‘Being able to walk around in your own creation is so cool!’

Creating Meaningful Experiences. That’s what I immediately think of when I see your LinkedIn profile. 

You may already know this one? The new BUas slogan. 

‘It is literally what I’m involved in, I mean, designing concepts for theme parks and attractions, think of a  roller coaster. You create meaning by linking a theme to it. We are now working on an attraction park in Denmark, in the Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) theme. It’ll be a drop tower. You may know it?’ 

That is such a free fall, right? Not my thing. 

‘Mine neither actually. Not anymore at any rate. I used to love it as a child; I got on this ride five consecutive times. But now I’m not particularly fond of it anymore although most of my colleagues in the Leisure Expert Group are real amusement park fanatics.’ 

From BUas too? Leisure & Events graduates, right? 

‘Exactly, and I’m among them as a Gamer!’ 

Not a common choice, right? After a game programme? How come? 

‘By chance, actually. I did a work placement at Guerrilla Games, where I got to know somebody who told me about the Leisure Expert Group. It takes a bit of guts, but I simply tried.’   

How would you describe your position at the Leisure Expert Group? 

‘The position is officially called Design Expert, but I say “Concept Artist”. I actually do the same as I do for a game, but then for a theme park. It’s about creating a fantasy world in both cases. In principle, you go through all the steps that you go through when you’re designing a game. Only the performance part is different. When you test a game, you check whether it runs smoothly. I’m mainly concerned with the question whether the design can be built in real life.’ 

Could you give an example of what you make? 

‘I sometimes create an impression of a whole park with my VA skills – from a bird’s eye view. And at the moment I’m designing rooms that are going to be built in a certain experience. I draw them from different angles. What I do is a bit of concept art. Then there are also the technical drawings, which are made by other colleagues. I colour them in to give the painters a good idea of the ambience.’ 

Have you always wanted to do that? Something with drawing? A Game study programme? 

‘That was ultimately a very conscious choice. I’ve always been creative, especially in primary school. In secondary school, I thought, I’ll just do something in the field of finances.’ 

Just? Where did it come from? Does it run in the family? 

‘My dad works with numbers, but I decided to look for a creative programme instead. I remember that I visited the open day of BUas (then NHTV, ed.) in three consecutive years. I really like it, but I was convinced I lacked the right skills. It all looked that complicated. And you had to know everything about art, that was my idea, and I had completely abandoned that interest in secondary school. Yet, I applied, and had to compile a portfolio quickly because I had not drawn anything since primary school. And I got accepted too!’ 

Then I would say: talent! The talent is just there. 

‘Perhaps, but it would have been nice to have had some previous education. In the first year, I didn't understand much. Those who’d graduated from mbo really had a head start. What they had learned in a year of previous education, I learned in two weeks!’ 

Pardon me? It is simply drawing, right? 😉 

‘Surely, in 3D. I had no idea. I had to get to know programmes. Modelling, sculpting, there was a lot to take in. And a bit of programming too. Basically, you did everything you might ever need to do. That first year was tough; I even had to take a resit in the last week. I had to redo something, recreate a character. A classmate helped me a bit; if you do it like that, they’ll let you pass.’ 

And you were successful! 

‘At the end of that first year, I still had my doubts. Could I really do this? In the second year, I was able to focus on concept art and life drawing. I enjoyed that and I was quite good at it. I was always jealous of my fellow students who had practised so much more. I felt I was missing that little bit that I had neglected in secondary school. I had a talent for it, but I had never had to work that hard for it. In the study programme, I had to. I observed that other individuals were capable of doing it, so I believed I was capable too. And, when you performed well, the lecturers acknowledged it too. This fostered self-confidence. It was not until the third year that I truly felt “I can do this”!’ 

Let’s go back to Creating Meaningful Experiences. What does your work make meaningful to you? 

‘Seeing people partying in front of your stage, knowing that you worked on it and helped make it happen. For example, the stage for the EDC festival in Las Vegas, in a stadium where NASCAR races are held. It’s so cool to see, it’s so huge, and so American. That’s when you realise what you’re designing. You can walk around in your own creation. Physically, I mean. That makes it even more fun than working for games.’ 

Those crossovers with other disciplines of BUas is what I find wonderful in your job. Perhaps it would be nice to give a guest lecture some time? What would you tell us? 

‘I would show especially that you could also do other things with the game programme of BUas. That with all the skills you develop during your studies, you could also create experiences that are different from games. And I’d say that we always have super cool placement positions.’ 

Is it more relaxed, do you think, your work compared with working in the game world? 

‘Not so much more relaxed; it is quite a different world, but there is certainly some haste involved. And yet, something else, with a game you work on the same thing the whole time; I don’t do that. I work on multiple assignments at the same time. That diversity makes it very enjoyable, but also challenging. You have to switch between tasks constantly. One moment you’re working on an attraction for children, and the next you’re designing a main stage for EDC Vegas. Those are two extremes!’ 

Where will you be in five years’ time? 

‘I might simply work at the same company. I can develop even further there. I’m going to supervise a student on placement, that’s what I would like to do, and I asked for it myself. In the past year, I’ve also helped a student on placement.’ 

What makes you enjoy it so much? 

‘I enjoy sharing my own experiences. Not just the skills, but also the struggles and how I solved problems. It’s great to see someone grow. You check in again after two weeks and then you see that someone’s become skilled at what you explained to them.’ 

And what else? 

‘I see myself teach in the far future. As a freelancer, I already did so. I taught Photoshop to the elderly. Then I realised that it’s all in my head, but now I have to convey it to others. It all makes sense to me, but it might not make any sense at all to someone else. And then I think back to myself and how I felt in my first year. I often felt that I should have understood it all long ago – ha!ha! – and then I didn’t dare to ask!? As a lecturer, you need to be sensitive to that.’ 

Interview: Maaike Dukker-‘t Hart