right, lively and in tune with what happens in the galaxy was a big challenge (involving many people!), and having it mentioned as one of the game’s strengths in Rock, Paper, Shotgun’s review was extremely rewarding.
What are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on the Fighters / Bombers update. Big challenge there too – it changes how space battles play out, introducing a whole new layer of gameplay, so a lot of parameters to take into account and make sure everything feels right!
What's your favorite game of all time?
Difficult question for a Game Designer! I used to answer Dwarf Fortress & Half-Life 2 as my two favorite games – two very different experiences of course, one is an extremely polished action game which kind of opened the road for “blockbuster” type games (arguably even earlier with HL1), and Dwarf Fortress is the simulation paradise and really fun to play around with, but the polish is pretty much inexistent! However, my current favorite game is definitely Kerbal Space Program. There’s just something about space travel…
What’s the game you dream of creating?
There’s no one game I dream of creating. I love trying out new genres and finding new avenues to explore! Well, there is a game idea I’ve had for some time, exploring human relations aboard a spaceship with a pseudo-scientific simulation of the ship systems. I’m not sure what it would look like really, but as I said previously, space travel fascinates me and I’ve always wondered how long term travel would impact human society.
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
Sure! My portfolio is over here: http://noahyoung4.wixsite.com/noah-young-portfolio
Now I’m realizing I haven’t updated it in a while (and I should). It’s a Game Designer’s portfolio so there isn’t so much to see, but you might find something you enjoy (who knows?).
What's your favorite race or character in our games?
The United Empire. It’s not because they are basically communists in space. It’s not that at all – it’s their, uh, starting techs that I really enjoy. Yeah, let’s say that’s the reason why I love them so much.
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
So, in France Epiphany’s (Three Kings' Day) basically become a secular celebration when we eat “Galette des Rois”, and we have this weird tradition when dividing up the slices that the youngest should go beneath the table and call out people’s names to give them their slice. I thought I was safe ; I’m amongst the youngest here, but WeaponizedCaffeine is even younger. Turns out he wasn’t in the office that day, and to my surprise I ended up under the table (cue 10 minutes of frantically trying to remember everyone’s names after only a few months working here). Well played, WeaponizedCaffeine, well played.
Look at this happy camper!
What obscure movie would you recommend watching?
Not really obscure movies, but The Boondock Saints 1 & 2. A crazy mix of religious mysticism of two brothers with a mission to clean their city of criminals, with smart montage and over the top, goofy action scenes. It’s got a bit of a following, but it’s also very divisive: some love it, some hate it for being too close to Tarantino. I personally really love them; check ‘em out and find out for yourself!
What's your favorite fictional character?
Spoiler warning on The Abhorsen book series! I have fond memories of a talking cat-primordial demon called Mogget / Yrael from these series. He keeps acting blasé, sarcastic but does end up helping out the good guys. Yrael was my first online nickname; it evolved into Kynrael as it turns out Yrael was more often taken than not.
That's it for Noah! 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!
