After 30 years of unprecedented growth, the video games industry is reportedly starting to slow, at the same time, more people than ever are playing video games, with thousands of new titles released every year.

Join the TechnoMaterials Lab and the School of Arts, Media and Engineering for a look into the past, present and future of the video games industry through a panel discussion with industry professionals that have more than 15 years of experience. Learn what it is like to work in the industry, how artificial intelligence is changing game development, and the different environments, from AAA game publishers to small, independent studios. The panel will be followed by a question and answer with audience members.  

Scott Looze is a senior software engineer at Niantic with over thirteen years of experience in the games industry. He has previously worked at Google, Storm8 and Electronic Arts and is currently located in Denver, Colorado. Scott holds a Bachelor of Science in computer science from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Arts in digital media from the Centre for Digital Media. He specializes in mobile game development and has worked on games such as Pokemon Go! and Kingdom Clash.

Steve Pastro is a senior graphics programmer at Electronic Arts’ studio, Full Circle, and is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He has over a decade of experience in the games and tech industries and previously worked as a senior graphics programmer at Unity Technologies, senior rendering engineer at Kabam and as a technical designer at Exploding Barrel Games. Steve has worked on games such as Marvel: Content of Champions and Disney: Mirrorverse. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of British Columbia and a Master’s degree in digital media from the Centre for Digital Media.