Rossen Cholakov – Lecturer at ARC Academy – when you turn your hobby into a career
Rossen is a lecturer in Economy Game Design/Advance in ARC Academy’s on-campus Game Design program. For the past 6 years, he has been a part of Snapshot Games’ team, being an avid player of video and board games since the 80s. He has worked on numerous projects for Bulgarian and foreign companies such as Masthead, Crytek, Imperia Online and the mobile industry. He participates in closed test groups for games by Firaxis and Illwinter, and his articles on Civilization have even been translated into Chinese. He has been involved in Game Design since he was a child – creating worlds, rules, characters and their stories – you could say that this is one of his main hobbies.
1. What projects have you worked on so far?
Many. Some you may have heard of – for example, Phoenix Point. Others you will never hear of – these are the so-called discontinued or frozen projects that happen in every big company and are still subject to copyright, even if they have no chance of being completed. You will hear about others soon – we have big plans this year at Snapshot Games!
2. What is the strangest source of inspiration you have ever drawn from?
There is nothing stranger than the real world – although I draw inspiration from books, movies, games – the real world remains the source of “true amazement”.
3. Tell me something funny that has happened to you during the work process.
Game companies are the most interesting IT companies – we have people from mathematicians to artists and musicians. Once – in a previous company – it happened that the artists had no work for a week and all the whiteboards in the office were painted with caricatures of colleagues.
4. What would you like to teach the students?
The truth “behind the smoke and mirrors” – but not in a way that removes the mystique of games, but in a way that challenges them to be even more creative.
If you also want to create exciting worlds, mechanics and concepts – apply to the Game Design program during the Early Admission and become a part of our creative community.
