Ryan Morrison doesn’t only work at Island Officials; he also teaches game design classes at Camden County College. And I had the fortunate chance to interview him.
GS: How did Island Officials get started?
GS: One of the purposes behind Island Officials was to bring a bit of the game industry into South Jersey. Was that one of the ideals that inspired you to start island Officials? If not, what originally inspired you to start Island Officials?
GS: Why do you think the video game industry does not have much of a presence in South Jersey?
GS: Island Officials Studios started out as nothing more than a basement project. What is it like to go from being a basement project to the studio you are today?
GS: What were the starting days of Island Officials like? What problems did the studio face in its early days? What difficulties did you have to overcome?
GS: What kind of games does Island Officials specialize in?
We were nobodies in a state that had very little to do with the industry other than retail, with only hobbyist experience, but we had drive. After spending 7-9 months on an Xbox live project that we canned, we started with a refreshed perspective, refined our team and skill sets, and lunged into a Nintendo DS project that we pitched to a local publisher we formed a relationship with.
The first 18 months were really crazy. Our primary communications were through a PHPbb forum and we met in person once or twice a week. We had arguments, a fist fight over a game, a small fire (no damage nor was anyone hurt), a workplace with no light, and people dropping all over the place - from a lack of interest to moving onto personal projects. The early days were about getting an office and legitimizing the idea of what Island Officials was."
GS: When making a game, how do you first approach making the games that you help design? What is your process?
If you want to find out more about Island Officials, check out their Official Website.
