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d3t welcomes Pedro Medina Gomez

Pedro Medina Gomez joined the d3t team as a Junior Programmer on 3rd June 2019. Pedro tells us a bit more about himself…

Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?

I studied Computing and Systems Development in ESAT, Valencia, where with a group of friends, created a VR game that ended up third in the Game Development World Contest. After that, I moved to Sheffield to do Computer Science for Games at Sheffield Hallam University, looking forward to getting a job in the videogames industry in the UK. Right after I completed my degree, I got a job in d3t!

Why d3t?

My top priority in this very first moment of my professional career is to learn as much as I can. In d3t I saw the opportunity of working in lots of projects, taking knowledge from different areas in a very professional environment.

What was the recruitment process like?

2 weeks after applying for a Junior Programmer position, I received a C++ programming test to complete in 24h. A week and a half later, they contacted me to do a personal interview in the office, which was quite nice. The day after the interview, I got the offer to join the team!

Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.

I was going to study Economics at first, and in the very moment of submitting my application, I decided that I wanted to create videogames for a living.If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?

Wellbeing Week at d3t

Last week at d3t we held our very first Wellbeing Week. An initiative to promote awareness for the various aspects of wellbeing. These include; social, physical, emotional, financial and health & nutrition.

During the week we held a number of activities, for our team to get involved with to promote a healthy body and mind. We decided to dedicate each day to a different theme or topic.

  • Monday – Nutrition & Finance
  • Tuesday – Mind
  • Wednesday – Relaxation
  • Thursday – Health & Fitness
  • Friday – Social Friday

All activities were available free of charge to our team, there was an option for them to book further follow up appointments with each of the external presenters should they wish to do so, again completely free of charge!

Monday – Gary, Howard Worth

To kick off the week we started the day with healthy snacks available for each team member, alongside healthy recipe ideas for them to take away. We were very lucky to have Gary from Howard Worth Accountants deliver 1 to 1 sessions on all things finance related. The team had the option to book an appointment with him to discuss any personal financial worries or questions they may have.

Tuesday – Nic, Mind

On the second day of Wellbeing Week the topic for the day was Mind. We took inspiration from the charity ‘Mind’ to give some workshops to educate on how to keep our minds healthy. Nic held two workshops, with a focus on anxiety. Again there was the option to have a private chat after the workshops, to ask any questions.

Wednesday – Maggie, Lotus Holistics

On Wednesday we had the wonderful Maggie in, a trained holistic and reiki therapist from Lotus Holitics. Maggie delivered an insightful presentation on ‘Wellbeing in the Workplace’. She also offered professional seated chair massages for all the team to book a slot.

Thursday – Hayley, British Athlete

Thursday was dedicated to all things Health & Fitness related. We had the talented British athlete Hayley White in to inspire our team. She is the first and only UK female athlete to complete the Artic6633. Hayley delivered a motivational talk to our team, with private appointments available afterwards.

Friday – Social

Finally to round up the week on Friday we held a social day with nibbles throughout the day. This involved lunchtime games in the communal room, followed by drinks and snacks after work.

We thoroughly enjoyed our first Wellbeing Week, as did our team. We can’t wait to hold it again, and we hope going forward that others in the industry will be inspired by our efforts and take up Wellbeing Week themselves. Finally a big thank you to everyone who came and delivered a presentation this week.

d3t welcomes Thomas Bulger

Thomas Bulger joined the d3t team as an Embedded QA Tester on 3rd June 2019. Thomas tells us a bit more about himself…

Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?

Before starting my role at d3t I worked as a QA Functional Tester for Sony Computer Entertainment. Whilst at Sony I had the opportunity to test and work on numerous first party titles, widening my knowledge in the QA department. I also had the opportunity to engage with and train other testers, this was title specific training, how the title works and how we would test the chosen title, developing testing skills through this training. It’s because of these opportunities I found a taste for working within the gaming industry, looking to continue QA through d3t to further develop myself by gaining new skills and knowledge.

Why d3t?

d3t largely stood out to me for many reasons. Apart from being a successful and rapidly growing company, the idea of working alongside different gaming companies on various gaming titles greatly appealed to me. d3t also uses a wide variety of systems such as different consoles, VR and PCs being a select few. Working with these systems will further expand my knowledge and idea of testing within QA, as previously I have only had the opportunity to focus on one console.

What was the recruitment process like?

After applying for the role, I was contacted sooner than I expected. I was offered an interview which was very professional but extremely welcoming. Staff were very friendly and helpful, making myself feel welcome during the interview stage. After the interview I was offered the role several days later, being given the opportunity to ask as many questions as needed before my start date. All information provided by d3t was fast and extremely helpful.

Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.

Although currently working in QA, I previously studied Sport Development and Coaching at university. If I have any spare time in the week, I often volunteer to coach children and young adults’ football, occasionally creating development plans to improve various skills and techniques in football.

If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?

2K Games

We are delighted to announce we’re working with 2K! We can’t reveal what we’re working on but it’s very exciting so keep your eyes peeled!

 

The Inaugural d3t Wellbeing Week

d3t is proud to be holding the very first wellbeing week, next week at the d3t offices. Spanning across five days, the team will take part in activities related to physical, mental and financial health. The initiative aims to put employee wellbeing as a primary focus, instead of the “crunch” environment of which the gaming industry has been criticised for in recent years.

What Is Wellbeing Week?

