Tamsyn Hastings joined the d3t team as a Production Assistant on 1st April 2019. Tamsyn tells us a bit more about herself…
Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?
After completing my degree, I was lucky to meet the company director of a small indie company, Atomicom, at the Media Week at the International Business Festival in Liverpool. Hired on as QA tester and then later promoted to Junior Level Designer, the environment of the company allowed me to dabble in other job practices during my time; PR, HR, project management and general design work as and when needed. I was never solely working on one task or for more than a day and constantly having to swap between projects if we were taking multiple things on at once.
Why d3t?
I’d been told in the past that d3t was a great place to work at; good people, great work environment, and because the company works for hire there’s the opportunity to be able to work on a range of projects – great for CV’s. When I had a look at the website and learned a bit more, I had that moment of: “Okay, this place is pretty cool.” and applied for my current position.
What was the recruitment process like?
As far as I was aware, and believed, I handed my CV in relatively late and so was concerned that I had missed the deadline for the job. It didn’t take long after submission that I was given a response and a project management test. As it stands it’s been one of the more enjoyable tests I’ve done, and within the week I was asked to come into the studio for an interview. Must’ve done something right if I’m here now.
Generally, everyone I was in contact with at d3t from day one was incredibly friendly and helpful, you could ask them any question that came to mind even if you thought it may have been a little naïve – definitely an overall positive recruitment experience.[vc_single_image image=”5640″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”]
Tell us some interesting facts about yourself.
If I hadn’t gone into working on games, I would’ve joined the RAF.If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
Starting your career in game development can seem overwhelming at the best of times. With so many career paths to go down, so many variations of development, where do you start?
We’re building this game development careers knowledge base to answer all your questions and more, to set you on the right path in your journey in the game development industry. Along the way, we have interviewed a few members of our team from a variety of roles within d3t, to see what they have to say about getting into the industry.
To see career opportunities available at d3t Ltd, please click here.
What Career Options Are There In Game Development?
There are an enormous amount of routes to take when looking to start your career in game development. With the industry being so large, there are thousands of different job roles. For ease of reading, we’ve summed them up into 6 main categories that you will see more often than not.
It’s important to remember that depending on the size and structure of the company you are working for, these roles may overlap. Larger organisations are more likely to have more specific roles such as a Sound Effects Programmer. Whereas smaller organisations will often have individuals working on various areas to utilise human resources more effectively. In this case, a programmer may be hired to programme sound effects, physics and UI, depending on their skillset.
Designer
A game designer helps to create the overall picture of the game including the storylines, narrations, game hints, UI and more. Designers tend to work closely with other roles (such as the artists and programmers) to help keep the main idea of the game on track.
Expect to do a lot of story-boarding and drafting/pitching ideas to the rest of the team.
Personally, when I am looking for candidates for game design positions, I want to see that the applicant not only enjoys games, but can also demonstrate an understanding of the underlying principles. A great way to show this is to dissect a game – explain what the features are but, more importantly, what purpose they serve and why they were created in that specific way. Basically, if someone can effectively communicate how a game works, that is a huge feather in their cap. At a more advanced level, it’s also very useful to be able to get inside a player’s head. Different people react in different ways to the same game – why is that? What aspects of the game could turn some people against it?
Read widely, watch films other than the latest MCU, throw yourself into something that you might not naturally be drawn to. Basically, be able to demonstrate that you are more than simply a gamer – show that you fundamentally understand the games.
Hal Sandbach, Designer
Artist
There are a wide variety of artist roles within the game development industry. The most publicised is often the concept artists work, as fans eagerly anticipate what certain features of a new title may look like.
It is a concept artists job to conceptualise the visual elements of games, working closely with the designer to portray their idea for the game. The artists work is key for various other roles such as sound engineers and physics programmers to create corresponding game elements.
You should be handy with a pencil (physical and digital!) and good at transforming ideas into visual artworks.
Be persistent. If you have failed applications this doesn’t mean you won’t find success. Learn from every opportunity.
Research where you’re applying and tailor your portfolio to that companies products and the specific role. Your work should display the requirements of the job.
Compare your work to the industry standards. If it doesn’t fit in then spend more time levelling up your skills.”
Ben Sparrow, Junior Artist
Programmer
Game development programming is split into hundreds of different roles and skill sets. To start with, there are a number of different coding languages that all have varying applications within the game dev industry. Your exact role as a game development programmer will largely depend on the coding languages you know and the environment you have used them in.
For example, physics programming is an entirely different skill than UI programming. Programmers spend a lot of time at the screen, working on creating new code and debugging within a team.
Work Hard, show passion, be confident and get together a great portfolio whether that be in programming, art or design. Don’t underestimate the positive experience an internship will have on your career and once you’ve grabbed an opportunity to work in a games studio, don’t let go!
Phil Owen, Head of Engineering
Some advice for university students, definitely do an internship/work placement. I found that not only did having that on my CV help me get land an interview but I could talk about my real-world development experience in an interview and how most of the work I took part in during my internship could relate to the work d3t does.
