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.
He is our resident Finn and old school gamer, meet Max, aka Skamaks!
Who are you and what is your job at Amplitude?
Hi! I’m Max von Knorring, I’m Marketing and Communication Director / Game Designer / G2G Designer / (Retro) Game Lover!
I joined Amplitude at the very beginning, right after the paint dried in our first office, back in 2012. Since then I tried to make the G2G philosophy evolve, to grow our games and the Endless universe and to refine the studios’ image. I also often work with SpaceTroll and the designers (best in the industry!) on the high-level concepts of our games. It’s quite a unique mix I have to say, quite a dream job. I’m also half French, half Finnish, which adds to the weird mix. :)
What were you doing before you joined the studio?
I worked at Ubisoft for 7 years, both as a Brand Manager on brands such as Ghost Recon, Rainbow Six, Hawx, Petz, TMNT, Far Cry, etc… I then became an Associate Producer and met SpaceTroll, AmpliMath, Sostene, Kaboomer and Slowhands. Once I finished working on Clash of Heroes and Heroes VI, I joined Amplitude and started working on the GAMES2GETHER concept, on top of releasing Endless Space.
What do you like the most at Amplitude?
People. I’ve seen the company grow, I’ve lived the stressful and yet exciting moments of our first videos, our first releases, our first meetings with journalists. But nothing will replace seeing the team getting bigger, the first beers with the players, meeting new faces, all with that same passion, all willing to create the best games together. We’re very lucky to experience that.
What have you worked on that you're super proud of?
Well you’re sort of reading this Dev Blog on it. GAMES2GETHER was a crazy idea, we went all in with the idea of creating the games with players and the response from them has simply been outstanding. We invested a lot in it while we were a small team and had limited means. Everybody outside the studio thought we were nuts :). Also, Endless Space being the first Alpha game on Steam (before it was called Early Access) is a sort of cherry on the cake we are quite proud of. Look at where we are now thanks to you!
What are you currently working on?
So many exciting things. We’re working hard on developing the GAMES2GETHER platform, so many amazing things we still have in mind. We also continue the work on Endless Space 2, same here, it’s just the beginning, you’ll love what is coming up. On top of that we are building a strong relationship with SEGA and the other studios, they are all really awesome people. I would love for our players to meet some of the SEGA, Atlus, Relic, Creative Assembly or Sports Interactive teams at a Beer2Gether some time.
What's your favorite game of all time?
I’ll have to say Final Fantasy III (US). I was a kid when I played the game with a couple of friends. I think it was the first time I felt a real emotion on top of pure fun.
But I’ll cheat a little and add a list of my favs below… per genre!
Platformer: Wonder Boy, PC Kid, Strider, Rick Dangerous, Bubble Bobble, Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog, Mirror's Edge...
Beat'em up: Alien Storm, Rolling Thunder, Golden Axe, Streets of Rage 2, Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes, Metal Slug...
Puzzle: Skweek, Puzzle Bobble, Lemmings, Puzzle Quest, Clash of Heroes, Braid, Portal, Limbo...
Shoot'em up: Outlaw, Xenon 2, F22 Interceptor, Jungle Strike, Thunderforce IV, Axelay, Pulstar, Ikaruga...
Racing: Stunt Car Racer, Rock n' Roll Racing, Super Monaco GP, Mario Kart, Carmaggeddon, Wipeout, F-Zero X, Burnout 3...
Adventure: Zac Mc Kraken, Grim Fandango, Full Throttle, Day of the Tentacle, Fallout, Flashback, Zelda a Link to the Past, Secret of Mana, Resident Evil, Metal Gear, Baldur's Gate, Shadow of Colossus, Dead Space, Sword & Sworcery EP...
Fighting: IK+, SFII, Killer Instinct, DBZ 2, Tobal 2, KoF 98, Capcom vs SNK, MvC, Soul Edge...
Party Game: Bomberman Saturn + 10 players (what else?), Towerfall, Overcooked
Strategy: Populous, Theme Park, Theme Hospital, Syndicate, Herzog Zwei, Dungeon Keeper 2, Civilization, Heroes of M&M II, Dawn of War 2, Advance Wars, Worms...
Sports: California Games, NHL 94, Track & Field, NBA Hangtime, Virtua Tennis, Minna no Golf, Tony Hawk 2, Super SideKicks 2, Winning Eleven 6 Final Evolution…
FPS: DOOM, Duke Nukem 3D, Counterstrike, Half Life, Goldeneye 64, Bioshock...
What’s the game you dream of creating?
Having a big brother that educated me as a video game sidekick, I’m a big fan of coop and party games. I love playing games on a couch with friends, beer and pizza! I sort of scratched a little the surface of my dream game by participating in the initial idea of what became Dungeon of the Endless!
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
Yep a cool site you can access HERE. I’m also quite proud of having worked on almost all the videos created by Amplitude, from the reveal trailer of ES1 to the ES2 release trailer. A lot of fun and brainstorming with the different teams!
What's your favorite race or character in our games?
I love Opbot and Ayairi. The Vaulters and the Hissho are badass! Our artists are the best!
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
I’ve been here for a while now so I have plenty of those in my pockets. One of them goes back to the release of Endless Space. I remember I was talking to SpaceTroll a day before the release. He was stressed out like hell, walking around in circles. He started having cold feet “what if the players don’t like the game”, “what if it’s a big failure”, “what if the design is not what players expect”… AmpliMath and I were trying to calm him down but nothing worked. In the end, he actually talked with one of the VIPs on the phone that reassured him and made him believe again. I guess you can call that stage fright!
What's the next place you want to travel to?
I’d love to go to Tokyo someday, lose myself in Akihabara gaming stores, spend a couple of days in all the arcades… :)
What are your hobbies in life?
Retro Gaming. I’m focusing on collecting the best 4-player games on all retro consoles. (Secret of Mana’s 3-players mode is accepted :) ). I also brought my Dreamcast to the studio for all Amplidudes to discover the amazing jewels on that platform. The 4-players Giga Wing 2 mode makes your eyes bleed.
That's it for Max! 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!
