At the time of this interview, Michelle Bagur was acting Line Producer for two ION titles: Deus Ex and Daikatana 2 (being developed by Human Head). Gaining the faith of none other than John Romero himself, Michelle was recently named Line Producer for Romero's flagship FPS title Daikatana. Michelle sat down with Stormtroopers to answer a few personal questions, and to give some insight into the background of someone intimately involved with some groundbreaking titles.
[Stormtroopers] How were you hired by ION? Where are you located; Austin or Dallas?
[Bagur] I live in Dallas. I worked with many of the IonStormers back at 7th level, and I kept in touch with them when they migrated to Ion. I graduated from college at the same time that I left 7th, and spent a few months interviewing around the country, in all different industries, looking for my next 'step'. A series of realizations/understandings/decisions gave me cause to remain in Dallas a bit longer, so I began to talk to Todd about working here....
[Stormtroopers] What is your personal gaming involvement history?
[Bagur] I didn't even really know the game industry existed until about 3 years ago. I was a physics major, when I decided that I really wanted to be doing animations/special fx..without realizing that there are entire schools dedicated to teaching animation. I changed my major to CS, and looked around for some way to integrate programming and graphics. My search led me to 7th, while coincidentally, a friend of mine who worked at 7th (thanks jocko!) was trying to track me down, to get me to fill in a position that was perfect...so I began as a developer within the QA department, writing the installer code for all of their games, and then moved to a more jack of all trades position, as QA coordinator, which threw me in localizations and management, in addition to coding. From there, I moved into the development department to act as a quasi-producer on Return to Krondor. I worked fulltime for a year and a half, while attending school full time..(all work and no play made michelle an unpleasant person..!) I graduated in Dec and left 7th at the same time, as they made the transition from games to internet solutions...and I took a few months off to take a breather and figure out what, exactly, I wanted to be doing. Which leads full circle to your first question...
[Stormtroopers] How about a detailed description of what a 'producer' does for the two games. How is time split between the two?
[Bagur] A producer does whatever needs to be done for the game. My role is that of a hunter and gatherer. In a manner of speaking. I am a source of information for whomever needs it...this role was created out of a desire to keep the offices well integrated, even though we are in different cities. I am involved with every aspect of the game(s) I'm assigned to. Reading through design docs, giving feedback/posing questions, trying to take care of little details so that the designers, artists, and programmers can focus on the game itself. Right at this minute, on Deus, I am gathering plans and task lists and projected time lines and making a series of schedules--each of which will have different perspectives on information. We're also in the process of setting up websites such as your own, and working out a marketing plan.
Because they are at very different stages of development, right now, my focus is on Deus, rather than Daik2. As things progress with DK2, it will be a matter of just taking care of business....working like a beast on both titles to get things taken care of, so that nothing slips through the cracks. There are up times and down times on every game...but they're staggered to a point where I think it'll work out perfectly.
[Stormtroopers] What are your game preferences (type and specific titles)?
[Bagur] Full-time work and full time school didn't leave me with much time to explore the computer game genre, so I'm catching up now. (making up for lost time, since way back in the days of being glued to PitFall on Atari...and for one birthday having pacman and ghost cakes...don't ask...). But I like different aspects of the different genres, depending on the mood I'm in. I've worked out many a frustration shooting everything in sight in Doom2, and have become completely engrossed in Quake. I enjoy the planning and strategizing in RTSs, like C&C and dominion. (spent many hours yelling at my computer for kicking my butt--'cause it's the COMPUTER's fault, damnit!) But I love a good story, too, so RPG's draw me in...FFVII is out in stores NOW...
[Stormtroopers] Any interest in nuts-and-bolts development, i.e. mapping, programming, art?
[Bagur] Heck yAH. I want it ALL. My main goal in life is to integrate physics, art, and programming. I code (well, back when I had time to!) in C++, Java, in Unix script languages, etc. I truly enjoy solving problems, which is what attracted me to programming initially. I have an OpenGL bible sitting on my desk, waiting for me to dive into it...I really want to get into hardcore 3D programming...because I love the idea of simulating life (hence the incorporation of physics). On a non-computer front, I love to paint (oils...in the process of picking up watercolors) and draw (charcoal and pencil). I'd also love to get into sculpting....
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