Cory Barlog: Hey you... want to know the SUPER SECRET FORMULA on how to get into games?
Cory Barlog began his career at Dream Quest Images working as a visual effects character animator on Disney’s Mighty Joe Young, Flubber and Inspector Gadget before moving over to the game industry in 1999.
In his 7 years in the industry he has worked on several titles across multiple platforms eventually landing at Sony Computer Entertainment Santa Monica Studios working as the Animation Director on God of War for PS2. He went on to write and direct God of War II (PS2) and act as Creative Director for God of War Chains of Olympus (PSP).
After writing the story and initial layout/design for God of War III (PS3) and penning the script for a soon to be announced title Cory moved on from Sony and began working with George Miller (Mad Max/Happy Feet/Babe). Currently he is co-directing the Mad Max video game he co-wrote with Miller and consulting with various publishers on unannounced projects.
This year we are introducing speakers during the expo itself who will give attendees a chance to learn more about the game industry. Scott Kohl, a producer at Raven Software in Madison, will do an open session about what his job entails and answer questions related to working in the game industry in the Midwest.
Scott Kohl
Scott took the long road to the gaming industry. Starting out over 15 years ago in the Information Technology sector, he has worked for numerous companies and institutions such as General Electric, UW Madison School of Business, American Family Insurance and Alliant Energy.
In 2002 Scott entered into the MBA program at UW Madison and upon graduation focused his career on business consulting and project management. Scott's diverse experience in business, technology and project management made him an ideal candidate for Raven Software when they were recruiting for a Producer. Raven specifically wanted someone from outside the gaming industry to bring a new perspective, push new initiatives and mature the development process.
Scott has been with Raven over two years and has worked on three titles: Wolfenstein, Singularity and a yet to be announced title. The producer roll involves a variety of skills from business to project management to “cat herder” all with the focus of keeping game development on schedule, within scope, on budget and yielding a high quality, fun experience for the player.