CODA THE FAQ PAGE: SHAHID AHMAD Develop grills respected figures from the global games industry
Who are you and what do you do? I’m Shahid Kamal Ahmad, but people know me as @shahidkamal. I work in business development at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, running a team called Strategic Content for (#baus) Antony Clark.
What are you working on right now? We have a ton of new games for the Vita coming out over the quarter, and some new ones on PS4 to move forward, so that’s on my mind. Also getting more and more excited about Football Manager for the Vita every time I see it.
What was the first video game or product that you ever worked on in the industry? The first “product” was Alien Attack. It was a crappy Atari 400 BASIC programme, but it had user-defined fonts. I “self-published” that in the back of Popular Computing Weekly for a week. I sold zero copies at £5 on home recorded cassette. I’ve used that self- publishing joke twice in public now, so it’s only fair that I out it properly in print so I can be done with it.
What was the first video game you ever played, and did you enjoy it? The first game I played in the arcades was Space Invaders. It was utterly entrancing. This was the birth of a magical new form of entertainment. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was nothing else to distract us kids back then, so the impact was huge. Imagine the thrill of seeing a brand new console and magnify that a thousand times.
What was the most recent video game you ever played, and did you enjoy it? The most recent game I played on my Vita was Spelunky. It was totally awesome. I would love to spend more time playing it, but my life is filled with the shame of unplayed games, unread books and unwatched films. I want to finally get around to playing Killzone Mercenary on it next, then TxK and OlliOlli.
What is your favourite game ever, and for what reason? You never forget your first love. Mine was Star Raiderson my Atari 400. I still think it remains unparalleled in so many ways, but mostly because Doug Nebauer managed to get so much into an 8K cartridge.
How many hours a week do you spend playing video games? Nowhere near enough. However, I get to spend more of the week than most ensuring independent developers get onto PlayStation and realise their ambitions. If that’s an excuse, I’ll take it.
What area of the industry do you think needs more ‘investment’? The industry needs more designers, true designers whose calling is to make video games and nothing else. We need UI experts, and UX engineers. Tools are getting better. Game making is within the reach of more and more people. That’s great. I think another area that could use more
investment is actually outside the industry, and that’s education. I’m delighted with our PlayStation First initiative. We in Britain generally need to do better by our kids in so many ways.
What do you enjoy about the video games industry today? There’s a feeling that anything could emerge from anywhere: the creative energy, the vibe in the indie space, the power of PlayStation 4, my relationships with partners and potential partners-to-be, working with a great team at PlayStation, crowdfunding, physical things being made in less time than ever before.
What disappoints you about the video games industry today? Although as an industry we’ve got a lot better, I’d like to see more women represented, particularly in development, and I’d like to see greater diversity, though that too has improved massively over the years. It doesn’t have to be women and minorities having more positive representation in games either, though that certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Of all the games you have worked on, which has been your favourite to work on? Chimera. It was my own. I was back in the game. It was exciting. I was trying to rip-off – I mean pay homage to – Knight Lore, the greatest technical achievement I’d ever seen.
What game that you were not involved with would you most liked to have worked on? From my development history, Knight Lore and Alien 8 on the C64. I came this close. It didn’t happen. It has taken me 27 years to get over it.
What other video games developer do you most admire? There are so many greats. Right now, if it has to be one unqualified pick, it has to be Naughty Dog.
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