Games Programmer

COMPANY: Blitz Games Studio

TITLE: Games Programmer

Like any engineer, it’s my responsibility to take the materials (game artwork and audio) and stitch them together as per the blueprint (the game’s design). The end result should be robust and solid, without ‘bugs’ and created in such a way that players enjoy an uninterrupted experience.

RELATED DEGREE:

BSc (Hons.) Computer Games Programming at the University of Teesside

WORK EXPERIENCE:

I've always been a games enthusiast and fascinated by how they worked. At the age of 15 I did a programming course in BASIC and that gave me a good introduction to foundation level programming.

Straight out of University, I joined some class mates and had a go at a start-up company. This went well and contributed significantly to my understanding of the development process from many angles.

SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Problem solving and analytical skills - What is the problem? What are the possible solutions? What’s the most efficient/extensible way of implementing a solution?
• Mathematical understanding - A grasp of key concepts and the ability to break things down to a mathematical perspective
• Communication skills - sharing ideas and getting feedback is a vital part of programming in a team.

BENEFITS OF THE JOB:

• It’s very rewarding to see your hard work materialise into a product that people enjoy experiencing
• The work environment is often fun and relaxed. It gives you the chance to be creative and flexible in your approach to problems - you’re guaranteed to learn a lot, that way

CAREER GOALS:

My personal career goals are to extend my experience specifically in the areas of user interface and user interaction programming, and eventually move into user experience authoring and usability assessment - this is the analysis of how easy it is to use products and what can be done to better this.