It was that time again recently, as we were once again delighted to welcome back our annual Wellbeing Week!
This was the fourth time that we have run the event at d3t, and the first in-person one since the beginning of the pandemic.
This year’s theme focused on our team and promoting a healthy body and mind. To aid this, we put on a selection of talks, activities, and events for us all to enjoy across the week – oh and let’s not forget the incredible smoothies of the day that were on offer (Wednesday’s mango lassi was incredible!).
Below is a quick preview into some of the things that we all got up to across the week.
And what a week it was!
It was great to see our team come together, meet, get involved, and socialise with one other – some for the very first time and others for the first in a long time.
At d3t, we value the health and wellbeing of our team, and make sure that everything that we do focuses on this. This is why running weeks like this are so important to us, and also why they have become a key landmark in the d3t calendar.
With our team’s continuing to work hard on a variety of upcoming and future AAA projects, it is an exciting time for all of us at d3t and we look forward to sharing these with you when we can!
Until then, keep following our social media channels for more information, and if you are interested in being part of our next Wellbeing Week, why not take a look at the vacancies that we are currently recruiting for here.
d3t is excited to announce that we have been awarded with Bronze in Mind’s Workplace Wellbeing Awards for 2021/22.
The Index, which is a benchmark of best policy and practice, is designed to celebrate the good work that employers do to promote and support positive mental health, and to provide key recommendations on the specific areas where there is room for improvement.
This is the first year at d3t that we have entered the Index, and we are delighted to have received Bronze, and been recognised as a company that is striving to improve the wellbeing of our team, by developing and implementing initiatives that promote positive mental health.
Speaking on the announcement, Senior Producer and Wellbeing Champion at d3t, Jane Mcloughlin said: “d3t has always been a company that tries to put the wellbeing of its staff at the forefront of what we do, and it’s clear from the results of the staff survey carried out by Mind, that this is recognised by our team. However, there is always more we can do, and being part of the Index allows us to identify the next steps, both from the actions suggested by Mind, and from the voices of our team themselves.
“Achieving a Bronze Award at our first ever time of entering the Index is incredibly pleasing and is also a great way to round off our Wellbeing Week, where we have been running a range of wellness activities for our team both online and at our studio.
“I look forward to this next time year to see just how much further we’ve come in regards to our mental heath policies and practices, and also how these improvements will be reflected within the next Index.”
For further details on the Mind Workplace Wellbeing Index, click here.
The awards ceremony which took place on Friday 10th June 2022 at the Widnes Stadium, saw businesses from across the borough of Halton come together to celebrate organisational success and exceptional business performance.
This is the second consecutive time that d3t has been announced as Employer of the Year, which recognises that the studio excels in offering the most comprehensive work environment, through the implementation of a strong learning, development and inclusive culture, staff incentive schemes, recognition/remuneration and retention packages, along with a growing list of health and wellbeing initiatives.
Speaking on the award, Richard Badger, Head of Studio at d3t, said: “We are extremely humbled to have been announced as Employer of the Year. At the core of our studio is a clear focus on people, growth, and retention, and this all stems from the founders’ of d3t’s desire to want to create a games studio where people feel valued and without the overshadowing cloud of ‘crunch’ that the industry is renowned for.
“It is this focus that has seen d3t win multiple Employer of the Year awards not only from our colleagues within the games industry, but also from our peers outside the industry, who have also recognised the long lasting and supportive commitment that d3t has towards its team.
“However, we know though that we can’t rest on our laurels, which is why we are always improving, whether that is investing into our studio, providing our team with a benefits package that meets their growing needs and requirements, or even expanding our health, wellbeing, and training offering.”
Now with a team of 140+ talented developers, d3t is also a recent winner of the GamesIndustry.biz Best Places to Work Award for 2021 and has been recognised for its commitment to an anti-crunch ethos, studio culture, and wellbeing.
Want to work at d3t?
Want to find out more about working with our award-winning team? We are regularly looking candidates across a wide range of roles. Take a look here to find out more!
d3t is delighted to announce that our Head of Art, Louise Andrew, has become an Ambassador for Women in Games.
Louise, who has been with d3t for just over two years, has been instrumental in not only growing the Art Team to the industry renowned team that it is today, which has spearheaded projects such as Alan Wake Remastered, but also in bringing through the next generation of game developers.
Louise who is an avid speaker at schools, colleges and universities across the UK is passionate about shining the light on a career within the games industry, by highlighting the many opportunities for women to pursue an exciting and rewarding role within it.
Speaking on her appointment as an Ambassador for Women in Games, Louise said: “The first time I went to the Women in Games conference I was so inspired seeing all these amazing women! The games industry is a vibrant, creative, and evolving industry and I decided to become a Women in Games Ambassador as I wanted to continue the journey in inspiring other women to come and work with us making games!”
Part of Louise’s Ambassador position will involve her having a vital role in helping to enhance the culture in the gaming industry. To be free from discrimination, where full equity of opportunity, treatment and conditions is provided to all girls and women from all ethnicities and orientations. The goal being to enable all to achieve their full potential within the games and Esports industries.
