Our grads are all over the world. But there are also animation studios, production offices, and game developers that have become bonafide hubs, boasting an especially high concentration of VFSers.

One of those is BioWare’s juggernaut Edmonton studio. The developer behind Neverwinter Nights, Baldur’s Gate, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, and Mass Effect is one of the game industry’s most successful and influential.

The VFS alumni at BioWare hail from several VFS programs, notably Game Design, Sound Design for Visual Media, and 3D Animation & Visual Effects. And they’ve been a busy bunch in 2009, between the forthcoming sequel to the acclaimed Mass Effect and Dragon Age: Origins, a new, highly-anticipated fantasy RPG set for release on November 3rd for the 360, PS3, and PC. Advance reviews are glowing: Game Informer calls it “one of the most addictive and expansive RPGs of its time.”

“I believe all the VFS people here know who came from VFS,” says Game Design grad Mark Barazzuol, a designer on Dragon Age. “I didn’t know many of them before I came, as they were from different classes. I was, however, very fortunate to have a fellow classmate, Corey Gaspur, start here as well. I hear nothing but good things about him from the Mass Effect team.”

The VFS graduates who worked on Dragon Age: Origins include Cinematic Designer Guilherme Ramos (Game Design), Jeremie Voillot, Jordan Ivey, and Mike Kent (Sound Design) on the audio team, and, from the 3D program, Artists Herbert Lowis, Bobby Bath, and Ryan Lim, Cinematic Animator Nathan Zufelt, and Concept Artist Brian Sum.

When your game’s ready for release, it’s a relief, sure, but nerve-racking just the same. Dragon Age: Origins is no different – positive buzz and BioWare’s pedigree aside, it’s still a new IP, and the talk of the game being a “spiritual successor” to the popular Baldur’s Gate adds even more expectations. Still, so far, so good.

So, where will gamers see Mark’s handiwork when they pick up Dragon Age on Tuesday? ”I was the designer responsible for Morrigan, Leliana, Wynne, and Sten,” he says. “I was responsible for the epilogue and I hooked up the random encounters. I’m not just doing level design – I’m doing nearly all facets of design. The technical stuff more than anything else.”

“The easiest way to explain it is to say that all the bits and pieces in a level are already created but they just stand there and do nothing,” he continues. “Anything you can touch, interact with, or move, I hook up. Most of my time isn’t strictly design, either. It’s making sure what is already designed works, or works in a good way. The rest of the time is indeed designing, or working with other employees here to make sure those static ‘Lego bits’ are the ones I need for the level.”

In early October, Mark spoke to attendees at Pure Speculation, an Edmonton sci-fi con, about breaking into the video game industry. He should know plenty – his road to becoming a professional game designer was a long and winding one.

“It took me a decade. I started off out of high school, gathering a group of friends, and trying to create an MMO,” a massively multiplayer online game, “a year before Everquest was released, actually. We got venture capital, started our own business, and got well into preproduction before funds just ran out.”

“It was heartbreaking but I learned a lot, and it took years on my own before I got into EA as a term tester,” he says. “That only lasted six months, but that galvanized my desire to be a game designer.”

Before he came to VFS, he tried unsuccessfully to land a job at BioWare. A year in Vancouver, the student game Foamzilla under his belt (created with classmate Johan Eickmeyer, and a 2008 finalist at the Independent Games Festival), and he was more prepared the second time.

“Some of my fellow students noted I knew a lot of stuff they didn’t when it came to some of the game design courses,” Mark says of his time at VFS. “It was only due to working on my skills and not succeeding over the last decade that allowed this. So in some ways my failures became my strengths.”

“VFS did of course make a big difference. It was certainly the catalyst for getting a job at BioWare. I knew a lot coming in, but it still paled to what I was able to learn.”

Back to Dragon Age. The game went gold this week (that is, it’s at the manufacturing stage and there’s no going back now), meaning a dose of perspective for everyone involved.

“It’s so hard to get a good idea of a project when you are so close to it,” Mark says. “I’m proud of it. I really do think it will make RPG of the year.”