Europe 2015Video Coverage

Oliver Clarke: Building A Company That Reflects His Values | Casual Connect Video

July 13, 2015 — by Catherine Quinton

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Europe 2015Video Coverage

Oliver Clarke: Building A Company That Reflects His Values | Casual Connect Video

July 13, 2015 — by Catherine Quinton

'Music is the best place to go to find the feeling that an experience will have.'–Oliver ClarkeClick To Tweet

Oliver Clarke drew lessons from art’s old masters and applied them to game development during his Casual Connect Europe lecture. “Those artists weren’t thinking, ‘I’m just going to do this for the sake of doing it,'” he says. “They were trying to stand out, themselves. They were competing with each other.” Watch the video below to see what parallels Oliver drew between fine art and game design.

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Oliver Clarke is the founder of Modern Dream, a company he established at the end of 2013 specifically to develop Typing of the Dead: Overkill for SEGA. He has worked in video games for 13 years and had wanted for some time to set up his own company that would reflect his values and beliefs.

LA Cops
LA Cops uses a minimalist art style and a 1970s California setting.

Prior to establishing Modern Dream, Oliver worked at a company that was going into administration, and he found it heartbreaking to see friends and colleagues facing an uncertain future. He considers himself very fortunate to have been able to bring them with him to work on Typing of the Dead, saying, “It is a pleasure to be able to share such a compelling journey with these immensely talented people.” They were able to finish the game on time and to budget under these difficult circumstances, something almost unheard of, and an accomplishment which gives him great satisfaction.

Interacting With A Box Of Fun

Oliver’s fascination with video games began when his father brought home a Commodore Vic20, and he played games constantly as he grew up. “The idea of a box of fun you can interact and create with is totally compelling and never loses its shine,” he says. And he hoped to end up exactly where he is today, making games at his own studio, which is part of a wider collective of game-makers. Making games was really the only career he ever considered.

His career began as a junior animator and, some years ago, progressed to management. He has found all his experience in developing games invaluable, from understanding how games are fundamentally made to understanding how an investment of money turns into a game that goes to a marketplace to be sold.

LA Cops screen
A screenshot of LA Cops

He derives the greatest satisfaction in his work from seeing someone play an experience he has produced. Working with amazing people and seeing them realize their dreams and potential are also sources of gratification.




Artistic Possibilities And Musical Inspiration

Coming from a family with an art background, he was fortunate to have early exposure to exciting artistic possibilities. He recalls visiting a Monet exhibition in London and suddenly recognizing what the artist had achieved. “It blew my mind that he could create something more real than real and so, so beautiful!” he expresses.

“Push through. Just keep creating even if it’s all rubbish. And get plenty of sleep.”

Oliver finds art galleries an inexhaustible source of design inspiration. Simon Schama’s Power of Art is what opened his eyes to the possibilities that art presents.

His own creative process begins with music. “The best games have an emotional connection with you, and music is the best place to go to find the feeling that an experience will have.” Then, when he has a feel for the kind of experience he wants to create, he matches it with a fun game genre and works to come up with something entirely new or with an unusual and interesting angle. At the same time he is looking for a fresh, eye-catching art style.

LA Cops

With almost limitless sources of inspiration, he rarely encounters a creative block; rather, the real issue is finding enough time to do it all. But when a block does occur, he recommends, “Push through. Just keep creating even if it’s all rubbish. And get plenty of sleep. Our brains are the best problem solvers on the planet. They need to be well maintained and rested to do the job.”

To the Finish Line

Oliver admits that getting out a robust game is always tough. In fact, he insists anyone who manages to finish a game and get it out to market deserves an award for that alone. But the reward comes from seeing someone play the game. This is something that never becomes boring for him, and it is always eye-opening to see how people receive his creation.

Ideally, the games he would choose to create would constantly entertain and inspire people. He asks, “What is the best possible party I can create that will inspire and delight everyone who comes?” He doesn’t think of one game on one platform; instead, he considers it “a platform in and of itself that warmly invites everyone in to have a great time.”




Oliver is particularly proud to have been a member of the team that decided to release The Button Game as a charity title for Special Effect, an organization that works to improve quality of life for disadvantaged people. He says, “It was a privilege to hear about and meet the people we had helped. I hope we can work with them in future and do that much more.”




LA Cops apartment
A render from LA Cops

When he is not working, Oliver is trying to meet interesting people. He loves people and believes they and the experiences they create are what make life worth living. So he makes every effort to be involved and become one of those interesting people.

Do What You Love. Just Do It!

For anyone interested in following a career in games, he suggests, “Just do it! Find out what you need to start making games; then start making games.” He has found the keys to success are determination and the ability to learn constantly. “Don’t be cool; do what you love, be crazy, have fun. But above all, just do it!” he says.




In the future, Oliver foresees games becoming sleeker, more intuitive and far more accessible than ever before as mobile and tablet gaming continue to grow massively and mobile and PC games complement each other with cross-platform support. This trend is already beginning with games like Hearthstone. The games industry is now building experiences on multiple platforms and looking to work with the best people who understand how to really entertain.

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Catherine Quinton

Catherine Quinton

Catherine Quinton is a staff writer for www.gamesauce.org. Catherine loves her hobby farm, long walks in the country and reading great novels.

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