Hi! My name is Eric Chocholacek and I’m deeply passionate about video games.
My devotion began after beating my first game, “Crash Team Racing”, on the PS1; I had never been filled with such joy and excitement as when I beat Nitrous Oxide in that final race. As the credits rolled, I dropped the controller and raced up the stairs to wake my mom (an hour before her weekday alarm nonetheless) to share my excitement. I’m sure she was only wondering why I was up so early, but I knew from then on that I wanted to play and complete as many games as possible to keep that feeling alive.
Fast-forward to High School, where music and games were my escape from what I considered a boring reality. I didn’t really fit in and every day felt like a struggle until I could get home and jump into the next adventure my console had in store for me. I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do after graduation until I was contacted by a school in Vancouver that offered game design and development courses, and I was instantly sold. Me? Be able to make my own games and bring my ideas to life? Sign me up!
I initially thought that Game Design was the path that would help me achieve my goal of sharing my experiences with others, but as I progressed through school, it became clear to me that I wanted to pursue a career in Level Design. While Game Designers have their own tools to share emotion, I feel that Level Designers have a more direct link to Players. As someone who sometimes struggles to get ideas across with just words, being able to craft unique spaces and utilize a multitude of skills and techniques to lead a Player through your hand-crafted world in the way you intended, and to feel what you intended, is like a dream come true.
Video games were my escape and I’ll always keep making experiences that help others feel those emotions I felt after beating my first game. I’m currently working as a Level Designer at Cubit Studios, and my passion for video games and level design has never been stronger.