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| Kris Peterson |
Interviewed by William
'Phoebus' Mull |
We're proud to introduce the newly hired Animator, Kris Peterson
to the community of fans of Raven's games...
Tell Us About Yourself
 Full
Name: Kris Peterson
Nickname: Krispy, or just KP.
Age: 23
Birthplace/Hometown: Eden Prairie, MN
Marital Status (Optional): Single
Getting Hired by Raven
When were you hired by Raven and how did that come about?
My exact hire date was sometime in June I believe. I heard of the position
from a Polycount post back in Februrary that had been taken from Robert
Gee's .plan file. I sent my demo in and after a few months of waiting finally
got to interview.
Your New Duties at Raven
What is your position at Raven?
Animator
What project(s) are you currently working on (if you can say)?
Well, I could tell you, and then of course I would have to kill you,
which someone would surely find out about and then I'd land myself in jail,
which would mean I would no longer work at Raven, so I can't say. :) It's
an unannounced console project.
What is a typical workday like for you? From the mundane to the insane,
take us on a stroll through your day!
I generally walk to work getting in sometime after 10:00. First thing
I do is turn on my computer, boot up Max and Outlook. If I've got any questions
I'll usually wander over to talk to a lead or to find out what I'll be working
on for the day or get some model sheets to scan. After I've finished reading
through any pressing emails I switch back over to max and get to work. I'll
keep at it until I start to get hungry which isn't very long. If I haven't
brought anything to work to eat I'll walk home and cook something up quick,
and then get back to HQ in time to surf some websites or get in on a lunchtime
game of SOF2, where I seem to consistently get my ass kicked. As soon as
that's over with, its back to work again, this time with headphones on and
music cranked. This goes on until I get hungry again around 3 or 4 and so
I take a short break to stuff my face again. Back to work again, which has
lately been modeling characters and doing some animation setup testing.
If all goes well, I'll usually have a near finished model to go show for
approval or get further direction on. If not, I just keep plugging away
until it's time to leave, at which time I pack up, say my goodbyes, and
head out.
Previous Experience
Where did you work before coming to Raven?
Before coming to Raven I worked at Canopy Games and before that Ghost
Productions, Inc. doing post-production type animation and animated shorts.
Do you have any prior experience in the computer gaming industry and/or
any game project experience with mods, etc.?
I've worked on a bunch of game projects that ultimately went nowhere,
but were good for the experience. The first was a Quake 3 single player
mod that had good potential but was crippled by lack of leadership and management.
It was the first time though that I got to see something 3-D that I'd made
working in-game which was really cool, even though it wasn't functioning 100%.
After that I posted some pictures of models I was working on and was contacted
to work on an open source RPG game/engine. I mainly just did some modeling
tests for engine R&D and level testing. The rest of the team slowly disappeared
(more like fell off the face of the earth) and soon it was just the main
programmer and myself and eventually the project discontinued.
The last project I worked on was another mod for Quake 3 that is still on
going but has instead been re-slated to the Doom3 engine to get better effect
out of the its lighting and environmental capabilities.
Gaming Interests
What are some of your favorite games?
Xcom, Incubation, Tribes, Tribes 2, Jagged Alliance 2, Starcraft, Warcrafts,
Counter Strike, Hitman, Privateer....etc etc
What genres do you most enjoy playing?
FPS, RTS, Turn Based Strategy, RPG
What's your all-time favorite game?
Tribes, because it was so revolutionary I think in terms of gameplay
and teamplay aspects and required great precision and player awareness to
excel at.
What upcoming or newly released game you've not yet played are you most
looking forward to playing?
I'm looking forward to UT2003, BattleField 1942, World of Warcraft, Doom3,
Quake 4, Halo 2.
Other Interests
What other forms of entertainment are you interested in?
Movies, novels, comic books, The Simpsons.
What are your favorite things to do outside the realm of computers (hobbies,
etc.)?
Reading, watching movies, Xbox LANs, Lifting Weights, Softball, Paintball,
collecting Spawn Figures, painting miniatures, boating, jet skiing, shooting.
What music do you enjoy listening to?
I like music from all genres.
What are some of your favorite bands or composers?
Rage Against The Machine, KMFDM, Filter, Crystal Method, Moby, Metallica,
NIN, Rammstien, Linkin Park, Hans Zimmerman, Madonna, The Cure, DMX...
Industry Insider
What advice can you give to our readers who hope to someday make it in the
gaming industry?
Become obsessive. Spend every waking moment practicing your craft. Forgo
the necessities of living in order to make time toward your obsession. Eat
it, breathe it, live it. Associate with people who do the same thing you
seek and learn everything you can from them. Study intensely what others
have done before you. Observe everything and try to see how everyday things
in the world relate to what you want to do. Post your work and let others
critique it. Never make excuses.
Examples of Your Work
 Can you give us any screenshots, downloads or samples of your work to go
along with this interview, to help illustrate yourself and your talents
to our readers?
I’ve been looking through my old stuff and it pales in comparison to what I’m currently working on. I’ve got a few things in the works, like this UT2003 model.
Plans for the Future
Where do you hope to see yourself in 5 years? Anything you're not doing
now that you'd still like to accomplish?
I hope to see myself alive and healthy, still loving life and my work.
Maybe married and starting a family. I would like to have the experience
of being a project or team lead in the future.
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