Brent Nielsen graduated from UBC with a BA in 1993. Seventeen years later, he’s an executive producer of sports games at Electronic Arts (EA), one of the world’s foremost game production companies.
Brent majored in History with a minor in Economics. But his passion has always been hockey. “I played hockey my whole life; I may have been on skates before I learned how to walk,” said Brent. While studying at UBC, he worked at the UBC Hockey School, a residence program for young children. “It was so rewarding working with kids. I chose to major in History because I wanted to teach high school.” Brent also played on the junior varsity Hockey team.
Networking on Ice
After graduation, Brent worked a series of odd jobs. and he and his friends continued to play hockey in their spare time. And it was through his hockey buddies that he found his calling.
“Two of the guys [on my hockey team] were in the testing department at EA,” said Brent. “Growing up I had two passions in life: sports and video games. Hockey, golf and baseball were my favourites, and we always had a gaming system in the house. When I started at EA in 1995, I thought it would be an odd job until going back to school.”
Eventually, he became an assistant producer, then associate producer, line producer, and now executive producer in charge of NBA, NHL and NBA Jam franchises. “I became so engaged in this industry, I didn’t have the desire to back and teach high school,” said Brent.
What’s a game producer?
Producers are essentially business leaders. According to Brent, “there are four pillars to being a great producer: leadership, creative direction, business and execution.” Working as an executive producer, Brent manages producers, looks 12- 36 months ahead on a project, working closely with marketing partners, and meeting with NHL and NBA franchise managers, among many responsibilities. “What’s been so great for me is working in a job that combines sports, games and business,” said Brent. “It’s a triple threat that’s awesome to be a part of.”
From BA to EA
A Bachelor of Arts gave Brent a great foundation for his roles at EA. “Writing all of my papers, collecting thoughts and creating an argument served me well for games. It helped me identify the creative core for a game, and to clearly and concisely articulate a vision for something. A huge part of what I do now is present a vision to get support and funding,” said Brent.
“When I started at EA…I was an educated and well-spoken person in comparison to just-out-of-high-school tech guys, so after my first project, I asked to be an assistant lead, and then a lead tester, and so on.”
Brent will be moving in February 2011 to Florida to work as the Executive Producer of the Golf franchise. “I’ve had the opportunity to work in the franchises of my favourite sports: I’ve worked in Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and now Golf. People say you can tell how much you enjoy your job whether you look forward to Mondays or to Fridays. I like to think I look forward to Mondays,” said Brent.