To find out more information on the Women in Games Ambassador program or to apply for it, click here.
Please detail a bit of information about your experience/career background?
For the past five years I have been studying Computer Games Programming, both at Barnsley College, and then at Manchester Metropolitan University where I graduated with a First Class Degree.
I never knew exactly what I wanted to do upon leaving Secondary School, but I did know that I wanted to do something creative. This is when I came across a Film and TV course that was being offered at my local college, but upon heading to the lecture hall to find out more about it I stumbled across the Games Design course, which I immediately fell in love with, and I haven’t looked back since!
Why d3t?
d3t seems like such a welcoming studio and community, and one that is also working on some large scale and fun projects. It was this combination that made it feel like the ideal opportunity for me to make my introduction into the industry, and I hope that I can provide a valuable service and work on some great projects going forward!
What do you love about games?
I love the escapism of games; you can always find yourself lost in a new world or be playing a competitive online game with your friends and have it feeling as if they are sat next to you.
In games themselves I love any kind of competition. I try to be as good as I can be at any game, even if it frustrates me to no end.
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
I am currently playing two games, Rainbow Six Siege, and Middle Earth: Shadow of War (SoW) and have played both games for years. I have a love hate relationship with Siege, but I consistently find myself coming back to it. I am also playing SoW again which funnily enough I may say is my favourite game. I know there are issues with it, but I am absolutely in love with the nemesis system, the personal stories that you alone have with the Uruks in the game is fully what makes that game for me and I will play through it fully at least once a year.
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
Whilst I’m not very good at it, I love playing football and following the sport, me and my friends often find ourselves going down to a local field to have a kick about.
It also sounds cliché but one of my main hobbies is making games! I love to make my own little projects that no one will see but me!
Please detail a bit of information about your experience/career background?
I have just finished a BSc in Computer Science at the University of Manchester – during my time here I have worked on plenty of personal projects, most of which were graphics related.
To take a breather from my studies I also completed a placement year at d3t last year, and am delighted to return once more.
Other than that, I have also worked as a backend Software Engineer and freelanced in the past.
Why d3t?
After completing my placement here last year there is no way that I was going to miss out on the opportunity to come back!
What do you love about games?
Game software is in a rather lucky spot at the moment, as it is one of the few fields where performance is still one of the main requirements. This requirement makes developing games challenging and also extremely fun.
Aside from the sheer complexity, game software offers a rather wide range of different fields to work on, all of which are interesting and exciting in their own right. Be it graphics, networking, or physics there will always be something new and interesting to learn.
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
I am currently making my way through Stephen’s Sausage Roll, which has to be one of the best puzzle games I have played in a while. I have also recently been re-drawn back into the universe of League in the form of Teamfight Tactics.
It is also extremely difficult to pick a single favourite game, so let’s go with my Top 3: Hollow Knight, The Witness, and Half-Life 2.
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
I spend most of my free time trying to convince my graphics card that I in fact want beautiful triangles instead of Christmas lights or some other weird artifacts.
Please detail a bit of information about your experience/career background?
I first started making games back in high school after medium intrigued me, because it allowed me to use both my programming skills, as well as my creative and artistic inclinations. Continuing to pursue this path, I was introduced to a wonderful local community of game developers, which helped and encouraged me to chase the dream of pursuing a career within the games industry.
From hosting and participating in game jams, to undertaking personal projects, I moved on to a higher education in this field, as well as getting the opportunity to collaborate with professional studios, all of which has allowed me to achieve my goal of becoming a game Technical Artist.
Now, I am eager to finish my degree, jump into full-time work within the industry, and see what my future holds.
Why d3t?
I see d3t as one of the industries creative powerhouses, after leaving a big imprint on the market with their work on such a variety of incredible projects, from The Witcher 3 to Guardians of the Galaxy. It would be an immense opportunity for me to get to learn from teams with so much experience, as well as to help facilitate the tools that allow these developers to produce such polished products.
I also had the chance to meet some of the members of the team at Develop: Brighton 2021 and I got a glimpse of the warm and friendly community that they are as a studio.
What do you love about games?
For me, games offer something no other medium can. While more traditional art is made to appeal to one’s senses, games provide an extra dimension through their interactive factors.
Suddenly, you as the player can change the outcome of the artefact in front of you. You are allowed to explore, to experiment, to experience the final product in the way you choose. This factor in particular opens up so many possibilities which classical artists, scientists, engineers have never been able to properly consider.
I believe in the power of interaction, both as an entertainment and learning medium, and I am thrilled to see what the ongoing developments in technology can do for us to elevate games to even higher standards.
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
When I simply want to relax, I mostly enjoy multiplayer games, from Overwatch, Warzone, and Super Smash Bros, to even the occasional Minecraft game. I do, however, sporadically feel the need of an interesting story, with my favourite game being Undertale. Currently I am also playing through Stray.
