10 Game Industry Questions - Elphie Coyle

10 Questions from Yug - Tuesday, 19 May 2009 @ 8:47am

Fullname: Colin Elphie Coyle Nicknames: Elphie (RL) / R3C0YLE (Online) / Boss Character (At the Studio) Gender: Male Age: 25 Current Company: Valhalla Studios Current Project: OMNI: X Gaming Systems Owned: Xbox & 360, PS2&3, PSP, DS, Wii, DC & PowerPC

1. What is your job role where you work and can you explain what it entails?

Founder & Expansionist. I’m considered the Soul of Valhalla and my role is to inspire our core staff, systemise the business, expand its operations and be the guy the buck stops with.

2. What games have you been directly involved with previously?

Personally no full releases, though years ago I used to mod Half-Life and StarCraft.

Elphie and His Team

3. How did you get your start in the gaming industry?

I decided I was ready to combine my two greatest passions & skills; Business & Gaming and then I created Valhalla in a shed with two mates.

4. What has been the most positive experience of working in the games industry so far?

Seeing other companies our current size make it big from creating an amazing IP, not just through knowing the Big Players like other parts of the entertainment industry.

5. What has been the most negative experience of working in the games industry so far?

Fortunately I can’t think of one.

6. What advice can you give to other people looking to get into a position such as yours?

My advice would be the same for anyone wanting success: Dream Big. Have Fun. Never take No for an Answer. Surround Yourself with Awesomeness and Discover You Can’t Help Being Awesome Yourself.

7. How do you see Australia as a market when compared to the rest of the world?

Answering for the Future: I see it constantly closing the gap of the oceans around us that currently hinder, through smoother comms tech. Us creating IP that relates cross culturally through our own diversity and finally making games that contain massive amounts of fun due to how experienced we are as a country in this field.

8. Got any good stories you want to share?

When we were choosing the control scheme for our current project, a pleasant discussion broke out about the need/want for a jump button. One side was adamant that since it had no bearing on gameplay there was no point. The other insisted that we gamers have an instinctive need to jump for no particular reason other than that we can. This pleasant discussion of our 3 top designers blew to a full blown argument and the entire studio got sucked into it, taking sides of the room gangster style. Needless to say We... ahem I mean the “Jumpers” won out. :P

The Valhalla Studios office - hard at work

9. What are your favourite games and why?

Games like Dawn of War, Defence of the Ancients and the Total War Series. They’re my favourites as they have countless different options and characters and require both quick thinking & long term planning. Just like real life.

10. If you could meet any gaming character in real life, who would it be and why?

Agent Coyle from OMNI – As he’d be able to bestow his power of Ability Absorbsion and his countless collected abilities and who wouldn’t want that?