Here at d3t we will be holding WellBeing week during the last week of June.

d3t WellBeing Week promotes an awareness for the various aspects of wellbeing; social, physical, emotional, financial, health & nutrition.

There will be plenty of activities, should the d3t team choose to get involved to help promote a healthy body and mind.

What’s On During Wellbeing Week?

  • Monday: Nutrition & Finance
  • Tuesday: Mind
  • Wednesday: Relaxation
  • Thursday: Health & Fitness
  • Friday: Lunchtime Games & Nibbles and Social Friday

All sessions are included in the d3t Wellbeing Week, however, there will be opportunity for the team to book further follow up appointments with each of the external presenters should they wish.

d3t Welcomes Andy Wilson

d3t welcomes Andy Wilson to the team as Junior Programmer. Andy tells us a bit more about himself…

Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?

I originally came from an accounting background (James Todd & Co), but it turned out it wasn’t for me. I studied games programming at the University of Bolton which boosted my technical skills and confidence. I found the problem solving and mathematical nature of this field addictive. The advent of new technologies and ways of doing things in the industry means there’s always new things to learn!

Why d3t?

I was enticed by the variety of projects that d3t is involved in, which will enable me to gain experience in lots of different areas. My first project is a mammoth challenge and one I’m looking forward to getting stuck into.

What was the recruitment process like?

Very professional. I received a programming test to complete within 24 hours and progressed to the next stage. The interview itself was much more relaxed. Phil and Scott put me at ease and focussed on getting to know me better.

Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.

When I’m not being a dad, my favourite things are playing games (racing, stealth, beat em ups and Mirrors Edge), going to the cinema and eating out.[vc_single_image image=”5760″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”]If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?

d3t welcomes Luis Armas Suarez

Luis Armas Suarez joined the d3t team as a Junior Programmer on 13th May 2019. Luis tells us a bit more about himself…

Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?

I studied Computer Engineering at Universitat Politecnica de Valencia. After that I moved to London to do my master’s in game development at Goldsmiths, University of London. During my last semester I got an Internship with SoftV to work as Junior Programmer in the development of one of their mobile games. After I finished my masters, I kept working there part time while I also worked for Goldsmiths University in a project they were developing. A few months after I applied for d3t and got the job!

Why d3t?

As junior programmer my main interest right now is to learn as much as I can about different programming languages, game engines and fields within game development. As d3t is a heavily technical game company with several experienced professionals and has participated in many varied projects (from triple A to smaller games) I thought it would be an ideal next step in my career to keep learning.

What was the recruitment process like?

I applied for the junior programmer position and d3t contacted me a couple of weeks later. I was asked to take a test in C++ for them that I had to complete within 24 hours. Once they reviewed it, I was invited for a personal interview that was quite nice and relaxed. Finally, two days after that final interview I got a job offer from the studio![vc_single_image image=”5714″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”]

Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.

Not to brag about it, but I managed to defeat Sephirot in Kingdom Hearts 2 playing the critical difficulty so that must mean that I’m kind of talented.If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?

Ian Moran, Principal Programmer at d3t gives his advice on getting into the industry

d3t’s very own Ian Moran, Principal Programmer gives us his advice on getting into the games industry as a programmer. As a programmer, have your own projects, ideally including a simple game that you can demonstrate and explain the problems you have overcome. Developing is the sole task of being able to describe, break down and solve problems, showing that you have been motivated by a problem and broken it down into steps that you have been able to solve. At best this will be fundamental in landing you a position, but at the very least it will play its part in your personal development. It doesn’t matter how junior your position is if you haven’t invested time to do this, then you are likely not looking for a job in the right field.

“Describe, break down and solve problems.”

It’s important to have a keen interest in the tools, technologies and techniques, as someone wanting to demonstrate your passion for solving problems, you will be aware of press and sites that run articles on relevant ideas and concepts that can be the key building blocks you will be working with.

The internet has an abundance of free tools and development kits for the job. Some examples include:

  • Shadertoy
  • Dev Studio Express
  • DirectX
  • SIGGRAPH or GDC presentations which often filter on to Youtube or sites like Gamasutra.

You should consider using off the shelf engines to showcase your work. At the very least it gives you a framework that can embellish what you are showing and keep your focus on your specific areas of interest, such as graphics, AI or UI for example. It also shows that you can integrate your work into widely used and understood mature engines which is in its self another skill set that is useful to share.

“Anyone can run a text editor and use a web browser to produce interesting results.”

Ian has been an Employee of the Quarter – recognised for his hard work and helpfulness!

It’s a good idea to keep an eye out for demos made in certain categories and specifications on multiple platforms. PC demos cover all disciplines and have a broad range of scopes. These can be an inspiration even if you are not likely to do anything similar, some show source code and offer some insight into the production and solutions that may help with your own implementations.

They may also inspire you to write your own! It’s becoming more typical for developers to come from a related university course. This can show that you are committed to the idea of being a developer, but you shouldn’t assume that a games-related degree is a pre-requisite or a requirement for a job in games. Dedication and passion, showing initiative and innovation outside of the confines of academia can be at least as impressive as a first.

Technology and tools are generally accessible to everyone wanting to create art or program. While expensive premium options are available and these can give more leverage or address specific issues, historically we had no more than a computer and an idea. The same can be true today, anyone can run a text editor and use a web browser to produce interesting results.

– Ian Moran, Principal Programmer

If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?

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