I am a gameplay programmer with over 7 years experience in developing large and small-scale games and I have shipped 3 major AAA titles for console and PC. Quality is very important to me – I always endeavour to keep myself and other team members on track to build the best features we can, and I do not hesitate to debate ideas where necessary. I enjoy tackling issues when they arise and take great satisfaction in finding optimum solutions based on the requirements for flexibility and time.

Key Skills

Languages	C++	C#	Java	Blueprint	Lua
Game Engines	Unreal  Engine 4	Unity	CryEngine	UDK	GameMaker
Platforms	PC	Xbox One	PS4	Xbox 360

• I pride myself on working well under pressure and put the end-users at the forefront of development.
• On a day-to-day basis I keep track of not only my own work, but my peers’ progress, helping to steer the focus directions of the group in order to meet our end goals.
• When responsible for a particular area, I take great care to build systems that are reliable and well tested in a variety of circumstances, and provide support to others when they require it.
• I have a particular interest in modern programming practises, and as often as I can, I try to study a variety of articles and books to improve my understanding in the areas I am less knowledgeable in.

Work History

2018 – Present, Rocksteady Studios – Senior Gameplay Programmer

Unannounced Title (Current Gen Systems)

I have been responsible for rapid prototyping and creation of core activities on the game and set the quality standard expected for these.

2017 – 2018, Hello Games – Programmer

No Man’s Sky: Next (PC, PS4 and Xbox One)

My time at Hello Games has been helping to develop the most ambitious update for the game to date. I have been responsible for designing and implementing new large-scale networking systems to come into effect across the entirety of the game. I have had principle roles in animation, maintaining our new cameras, IK and various gameplay mechanics. Throughout this time, I have been accountable for monitoring and planning my own work, as well as helping to keep others on track toward our goals.

2015 – 2017, Dambuster Studios – Gameplay Programmer

Unannounced Title (Current Gen Systems)

During the development of the second (as of yet unannounced) title whilst at Dambuster Studios, I have been responsible in creating and taking ownership for some of the new gameplay systems that are designed to help differentiate the game. I have also had a principle role in helping the team move over to a new engine and create a more modern codebase and, as part of this, I have volunteered to be one of the few to form and keep up-to-date the studio’s coding guidelines.

Homefront: The Revolution (PC, PS4 and Xbox One)

My time on Homefront mostly involved gameplay elements for the co-op mode; lifetime/revival mechanics, ensuring a polished game-flow, and cross enabling single-player and multiplayer systems are examples of these. I become solely responsible for the AI synchronization and reworked these significantly to achieve a smoother player-facing result.

2014 – 2015, Indie Developer

Lootineers – Unreleased (PC)

Lootineers was an independent game project over the course of over six months. My colleague and I were equally responsible for the programming, in addition to the design and art for the game. A full prototype demo was completed – a video of which can be seen on my website (above).

2013 – 2014, Playground Games – Gameplay & Online Contract Engineer

Forza Horizon 2 (Xbox One)

I returned to Playground as a contract engineer, and I was responsible for various gameplay and online features such as the ‘Horizon Promo’ photo mode and online flow. I was solely in charge of livery synchronization and the ‘live map’ feature, in addition to several UI screens.

2012 – 2013, Indie Developer

Skyfarer – Unreleased (PC)

This project entailed development of a 3D game in C++ and DirectX in our own codebase, with gameplay script written in Lua. I implemented the gameplay systems and scripts, many of which created using our custom built mixin architecture. Our initial prototype was in Unity.

2011 – 2012, Playground Games – Online Engineer

Forza Horizon (Xbox 360)

Primarily I was involved in the online gameplay elements of Horizon, such as online racing, the “Playground game modes” (tag, king etc.), as well as the online free roam game mode. I also helped create the single player missions, as well as a variety of other gameplay and UI related features.

Forza Horizon Rally Expansion (Xbox 360)

I took a much more responsible role for the entirety of the online during this project. This was not only the DLC, but ensuring the online was kept functioning with any required fixes for the title update.

Education

2008 – 2011 Manchester Metropolitan University

BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology – [First-Class Honours]

Final Year Project (First-Class):

I created a suite of graphics components to be used in a game featuring a larger scale outdoor environment; level-of-detail terrain, weather effects and skies are some of the topics covered. I also created an editor application to bring all of these together to form a scene.

The project was created in C++ and OpenGL, and using wxWidgets for the editor app.

Interests

I always find the time to see friends and love getting out to concerts and festivals. Travelling is a particular attraction of mine – I love finding new places to explore and take photos whenever I can. Walking, cycling and other outdoor activities I enjoy in my leisure time, as well as film, literature and a wide range of music.

I like getting involved in various activities both inside and outside of work. A few months ago I took part in a Warner Bros Hackathon event. A team of us devised a system that used AI deep learning that could monitor and filter toxicity in video games, which earned us a place in the top finals. I have also been in the winning team for the Develop Quiz, and have volunteered to assist in coordinating events for a local meetup group, helping to organise frequent get-togethers.

I have a keen interest in a wide variety of video games – in particular I enjoy story-driven games where I can be engrossed in an exciting plot in a rich and detailed world. Some of my favourites include Shenmue, Life Is Strange, Elder Scrolls, Metroid Prime and Uncharted.

I love making games, both at work and in my own time. Primarily I involve myself in the code, as this has always been my main passion, but I do enjoy getting involved with some design aspects, and more recently with pixel-art, which I have managed to improve my skills on over the recent years.