Despite my year out not being related to games, some of the processes towards development are similar so any software/games development job would be better than having not done and internship.”
Ryan Buxton, Junior Programmer
QA Tester
QA testing is often described as a “dream job” by gaming fans. Although it certainly is rewarding, there’s a lot more hard work involved than simply playing your favourite titles for hours on end and being paid for the privilege.
Attention to detail is essential for any games tester. You’ll need to think through every possible way that an end-user could play the game and test it for bugs and glitches.
QA Testers should consider remaining open to a constantly changing situation. Your day can go from doing daily checks to have lots of enquiries fired at you at a moment’s notice, from Programmers eager to see if their hard work has paid off.
Also, and most crucially…. You don’t have to be “the best gamer in the world” to work in QA. If you can play games a bit then that’s great but team working, a curious mind and a good grasp of English will get you started. The rest you can pick up as you go along.
Last week was arguably one of the biggest weeks in the year for game developers around the globe. It was of course, the return of GDC for GDC 2019 in San Francisco, California. As always, d3t and other members of the Keyword Studios family flew over to meet with the rest of the industry.
What is GDC?
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual event that aims to bring the game development industry together to network, inspire and learn from one another. Whilst GDC has always been held in San Francisco, there are variations such as GDC China and GDC Europe which are held in other locations.
GDC acts as a place for independent studios and larger corporations alike to share their latest work and host workshops to introduce the audience to new tech.
What happened at GDC 2019?
Our Studio Technical Director, Noel Austin shares his account of GDC 2019…
Noel, Andy & Lyndon GDC 2019
“GDC 2019 was incredibly busy, with lots of buzz and excitement around the venue and surrounding areas.
God of War and Spiderman had a big presence in the Conference talks. It’s so great that they can talk so openly about their productions. Sharing this knowledge enables the next generation of games to push the envelope even further and brings the quality output of the industry higher and higher.
The Moscone Center, home of GDC 2019
We bumped into many friends and clients of ours, and maybe they were drunk (!) but everyone was really positive about d3t.
Our professionalism and transparency is important to everyone we work with.
Keywords party was fantastic and well attended. The family is growing ?. Internal studios were well represented and lots of clients mixing too”
GDC Passes
GDC 2020
Following the success of GDC 2019, dates for GDC 2020 have now been confirmed as follows:
Alex Neumann joined the d3t team as a Junior Programmer on 25th March 2019. Alex tells us a bit more about himself…
Tell us about your background and experience prior to d3t?
I studied Physics at the University of Leicester and during my time there, I went to Australia for a year where I was able to complete a few Computer Science courses. This led me to playing around with OpenGL and DirectX APIs in my free time as I had always been interested in games & graphical rendering. During my final year at university, I applied to various roles and landed a job in the web/app industry at a company called Cantarus. After 7 months of working, I realised that my passion lied towards the games industry and applied to d3t.
Why d3t?
d3t allows you to work on many different projects, each project has its own set unique challenges and you can be working on a different part of game programming each time. At interview, it was clear that the company is super friendly, and everyone loved working here… and I wanted to be a part of that!
What was the recruitment process like?
The process was quick, friendly and very enjoyable. After applying for the role, I received a 24-hour coding challenge where I was tasked with implementing various features into a game. This enabled me to showcase the best of my abilities and I found it extremely fun that I ended up spending a lot of time on the challenge. Shortly after submitting the coding challenge, I received an offer to go to interview where I was interviewed by Phil & Scott. The interview was very friendly and laidback, and both Phil & Scott put me right at ease at the start of the interview. Later that day, I received a job offer.
Tell us some fun facts about yourself.
Other than gaming when I get a chance in my free time, I am currently learning the guitar and when the weather is good, I enjoy going for long rides on my bicycle.If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
d3t are extremely proud to reveal their latest concept work, “Virtually Reality Glasses”. Unlike other virtual reality glasses available today, the Virtually Reality Glasses are made from 90% recycled materials and feature “virtually lifelike” graphics. The lack of any electrical components allows the user to be fully immersed in the real world, whilst keeping up appearances and being able to “blend in” at tech meetups around the world.
Head of engineering at d3t, Phil Owen comments:
We are always looking at new ways of improving user experience on the wide range of games that we work on. We had seen other virtual reality glasses on the marketplace and had always thought they looked a bit silly. In the mind of keeping things simple, we developed a prototype that featured zero electrical components, which has helps save the planet and keep our end-user cost way down.”
After a number of focus groups, our test subjects gave feedback such as:
“I can’t see anything” & “It’s just a bit of plastic covering my eyes, what’s the point?”
We took this feedback on board and added glass holes so the user could see more clearly and developed a lightweight (cardboard) frame.
The glasses were taken to famous locations around the world during the testing period. Here is an artists representation of viewing the Leaning Tower of Pisa through the Virtually Reality Glasses.
