Sledgehammer Games’ Post

Tomorrow, players worldwide will get hands on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III for the very first time. Returning to the Modern Warfare universe has been an unforgettable journey for our team and we couldn't be prouder of what we have created alongside our partner studios at Activision. 🙌

Before #AsianPacificIslanderHeritageMonth comes to an end, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of our APAC studio members by sharing their stories of their culture, career journey, and what keeps them inspired. Now introducing Jackie Cao: Senior Systems Designer at Sledgehammer Games. "Born and raised in West Hartford, Connecticut, I had a typical suburban New England upbringing while maintaining my Asian heritage. My parents wanted us to be involved in 'American' culture, enrolling us in various sports and musical activities. Summers were spent camping in the woods or at the beach, and winters snowboarding in the mountains, I played lacrosse and tennis at school. I still had a culturally rich upbringing due to having immigrant parents and the majority of my extended family living in the same town. We spoke Cantonese at home and celebrated Chinese and Vietnamese holidays and traditions.My mother, who used to work as a school teacher in China, now runs my uncle’s restaurant, while my father works at a printing press. When I first told them I wanted to study game development, they were skeptical and worried about career prospects since they didn’t know much about the field. However, they were surprisingly supportive and encouraged me to chase the American dream they immigrated here for which was to pursue my own passions. I went to school for my Master’s Degree in Game Development at the University of Utah with a focus on Game Production. During my elective classes in Design, I found that I enjoyed that aspect of game development more. I got an internship at an indie studio, then moved on to Bioware as a Level Designer. During my time there, I discovered a passion for encounter design for boss fights and my next role was AI/Encounter design at Gearbox. Now, I’m at Sledgehammer Games as a systems designer focusing on AI combat.My personal interests and experiences contribute to my work as well. Traveling internationally and living in Europe amongst many international students for a time has enriched my perspective. With how much globetrotting takes place the Call of Duty, those worldwide experiences have helped me design games that are inclusive but also grounded in reality. Additionally, my main hobby as a competitive shooter and firearms instructor provides valuable insights into the realistic use of weaponry in Call of Duty and gives me a lot of knowledge and interest in the setting of the game." We’re proud to celebrate Jackie’s contributions to our team and the experience he brings with him. #AAPIMonth #GameDevelopment #GameDev Activision #GamesIndustry #EmployeeSpotlight

Before #AsianPacificIslanderHeritageMonth comes to an end, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of our APAC studio members by sharing their stories of their culture, career journey, and what keeps them inspired. Now introducing Shreyansh Kothari: Gameplay Engineer at Sledgehammer Games Foster City. "I was born and brought up in Kolkata, a metropolitan city in the east of India. My family is religious yet very progressive. There was nothing I couldn’t try, nothing I wasn’t allowed to dream of becoming. Studies were important, but so was everything else. Growing up, like every Indian kid, I wanted to be a cricketer or a pilot. Once my older cousin introduced me to programming, that was all I saw my future in. My career path was always going to go towards software engineering of some sort, but after my undergraduate degree, I spent a couple of months working at a software company and realized it wasn’t for me. I wanted to work on something where I could see my contributions, something I believed in. Before I found out about a Game Dev Master’s program at USC, a career in video games never really crossed my mind. It wasn’t something you’re exposed to in India. But once I was accepted, there was no looking back. I’m constantly trying to learn and improve, and working at Sledgehammer Games as a Gameplay Engineer gave me the best opportunity I’ve ever had to do exactly that. Being able to work with some of the most talented people I’ve ever met in all fields, not just my own, and to learn from them has been a blessing.” We’re proud to celebrate Shreyansh’s contributions to our team and the experience he brings with him. His journey highlights the importance of pursuing our passions. 🚀 #AAPIMonth #GameDevelopment #GameDev Activision #GamesIndustry

