Beautiful Game Studio
Beautiful Games Studios, the team behind the latest Championship Manager games, are based in north London. The studio employs over 30+ avid CM and football fans with over 100 years cumulative development experience and 90+ published titles.
You've played the game, now is your chance to meet part of the team behind Championship Manager!.
Name: Tom Hooper
Favourite Club: Dirty Leeds
Job Title: Designer
Job Description: After a thorough medical I was snapped up by the Design Team on a Bosman in the spring and I've since inherited deisgn responsibilies largely based around the User Interface as well as the Team Selection, Tactics and Player Search side of things. I'm also extremely comitted to the flourishing Pro Evo lunchtime scene.
History: After graduating Cardiff University with a degree in Communication in 2004 I got a job at Lionhead as a Design Documenter on The Movies. I worked my way up to a Junior Designer there before joining the Design Team at BGS in May 2006.
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: Teamwork, pace, versatility, dressing like a sailor, having hair like Esteban Cambiasso.
Favourite Pastime: I watch Leeds United as much as I can, as well as playing football as a winger-turned-centre-half in the Reading and District Sunday League. I'll watch any sport going other than horse racing which is rubbish.
I also go to lots of gigs and enjoy messing about on the guitar/synth/pots and pans/pennywhistle which I get a chance.
Name: Adam Shaikh
Favourite Club: Liverpool
Job Title: Lead Designer (hopefully as in "to provide direction and guidance", as opposed too deadweight lump of metal, but others ma be better qualified to judge.)
Job Description: Soak up all the ideas from everyone else like a giant, human shaped sponge, then expel them in such a way that they sound like me own... Being serious, much of my design work is in evaluating the mass of ideas that everyone comes up with and working out which ones we should do, and whether we can polish them to make them even sparklier.. This involves working with all the designers and programmers to make sure that these are worthwhile improvements to the the game, then work to make sure we give the programmers the information they need to make those improvements.
History: Started working as a designer back in 1991, when the entire industry was fields and most companies didn't even HAVE designers... Since then I've worked on a variety of formats in a variety of roles from level design through to head of design until landing at BGS in July 06.
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: Decision making. No, wait.
Favourite Pastime: Playing games, reading, watching films and other slothful activities. I do like playing sport, but never do as much as I should.
Name: Peter Allen
Favourite Club: Manchester United
Job Title: Junior Programmer
Job Description: Programming
History: Being a student - I "studied" at university and got myself a BSc in Computer Games Programming before landing this job.
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: Stamina
Favourite past time: Waking up in the afternoon.
Name: Omar Abouzekri
Favourite Club: Liverpool
Job Title: Programmer
Job Description: A member of the Match Engine team, started off working on Championship Manager's ProZone Match Analysis Tool.
History: Began work as a software designer in the Telecoms industry and became a project leader. Jumper to Sports Sciences for a few years (focusing mainly on Sport Psychology), and assisted in research looking at fitness, self-esteem and obesity in school children. Carried out performance analysis for a selection of football league matches. Finally, I ended up in the games industry programming football. I enjoy playing and watching most sports, however my favourite sport is football. I have a played a lot of football over the years, coached a lot, got injured a lot, and now I am playing a lot again :o)
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: Creativity, Passing Accuracy, Shooting Accuracy
Favourite past time: Guitar playing, looking for new sports to take up.
Name: Mark Day
Favourite Club: Leicester City
Job Title: QA Lead
Job Description: As QA Lead it's my job to play Champs and make sure it still works. This also includes listening to Anthony Kyne talk all day about women he can't have.
History: I’ve only worked in the games industry, last job was working at Anco.
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: Decision making. Well I did choose to join BGS.
Favourite Pastime: Listening to Freddy Mercury and Kosak dancing in night clubs.
Name: Penelope Randall-Hodge
Favourite Club: Spurs as I used to work there (as a waitress but I still like to brag!)
Job Title: Office Manager, the stationary princess, office fairy, any one I shall to, especially Pitstop.
Job Description: Organising the office in any way needed! Booking cooporate events, ordering office supplies, doing HR inductions for new starters, keeping records of sick leave and holiday taken, meeting and greeting clients and much more. What can I say I am multitasked - the best female trait.
If you had champ man stats – what would your highest be: For having the prettiest kit; lots of frills, colour and glitter of course.
Favourite Pastime: Filling out these answers. Or to be honest, reliving my student days every Sat night down Dukes in Essex.