At last week's GI Academy Online – our annual event aimed at students – keynote speaker Louise O'Connor of Rare fame shared what she felt had changed the most during her time working in games, as well as the opportunities facing new generations seeking a career in the industry.
O'Connor joined Rare back in 1999 as an animator, having trained at Dublin's Ballyfermot Senior College. She has contributed to nearly all of the developer's subsequent projects, and is perhaps best known amongst the studio's ardent fanbase for her animation and voice work on Nintendo 64 title Conker's Bad Fur Day. Since being hired over 23 years ago, she has risen to the position of executive producer on one of the studio's current projects, multiplayer fantasy adventure Everwild.
The first significant change that O'Connor has noticed during her career in games is how the audience has broadened. Not only that but how publishers and developers measure their success is dramatically different.