#MeetIronGalaxy – Tom Newsome

Designers bring art and technology together to create a playable experience. Since they touch every aspect of a game, they come in all varieties. To dive into one specialty, we’ll be chatting with someone who interacts with teammates in multiple departments. Meet a Cat Dad with an unpredictable work routine.


Iron Galaxy: Who are you? What would you say you do here?

Tom Newsome: Hey! My name is Tom Newsome, and I’m a technical designer here at IG. You’ll often find me prototyping in Unreal, writing feature proposals, or polishing up technical documentation so thorough it’ll make your head spin!


IG: Ooo, we hope you explain more of what that means. What’s the most challenging aspect of your job?

TN: Accepting and understanding when a system won’t or can’t help you achieve your goals. I spend a lot of time evaluating the viability and use cases of tools and systems in my work, and as much as I’d like them to, they don’t always check every box. A skill I’ve gained is knowing when a tool is worth keeping, adapting, scrapping, or putting on the backburner while prioritizing and rescoping project goals to accommodate. It’s for sure a balancing act.


IG: That seems like a difficult skill to upkeep. What’s one skill you learned growing up that you use most in your role?

TN: Listening! Tech designers can end up working alongside every discipline on projects and are guided by the skills of people in those disciplines to work on project features. It’s important to stay humble and know when the right time is to add in your expertise, especially with the immense talent I get to work with here. I’m learning something new every day from coworkers and love opportunities to share my knowledge with them too!


IG: Sounds like you have a melting pot of wisdom to lean on when work gets tough. What has been your proudest moment as a member of the Iron Galaxy team?

TN: Without going into specifics, I did a feature implementation that focused on streamlining user inputs to activate functionality in-game without sacrificing the usability of said functionality to work better on mobile platforms (like I said, tough without specifics haha). The playtest results were overwhelmingly positive, and I was proud to have taken that feature from start to finish including analysis and documentation for future developers to reference.


IG: Well done on your well received implementation! How is your job unique when compared to other roles in our company.

TN: I end up with a wide variety in the day-to-day work I do, which I love. Some weeks are focused on Figma mockups, others are getting deep into C++, and some are writing and implementing features through blueprints. The “Tech” in technical designer can manifest itself in a lot of ways and, because of that, I’m typically not exclusive to one tool, system, framework, etc.


IG: That must keep work exciting and challenging. If you could give someone who wanted to follow in your career footsteps one piece of advice, what would it be?

TN: If you’re developing something personal for the purpose of learning and/or portfolio work, try to document your process for each step as soon as you complete them. Your journey to a result is just as important and impactful as the result itself, especially when presented while applying for jobs. Explaining your thought process is vital to communicating your ideas in the game industry!


IG: Helpful project and interview advice. What is the best thing about working at a video game development company?

TN: Getting to know coworkers and their lives outside of just making games! It is rare for someone working in the games industry to “only” be a video game person, and with a good work/life balance, there’s so many opportunities to share our hobbies and passions. The person sitting at the desk next to you might perform in a band, paint, design jewelry, or go all out sewing costumes for the renaissance fair.


IG: Whether you meant it or not, you probably described a few desk mates around you in the Chicago office. What is your favorite perk associated with your job?

TN: Most definitely the amount of LaCroix stocked in the Chicago office fridge.I drink that daily.


IG: Shout out to the Ops team for keeping our fridges cool and full. How collaborative do you get to be with different teams across Iron Galaxy?

TN: It depends on the project! I’ve worked with other designers, engineers, and UI artists on my last project, now I’m mostly working with artists of several different disciplines. It’s often a matter of whether I’m solving an isolated feature or bug by myself or meeting the needs of a requested tool to streamline other’s workflows.


IG: What’s the most rewarding aspect of creating things that others get to experience?

TN: Knowing that I had a hand in creating a new experience for someone. In a way, everyone does that. Every conversation you have is a new experience for both that person and you. Games can be seen as just a very codified conversation between the creators and the players on a level that’s higher than most other forms of media which is pretty darn cool.


IG: What’s an impact you’ve seen a video game have on someone’s life?

TN: I used to do experimental alternative controller development in college and got to see a lot of insanely creative people make games more accessible to others. The buzz around Xbox’s adapter controller was stunning and I think pushed the industry forward for a lot of folks who have been asking and advocating for it their whole lives. Major shoutout to the Able Gamers charity who do great work getting those adaptive controllers set up for people’s specific needs.

IG: Shout out to Able Gamers, their services, and to everyone who pushes for accessibility in the games space! Aside from playing video games, what is a favorite hobby of yours?

TN: Bikes. Riding them, fixing them, teaching people how to fix them.I love bikes haha. I’m a volunteer mechanic up at The Recyclery Collective in Rogers Park, so I spend a lot of time helping other people diagnose issues with their bicycles and guide them on how to repair them. Biking has truly transformed my life since I started a couple years ago and love the freedom it gives me in navigating around Chicago and meeting new friends.

IG: Taking care of people rests peacefully in your heart. Thank you, Tom. What’s something you feel everyone must do once in their life?

TN: Jump into Lake Michigan! This is mostly targeted at IG folks visiting from other offices but once you get over the shock to your system, it’s truly beautiful to see Chicago from the water. I highly recommend bringing an inflatable tube to hang out in.