Before #AsianPacificIslanderHeritageMonth comes to an end, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of our APAC studio members by sharing their stories of their culture, career journey, and what keeps them inspired. Now introducing Michael Rivera: Lead Animator at Sledgehammer Games Toronto. "I was born in Toronto, in a small apartment neighborhood that wasn’t too well off. Despite its size, there was a big Filipino community that grew within it. Everyone knew everyone, which led to many great friendships. Growing up, I wanted to be either an astronomer or paleontologist. I loved everything about space, and I loved dinosaurs thanks to Jurassic Park and the Toronto Raptors. The turning point for me was in 1995 when I watched Toy Story in theatres. It sparked something in me. I remember in Grade 7, we had a class project about our career goals, and without any hesitation, I said I wanted to be a 3D Animator. Since that point in my life, I’ve been committed to my goal and today I can proudly say I have achieved it. My parents knew how much I loved animation and video games and have always been supportive of whatever I do. I have some family members who were forced into certain professions for money or reputation. Not once did my parents ever force their career expectations onto me. I still remember what my mom told me at an early age that changed my whole perspective on life. ‘Michael, don’t chase the money. Follow your passion. When you love what you do, it won’t feel like a job.'  To this day, this is something not only do I live by, but I help preach. I’ve always tried to lead by example. From early in my life to now, there is an aspect of me that likes to make sure everyone is on the same page. How I see that impacting my role here at SHG is through my communication. Making games is hard. Early on in development, a lot of things are figured out through design exploration and concept art and it’s hard to communicate an idea through something static. This is where I like to come in and provide the team with a more visual idea through motion. This can be through previsual animation, video referencing from other media, and even acting it out myself. This has always led to not only a clearer goal for the team, but a unified vision.” We’re proud to celebrate Michael’s contributions to our team and all the experience he brings with him. His journey highlights the importance of community in pursuit our passions. 🚀    #AAPIMonth #GameDevelopment #GameDev #GamesIndustry Activision

Before #AsianPacificIslanderHeritageMonth comes to an end, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of our APAC studio members by sharing their stories of their culture, career journey, and what keeps them inspired. Now introducing Isabel Ovalles, Associate Gameplay Engineer at Sledgehammer Games Foster City.   "My dad was a software engineer and my mom is a nurse. While both of my parents are Filipino, my mom was the one who taught my brother and I Tagalog. She also cooked traditional Filipino foods. One of my favorite memories was watching my mom cook her famous Leche Flan and observing how she made caramel on the stovetop, causing the whole house to smell like roasted brown sugar. In high school I was a FRC robotics kid, so I was either studying, working on our robot’s code, or playing video games. From early on I knew I wanted to study computer science, but after my internship at Minecraft, I fell in love hard and I knew that this is where I wanted to be. My parents are my biggest fans when it comes to my career. It’s really encouraging to have supportive parents since I know not a lot of parents, especially in APAC families, are supportive of careers in this industry. Fun fact, I applied four times to the ABK internship program before finally getting an interview with an Activision recruiter and landing a technical interview. After my internship, I secured a full time offer with Sledgehammer Games to continue working on the Multiplayer Gameplay Engineering Team. Authenticity is important to me, which is also valued here at SHG. I come to work knowing there is space for me to be who I am, and in turn, I embrace others for how they are.” We’re proud to celebrate Isabel’s contributions to our team and all the experience she brings with her. Her story highlights the importance of pursuing our passions. 🚀 #AAPIMonth #GameDevelopment #GameDev #GamesIndustry

What a blast we had at the Level Up Showcase! It was a proud moment for our team to have sponsored the first ever "Achievement in Accessibility" award. A heartfelt congratulations to all the participants who integrated Accessibility Design into their games. A special applause goes to the winners in this category: 🏆 1st Place: Cosmic Justice by Brock University & Niagara College 🥈 2nd Place: World Warlock by Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology 🥉 3rd Place: Paw Pirates by University of Toronto & OCAD University 🌟 Honorable Mention: The Outreach by Ontario Tech University Thanks for pushing the boundaries of inclusivity in gaming. We're excited to see where you go from here! #AccessibilityInGaming #GameDevelopment #LevelUpShowcase #InclusiveGaming

In collaboration with Walter Mair, we're excited to debut the Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare III Original Soundtrack.... Remixed! You can stream it now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, and more. 👉 https://lnkd.in/eMmxtqv3