Entertainment Industry
NAME: Justin Hubbard
AGE: 24
SCHOOL: DeVry University/Alpharetta & Decatur, GA
MAJOR: Game & Simulation Programming
CLASS OF: 2010
FAVE GAME: Rock Band
What would you like to be doing, career-wise, in 15 years? Include where you would like to be doing this.
I'd have to say in 15 years I'd love to have my own development studio. I like to play a lot of music games so my company will probably be similar to Harmonix or the studio that created Rez. We would probably be a console developer and would release our games in the episodic format. That or small downloadable titles. I really hope to have this going in about 5-10 years though. My life goal is to one day be knighted for my contributions to video games like Miyamoto.
Scholarships, honors, and awards
I was picked to present my game at both DragonCon and Seige on behalf of Devry University.
Why did you choose Videogaming?
Lol. More like why couldn't I choose anything but video gaming. To be honest I'd have to say it was because of my dad. The first time I met my father I was around 6 and he happened to have an NES. We spent our first night together playing through Jackal over and over again. Because of that, to this day games have alway been able to make me feel better no matter what was wrong in my life. They are kinda like my own personal happy place. I feel that if I can give that back to at least one person I will have been a success.
Tell us about the program at DeVry?
Well so far I've only been there for about a semester but I did a lot of research into the program before applying. I'd have to say the two things that attracted me to DeVry over it's competitors would be 1. The fact that they have teachers with industry experience. and 2. The degree that I am getting (Game and Simulation Programming) also functions as a general CS with Honors degree. They also have a very heavy emphasis on math, which I liked.
If you could design and/or produce a video game, what would it be?
It's kinda hard for me to narrow it down to one. I live and breath this stuff. I have an entire notebook full of game ideas and those are just the ones I find the (rare) time to write down. They are all my babies and I love them all equally. I did have one I recently came up with though. The idea I've been playing around with is a game that uses the concepts behind string theory as a game mechanic. It would probably be a music game the basic gameplay lend itself well to string theory, but a hybrid music/fighting or music/platforming game could work just as well I think. It's still a fairly nebulous, soupy idea so far, but it's quickly solidifying over time.
What are your favorite games?
- Guitar Hero Series
- Castlevania Series
- Zelda Series
- Mario Series
- Every Extend Extra Extreme
- Lumines
- DDR
- BeatMania
- Heavy Weapon
- I also recently played a tech demo for a game at the IDC it was called Crayon Physics and was at http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/crayon/
List your hobbies and interests
I like camping, swimming, almost anything to do with computers, electronics work, canoeing, rock climbing (though I haven't been in years, spielunking, reading, white water rafting....I do a lot really. Pretty much anything a friend wants to go do with me I'm up for.