Transcript

[Announcer] Special K Nourish celebrates women

who are breaking boundaries and nourishing what's next.

I came to Microsoft for technology,

but I'm here today, you know,

and I've been here as long as I have because I found games,

you know, and I think that blending of art and technology,

and technology sort of, you know,

empowering great storytelling

is something that I'm passionate about.

(dramatic orchestral music)

My average day typically starts with heading over the bridge

to our 343 building, which is in Redmond.

343 Industries is the team that does everything,

all of Halo.

This is Spartan Locke, that's Master Chief.

Of course, the grunt plushy, which he goes nowhere without.

It is really cool that every day,

I probably take a look at what's going on

with the franchise, whether it's part of the game,

or it's our consumer products,

looking at our toys or our apparel or our books,

or just the overall franchise and like where we're going.

I don't know. It's very nice.

This one you can't.

This one lights, right?

I started 343 and am basically the head of 343,

so I have an amazing leadership team

that works on our shooter game, our FPS,

and we have a strategy game line.

And then we are a Transmedia franchise,

which means that we tell stories through multiple mediums.

The thing that I am most proud of is the people.

I think having a really diverse team,

for a creative experience, is better.

(dramatic electronic music)

(shot fires)

We do play test for all of the different parts

of the games we're working on,

whether it's Halo Wars two, or Halo five sustain,

that there's a new feature in that we want to test,

a mail will go out to try and get 12 people into the lab

as quickly as we can.

And so this is all of us playing Aliens

versus us shooting each other,

which is always just a more friendly,

cooperative way of playing.

The play test is a time when people just goof off

and they trash talk.

(players yell)

It is really a dynamic process, you know.

There is an overarching, what story we want to tell,

but there are so many different ways to get there,

and that's part of the artistic process

of it all coming together,

'cause you find something that really works with the game

or doesn't work with the game.

The story changes, the pieces change,

and so the whole team has to be very fluid and agile

to kind of make sure that the pieces could get blown apart

and putting them back together again.

Being with the team is probably my favorite time.

I do have an amazing creative and fun job,

but it does take a lot of hours, and, for me, that downtime,

and kind of grounding myself, is with my family.

Sports have always been a through-line,

you know, for me, so doing things that are athletic,

you know, I love to paddleboard,

and make sure that, you know, my personal life

is a place that I'm nurtured and nurturing.

I wouldn't still be here if I hadn't found games.

Creativity is something that's really important to me,

and that's how I want to express myself,

and be able to be creative with tech and art.

It's just an amazing place to be,

and it is something that just really truly inspires me.