#MeetIronGalaxy - Joe Charette

At Iron Galaxy, you’ll find a lot of seasoned devs who have explored many applications of their talents and passions to making games. Today, we have an opportunity to get to know Joe Charette, a designer at Iron Galaxy who began his career in QA. He’s been a part of Iron Galaxy for three years and works out of the Orlando studio. Read on and get to know Joe more.

Iron Galaxy: Hi Joe. Who are you and what do you do at Iron Galaxy?‍

Joe Charette: My name is Joe Charette and I have been a designer for three years here at Iron Galaxy. My primary focus is on UI and in UX, but I have dabbled a little in level design.

IG: Very cool indeed. How long have you been in the industry, and have you always been a designer?

‍JC: I have been working in the video game industry for eighteen years and have had the opportunity to work in a few different disciplines. I started in QA, transitioned into art, and then design. The beauty of Iron Galaxy is that you often get to try different aspects of design, depending on the project you are working on, which allows you to learn new and interesting areas of game development.

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IG: We are all fortunate at Iron Galaxy that we can try new things. If you could give someone who wanted to follow in your career’s footsteps one piece of advice, what would it be?

‍JC: I often give this advice to any budding designer: If you are in the business of crafting experiences for others to enjoy, you need to experience life. Inspiration can come in many shapes and forms, from other games to movies and books, to real life experiences. The places you go and the things that you see can spark an idea for a game mechanic or an interesting game design. By making yourself well-versed in what is fun, then you yourself can start to understand what others might enjoy. Plus, you get to see and learn some amazing things along the way.

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‍IG: Now that is some great advice. How collaborative are you with different teams across Iron Galaxy?

‍JC: I am extremely collaborative. This may stem back into my QA days, but by understanding and collaborating with other disciplines, you can start to understand the limitations of what you can and can’t design for. This saves you time and effort in the long run. I love having artists, engineers, and production in our design meetings so they can understand the intentions around a design. This also allows them to voice their own design ideas. As designers it is our job to take all these ideas and see how they might fit together. In the long run, we still own the design and the experience we are trying to convey, but with the added benefit of creativity from the entire team.‍

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IG: What career experiences in game development have led you down the path of design?

‍JC: My time as a game developer is a long and winding one. I started out as a QA tester on a real time strategy game by Relic called Company of Heroes. Eventually, I found my way into a developer studio testing Ratatouille the video game. Because I had my degree from Savannah College of Art and Design, the studio allowed me to take the art test, that I failed, but I didn’t give up. I kept working on my skills and eventually transitioned into an art position. One of my first artistic jobs was creating the house for UP the video game. I was often tasked with learning new features for the artist at my previous studio, so I got to dabble in areas like cloth and crowd simulations and eventually visual effects. Though I was an artist, I was still technically minded which landed me a spot in helping Infinity Ward with their UI design for Call of Duty’s Infinite Warfare and Sledgehammer's WII. This opened the door for me for design and I love where it has taken me.‍

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IG: That is an adventure that seems to have landed you exactly where you want to be. We’ve heard that you’re a fan of Sea of Thieves. What about the Sea of Thieves gameplay loop keeps you coming back for more?

JC: Sea of Thieves is a Rare gem (pun intended!). The game loop is simple enough: set sail on a ship and find treasure. Once you find the treasure the adventure really begins. You must travel and take the treasure to a location where you turn it in. This is where piracy can come into play. Not only do you need to look out for environmental hazards, but you also need to keep a weathered eye for other pirates (players) who might come and try to take that treasure. The design of the game is simple where everyone has the same abilities as everyone else. This means that a player's skill weighs heavily upon your experience and how you execute that skill. If you are slightly lacking in skills, you can sometimes outthink other pirates or take them by surprise to make up for it. This is just one pillar that makes me enjoy the game. The second pillar is sharing that adventure with my friends. My most memorable sails were when we obtained a bunch of treasure and gave it all away to newer pirates in some scripted event we concocted up. We could choose our adventure and share it with each other. Not to get to design heavy, but these are the three aspects of the self-determination theory, which is a macro theory of human motivation. The first is Competence with the skill of the game. The second is Autonomy where we can sail and choose the type of adventure we want, from a scripted one or one we make up ourselves. The third is Relatedness where I get to sail with my friends and make new ones along the way. It can be hard to find all three in a game, but when you do those are the games that tend to last.

