Today we’d like to introduce you to Seth Smith.
Hi Seth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was raised in Houston, Texas with Trinidadian and Tobagonian roots. I’ve known I wanted to be a game designer since I was five. I loved games my whole life, and I’ve always appreciated how games could bring my family together. Growing up, I couldn’t afford many games so that opened up the opportunity for me to create my own board games, card games, storylines, comic books, songs, and more. My friends and family would playtest my games whenever I asked enough. I became more sure that I wanted to pursue a career in game design anytime I saw someone having fun with my paper and pencil remixes of Pokemon cards, my rule revisions to popular board games, or my own original games.
My passion for game design led me to study at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) where I created a game design portfolio and graduated with a BFA in Interactive Design and Game Development.
After graduation in 2010, I was hired as a game designer, and I’ve been working in the industry for 12+ years since. I’ve worked on hidden object games, free-to-play role-playing games, augmented reality location-based games, casino games, and tactical first-person shooters. I’ve worked everywhere from smaller startups to major companies like NBCUniversal Dreamworks and Riot Games.
Today, I am a Senior Game Designer at Riot Games for VALORANT’s Social and Player Dynamics team. As a player dynamics professional, my day-to-day involves brainstorming game concepts, writing design docs, and leading the player dynamics design vision for healthier player behavior in VALORANT’s ecosystem.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Working in an industry that is only 2% Black as a Black professional has its challenges especially when you are advocating for more diverse representation in your space.
In my 12+ years of working in the industry, I have experienced discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, prejudice, unprofessional politics, layoffs without severance, pay disparity, and the overall sense of unwelcoming indifference towards my truth and identity in the tech and entertainment industry.
While attempting to enter the gaming industry in 2010, I had industry professionals at gaming conferences literally tell my friends and I that we didn’t belong in the industry, some even refused to exchange business cards with us. The message was clear, if you didn’t have the privilege of knowing who they knew or getting into the industry how they did, they would not acknowledge you.
In the past, I worked on a project that had a character customization editor. These create-your-own character editors enable you to change your game character’s virtual appearance. However, these editors are notorious for having extremely limited options to represent Black and non-white presenting characters. There were only 3 options for skin tones and none of the skin tones were representative of darker complexions. I drew attention to this on the team and asked an engineer and an artist how long it would take to add more options for diverse representation. They both indicated that it could be accomplished quickly with no impact on the schedule. I mentioned this in a round table product review and the issue went unacknowledged in the meeting multiple times. I decided I would not be ignored. My persistence in drawing attention to the issue eventually started a conversation about the lack of representation in the editor, but the root of the problem was still present. A deeper conversation was needed to address why there was ever a lack of diverse options in the first place and how to prevent a limited representation in future designs.
After 10+ years of experience, I decided I didn’t want to work on my next game project unless the game had a Black character. I mentioned this candidly in all my interviews and was often told by hiring managers that their particular studio did not consider diversity in their character designs and that their studio wouldn’t be a good fit to work on diverse and inclusive experiences.
In spite of all of the hurdles that I have navigated, I’ve truly found ways to thrive in tech thanks to God. I’ve been able to find and build a community where I belong. I’m so grateful for all of the support I have received from the diverse professionals who have paved the way before me and all of the allies who are working to pay it forward and open doors for future generations of game developers in the industry.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a Cross-Experience Designer, it is my task to cultivate and realize a shared goal across seemingly separate experiences. My vision is to create a cross-experience entertainment company that specializes in creating narrative experiences where anyone can see themselves represented.
As an aspiring author, I am working on my first novel, which acts as the intro to my cross-experience universe. The stories I tell will create more diverse representation in the tech and entertainment spaces.
Currently, I strive towards that vision in my role as a Senior Game Designer for the Social and Player Dynamics team for VALORANT by Riot Games. VALORANT is a 5v5 team-based tactical first-person shooter which was named Best Esports Game at the 2022 Game Awards.
As a DJ and a musician, I go by the name of SNDSMTH. I enjoy curating sounds for venues and events that celebrate diversity and inclusion. Along with DJing for my own diversity event // Hello, World, I have DJ’d for Riot Noir, Riot Asian Pacific Islander, and Tec Leimert events.
As the founder of // Hello, World, an inclusive social mixer and podcast for anyone who desires to see diverse representation and belonging in tech and entertainment, I facilitate my vision to create more opportunities for diverse representation by curating a safe space for new, aspiring, and experienced tech professionals to connect, build community, celebrate heritage, and set future generations up for success.
The event features a panel of industry professionals in tech and entertainment, with past panelists from Netflix, EA, SNAP, Google, Pinterest, Riot Games, and Marvel Studios. The social mixer continues after a panel discussion. Sounds are curated by DJs who specialize in spinning Amapiano, House, R&B, Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Soca, Dancehall, and a variety of other genres from around the world.
I founded // Hello, World because I personally felt it was rare to find spaces for aspiring and experienced diverse professionals in tech and entertainment to share their stories with each other. I had an unnecessarily difficult time finding my footing in the industry. The lack of candid conversations about the ups and downs of people who look like me have to navigate made it hard to process the maze of microaggressions that I and many others have endured on the path to finding our way.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Growing up in Houston, Texas, my family and I have made it through many storms. We’ve waited out everything from tropical rainstorms to full-on hurricanes. Whenever the power would go out, we would gather candles and flashlights and tell stories or play games in the family room until the power came back on. I secretly loved those moments that made us present and peaceful despite the wind and rain raging outside. It felt inspiring to see how we as a unit responded to weather vs reacted to them. Our family’s ability to find joy during storms really resonated with me. It is an experience that has helped me navigate many obstacles in life. I want the messages behind my life’s work to empower others to find peace in spite of any circumstances.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://helloworld.
simplecast.com - Instagram: https://instagram.
com/sethssmith - Facebook: https://www.
facebook.com/sethssmith - Linkedin: https://linkedin.
com/in/sethssmith - Twitter: https://twitter.com/
helloworldmixer - Youtube:https://youtube.com/@helloworldmixer
- Other: https://instagram.com/
helloworldmixer
Image Credits
Jonny Rabbit, Jazmine Dudley, Zombihugs, Willie Thomas
