With recent funding, hardware, aquisitions and content development initiatives, the Virtual Reality space is heating up. In a session delivered at Casual Connect USA, Carl-Arvid Ewerbring, Co-Founder and Developer at Resolution Games impressed, “We believe VR has a place in every home.” He explored how more casual, 2D reminiscent games may have a more welcome home in VR than anticipated. He discussed how more lighthearted titles could be the familiar face that makes VR less intimidating to the non-early-adopter and makes the early stages of VR relevant for all family members. The feeling of presence VR delivers is a magical thing for anyone. After all, “Presence is the fairy dust of VR”.
Carl-Arvid Ewerbring is Co-Founder and Developer at Resolution Games, so it is no surprise to know he is extremely excited about Virtual Reality. He says, “I think it holds great potential when we have figured out the nooks and crannies. The feeling of presence that VR can deliver is just mind blowing.”
Resolution Games is Carl-Arvid’s third startup. He became involved after his current co-founder gave a guest lecture at the Royal Institute of Technology, where he was studying. The lecture was on game development; Carl-Arvid was intrigued enough to take down his contact information, and the idea developed from there.
Avid Gamer to Avid Developer
He has been an avid gamer for many years, since he first began playing Super Nintendo. His intense interest in games never wavered, although it was suppressed as he was growing up because his family had little interest. Even so, he and his brother would spend summer vacations on a balcony creating their own games, such as “Tennis Ping Pong.”
Energy Engineering was his original area of study at the Royal Institute of Technology, but with his first programming application, an iOS app, he realized he had discovered something much more fun. And he knew he wanted to find a way to do it full time. He switched to computer science with an emphasis on mobile development and usability issues. While there, he won awards for both game design and business models for the gaming industry. And in his master’s thesis his interest in VR became evident in his thesis on cyber sickness and interaction design for VR.
On the Forefront of Technology
Now, at Resolution Games, he spends most of his time as a developer, implementing the game logic, although he is also involved in user testing. All day long he is engrossed with his favorite interest, playing with new technology. He claims, “It’s very stimulating being on the forefront of technology and having meetings with manufacturers about features that do not exist yet.” He is also constantly absorbed by programming.
The greatest challenge Carl-Arvid has in his work is “finding and nurturing that single core component you can build off of.” Creative blocks occur more often than he would like, usually about structuring a piece of code, or something similar. When this happens, he involves another member of the team and talks through his reasoning and implementation tactics. Sometimes the problem is solved simply by rephrasing it.
Working for Success
The team members that Resolution Games values the most highly are those who are multi-talented. Because they are a small company, they need the people who can take on different roles at different times. The team also recognizes Carl-Arvid’s contributions, as they see him arriving when expected, consistently leaving late and being open-minded in his interactions.
He believes that his success is a direct result of doing what he enjoys. He emphasizes, “In every career, you’ll only become really good at something if you really like it.” He has spent many hours of his spare time working on his projects, believing this helps him stand out above competitors.
He does have other interests when he is not immersed in the virtual world. He reads a lot: history, philosophy, business subjects and fiction. He also spends time with friends and gaming on his Xbox One.
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