It is also crucial for people to be honest about the skills on their CV, as the interviewer will be able to determine quickly how well it represents an individual. It is much better to focus on what you know and what you are confident to talk about in depth than padding out your CV.
How can people best prepare for a successful interview? Research the company you are applying for, know what business they are in, what games they make and what makes them good at doing this. We’re always impressed by people that have taken the time to understand why they want to get a job with us rather than just because it was a mail shot to every company out there. Prepare questions. You will most likely be sat in front of leads or directors within the industry, these guys will have a wealth of experience and if nothing else comes of your interview, ask questions to further your development or understanding of the jobs you are going for. The CryEngine Free SDK is out
there for people to experiment with. You have a chance to demonstrate your interest in the engine, an insight into how we work and how we utilise our technology; take it!
What is your view on the training of young developers in the UK, is enough being done to equip them with the necessary skills? Before games development courses were widely available, graduates would often enter the industry with more traditional degrees such as computer science. These days, a significant number of graduates are leaving games-focused programming courses with a decent knowledge of
C++ and an awareness of many different aspects of the game development process. We are, however, seeing a gap in
their knowledge with the lower-level aspects of software engineering; how the code they are writing maps into assembly generated by the compiler and how constructs that they are using are actually implemented.
Being such a fast evolving sector
it is hard for universities to keep pace with cutting edge changes.
For programmers, a course that
covers the more technical aspects of development such as programming languages, maths, algorithms & data structures produce stronger candidates. The better courses strike a good balance between theoretical and practical work. Group projects are always great learning experiences for students. We work with a number of
universities and have noticed a marked increase in the teaching quality and level of skill that Graduates are armed with when they leave university. Being such a fast evolving industry,
it is hard for universities to keep pace with the cutting edge changes that go on. But it is critical that they develop their ability to teach both core fundamental skills as well as expose their students to the cutting edge engines and techniques required to make the most of their students’ creativity.
NEW STUDIO ALERT!
CODEMASTERS UK publisher and developer Codemasters has recruited industry veterans ANDY NORMAN (left) and COLIN ROGERS (right) to its Southam Racing studio. Norman, whose last job as game
A NEW INDEPENDENT studio called PixelFoundry has been formed by ex- EA Tiburon devs Jerry Phaneuf and Volga Aksoy. The EA veterans are now working
on space-based RTS title BlackSpace for PC, with the potential to take it cross-platform, and Aksoy says that whilst the current project will be created by just them, their “lofty
WWW.DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
goals could be better accommodated by acquiring more talent”. “Aside from the creative freedom it
offers, we really wanted to have the chance to create games that resonate with us as gamers,” says Phaneuf. “I think it's likely the same reason that many devs go Indie. We think we have some ideas and insights that will allow us to offer something new.”
director was at independent studio Monumental games, will take up the role of senior producer. Rogers, meanwhile, joins as chief game designer on the developer’s new racing IP, and boasts 17 years of experience in the industry, having worked in franchises such as Crysis and Need for Speed. “We are committed to building our
teams, and strengthening our studio, with only the very best industry talent,” said Codemasters VP of development Julian Widdows. “It’s
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
This month: NaturalMotion Games, Codemasters and Jagex hire senior professionals for their teams
NATURALMOTION NaturalMotion has appointed former EA and Playfish staffer DAN BORTHWICK as head of its recently
established NaturalMotion Games London studio. Borthwick has left his role as
common technology lead at Playfish, which he also helped found, to take up the role. He will be responsible for spearheading NaturalMotion’s drive to scale up the company’s games development effort, which has created titles such as BackBreaker and MyHorse, which has been downloaded more than eight million times to date. Originally a tools company specialising in animation tech, NaturalMotion moved into developing games in 2007, launching its games division in late 2010. Along with its game production efforts, the company continues to craft animation tools such as its popular Morpheme solution. The new London studio is to focus
on creating high-end free-to-play titles for iOS, and is currently looking to recruit for new positions at the office. "I am thrilled to be joining NaturalMotion Games and look forward to setting up a new studio in London to build on their recent success, develop great games and continue to push what’s possible in the social mobile space," said Borthwick of his appointment.
JAGEX RuneScape developer Jagex has continued its hiring spree this month by reinforcing its marketing department with ex-Codemasters VP DAVID SOLARI (left) as CMO and former Xbox exec Simon Etchells (right) as global marketing manager. Solari, who previously worked at
Codemasters for 14 years, and oversaw the release of titles such as Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons and Dragons, will be responsible for leading future marketing strategies for Jagex. “Having worked in the digital games
space for many years, I have followed Jagex’s incredible success and growth with great interest,” said Solari. “The company’s strength in pioneering free-to-play browser games is inspiring. This role presents a huge and exciting challenge for me.” Etchells meanwhile will be
responsible for promoting RuneScape around the world as the studio looks to widen the reach of its leading franchise. He has previously worked at LucasArts, EA, and mostly recently Microsoft, where he was responsible for overseeing the release of first party titles for Kinect and other Xbox 360 franchises such as Gears of War and Halo.
EUTECHNYX Newcastle Upon- Tyne-based developer Eutechnyx has appointed Frogster founder DIRK WEYEL as its
worldwide publishing head. Weyel, who takes up the role of
non-executive director, will oversee the worldwide release of its upcoming racing title Auto Club Revolution. “It is my immense pleasure to be
able to welcome him into the Eutechnyx group in order to help us build up the newly established publishing operation, and drive it forward in the way that I know it truly deserves,” Eutechnyx COO Darren Jobling.
APRIL 2012 | 59
with great pride that we welcome developers of Andy and Colin’s calibre to our family, and look forward to them being the vanguard of our ambitious growth plans for 2012.”
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