Name: Michael Kingery
Bio: I am an artist, designer and wannabe inventor with a passion for games.
Title: Lead Designer at SkyVu Entertainment
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Age: 25
Residence: Omaha, Neb.
Website: www.mkingery.com
Twitter: @mkingery
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mkingery
Intro music: “Gathering Storm,” by Godspeed You! Black Emperor
Silicon Prairie News: What are some of the latest and greatest projects in the works from the team at SkyVu?
Michael Kingery: I am pretty happy with how Battle Bears Royale turned out actually! I can’t believe that we now have a large multiplayer game under our belt. I’m also happy with our next game in the series — it has suffered from a midlife crisis but it has all been for the best. I am pretty excited to be a part of it all!
SPN: Through years and years of doing creative work, what have you found to be the optimal conditions for creativity — time, place, conditions, etc.? What are the essential ingredients in your creative process?
MK: I’m not that picky when it comes down to creating stuff. The biggest issue I have is usually temptations in the way of gaming or friends win out over creation, so historically my best work would happen super late at night or in isolation with noise canceling headphones and a closed door. The studio at SkyVu is profoundly conducive to work — it is so beneficial being able to stop what you are doing and just see what the rest of the team is up to when things reach a temporary dead end.
SPN: What’s one of the most common misconceptions people have regarding working for a company that makes video games? Can you tell those people how it really is?
MK: I’d say most people think we just play games all the time. For brief and terrifying periods of testing that is true, but it is never playing for fun’s sake! For the most part the entire team is sticking to a plan and in constant communication between each other as specific parts and components are made for a complex project. Communication is of the highest importance as toes will be stepped on and compromises will need to be reached … So essentially it is a microcosm of marriage!
SPN: Compare your experience working as a freelance concept artist for several years to your current gig working with a sizable team generally focused on the same projects and objectives. What are advantages of each? Drawbacks?
MK: Most of my freelance time was haphazard and fit around school and conventional work, but it was a fantastic motivator! Since working at SkyVu our team has grown from just 3-4 of us to now over 20, so I’ve been in that frying pan from room temperature and don’t often realize how far things have gone! The pros and cons are a pretty standard affair of management with the added spice of working with highly specialized and different coworkers that can require more finesse than a normal work environment.
SPN: If you could pick one character from any game ever that best encapsulates your qualities, what character would it be and why?
MK: You mean one that is a fierce warrior whom stands for every primeval depiction of manliness? I’ve never really thought much into that before to be honest … The majority of game characters have few dimensions to compare oneself to — primarily because they are doing outrageous things specifically because you can’t. I honestly don’t have a character that I align myself to!
Credits: Photo courtesy of Kingery.
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