Microsoft XBox Expert Chats With Seekonk High Students

Video game enthusiasts at got a special treat this week. Microsoft’s Director of Xbox Live Programming, Larry Hyrb, took time out of his day to conduct a special live webchat with the students of the SHS Video Game Club.

Hyrb, who is better known by his online gamer handle, “Major Nelson,”delivers a weekly podcast on Xbox-related topics and is often the most direct contact gamers have with a higher-up at Microsoft. His webchat was organized by Susanne Larson, who is Hyrb's sister, the advisor to the Video Game club and the school's Library Media Specialist.

Larson said she and her brother both have a love of video games, but that they ended up going in very different directions with their interest.

Hyrb took questions from the assembled gamers on a variety of topics. For the students interested in a career in gaming, Hyrb said that Microsoft has a very strong intern program. Paid internships are available for college students to work on a variety of Microsoft projects.

“It’s a great way to get your feet wet at Microsoft,” he said.

Hyrb was also asked by students about the House’s  Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). He said that Microsoft is not in support of the bill at all and that it is not a well thought-out solution to the problems regarding piracy.

“I have not seen one person who is behind that bill come out and explain, articulately, why it should exist,” he said. “This is not the way to solve that problem at all.”

Game design was something very important to the members of the SHS Video Game Club, as the deadline nears to submit their entries for both the school-wide video game design contest and the . The winner of the National Competition will win an AMD-powered laptop with game design and other education software, along with $2,500 for their school. The winner among the Seekonk students will receive two tickets to the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) on April 12 in Boston, which is one of the largest gaming conventions in the country.

“The critical thing about game design and game development is story,” Hyrb told them.

Hryb said the story is what compels you to finish games, even if it’s a simple story such as saving the princess in Super Mario.

Hryb advised the designers to look at their basic gameplay mechanics and look at what they were trying to make their players do.

“Distill it down to what is the basic essence of what you’re trying to do and ask 'Is that fun?'" Hyrb said. “At the end of the day, everyone in this class, and as gamers, we want to play something fun.”