Because we work in a highly collaborative industry, we spend a lot of time in level and game meetings with executives from all disciplines to plan and discuss current events and issues. It’s no secret that most, if not all, people working in the gaming industry do so because of their passion for video games. Even though the demand for video games in the video game industry has increased in 2020, it’s mostly the big game studios that are doing well and doing business with great success. He began his career in the industry in 2000 as a game tester at Infogrames UK and worked his way up from “his own” to senior testing positions. “I always loved those days when I would spend weeks designing a level that worked well and could be creative and testable, relying on my vision of the level in the broader game,” he adds wistfully. At some of these companies, he held mostly high- or senior-level design positions, with projects ranging in duration from short-term: 6-12 months, to long-term: up to 5+ years. “I often worked 48 hours a day, and on some projects I worked 15 to 20 hours a day, going home, going to bed and getting up a few hours later to do it all over again, sometimes for weeks,” he says. For the first time in his 20-year career, Darrell is between jobs and willing to work as much freelance as possible. He’s a good team player at work and enjoys spending time with his co-workers during “happy hour” after work. In fact, he is currently working on his video game and plans to be his boss. Darrell says, “There was a time when improvements were exponential over a short period of time, and eachgeneration’ was light years ahead of the last. We helpedhim’ learn how to become a game designer or developer. I worked long hours, barely got a decent salary, and played the same parts of a broken game all the time. “This is new territory for me because I’m used to working in an office with a large group of people,” says the former senior designer from Sheffield, UK. Darrell has worked at Rebellion, Revolution, Infogrames, EA, Sony, Cloud Imperium and several other smaller companies. When it comes to music, he believes it’s worth investing in audio equipment to ensure the best quality.