Earlier this week, I realized that I unintentionally created an alter-ego for myself. In the lastbusiness card design, I created Jon Hammond as a filler name. Looking back on it, he is actually an embodiment of one of my life goals: to work as a community manager for Bungie [likely under the guidance ofDeeJ(David Dague), the current community manager].
He seems like enough of an interesting character for me to interview, just to see how he's gotten to where he is and how I can get there. I sat down and talked with him in my room over a cup of tea to specifically talk about this last project,:
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Clay: Thanks for stopping by!
Jon: Not like I had much choice, hahaha!
C: Hahaha! For starters, why a video game developer?
J: Well, video games have been a huge part of my life since I first got my Nintendo Gamecube around 2003. As an introverted guy, friends are somewhat difficult for me, especially when I was younger. Video games bridged that gap for me. When I did have friends over we would play video games, and when I didn't, I still played games. There are magnificent worlds and realities to get lost in. Like how some people get lost in books, I do the same with games.
C: So did Bungie play a role in that?
J: Oh yeah. Halo: Reach was the first game I got for my Xbox 360, because that was the game everyone enjoyed. I know Bungie was no longer working on Halo at that point, but it was still the company I thought of. Additionally, it is the developer for my current addiction: Destiny. I've gotten more involved with the community onRedditand that was where I was first exposed to DeeJ.
C: Who is Deej?
J: DeeJ is the current community manager for Bungie, along withCozmo. They are in charge of maintaining the social media presence of the developer and interacting with the community to hear their grievances and praises about the game. Easily some of the best guys a video game community could ask for. They actively listen, throw themselves in against and with the player-base in multiplayer, they're pretty good about keeping open and clear communication about the game and they love to talk about people in the community as well. Just really stand-up guys.
C: Let's talk about your most recent project, how did you go about designing it?
J: First off, as an amateur designer, picking Bungie as my client was a pretty hefty decision since they're so design heavy. I knew I wanted to keep the same basic design that I used in the business card, but it was too busy of a design to cover the whole background. So I simplified it pretty heavily and ended up with the final product.
C: Are you happy with the end product?
J: It's been pretty difficult for me to get into design because I'm still unsure about how people design things so well, hahaha. I can always see what I want, but still have trouble translating that to the canvas.
C: Pretty sure a lot of young designers could say the same.
J: I sure hope so, unless I'm way behind the times.
C: Well thanks for joining me Jon, have a safe trip back into my head!
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Well thanks for listening to what I had to say, and I hope you have a great day!
