I am a bright, talented professional with strong programming skills and a passion for computer games. Having achieved a degree in Computer Games Programming (BSc(Hons)) from the University of Huddersfield and completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Games Technology from the University of Abertay Dundee, I started working at Playbox games in September 2008.
I spent the first 9 months of my time at Playbox working on "Imagine Salon Stylist/ Beauty Stylist" Nintendo DS game for Ubisoft. As a member of a team of only three programmers. I started with no previous experience of working on the DS but learnt very quickly and was able to contribute a great deal to the development of the title. I worked on the title from its early design stages through Alpha, Beta, TRC testing and final launch in December 2009. Working through the life-cycle of an entire game as a member of a very small but driven team has taught me a great deal about game development and seeing my product hit the shelves was something I was very proud of.
After releasing Imagine Salon Stylist, I have worked a top-down arcade racing game which was initially targeting WiiWare but then moved over Steam, PSN and Xbox Live Arcade, named Bang Bang Racing. For the first few months on BBR I took on the role of Physics Programmer – using the PhysX API, I designed and implemented a robust, re-usable physics solution which was integrating it into the game engine and meta-data based art pipeline. Throughout the games development I was also responsible for implementing any physics based gameplay elements, this included the tracks which had varying road surfaces which affected handling and driving conditions, the cars, collectables, track-side objects (cones, tyres, barriers etc.) and exploding, oil, and water barrels which affected the track surface.
While maintaining all physics based code, I also worked alongside the lead graphics programmer on the engine side of the game. When I joined the BBR team, the graphics engine was a very basic fixed-function based Wii implementation. As we moved over to targeting higher end platforms, such as Windows and PS3, I was integral in moving the art pipeline and graphics engine over to the programmable pipeline, I enabled the graphics engine to leverage CgFx shaders on both the PS3 and OpenGL platforms, and Implemented HLSL on the Xbox 360.
On the gameplay side of BBR, I have implemented a number of graphics / special effects including a re-usable GPU based particle solution, capable of rendering thousands of stateless particles, used in game for explosions, waterfalls, tire smoke, tire kick-up, fire, engine smoke, lights, ground water, snow, sand storms, vortices, and many other things. I created other special effects which are used in the game including real-time shadow mapping, HDR lighting, water bodies, car paint, and a dynamic depth of field post-processing technique based on tilt-shift photography techniques which gave the game a unique "miniature" look.
Over the last few months of BBR development, while still working on game code, and the PS3 renderer, I have was also solely responsible for the Xbox 360 port of Bang Bang Racing. I was able to create a Windows based DirectX implementation of the graphics engine in my own time (as we did not have access to an Xbox 360 dev kit), which was then used as the foundation for my Xbox 360 graphics engine. I worked alone in porting the entire game over to Xbox 360 and had a release build up and running at 1080p, 60fps within a month of us receiving a dev kit from our publisher. With only a few features missing from the full Ps3 version of the game (sound, networking and post-processing effects).
After completing Bang Bang Racing, I went on to work for Magenta Software Ltd. my first year at Magenta was spent on an unreleased PSVita launch title; 'Broken' which was a first-person crime scene investigation / puzzle game. The game focused heavily on story line with facial motion capture being used for all characters (similar to L.A. Noir), interspersing crime solving mini-games and puzzles (such as finger print dusting, audio sample decoding, lock picking) with a dialogue/choice system and exploration elements. For Broken, I worked on the in-game data / menu systems primarily, implementing a number of prototype screens and linking them in to games and mission structures, before we settled on a ScaleForm implementation for which I created a Flash / ActionScript User Interface from outsourced artwork as reference material, and tied it to the internal data structures of the game. I also worked on in-game character navigation / dynamics, and a number of evidence collecting mini games. While the game was eventually put on hiatas, there was a very short clip of an early version used in a PSVita pre-release trailer available on Youtube.
Following Broken, I started working on Invizimals : The Lost Kingdom, a third-person Action Adventure game recently released for Playstation 3. We worked on a number of pitch demos for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe to develop a console-based title in the previously PSP / PSVita only Invizimals series originally developed by Novarama in Spain. For Invizimals I worked on the front-end and save/load/progress features, a number of gameplay elements such as the players grapple swinging, telekinesis, reconstruction, and marksman abilities, the dragon flying levels, and the instruction / activation system, I also worked on the in-house level creation tools. Invizimals was released in mainland Europe on 4 October 2013 and will be released in the UK and US markets in Early 2014. A playthrough of Invizimals : The Lost Kingdom is available on YouTube.
With the release of Invizimals : The Lost Kingdom, I went on to work on the shelved sequel, followed by an un-released Playstation 4 prototype, and some game pitches. Following this I went on to work for Codemasters Birmingham.
During my time in the games industry, my programming skills improved to a level that I feel I am capable of designing and delivering stable, efficient code within a fixed and limited deadline. I am able to communicate clearly, both in formal technical documentation and at a non-technical level my ideas and design criteria. I have worked in an environment where I was responsible for planning my own tasks and being responsible for delivering them on time. I am a highly motivated, ambitious person with great team skills, a strong work ethic, and an overriding passion for creating exciting and interesting computer games..
Job Title Experienced Programmer
Employer Codemasters, Birmingham.
Job Dates May 2014 - Present
Job Description
I currently work Codemasters as an experienced gameplay programmer on an unannounced current and next-gen title.
Job Title Programmer
Employer Magenta Software Games Ltd.
Job Dates Jan 2011 - May 2014
Job Description
I worked for Magenta Software as a gameplay programmer primarily. I have worked on gameplay systems for a Playstation Vita title, Invizimals : The Lost Kingdom on PS3, and a prototype title for PS4, I have specialised in gameplay, HUD/UI/Menu implementation and also done some tools programming.
Job Title Junior Programmer
Employer Playbox Ltd.
Job Dates Sept 2008 - Jan 2011
Job Description
I started at Playbox working on a three-programmer team for a Nintendo DS game for Ubisofts Imagine range, which we shipped recently and is now available in the. Following this I have been working as a physics, graphics/tech and gameplay programmer on an arcade-style top-down racing game.
Job Title Programmer
Employer No Longer Ltd
Job Dates May 2007 - Sept 2007
Job Description
After graduating, I spent some time contracting as a programmer for companies including Elan IT and Avon & Somerset Probation. I worked mainly on web-applications used internally by the probation service as well as time management and HR Software.
Job Title Junior Programmer
Employer Sports Interactive
Job Dates July 2005 - Sept 2005
Job Description
Between my second and third year at Huddersfield, I was able to work at Sports Interactive in London where was a part of their small programming team developing the Xbox 360 version of Football Manager 2006. While it was a short placement I was able to gain some meaningful insight into what it is to be a professional games programmer.