Ball State University graduate Scott Lantz, ’98, has what many gamers would consider a dream job.

As director of product management at Blizzard Entertainment’s Battle.net organization, he helps shape the online platform that connects millions of players to some of the world’s biggest video game franchises, including World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and Diablo.

“If 20 years ago, somebody had told me what my job would be today—where I would be, and what I oversee—I would have been like, ‘You’re messing with me,’” said Mr. Lantz.

Finding His Footing

Scott Lantz was a journalism major within the College of Communication, Information, and Media, but he quickly discovered that the University offered countless opportunities to explore interests outside the classroom.

As a Ball State student, he wrote opinion and technology columns for The Ball State Daily News, designed student publications, worked in campus computer labs, and immersed himself in learning new technology simply because it fascinated him.

“I have to admit, I didn’t care about grades,” he said. “I did care about learning. I did care about doing things.”

During the mid-1990s, email and internet access were still new and unfamiliar to many students. Mr. Lantz used his column in The Daily News to help classmates understand the University’s computing resources.

“Everybody had access to email, but they didn’t really know what to do with it,” he said. “I would actually write, ‘Here’s useful stuff you need, here’s how to use email, or here’s how to go look at discussion forums.’”

The work combined opinion writing with technical writing, teaching Mr. Lantz how to explain unfamiliar technology in ways people could understand. Those skills later helped him secure a consulting role writing Windows documentation for Microsoft before his career shifted into software and gaming.

Learning by Doing

Much of Mr. Lantz’s education came through experimentation.

He spent countless hours in Ball State’s computer labs writing scripts, building interactive web pages, and teaching himself programming languages that interested him.

Gaming was never far from those explorations. Mr. Lantz played multiplayer games in the campus computer labs, created and sold a role-playing game newsletter, and spent much of his free time immersed in gaming culture. Long before careers in the video game industry became commonplace, he was combining his interests in technology, writing, and games.

“I would sit there with my earphones on for hours and hours just in a computer lab, tinkering around with this stuff,” he said.

One aspect of Ball State that stands out to Mr. Lantz is its investment in resources and spaces where students can explore on their own, pursue their interests independently, and discover new passions.

“The opportunity that Ball State had the foresight to provide—opportunities to be in clubs, to find like-minded people, the fact that there were so many different types of computer labs—I took full advantage of all of that. I think I used them to the fullest extent that anybody could have hoped for.”

The skills he developed while experimenting with web pages, writing technical articles, and exploring Ball State’s computing resources became the foundation for each step that followed.

Creating a Niche

After Microsoft, Mr. Lantz joined RealNetworks before spending more than a decade at PopCap Games, where he worked on projects related to Bejeweled Blitz and Plants vs. Zombies.

His career took an unexpected turn when he became more interested in the technology that supports games than in the games themselves. He began focusing on the shared systems that enable games to function more effectively. Instead of watching every development team solve the same technical problems, Mr. Lantz proposed creating systems everyone could use.

The role didn’t exist, so he wrote the proposal himself.

That decision became the specialty that defined his career. Those experiences built on the self-directed mindset Mr. Lantz had already begun developing, eventually positioning him for a role he’d wanted for years. 

A Dream Job

After some career twists and turns, Mr. Lantz asked himself what his dream job would be.

“My answer to the ‘dream job’ question was always Blizzard. It was Blizzard back in the 90s, and it’s Blizzard now.”

And he decided to go for it. He applied anyway, fully expecting to be rejected. Instead, Blizzard quickly recognized the unique combination of skills he had spent years developing. He was the right fit at the right time.

Today, Mr. Lantz leads product strategy for Battle.net’s commerce platform, helping determine which features Blizzard develops and how players buy, earn, and manage digital content. His team helps shape everything from digital purchases and earned rewards to player inventories, account services, promotions, and Twitch rewards—deciding where Blizzard invests its time and resources to improve player experience.

“It feels kind of surreal that I get to do this,” he said.

Mr. Lantz credits Ball State with giving him the invaluable opportunity to explore.

“It’s the sum total of what the University is,” he said. “It’s all that extracurricular stuff. It’s the big picture of what it offered me.”

Mr. Lantz felt Ball State’s impact on him long before he started college. As a graduate of the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, he grew up around the University. His father worked on campus, and he spent time in Ball State’s computer labs.

Occasionally over the years, Mr. Lantz revisits his memories made in Muncie by using Google Maps to drive through the city virtually. Those virtual visits remind him how much of his life took shape in Muncie.

“I get emotional. I grew up in the Muncie area, and I loved my college experience,” he said. “Even though my career took me elsewhere, it left a lasting impression on my life.”