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
The problem with turning your main hobby into your job is that it becomes tricky to figure out when you’re working and when you’re enjoying time off! But if I were to mention things outside of game dev, I quite enjoy clearing my head on biking trips, learning to cook, and video editing.
I became an intern at d3t as part of my university course’s placement year. While I was looking and applying for placement opportunities, one of my university’s alumni who went on to work at d3t had shared the internship opening on our university’s Game Dev society’s Discord server. From the moment I opened it, it looked like the perfect opportunity, and I knew I had to give the application my all. I spent some extra time honing my CV and writing a cover letter and when I was invited to work out a programming test, I put in a lot of effort to do it the best I could.
My application had a bit of a rocky going due to a number of factors out of my control, but in the end my persistence and work on the programming test was enough to secure me an invitation to an interview and then to get the position. I couldn’t have been more excited!
What do you do day-to-day?
Once I had settled into my first ever job, the people at d3t have treated me like essentially any other programmer on the project, allowing me to really experience the real job and feel part of the team. At the same time, they have still supported me with regular one-on-one meetings to make sure I’m doing ok and to provide guidance if I needed it.
In a normal day, I join the team’s stand-up meeting in the morning, catching up with everyone on each of our work that we’ve done since the previous day, and what we’re going to be doing today. From there, I work on a wide variety of tasks, game features, tools, and, of course, fixing those pesky bugs. I truly enjoy the day-to-day problem solving of reaching that intended behaviour of the game, no matter if it is fixing a bug or adding a new feature. But also, some of the wacky things that can result from work in progress is very fun.
I also get to work with people from various disciplines – with QA to find and fix bugs, Designers to execute on their vision for features in the game, and other Programmers, whether working jointly on a feature, discussing our own work together to pool our knowledge, or reviewing each other’s’ code. And of course, the Producers, who organise and keep the projects running, and make our day-to-day lives easier and more fun. This allows me to truly appreciate the variety of roles and monumental effort that make up the behemoth that is making a big video game.
Do you have any tips for people looking to get into the games industry?
From my personal experience, it’s walking the extra mile. Spending that extra time to craft a great application, making the effort to do your best on programming tests, preparing for and making a good impression at an interview, and then showing your passion and willingness to learn.
We are hiring
Stay tuned for more spotlight features coming soon. In the meantime, if you’re feeling inspired and want to join our team, check out our vacancies page!
Please detail a bit of information about your experience/career background?
I started in the industry after graduating from university in 2010, spending time primarily at Sony and later TT Games in QA positions.
From QA I progressed at TT Games into a series of Design roles, starting as a Junior Designer and working my way through to running projects as a Game Director. Over the last 12 years I’ve worked on a whole plethora of projects across a huge range of brands and IPs, from LEGO Lord of the Rings to LEGO Dimensions and most recently LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.
Why d3t?
Throughout my time working on games, I’ve known a few people who have moved to d3t and love everything about it. I also worked with d3t during the development of LEGO Star Wars and so when the opportunity arose, I already had a positive view of what to expect from the company and people.
That’s not to mention the numerous projects that the company has been working on recently – they are all exciting games, which tells me the types of projects that the company can attract are ones that I definitely want to be a part of!
What do you love about games?
Working in games, I like being able to be a part of people’s life experiences in ways that you can’t imagine or ever plan for.
Games can ignite a series of emotions in players, bringing people together to share a moment, being conversation starters, giving people a moment of respite from their day-to-day, or being entire events that people plan around and cater for.
Personally the thing I love most about games is the world building and exploration. There’s nothing better than delving in to a new world with its own history, lore, politics and cultures to learn and understand.
What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?
That’s quite a question!
At the moment I’m playing through ‘Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands’, ‘Horizon Forbidden West’ and ‘V Rising’ with a sprinkling of ‘Phasmophobia’ here and there.
My favourite game however is a complicated answer!
The game that really started it all for me and got me well and truly into games was Ocarina of Time. Alongside that I have a whole series of games that I’ve adored over the years for various reasons, such as AvP2, Fable, Portal, Persona 4, The Witcher and the God of War series.
I also have to give shout outs to games like Destiny and World of Warcraft that I’m continuously playing in the background as games that I always fall back on to. They’ve kept my attention for 8 and 15 years respectively, so they must be doing something right!
Do you have any fun facts or hobbies?
As with many these days, I play a bit of D&D as well as a few too many games.
I also have two dogs, a Siberian Husky called Captain and a Cocker Spaniel called Belle.
(For any fans of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, having a dog called Captain Holt was purely coincidental and something that I didn’t realise until his named was called out at the vets the first time!).
Speaking on the announcement, Senior Producer and Wellbeing Champion at d3t, Jane Mcloughlin said: “d3t has always been a company that tries to put the wellbeing of its staff at the forefront of what we do, and it’s clear from the results of the staff survey carried out by Mind, that this is recognised by our team. However, there is always more we can do, and being part of the Index allows us to identify the next steps, both from the actions suggested by Mind, and from the voices of our team themselves.
