17 Oct Speaker Spotlight: Graeme Devine

As anticipation for Scottish Games Week builds to a fever pitch, we want to push things even further by giving you a sneak peek at some of the amazing speakers who will be appearing at our various events!

First up in this Speaker Spotlight series is Graeme Devine, industry veteran, Co-Founder and Creative Technical Officer at QXR Studios, and one of our keynote speakers! We sat down with him to discuss his career to date, and what attendees can expect from his presentation.

How did you get into games, and what’s your current role?

“I’ve been making games for over 40 years now. I started on the ZX Spectrum, like a lot of people, and just kept on going. I’ve made games like Quake 3, 7th Guest, 11th Hour, Halo Wars, and I’ve worked on many others. My most-played game is actually a solitaire game called Full Deck Solitaire on the Mac! Currently I’m a Co-Founder at QXR Studios, and we’re working on bringing interactive narrative stories to multiple mediums.”

Briefly describe your company, and your role within it:

“QXR Studios is a world-building studio founded by a core team of entertainment industry veterans with decades of experience in film, television, comics, fiction and AAA game development. Our first game, Metropolis Origins, is a fast-paced tradable card game set in a cyberpunk world originated by me in my 1987 PC game Metropolis.”

What can attendees of the event expect from your presentation?

“Hopefully a sense of where I think things are going. Why a focus on narrative is so important for me in particular, and why I’m determined to make that Scottish play into something else entirely.”

What do you think makes the games scene in Scotland so special?

“Scotland has its own sense of creativity, and a long history of telling stories. Our heritage is to remember the past and retell the tales of a forgotten world. Nowhere else in the world has such a deep connection with story, and that energy is part of everything made in Scotland, whether it’s relocated to California, or still roots down in Dundee.”

Where do you see the games industry in general heading in the next 5 years?

“I hope we all start to live in the games we all want to be part of all the time. Video games will be a whole generation old within the next decade and that continues to expand the available market for games and the need to design for a wider audience. Game Technology is not just about the latest GPU and how fast I can run a first person shooter, it will become something else entirely as computers change; I hope games become intrinsic to the operating system of tomorrow.”

You can catch Graeme’s presentation on day one of our Industry Conference. For more information on Scottish Games Week, check out our website.