Welcome to the latest edition of Who Is Borderlands. Ever wondered what kind of person helps hammer down the mechanics and design of a huge game like Borderlands? Meet Jonathan Hemingway, a Game Designer on Borderlands who helps with the enormous task of making sure that all of the elements of Borderlands are consistent and fun!
Jonathan hard at work in his natural habitat
ennui: What is your official job title?
Jonathan: Game Designer
ennui: How did you end up at Gearbox Software – what’s your education background and how’d you get into the industry?
Jonathan: I wanted to make games ever since I first played Super Mario Bros on the NES, so I eventually ended up going to the Guildhall at SMU to study Level Design in an attempt to satisfy that dream. As a part of that program I got to do an internship with Gearbox.
My internship consisted of blocking out cutscenes and doing some level design for Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway. When my internship ended I went back to the Guildhall. Just as I was graduating, Gearbox had a need for a Game Designer on Borderlands. I applied, got the job, and happily accepted, which is how I find myself where I am today.
ennui: What are your responsibilities on Borderlands?
Jonathan: My underlying foundational responsibility is "make Borderlands as fun as possible." I spend a lot of my time writing documents to outline what needs to be built or how the game needs to work so that other people on the team have the understanding they need to do their jobs. A lot of my job is getting people to see what the design team sees so that all of the parts of Borderlands can work together as a coherent whole.
ennui: Who do you work with on the team and how do you work together?
Jonathan: I work closely with Matthew Armstrong, the creative director on Borderlands. In many ways I act as his assistant. We discuss what is working and what isn't, and where our efforts need to be spent to continue building the game right. Once we believe we have an understanding of what needs to be done I put our solution on paper. From there we take that document to whoever needs to see it and work with them to get the new system or feature built. So I get to work closely with a lot of different people on the team for short periods of time, depending on what features the Design team is working on.
ennui: What does a typical “day in the life” look like for you?
Jonathan: I check in with Matthew to see if he has something new that we need to get started on. Then I check in with the various people working on the features that I have been assigned to and see if I can help answer questions, provide feedback, and find out if they need additional resources to continue. The rest of my time is either spent writing the design documentation for work to be done in the future or implementing something I've been assigned to build on myself.
ennui: What are you most proud of that you’ve done for Borderlands?
Jonathan: I'm not sure what I can say without violating the NDA! I'll just say I'm very proud of the hundreds of silly drawings I've done for our design documents.
An example of Jonathan's design document illustrations: how jump-pack bandits jump.
ennui: Do you have a favorite Gearbox story or event?
Jonathan: No. I like all Gearbox stories and/or events equally. Discrimination is just plain wrong.
ennui: What hobbies or activities do you enjoy outside of work?
Jonathan: Currently I'm playing in a Dungeons and Dragons campaign with a bunch of Gearbox people (I'm playing a completely original and not cliche halfling rogue who uses daggers and likes second breakfast). I'm also involved in our Warhammer Online guild, Apotheosis, where we are dedicated to stamping out the forces of Order and figuring out ways to level faster. I also recently became a home owner, which means my new hobby is pulling weeds and general maintenance.
Thanks to Jonathan for taking the time to answer our questions and shed some light on what a Game Designer does for Gearbox and Borderlands!
