Erin Dyer’s work feeds gaming mania

Here’s a video camera. Go shoot something!

In short, that was the directive Erin Dyer ’20 received on her first day as a media relations intern at Binghamton University.

She says the experience pushed her out of her comfort zone and — she would never have guessed at the time — toward a career in video games working on one of the industry’s hottest titles.

Dyer is a game capture specialist for Epic Games, maker of “Fortnite.” She plans and captures gameplay footage for trailers and other Epic marketing materials.

“I owe my Binghamton internship a lot, from technical skills to overall professionalism and confidence growth, as well as for rewarding me with some fun memories,” Dyer says.

The video game industry is booming, with a passionate fanbase buzzing for new releases. Trailers alone draw millions of views. Dyer worked on the trailer for “Fortnite Season 2 Chapter 7,” which had more than five million views within two days of its June premiere and was the top trending video in America on YouTube.

“It has been very rewarding to work on exciting projects like the ‘Fortnite Season 2 Chapter 7’ trailer and I learned so much from my team through the process!” Dyer says. “I’ve been a fan of video games for pretty much as long as I can remember, and video games are actually what inspired me to get into production. It’s been my dream to work on trailers and game-marketing materials.”

Gamers tend to have strong opinions on what they like and what they think makes a gaming experience lame. Production is a highly collaborative endeavor, and Dyer says the ability to fit into a team environment goes a long way.

“The most helpful skills are having confidence and leadership skills, and being a quick learner with an open mind,” Dyer says. “From a more technical standpoint, [it helps to have] knowledge of programs like Adobe Premiere Pro and Unreal Engine, as well as be familiar with film techniques and typical in-game mechanics.”

When Dyer is away from work, she’s not away from video games. Playing online gives her a chance to wind down, catch up with friends and generate ideas. Just like in movies or television, you have nothing without a strong story and characters.

“The games I like the most are action adventure or fantasy role-playing games with detailed storylines,” Dyer says. “To me, the most important part of narrative design is complex, detailed characters. So if a game has got some compelling characters, I’m usually hooked.”