2012 D.I.C.E. Summit Speaker Spotlight Q&A

Richard Hilleman
Chief Creative Director
Electronic Arts

You will be speaking on the topic, “Games as Language.”  We’d love for you to elaborate a little bit on your topic and what you have in store for the attendees at the DICE Summit.

Games at a Language:  How a Hippy, a Chinese World Champion, a New Hampshire Engineer, and two Nobel Prize winners invented the modern video games business, by accident.

You’ve gone to every single DICE Summit event – how has the conference evolved over the years?

 Actually, I think I missed a couple of DICE’s in the mid 2000’s, but what I have seen is the evolution of a show from a vision to a reality.  It’s standing as the premier conference for gaming professionals, and the positive effect it has had on both the Academy and the Awards it hosts have been a gratifying realization of what we all hoped was possible.

Who have been some of your favorite speakers at the past DICE Summit events?

We have had a lot of great speakers over the years.  Most of what I remember are the Hall of Famers: Will, Sid, Bill Budge, and all of the friends I have gotten to see make that walk, and tell us what they think matters.

As a core founder of Electronic Arts, what are some key projects you’ve worked on at Electronics Arts that you are most proud of?

I’m probably not a founder, but I’m proud of several titles.  Chuck Yeager was a chance to work with several people I still count as my friends, and one of the great characters in American History.  I think we changed the world of driving games with Indy 500.  American’s Alice product was a great example of what could be done with great art direction and design.  Finally, I’m proud of the sports products and what they have become.  It is well beyond anything my imagination could envision.  The effect it has had on both the culture and the sports themselves has been amazing.  I think what I remember best is how many people for whom playing Madden, NHL or Tiger is a key part of the fabric relationship with their friends or family.  I think that is becoming something quite beyond most people’s vision of what video games could become.

To those who know you, you are quite the Renaissance man.  What other creative projects and endeavors are currently occupying your time besides your instrumental role at Electronic Arts?

I’m really quite busy with work nowadays. I have done several crazy things, mostly on four wheels recently.  This year’s project was to move all of my media to digital.  That was better than 350 lbs of Laserdiscs, CD’s, Records, Videotape, Home Movies, Pictures, and documents turned into files. I have a guitar that has been sitting at Alembic, for a few years.  This might be the year to go finish it.

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