Denman Rooke
The Rising Star on his “fantastic adventure”
How did you end up working with Digit in Ireland, having grown up in the US?
It still seems a little surreal. Firstly, I’ve had dual Irish citizenship through my dad for a few years, so naturally, Ireland was one of the first places, along with the UK, that I researched. I subsequently came across a new video game studio in Dublin looking for a lead concept artist. So I sent my stuff their way and within a couple of weeks they flew me over for an interview, and to my surprise a month later I arrived in Dublin with the wife and all my stuff. It’s been a fantastic adventure ever since. I loved Digit’s vision and vibe, so it’s a perfect fit.
What are the best and worst things about working on a new IP such as Kings of the Realm?
One of the best things is definitely full creative control. As a studio we can decide what kind of world we want to create, and what kind of characters we can build a story around. It’s bliss, really. But the counter to that is we have to start from scratch at building our brand. You have to be very careful that you don’t get lost in the wave of mediocre fantasy games, and instead build something that’s unique, engaging and fun.
What makes Digit a great company to work for?
Digit encourages everyone to be a part of the whole – not just in your skill set, but also in your ideas. Being a smaller studio helps facilitate that. It cultivates participation and collaboration. We all work together well and everyone is inspired to pitch in to the overall vision and development of our games. Digit has made a very strong effort to gather people who ultimately love games and are great at what they do. It’s fantastic to be a part of a team who all share that passion.
What do you miss most about the US art scene?
I miss the conventions the most. Being on the east coast was nice because there were a few conventions within a day’s drive. I really missed attending IlluXCon this year, especially since it was in my home state of Pennsylvania, which made it convenient to get to – but even more so because of seeing and hanging out with other sci-fi and fantasy freelancers and listening to great talks from other artists and art directors and the like. I would love to see more conventions like that in Ireland and Europe in general.