When Tom Hall is around you can always expect a good time and laughter. In this edition of “Life at Resolution”, get to know our Senior Creative Director.

What is your favorite part of working at Resolution Games?

Can I have two favorites? I enjoy how kind everyone is at Resolution and that we work to make great games. This is different from many other companies. Be kind, make great, new things – the money will come. Start with WHY you are doing this. All the best companies do.

And the people – I’ve met so many unique personalities and talented folks – all excited to be on the cutting edge of technology and making really great games for players.

Tell us about some projects you've worked on, and challenges you’ve encountered

My favorite thing that I’ve worked on is the arcade game in Heroes’ Hangout, the social space in Demeo. We wanted to have an arcade game in it, but had stuck with shooting games because that was easier to do. I had an idea that you could just grab the arcade game’s joystick, go seamlessly into “arcade mode”, then release later to leave it and be back in normal VR. We tried it with Hauntlet and it worked! It feels really cool and the team made it work so well with my Gauntlet homage retro game. Really talented folks takin’ names and makin’ games! And it was great to get back into programming after many years.

Additionally, everyone is excited to have you play their games in the company and get challenging feedback. We want that feedback early, because the players will say it later, when it is harder to change. From Blaston to Demeo to Spatial Ops to Ultimechs to Racket Club and other games and – it’s been great to play early prototypes and talk about how they can shine.

Also a unique thing about working on the Tinyverse team is that you get to work with most of our game teams — making a great social experience for players that makes the host game better and more friendly. These people all enjoy the game, so you might like hanging out with them online too!

How do you collaborate with your colleagues at Resolution Games?

One specific example is in Feature Discussions on Tinyverse. We come up with an initial design and then deeply discuss it. Sometimes, there are just minor tweaks. Sometimes, there is strong feedback from a different perspective. Sometimes, there are wholesale changes from an idea someone had, spurred by the initial design. We don’t care whose idea it is – we just want the BEST idea.

Also, my colleagues MAKE ME not work all the time, take vacation and rest when I’m sick. This is very different from U.S. companies… and really, we get the same amount of work done. It’s just good to be rested because better ideas and work come from it.

Also, we have monthly lunch and learns, weekly hangouts, and consistent game pitch opportunities, which anyone - no matter their discipline - can participate in.

Can you tell us about some of the fun things happening at Resolution Games, outside the daily work routine?

I’m a remote employee but we always have fun when we’re all together. When a bunch of folks were at GDC, I took them on an epic road trip from San Francisco to Monterey, with lots of sights and fun and food and drink along the way. When I’m in Sweden, we go out and have fun at dinner and my colleagues often show me some of their favorite spots in Stockholm. I really enjoyed going to Fotografiska last time I was in Stockholm for the company retreat (Hi Resolution).

What excites you about being in the VR/AR games space?

Ever since being a co-founder of id Software, I’ve loved being on the cutting edge of technology. John Romero and I made a phone-game company early on. In 1992, I worked on Wolfenstein VR – which was fuzzy but I could tell it would be the future when the technology was ready. And here we are on the cusp on VR and AR changing our lives.

It’s also a weird and wonderful coincidence that almost 30 years later after my time at id, I’m getting to play with [id software co-founder] John Carmack’s technology again.

What do you look forward to learning at Resolution Games?

I am learning all the time – VR and AR bring new challenging problems to solve, and not all of the “language” of them is set yet. You have to keep learning in life, keep curious. And with the talented folks at Resolution, we’re all exploring the future together.

If you want to learn more about what Tom and the Tinyverse team are working on, take a look at our Tinyverse website.

Life at Resolution: Tom Hall, Senior Creative Director