'But the other role is to be an expert at translating someone else's vision. The designer has two roles at Bioware: the 'architect role,' which relates to the creative and visionary aspects typically associated with game design. 'You need to be always aiming at the ideal, and then you need to forgive yourself when you don't hit that ideal' The designer's job is not to ensure that their own ideas make it into the game, Ohlen said, but that only the best ideas do, regardless of their source. I mean you recognise that there is always a better way to do something that there are many answers to a problem, and that your answer is just a single answer, and it's probably not even the best answer.'Р”Р„nd the best answer will often come from someone else. When I talk about humility, I don't mean lacking confidence, or not putting yourself out there, or not having drive. 'I think humility is a key attribute not just for a designer at Bioware, but as a creative in any industry. According to Ohlen, those values are 'Quality in the Product' and 'Quality in the Workplace,' but both are observed 'in the context of humility.'

It's probably one of the most fulfilling jobs you can have,' he added, but he stressed that 'in some ways the reality of working in the games industry doesn't match the dream.'Р”Р‡or a studio like Bioware, which works on huge games like The Old Republic, Mass Effect and Dragon Age, that means ensuring that new designers 'fit the culture' - a culture based on a specific set of values. 'Working as a designer in this industry is an amazing thing. 'Humility is a key attribute not just for a designer at Bioware, but as a creative in any industry'

This can give a sense of 'ownership' and 'autonomy' that 'doesn't really match' the experience of working at a big studio the games industry. Teaching environments, Ohlen said, are more intimate and much smaller, with students often collaborating in teams of just four or five people. Very often, a designer's first job will be at a huge company like EA, Ubisoft or Activision, where team sizes are frequently in the hundreds.

'The way think about, the way you dream about it, is probably you being the vision holder, the creative director,' he said. Ohlen, who is design director at Bioware, addressed what he believes is a mismatch between the way young designers are educated and trained, and the working environments they encounter when they enter the industry proper. In a talk at Digital Dragons today, Bioware's James Ohlen championed humility, empathy and a willingness to compromise as key attributes for game designers - both at Bioware, and in the games industry as a whole.

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