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Videogame Vet Derek Smith Joins Imaginary Forces

Imaginary Forces hires videogame veteran Derek C. Smith as Director Of Business Development, Gaming.

Los Angeles -- Imaginary Forces 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 PlayStation3 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.

Derek C. Smith began his career in 1998 as a localization tester for PlayStation’s Brave 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 video games.

Source: Imaginary Forces

Jennifer Wolfe's picture

Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.