Sharky Extreme: A Project Admin at a game company really seems to be jack-of-all trades. Do you have a real job description you can share?

Kenn Hoekstra: My job description leans heavily on the phrase "other duties as assigned by management." I do a lot of the things that no one has time to do. I serve as the company's office manager, Webmaster and tech support guru, both for our games and our company's equipment. In addition, I monitor our message boards and online public relations as well as some marketing and promotional duties. I also do a good deal of technical writing, coordinating and, like I said, just about anything else the company sees fit to drop on me in any given week.

"Jack-of-all-trades" is a great summary of the position.

Sharky Extreme: How old are you, and how long have you been working in the game industry?

Kenn Hoekstra: I am 26 years old...27 on October 1st. I've been in the industry (entirely at Raven Software) for a little over 3 1/2 years.

Sharky Extreme: Was this a career choice you planned for, or was it something that 'just happened' to get your interest?

Kenn Hoekstra: As a kid, I always wanted to make games. I played them all the time from the arcades to Commodore 64 to the PC to all of the console systems from the Atari 2600 to the present. That said, I had no idea how one would go about accomplishing that feat so I concentrated on my other big love: writing. I went to college and got a BA in English Writing with a minor in history. I wanted to get my PhD and teach at a University level, but that never panned out.

I was managing a restaurant at the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater when I met Eric Biessman, a lead designer here at Raven. He and I became friends and he told me of his work in the games industry. He notified me that Raven was hiring and was willing to train. Eager for a career change at any cost, I jumped at the opportunity. The rest, as they say, is history.

When it comes to game development, there is no substitute for being in the right place at the right time. Talent certainly counts for a lot, but most people are just plain lucky in getting from point A to point B. It's a trend I notice in most developers' stories.