Imaginary Forces (IF) is expanding its reach within the videogame industry by naming Derek C. Smith as the studio’s new Director of Business Development, Gaming. With over 15 years of experience working in interactive entertainment, Smith has extensive expertise within every facet of the videogame production process, from testing and publishing to development.
An important new addition to IF’s team, Smith produced a number of top videogame titles, overseeing a diverse array of artists, during his recent five and ½ year tenure with Sony Computer Entertainment America as Associate Producer. Smith first met IF’s team when collaborating on main, end and flashback sequences for the wildly popular PlayStation®3 games God of War® III and God of War: Ascension™. Greatly impressed by Imaginary Forces’ stylized, cinematic work, he fostered a rewarding working relationship with the IF team while at Sony.
In his new position, Smith’s main goal will be to connect Imaginary Forces with the best and most creative companies within the gaming industry. The studio’s goal is to collaborate with like-minded people and create exceptional videogame content that delivers each client’s vision. “I want as many people as possible within the interactive gaming industry to know the name ‘Imaginary Forces,’” says Smith. “They need to know that they can come to us for AAA, high-quality work.”
Smith is representing Imaginary Forces now at the 2014 E3 Expo, where he is reaching out to key industry people, introducing them to the award-winning creative services IF provides to its diverse array of clients.
As IF expands its creative capabilities within the videogame arena, the studio, under Smith’s guidance, will focus more attention on bringing in new opportunities and forming new relationships. Imaginary Forces expects that its extended new work within the videogame sphere will become another key service area that makes the studio a major creative force within the entertainment industry.
About Derek C. Smith
Derek C. Smith began his career in 1998 as a localization tester for PlayStation®’sBrave Fencer Musashi™ at Square Enix, Inc. After learning the quality assurance process, he moved into external production in videogame publishing at THQ®, Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., and Activision®, where he worked on titles such as Robotech® Invasion, and both Spider-Man™ 3 and Spider-Man™ Friend or Foe.
After seven years in external development, Derek turned his attention toward internal development and joined the production team at Pandemic Studios on the game, The Saboteur™. He later joined Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, where he helped produce the aforementioned God of War® III and God of War: Ascension™.
When not spending time with his beautiful family, Derek C. Smith, not surprisingly, finds himself playing lots of videogames.
About Imaginary Forces
Top entertainment studios, global brands and A-list agencies tap Imaginary Forces (IF) to find new ways to engage and inspire audiences. IF’s diverse talent pool of artists and creative professionals bring elite conceptual design solutions to projects in commercial, digital media, feature films and film marketing, television and architectural spaces.
Underlying each endeavor is their passionate belief that no project is too large, too small or too complex to benefit from beautiful and inventive design.
The innovative studio has garnered numerous advertising industry awards, as well as multiple Emmy Awards, including an Emmy for their iconic titles work on AMC’s smash drama series Mad Men.