Gamer gets with the programming
Name: Amy Harman
Occupation: Junior game developer, RocketWerkz
Q
Why did you choose this job?
I wanted to learn programming and learning it through making games sounded interesting.
Q
How did you get into it and when?
After completing my degree I looked for jobs in the games industry. I’ve been working for about three years now.
Q
What qualifications and training did you need?
I did a bachelor of engineering at Media Design School but some colleagues are completely selftaught.
Q
What personal skills do you need?
Communication is key when working in teams. Persistence and willingness to learn and try new things helps with the programming side.
Q
What do you do on a daily basis?
I programme gameplay systems, figure out why things don’t work, how they should (debugging) and discuss game design with my teammates.
Q
How many hours a week do you spend playing/working on video games?
My current job is a standard 40 hours a week and outside of work I spend anywhere between 520 hours playing video games.
Q
What is the most interesting assignment you’ve had?
Working on video game character artificial intelligence. Making the characters behave in a way that is believable for the player watching them.
Q
How has the job changed since you started?
With more experience, I have ended up having more input on decisions in our team and more responsibilities.
Q
What’s something people generally don’t know about the job?
Making video games is very different to playing them. Playing your game as a developer involves replaying the same small part over and over to see if it works as expected or does something different.
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What are the highs of the job?
Working with passionate, creative people and bringing to life a product you’re all proud of. There’s a lot of varied problem solving and finding solutions is satisfying.
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What are the lows of the job?
Solving tricky problems can take a while and you may hit several dead ends before coming across a solution.
Q
What’s the strangest thing you’ve had to do?
I had to fix an issue in our game where characters would play their toilet animation when they reached a service desk counter.
Q
What is the salary?
As a junior game programmer I am on $44,000.
Q
Where will you be 10 years from now?
Hopefully with my own studio and making games.
Q
What is your holiday situation
We have unlimited leave where it’s up to the team if they’re OK with you taking time off. As long as you’re getting your work done and not falling behind, it’s generally fine.