Developer Spotlight: Ben Stanton, Animation Director

03-17-2022

Can you give us a quick introduction about who you are and what you do at Crystal Dynamics?

My name is Ben Stanton and I’m the Animation Director here at Crystal Dynamics.

What games have you worked on both at Crystal Dynamics and other companies, and what was your role on those projects?

I’ve had the pleasure of working at Crystal Dynamics on Rise of the Tomb Raider and was the Animation Lead on both Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Marvels Avengers.

What led you to working in the video games industry?

I've always loved video games. From the first time I got an Atari 2600 to my NES and onward to today’s leading consoles (not excluding PC gaming), video games have always provided that area to escape to, other worlds to explore, new characters to embody and I wanted to play a part in creating them.

What's your earliest gaming memory?

This is really going to date me… but earliest was ET on the 2600. Mainly because I kept feeling that I was going to pull ET’s head off trying to get him out of those pits. The earliest game that made the largest impact on me was Castlevania NES.

What do you wish everyone knew about game development?

Game development is hard. It’s basically an exercise where you round up very creative, passionate people, toss them in a room together, and see what happens. Sometimes that exercise is successful, sometimes it’s not, but every time, it’s done with an extreme level of care. I’ve worked at multiple studios now, with multiple teams, on multiple projects and I can’t say I’ve ever worked with anyone who wasn’t personally invested in the project we were making.

What is your favorite thing about working at Crystal Dynamics?

Crystal has an unwavering devotion to the mantra ‘people first.' I’ve been here for nearly eight years and I've seen that mantra upheld time and time again. From offering wellness amenities, to classes and seminars, to helping one further their career knowledge, to promoting time off, Crystal truly cares about the employees constantly shows it.

Can you give our community a hint at something fun you're currently working on?

Imperfect Light 😊

If you could give a prospective Crystal Dynamics employee one bit of advice, what would it be?

Be confident, believe in yourself and your abilities. Chances are, if we’re talking to you, we’re impressed by what you can bring to the table. So, represent yourself fully, honestly, and show us what you can do.

Who are your heroes?

My son

Anything you want to say to our community?

You are all amazing. We always take note and are blown away by your feedback, artwork, and devotion to the stories and characters we create. Without you all we wouldn’t have the stage to create these crazy little doodads called video games. So a huge thank you is in order.