Brittany Hennis Harper said she makes her own stories come to life by creating video games. She and her husband, Stephen Harper, are currently working on “Novaborn,” a video game she said she created based on comics Stephen Harper wrote.
A user interface (UI) programmer at New World Interactive and BYU–Hawaii graphic design graduate from 2013, Brittany Harper said her love for video game programming all started in middle school. She said she made her first role-playing games using “RPG maker,” a video game series where you can create your own video game.
Starting their own company
One night as Harper was playing the video game “Destiny” with her husband, she said she remembered wishing it was better. She said, “We thought, why not get into video games?”
After Harper graduated from BYUH, she said she and her husband moved to BYU–Idaho so he could finish his degree. She said her husband became a comic book author and 3D artist and she began programming. The couple even started a programming club together, she added.
In 2015, Harper said she and her husband started their own entertainment company called “Raptagon Studios,” where they planned to make video games and comics.
Making “Novaborn” together
Harper said after a few prototypes, she designed a third-person video game that follows a storyline based her husband’s original comics. The game is set in Medieval times and follows a girl named Inpherna, who is considered a noble with a great life and family until a great tragedy pushes her to find answers, Harper explained.
Stephen Harper said translating the comic into a 3D video game was interesting because he had to learn how to make sure the models of characters or objects on the page looked realistic as 3D models in the game.
Stephen Harper shared, “It’s been a wonderful opportunity to learn the story-writing process and transcribe [the story] into a game.” Creating a comic for “Novaborn” allowed people to connect with the franchise and what they were creating, he explained.
Robert McConnell, an assistant professor in the Faculty of Arts & Letters, said, “At its core, graphic design is about communicating through visuals and typography.” McConnell shared graphic design and programming have a lot in common because creating visuals within a video game are crucial in clearly communicating information to each player.
Graphic designers learn skills like “control of color, composition and visual hierarchy [that] can help convey tone, create atmosphere, and add depth and realism to the game,” he explained. These skills help illustrate the story of the game that is not explicitly spoken, McConnell added.
Brittany Harper said she and her husband were able to showcase their game “Novaborn: Crusade of Victus” at a few Canadian video game expos in 2019. At the expos, she said she displayed the “first playable” model of the video game, which is a playable version of the game but not the final product.
Stephen Harper said building “Novaborn” with his wife has been great because he and his wife trust each other’s creativity and drive to get things completed. He added expanding the company and working together has added to the experience of making video games because they get to make something they both love.For other programmers: “Just go for it”
Brittany Harper advised aspiring programmers to learn as much as they can, create portfolios and go to events to meet different companies they may want to join.
She said it has been a great experience working with other programmers and artists to make AAA video games, which are considered large video game companies.
Brittany Harper said joining companies that seem humble and friendly rather than boastful is important for her to enjoy her work. She said, “Good programmers are hard to come by, so you can definitely pick and choose which company to work for.”
Although being the only woman programmer at her job can be interesting, she said she feels lucky to be a part of such a tight knit group.
Looking to the future
Due to COVID-19, Brittany Harper said there haven’t been enough funds to finish “Novaborn,” so she had to find a job at New World Interactive.
She said she remains hopeful things will start to improve and they will be able to receive enough funding to finish the game. “One day we’ll make our games. We have many stories and experiences we want to exist. But for now, we need some time to recover before we can do that.”
Stephen Harper shared, “This is a time of growth . . . as we are making our own company, games, comics and stories.” Despite the turbulent times of COVID-19, he said he and Brittany Harper cannot wait to expand the company and create more games and stories.
The comics depicting the storyline for “Novaborn” can be found on the website raptagonstudios.com. •