Benjamin Krotin

A life-long fan of videogames and their technology, Ben Krotin was inspired to join the game industry by playing the games of his role models, the designers at Sega's various Japanese game divisions. To accomplish this goal, he completed high school two years ahead of his classmates, and then sought work directly within the industry, hoping to land his first big break. His search would soon lead him to San Francisco’s 3DO, a company that he was directly offered to join by industry legend and company president Trip Hawkins. Although the opportunity was unmistakable, the eventual move to San Francisco would prove to be an unsuccessful one, and Ben would be forced to try again.

Upon his return to Los Angeles, Ben once again began seeking new opportunities for employment, and he would soon find them after a chance encounter with game publisher Sound Source Interactive. Noticing the potential and determination in Ben, Sound Source referred him to a developer who they were working with, and in early 2000 Ben joined the legendary developer Realtime Associates to work on the PSX project Casper: Friends Around The World.

While at Realtime, Ben learned the ropes of game development from the staff, a group of some of the best minds in the business, and while there he was fortunate enough to work on many original game designs and proposals. After shipping Casper, Ben would eventually move onto working at Black Ops Entertainment on the PS2, XBOX, Gamecube title Street Hoops. While at Black Ops, Ben would make many long-lasting connections with fellow developers, as well as coming into his own as a designer and a producer. After completing work on Street Hoops, Ben began working on its follow-up Street Hoops 2. Although a brilliant game, unfortunately Hoops 2 would eventually face cancellation well into its development cycle.

After leaving Black Ops, Ben pursued a more open-ended work environment, and would eventually find work as a freelance producer/designer. This work as a freelancer gave Ben his sense of independence, and would drive him to find opportunities to start his own company. After making plans and finding investors, Ben would eventually start his own company with his business partner and close friend Greg Morchower in early 2005. This company, although limited in size, has gone on to design some of the most innovative concepts that have ever been produced, and is to this day actively seeking out opportunities and deals with Publishers.

Throughout the industry, Ben is known for his great sense of humor and his keen business sense. These views on business and game design have given him the distinction of being viewed by his peers as being well beyond his years in terms of maturity and experience. When he’s not developing games or networking with colleagues, Ben is likely to be enjoying a good cigar, as he’s known in many circles to be an aficionado as well as an avid collector.