Ken Lightner
CCP
Atlanta, GA USA
"No matter what you do, it’s work. Life is just opportunities...you have to put them all together."
Career Roadmap
Ken's work combines: Technology, Design, and Being Creative
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
When I was starting out, there weren't a lot of opportunities for game designers in Atlanta. The bulk of the jobs were centered in San Francisco. However, I had no intention of leaving Atlanta, so I decided to start my own company instead. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Sociology, General
Georgia State University
Bachelor's Degree
Data Processing and Data Processing Technology/Technician
Georgia State University
Life & Career Milestones
My path in life took a while to figure out
1.
Joined the Army right out of high school, where he worked in aviation maintenance with the goal of one day being a fighter pilot—however, he discovered this path didn’t really suit him.
2.
After getting out of the Army, the 1989 Eastern Airlines strike sidelined his aviation work indefinitely, so he went back to college.
3.
Graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in sociology and data analysis, but had no idea what he wanted to do with that.
4.
His first job out of college was working at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in data analysis, collecting health statistics for epidemiologists.
5.
Around this time, the IT industry was starting to establish itself as an in-demand market, so he decided to teach himself programming.
6.
To practice his programming skills, he started to make edits to an existing game he liked to play, which sparked his interest in video game design.
7.
To avoid moving to San Francisco to establish himself in the industry, he founded his own Atlanta-based company called Holistic Games, most well-known for creating the game “Mall Tycoon.”
8.
He now works mainly on cell phone games and groundbreaking virtual reality.
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Society in general:
You have to move to San Francisco if you want to make in video game design.
How I responded:
When I was starting out, there weren't a lot of opportunities for game designers in Atlanta. The bulk of the jobs were centered in San Francisco. However, I had no intention of leaving Atlanta, so I decided to start my own company instead. Sometimes you have to create your own opportunities.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
I was working in aviation maintenance after getting out of the Army. In 1989, the Eastern Airlines Strike happened and aviation jobs came to a halt. So, I decided to go back to school.