San Juan Edu Foundation STARS Event's Video Game Developer Scott Pease

Listen: Scott Pease talks about his career and coming back to Sacramento for he STARS Hall of Fame.

Join us for an evening of inspiration.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2019

5:30 – 9:00 PM

CENTER AT 2300

2300 SIERRA BOULEVARD

SACRAMENTO, CA

Join San Juan Education Foundation for an elegant evening celebrating excellence in education. This year, our focus is STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) and we have chosen alumni honorees for the STARS Hall of Fame who have excelled in those areas. Money raised at this annual gala supports innovative learning opportunities for the K-12 students of all San Juan Unified School District schools.

Scott Pease

Bella Vista graduate Scott Pease is the designer/producer of iconic video games. He helped build the video game studio Neversoft Entertainment as the Studio Development Director, overseeing the design and production of 17 titles in 15 years, all of which combined to sell over 100 million units.

His games include:

• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1-4, Tony Hawk's Underground 1 and 2, Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, Tony Hawk's Project 8, Tony Hawk's Proving Ground.
• GUN
• Guitar Hero III, IV, 5, Warrior of Rock; Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Guitar Hero: Metallica, Band Hero
• Call of Duty: Ghosts, the Extinction DLC Season

After attending Earl LeGette Elementary, Carnegie Middle, and Bella Vista High School (’90), Scott graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles with a B.A. in Film and Television (’94).

He started work at Activision as a junior game designer in 1997. In 1999 he helped get the Tony Hawk project off the ground, then left to join the developer, Neversoft. A few months later Neversoft was acquired by Activision.

Over the next 5 years he produced and helped design the Pro Skater series, working closely with legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk, and focusing on the overall theme, features, pros, tricks, UI, and game balancing of the titles. He says it was the opportunity of a lifetime to create an innovative franchise from the ground up.

In 2005 Neversoft expanded to two teams and Pease shifted his attention to GUN, their western themed 3rd person adventure game. He oversaw much of the project including design, production, script writing, casting, cinematics, and music.

In 2007 Neversoft asked for and received the opportunity to take over the GuitarHero series when the original developer declined to continue it. In nine crazy months Neversoft built Guitar Hero III using a modified version of the Tony Hawk and Gun engine. GH III was a huge success, and over the next four years Neversoft shipped six more Guitar Hero games, helping the franchise achieve well over a billion dollars in revenue.

As Guitar Hero was winding down, Neversoft embarked on a top secret FPS game that would (unfortunately) not see release.... However, their work earned them the opportunity to team up with Infinity Ward to develop Call of Duty: Ghosts. Pease worked with Academy Award winner Stephen Gaghan on the campaign, and with the Neversoft team on missions and technology. Neversoft also built a well-received new game mode for Ghosts called “Extinction.”

As Call of Duty: Ghosts wrapped up, Activision made the decision to merge the Neversoft and Infinity Ward studios; Pease took the opportunity to step away from AAA video game development to spend more time with his family.

In all, his console gaming career spanned four generations - from the original Playstation up to the PS4 and Xbox One. He says he was extremely fortunate to work with incredibly talented developers at one of the greatest game studios in the world.

He is currently working independently on toy and game concepts that bridge the divide between physical and digital play. He’s also looking to help other gamedevs get their projects realized and is actively investing in projects, as well as looking to help advise and mentor. SJUSD students, take note!