IG: What’s something you have always wanted to create?

TN: I have some board game concepts knocking around in my brain. I think it’s something I’ll pursue on the side later, mostly because I have too many hobbies at the moment. Adding a full design project would make life a bit crazy. Thinking like a mix of the board discovery of Betrayal at House on the Hill, some cooperative team prep and investigation of enemies, and maybe some Lovecraftian vibes. Maybe someday!


IG: We have plenty of board game lovers, so whenever you need playtesters, you know who to call. If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you choose?

TN: Zaxby’s chicken, but that might just be my answer because they don’t have it in Chicago, so I only ever get it when I’m visiting back home in Georgia.


IG: One thing’s for certain, each city loves its chicken. What’s one place that you hope to see one day?

TN: Bogota, Columbia. But specifically on a Sunday for their Ciclovia, where many of their major roads are closed to cars and opened to pedestrians, bikes, skateboards, rollerbladers.


IG: Imagine the voluntary mechanic community there! You’d be right at home. What is your favorite book?

TN: “Every Tool’s A Hammer: Life Is What You Make It” by Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame). It’s a bit of a self-help book for people who consider themselves makers, which is practically everyone whether they know it or not. The book has a mix of specific advice like “use this specific glue to fasten these types of materials together” but gets philosophical on topics like the process of making, project planning, being kind to your future self by keeping your space clear and optimized for the task at hand so you don’t spend half your day digging through unneeded distractions. I really recommend it to anyone who is in a rut with personal creative projects, especially if you do any sort of craft work as a hobby or career.


IG: A practical book for creatives. Designers take note for your next holiday gift! What was the last concert you saw?

TN: I think the last concert was Temples at Metro. They’re an English psychedelic rock band and put on a pretty stellar show, and Metro is a favorite venue of mine so it was a great combo.


IG: With a quick YouTube search, they sound like the ideal head bob chill band. Nice tastes. What is one song most likely to earn you a speeding ticket?

TN: If I was able to get a speeding ticket while riding my bike, “Cool, Nice” by Cobra Man would probably be playing. Gets your blood pumping. The band makes music for the skate group Worble so it fits. You’ll also see me wearing a cobra man shirt 1-2 days a week.


IG: With a tricked-out bike, we’re imagining you can create, we bet you can hit some impressive speeds. What game have you spent the most time playing?

TN: Oddly enough, Planetside 2. It was the first game I ever played after building a PC and I think I reached about 500 hours when I was playing in high school. Something about those massive continent-wide battles was really addicting! I don’t think I could dedicate time to something like than anymore, at least not on a consistent basis so I mainly stick to single player games these days.


IG: Building things with your hands have been in your blood for a while then! What’s your favorite series to binge?

TN: The Expanse, 100%. I’ve watched the whole show twice and will probably start a third watch soon. Loved the books, loved the show, and I think they co-exist well together. I’m a big fan of “hard” sci fi, or sci fi that is deep in the details of how technology works, but the Expanse doesn’t overdo it. In fact, I might start rewatching it this weekend.


IG: Remember the Cant! Let us know what new things you catch this time around. What’s one superpower that you would like to have?

TN: I read the Percy Jackson series a few times as a kid and the thing that stood out to me the most that I wanted as a superpower was the ability to fill a fancy cup with any beverage I could imagine. Lemon LaCroix? Boom, in the cup. Iced coffee? Right there. Sure, I could drink water, but the possibilities are endless!


IG: OR you could fill up your cup with the Pure Sparkling Water flavor. (We promise, this blog is not sponsored by LaCroix.) You get one wish. You can’t wish for more wishes. What do you wish for?

TN: I’d wish that every time I tried to throw a piece of trash into a trash can, it’d always go in. No matter what. I could toss it off the side of a building and it would make its way into a can. I’d be super cool AND never litter.


IG: That’s a clever superpower. Time to start thinking of your superhero name. Which historical period would you like to experience first-hand?

TN: Honestly, just the 70s-80s so I could see some music groups at their height. Talking Heads, Earth Wind and Fire, Chic, so many. I grew up listening to that era of music and, while some of them still tour today, I think it’s a very different experience.


IG: What a time of music to remember. If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, who would you invite?

TN: Weird Al Yankovic, maybe at a polka themed restaurant. He just seems like he’d be ecstatic to talk about everything and anything.


IG: You’re covering all the bases with music tastes in this interview. Which historical figure would you want to show the modern world? What do you think they’d say?

TN: Supposedly there was a guy named Nicholas Wood in the 1600s in Kent, England who was known for just eating an insane amount of food in one sitting, like 400 pigeons. Whether or not he is real, I feel like he’d get a kick out of watching Joey Chestnut knock back 76 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest.

And since you read this far into the interview, as a thank you here is a photo of my cats Lucy and Goose.

Aww. The cutest way to close out a blog. Safe travels during your upcoming bike rides and see you in the office with your Cobra Man shirts soon. We appreciate you taking the time to detail your experience as a Technical Designer here at IG.

Our recruiting team is head down, reviewing submitted applications, searching for cool candidates like Tom. Visit our Careers page to see our open positions.

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