Matt Webster

Well, I’m sure a lot of folks feel the same. I love games. I love making them and of course I love to play them. When I’m not doing that then it’s family time – walking outdoors with my wife, the teenagers don’t really want to do that! I love to watch most sports, particularly football and I have tried to play golf in recent years – with little success! I’m a big fan of anything that flys, so whenever I hear anything flying overhead I’m the first to look up and watch – and sometimes nerd out over what it is!

Favourite Quote

Give me the [creative] freedom of a tight [constrained] brief.

David Olgilvy

_Favourite Game

Red Dead Redemption II

_Favourite Book

The Three Body Problem - Cixin Liu

_Currently learning

3D Game Programming for Kids - Javascript

Questions & Answers

Earliest Gaming memory

Answer

The first game I ever played was Combat on the Atari 2600. It was amazing to plug this thing into a TV and then play. It was a completely new concept – looking at a screen and controlling something on the TV. Felt like magic. I remember then typing in a clone called Tank Battle on my brothers Vic-20 a few years later.

What was the game that triggered you looking at games as a career

Answer

I don’t really know if there was one. I lucked in to the games industry. I was playing Carrier Command on my Atari ST when I heard that ‘some American company’ had pitched up locally and were hiring. That’s what got me in to Electronic Arts.

What did you study at School or Uni that you feel was valuable for a career in games?

Answer

I studied Physics, Geography and Economics at A-Level - and sucked at all of them! Primarily as I didn't really feel they connected to what I was interested in. Our of them, and my GCSE's however, I think that geography got me thinking about a wider world and my english studies (and IT at the time) were very valuable when I started at Electronic Arts. I was able to communicate well with folks in person and in writing - and that context of the wider world was of real benefit.

Game that has inspired you the most.

Answer

This is impossible to answer. There are so many games that I love and that would make my Desert Island Games if such a series existed. From Bomb Jack and Super Sprint in the Arcades (and their 8-bit perfect conversions) to recent milestones such as GTAV, RDR2 and the Last of Us games and everything in between. The modern game that I have most hours in is Apex Legends. I suck at it but I love it.

What is the first game you worked on?

Answer

The first game that I played for money was a game called Magic Fly for the Atari ST. I had just started working at Electronic Arts and they were publishing this game – it was close to being done and I was reviewing the game and the box materials before it launched.

Games you’re the proudest to have worked on?

Answer

I’m proud of all the games that I’ve been lucky to be a part of. Ones that stick out are Magic Carpet and Syndicate when working with the wonderful folks at Bullfrog in the mid 90’s. FIFA International Soccer, the first game that I had a design and production credit on. Burnout 3, Revenge and Paradise when I was first at Criterion. Need For Speed Hot Pursuit and Most Wanted. Then X-Wing VR Mission, Battlefront II, BFV: Firestorm and the Need for Speed Heat and Unbound in the most recent past.

If you weren't making games...

Answer

I’d be learning to fly something!

Top 3 games of all time?

Answer

I can't pick but I will talk about this one. Red Dead Redemption 2. It's a work of art. The world I want to spend time in, the characters are so well drawn, the performances extraordinary. I played it again recently on PC and my jaw dropped so many times in the hours of play to the end - and it's nearly 5 years old.

Worst Game Boss

Answer

I can recall moments in time when I’ve been frustrated trying to defeat game bosses – most recently at the end of Hogwarts Legacy. For the most part my struggles are helped significantly by Youtube – thank you everyone who creates help videos and walkthroughs.