By John Sullivan
Many children love video games and comic books, but few have transformed their passion for these pastimes into a profession.
But adjunct faculty member Giuliana Funkhouser, who teaches video game-development-related studio and art history classes in our College of Art and Design, has done just that. From her beginnings as a 4-year-old playing Duck Hunt and Super Mario Bros. on a home Nintendo Entertainment System console, Funkhouser carved out a successful career in game design and development and has become an expert in the field.
This week, she was scheduled to lead a pair of panels at the PAX East gaming tradeshow (Penny Arcade Expo), “A History of Game Monetization” (presented with Johnny Liu) on March 23, and “Exploring Boston through Games and History” (with Christopher Maire, Daud Alzayer, Peter Nulton, Jessica Linker and Liam MacLean) on Sunday, March 26.
Last year, Funkhouser spoke at the Game Industry Conference in Poznan, Poland, and a decade ago was invited to consult and speak at an exhibition and conference closer to home, at Radcliffe College.
Despite the speaking engagements and employment pedigree working on the popular massive multiplayer online (MMO) games Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online, some people in Funkhouser’s life are dubious about her career path.
“To this day, many folks in my family tell me ‘To get a real job’ still, but the money and recognition I earned from my career within the gaming industry has kept a roof on my head, food on the table, along with the occasional surprise award or invitation to speak at conferences.”
Funkhouser recently received an unrestricted $5,000 Individual Pandemic Recovery Grant from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
Giuliana Funkhouser's art piece "Boom Box."
Climbing the various levels of a career in video games was anything but clear at the beginning. She loved Japanese graphic novels (called manga) and the video games she preferred sprung from Japanese companies such as Nintendo and Sega. She developed a thirst to learn more about the nation and its culture.
“There were common visual motifs, storylines or character tropes and locations mentioned or hinted at across many game stories I got curious to know more about,” Funkhouser says. “I started teaching myself Japanese at 14, then enrolled at Central Connecticut State University at 15 for formal study because I also had a fascination with non-alphabetic written language systems.
“Through these language lessons and after entering undergrad, I realized a lot of the Japanese elements I enjoyed were influenced by Japanese and Chinese artistic aesthetics and literature, Kabuki and Takarazuka theater, and also Sumo and modern comedic-style (professional) wrestling.”
Yet, when Funkhouser embarked on her professional journey, school-based training was scant.
“There were no programs outside of associate degrees for game design when I was an undergrad, so I loaded up on as many fine art, digital art and computer science course electives possible to prepare myself,” Funkhouser says. “My major in undergrad ended up being Japanese language and Literature because I also wanted to study abroad there to see if I would be a good fit for a Japanese video game company.”
Lecturer Giuliana Funkhouser and a recent exhibit of her works.
When she graduated college in 2004, however, her favorite game maker, Sega, had moved on to gambling machines. Nevertheless, she eventually began her career at the Massachusetts-based MMO game publisher Turbine Entertainment, which was eventually acquired by Warner Bros.
“Being fluent in Japanese and familiar with business customs there, I was the point person for our Japanese partner, internet backbone company Sakura Internet. That was amazing,” Funkhouser says. “Eventually, an opening came up within a newly established creative services team for somebody with digital photography and retouching skills and I transferred over.”
The team she oversaw produced high-quality digital images using game renders and assets for marketing and production. Serious business, in other words.
Funkhouser’s professional success is testament to maximizing the potential of one’s passions and remaining flexible in the pursuit of one’s dreams, even if the pathway is unclear at times. She is excited to pass on her experiences, both in at Lesley and at the PAX East tradeshow and advises budding video game professionals to “get plugged into your local game development communities.”
Want to learn more? Funkhouser has already done some of the work for you with a handy list of links to job listings, conferences and other resources.