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‍IG: Sounds like an exciting gaming experience. If the world broke out into piracy, what would you do first?

‍JC: Obviously establish a seaworthy crew by surrounding yourself with people you can trust and depend on. They can weather any adventure or hardship. This is sort of the same mentality that Iron Galaxy has with the people that work here. We lean heavily on the culture we create and provide a great work life balance. It’s one of the reasons I like working at Iron Galaxy.

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IG: Iron Galaxy kicked off the Iron Galaxy Value Awards, celebrating people who embody the vibe we strive for with our company mission. Last year, you won the Improvement award. Congratulations! How do you strive to keep getting better at what you do?

‍JC: Thanks! I think one of the most driving factors is that I love to learn. Not just in my own field of expertise, but in the game development processes. By striving to learn about the different areas, we can shoot to improve the overall product we are making. To quote a sailing reference, a high tide raises all ships. We are all creating something as a team; by striving to make something better and improve on our past experiences we can all have a smoother sail to that product. Also, something my mother used to say to me. “You will meet many people in life and everyone you meet can teach you something. Even if it is on not what to do.” I know her cleverness shines a little in that statement, but I have taken it to heart and look for the lessons I need to learn. If I somehow miss that lesson? Well, life often has a way of bringing it back until I do learn from it.

IG: Mothers always instill great wisdom. Let’s get to know you a bit more. What is your hometown?

‍JC: I grew up in Gardiner, Maine. It’s a small town just south of the state’s capital, Augusta. A picturesque quintessential New England town nestled on the banks of the Penobscot River. This place molded me into who I am today. It allowed my imagination and creativity to thrive, partly because there was not much to do, and we had to find or create the fun on a regular basis. The town itself only had two stop lights and one main street. I had to walk to school uphill both ways in three feet of snow in the winter, as the saying goes.

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JC: When Autumn came, the leaves would change and the view was breath taking. In winter, the land would transform into a blanket of white, sometimes so blinding you would get a sunburn as it reflected up on you. In spring, the snow would melt, and dump into the Cobbosseecontee stream near my house, boosting its flow. One year; I think it was 1987, I was five at the time, it snowed and stormed so much the entire downtown area was flooded. I vividly remember riding in my dad’s little red Ford truck, observing the water as it overflowed the banks of the Penobscot. Everyone knew everyone else, and most people were friendly. It was a great place to grow up and I miss it dearly.

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‍IG: Wow that sounds like a gorgeous place to grow up. Aside from playing video games, what is a favorite hobby of yours?

‍JC: I love being creative, be it in a video game or in real life. Each year, my daughter and I work on creating a prop for our Halloween decorations. I’m trying to instill in her the concept of planning out a design and slowly working to complete that design. Plus, I get to spend some quality time with her in the process. This past year we created a spell book. I first sat down with her and talked about the idea and concept. We looked online and researched how to create similar items. Then we sketched out some ideas on paper. We went with her idea of a snake coiled around a glowing gem. Next, we hunted the thrift stores and hobby shops for the book and parts to put together. Sometimes you stumble upon unique looking items in some of those stores which can spark the imagination. We also had to order a few items like a fluorite gem and LED lights. Once we had everything, we sat down and worked to put it all together. I was happy with what we had created and found joy in the time spent with her.

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IG: What is one place that you hope to see one day?

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JC: As I said before, I am a big proponent of living life, and I have a long list of places I would love to go see. Next on my list is Ireland, which we are planning on visiting in 2026. We are still in the planning stage, but the goal is to do a longer trip starting in Dublin, maybe get a look at the book of Kells and then visit the Blarney stone at Blarney Castle. Hitting up the cliffs of Moher and then heading north to see the Giant’s Causeway and the Titanic Museum. My daughter started to learn about the Titanic so this stop is a must. If possible, I would also love to see Galway. I’ve always been a fan of castles, and I hear Ireland has a lot of them so a few of those along the way would be great. Planning a trip is no different than planning out a project. First you need to scope out what it is you want to do. Then, break it down into individual steps. Allow for a bit of wiggle room in case things do not go according to plan and of course enjoy the journey.
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‍IG: Sounds like an amazing trip is ahead of you. What is your favorite book or series?

