Career Interview with Donald Mustard
By Greg Smith
July 8, 2012
I was excited going into the assignment of contacting and interviewing someone working in
the field I’m interested in. I believed it would help me make contacts in the industry of game
development, get a better understanding of some of the inner-workings, and help me plan my
future.
I was not prepared for how difficult obtaining an interview would be! My first choice was
John Blackburn, lead designer for Avalanche Software, a subsidiary of Disney Interactive. Even
contacting him proved to be a problem, as I was not able to get past his secretary for about a
week. Eventually I did speak with him, and he offered an interview with an entry-level
programmer. However, I wanted to interview someone with more experience, so I replied that I
would think about it.
My next attempt was Donald Mustard, lead designer at Chair Entertainment. I was able to
contact him by phone at his office on the first attempt. He was much more willing to be
interviewed, and expressed how excited he was by my enthusiasm. We made arrangements for a
meeting at his office in Provo for Friday, July 6.
The first thing I did in preparation was research. I went online to his company’s website
and read it in its entirety. I discovered more about his past projects through news websites and
video game industry-related pages, and read about his future plans. I wanted to know everything
there was to know about his company before I met him.
Next I planned my interview, including the questions I would ask. I would open the
interview with a brief explanation of who I am, and why I have contacted him. I would then
delve into the interview with the following topics: His start in the industry, growing from
programmer to designer, forming his own studio, the future for him and the industry, and advice
for myself.
Before my interview, I dressed pretty formally, with a dress shirt and tie. I wanted to look
more like a professional just starting out than a student, as I took this exercise both as a class
assignment and as a tool to build up a network of professionals in the industry with whom
hopefully I would stay in contact.
I felt like I could conduct a better interview with a structured, but not concrete outline of
questions. Therefore, I wrote down my topics, giving myself plenty of room to write between
each, and tried for a more informal tone. Here are the questions I had prepared:

Education (formal and informal)

What made him want to design games

Obstacles on the road to employment (From student to Worksweet Inc.)

From programmer to designer

Forming an independent company, the challenges and rewards

Association with Epic Games (how acquired, how much control he still has over the
design of games)

How do you see the industry in the future? (hit on mobile platforms, social gaming,
etc.)

What’s next for Chair Entertainment?

What advice would you give your past-self when you were still a student?
The interview went pretty smoothly, and my interviewee was incredibly patient and
understanding with the exercise. He said he could tell how much I wanted into the industry, but
that would not be enough. The key to success, he said, was a mix of desire and talent. Afterword,
he asked how many years of schooling I would have before I graduated. I told him 2 more years,
and he chuckled. He said he was expecting I had less and that after I graduated, to contact him
again!
Before the interview, I felt pretty nervous just making “cold calls” to potential
interviewees. I thought they might be too busy, or annoyed, by it, and it seems like I was correct
on my first attempt. However, once I actually started the interview, I felt a bit more comfortable.
Mr. Mustard was very accommodating and respectful, and that put me at ease. I had a thank-you
letter already prepared, but felt it would have a better impact if he received it after some time, so
I dropped it off in the mail later that day.
I definitely feel like the whole interview as a whole was worth my time and effort, and
may continue with other people in the industry as time goes on.
If I’ve learned one thing, it’s that I should have had a more structured interview. Not
having the experience of interviewing another person, I was not prepared for how many
questions I thought of asking on the ride home. For future interviews, I will prepare the interview
questions well in advance, and add more as time passes.