‍JC: I am a big Horror fan and love reading. In fact, I recently joined a book club that is dedicated to the horror genre. One of my most favorites books is “IT’ by Stephen King. I read the book when I was a kid and again when I was an adult, each time it impacted me differently. The book itself is a hefty read clocked in at 1,138 pages which jumps back and forth between a few characters from their early childhood years to when they are adults. The setting is in a fictional town called Derry in Maine, which felt exactly like my hometown, without the child/fear eating clown. I saw many similarities in the way I grew up and the places and people in the novel and perhaps this is the reason “IT” sticks with me. If you are not inclined to dedicate that much time to reading, then seeing the 2017 adaptation might be your thing. They follow closer to the book than the 1990 version with Tim Curry, which is also good and scary in its own way.

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‍IG: A hefty read indeed. What has been your favorite series to binge?

JC: When I first interviewed here at Iron Galaxy, I went through the normal gambit of interview questions. One of which caught me slightly off guard. It was a simple but off topic question that came from Adam Heart (another great designer here at IG), who noted that I was a fan of Sea of Thieves and Anime. In hearing this he asked if I knew One Piece. I have heard of One Piece and had seen a few of the episodes at the time and I said “Yes.” This was not the question that threw me for a loop. He next said, and I vividly remember this “Oh so you’re all caught up?” In that instant all I could think of saying was “yeah.” That is all the question was, very simple closed ended. But, in that moment, I had stretched the truth a little and vowed to rectify that by dedicating myself to watching the show before talking with him again. Little did I know at the time that the show had hit close to 1000 episodes. That moment had started something that turned out to be amazing. I was not daunted by the length of the show and dove headfirst into the series. Since then, I have fallen in love with Luffy and his rag tag crew. The show has been an emotional roller-coaster that resonates well with me, with his loyalty and trust in his crew and his friends. I highly recommend it to anyone.‍

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IG: One Piece is a wonderful story. What was your favorite movie that bombed?

‍JC: I was and still am a big fan of the movie Hudson Hawk. This 1991 film starring Bruce Willis is about a world class cat burglar and safe cracker who was released from jail looking to turn over a new leaf, only to be pulled back into game through blackmail from his parole officer and various other entities. He needs to steal some priceless artifacts made by Lenardo DaVinci from the louvre and an auction house. These art pieces hold the key to making Lenardo’s mythic gold machine work parts of a crystal that are hidden within the pieces themselves. Using wit and clever humor, Hawk needs to stop the villains and save the girl - though she gets tired of waiting and saves herself. The movie to me is a gem, and though the plot jumps a little, I still love it. The movie is filled with dad jokes and puns which I value so much, much to the vexation of my family.

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‍IG: We all love some good dad jokes and puns. What is the one superpower that you would like to have?

‍JC: I have thought of this often enough, especially when I was a kid, and up until recently I would have said precognition. The ability to peer into the future and see the different outcomes or paths you could take. That way you could always have the best one. However, the older I get the more I dislike this ability. It prevents happy accidents from happening. Sometimes the mystery of not knowing an outcome is more rewarding than the outcome itself. If I had to pick one today, then I would say teleportation. That way I could spend more time with my family as it would be less travel time. I could whisk away to faraway places just to experience them.  Again, I wouldn’t want to overuse it as sometimes the journey is more fun than the destination.

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IG: Experience each decision before they are chosen – a futuristic choose your own adventure superpower. Very cool. You get one wish. You can’t wish for more wishes. What do you wish for?‍

JC: I think the ability to retain all the information I have learned and recall it accurately. One of my deep fears in life is the thought of losing my mind or forgetting the ones I love. I know as the older we get our cognition slowly starts to degrade. If I could forego that issue and continue to learn and remember, then when the end does come, I would be content.

IG: Knowledge is power. What fictional universe would you choose over our own? What if there was no coming back?

‍JC: I recently read through all the Dresden files books by Jim Butcher, so far there are 17 of them. It follows a private investigator who is also a wizard. His world is very much like our own, but with one subtle difference. Magic is real, and so are all the other mythological beings out there. Scary in that concept, but I love the thought of having a modern-day setting with magic. Like all things, this magic has rules and restrictions, and magic does not solve all issues. But the idea of magic and being able to manipulate the world in different and unique ways is part of the fun. If there was no coming back from this world; well, it would already feel like our own so if I had my family, I would be content.

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Thank you, Joe, for sharing your story and letting us learn a bit about yourself. We look forward to you sharing your precognition superpower with us as well as your creations that you make with your daughter.

#MeetIronGalaxy is a series where we interview members of our studios. Learn more about other Iron Galaxy employees on our news page.

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