Stephen Powell, Co-Founder of d3t Ltd comments:
I’m incredibly proud of the team and their work on the Virtually Reality Glasses. I’ve been testing a pair for the last few weeks and they really do work. I can see virtually everything when wearing the glasses, except a lack of peripheral vision due to the cardboard side-wall. I can use them whilst watching TV or playing any of my favourite games.”
The Virtually Reality Glasses are expected to be in stock before New Years Eve 2020, with rumours of limited edition “2020” shaped frames being made available to selected, party-going customers.
For Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day we held a charity bake sale here at d3t! A big thank you to our admin team, who organised the fundraising…
On Thursday 14th March Susan, Sammy, Helen and Jenna brought in an assortment of cakes and cupcakes all decorated in a Red Nose Day theme, so that we could raise funds for Comic Relief.
Red Nose Day was a great success, all of the team were happy to get involved supporting/eating cakes for this great cause and we’re happy to confirm we raised £106.08!
Here at d3t we hold several fundraising events for different charities, including Comic Relief, Macmillan and Children in Need.[vc_gallery interval=”3″ images=”5482,5473,5464,5455″ img_size=”1000×1000″ onclick=””]
d3t’s newest member of the IT Support team tells us more about himself…
Experience / Career Background:
Having changed careers from being a Sound and Video engineer for live events up and down the country and across Europe, I settled into an IT support role at Fujitsu, who at the time were the 3rd largest supplier of IT support. Then an opportunity appeared to step into the gaming industry in the form of Jagex. Although not a “Scaper” I am a massive gamer and revelled in the chance to get the “foot in the door”.
Why d3t?
I applied for the role with d3t as there was an opportunity to work with and on many varied projects. As well as offering me a chance to move back to the “north” where most of my family is, although we are from the other side of the hills (the better side some may say).
What was the recruitment process like?
Recruitment for me was brilliant, everyone has been super helpful and supportive for me, as there was a big move involved, from the flexible start date to the advice of areas to look at to move to.
Fun fact about yourself / hobby / specialism/ driving force:
As well as a massive gamer, I enjoy a weekend stalking around a forest or disused prison with my Airsoft rifle in hand flinging 6mm rounds at other people (who are also doing the same). This also means I can often be found spending too much money on new toys.
If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
Rene Kienauer joined the team on the 18th February, 2019 as a Junior Programmer. Rene tells us more about himself…
Experience / Career Background:
I went to a five year long electrical engineering school and realised that electricity wasn’t my cup of tea and took a different route. This route led me to the Games Programming Course at SAE Vienna. There I got the ability to learn and develop my game development skills over a period of two years. I made several little game projects in groups which I then could present when applying for game dev jobs.
Why d3t?
They were by far the most uncomplicated and friendly studio in the recruitment process which gave me the confidence to leave my home country and work for them. Also, the projects spoke for themselves and I am proud to be working on amazing games.
What was the recruitment process like?
I saw that there was an open position as Junior Programmer and quickly applied. I got the opportunity to prove my skills via a small coding test. After that I had an interview with Phil and Scott who were both super nice. Sometime later I got an email which confirmed my application. One month forward and now I am living in the UK and working for d3t. They helped me all the way and quickly answered every question I had.
Fun fact about yourself / hobby / specialism/ driving force:
Always wanted to work in games but didn’t really pursue this until age 21. Since then I am 100 percent behind this dream, and I am absolutely thrilled to be working as a game developer now.
If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
In honour of International Womens Day we have taken the time to honour the important women in coding through history, who have helped shape the industry as we know it today!
1843, Ada Lovelace – First Computer Programmer
designing the first computer algorithm, and explaining how it would work on Babbage’s proposed (but non-existent) Analytical Engine.
1942, Hedy Lamarr
invents the frequency-hopping technology that would later allow the invention of wireless signals like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Jean Bartik (December 1924 – March 2011)
was among the first computer programmers who developed a technology known as software. The ENIAC was invented to calculate the firing trajectories for artillery shells. It was completed in 1946.
1952, Rear Admiral Grace Hopper
created one of the world’s first compilers (in her spare time). She envisioned code to use English language-based instructions, and her programming language design work led to the creation of COBOL, used to this day.
2005 Rosalind Picard
Named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, following an outstanding career in computing. She is most well known for creating the branch of computer science called affective computing, following her book of the same name in 1997.
Present Sarah Newell
And lastly our very own Sarah Newell, d3t’s Senior Programmer. As a senior programmer, Sarah is in charge of writing, updating and maintaining new and existing projects across all major platforms and languages. Sarah ensures the collaboration of our multi-disciplinary team, and acts as a mentor to the junior team members.
What does the future hold?
You? Check d3t vacancies – https://d3tltd.com/work-for-d3t/[vc_single_image image=”5267″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”5276″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center”]
Personally, when I am looking for candidates for game design positions, I want to see that the applicant not only enjoys games, but can also demonstrate an understanding of the underlying principles. A great way to show this is to dissect a game – explain what the features are but, more importantly, what purpose they serve and why they were created in that specific way. Basically, if someone can effectively communicate how a game works, that is a huge feather in their cap. At a more advanced level, it’s also very useful to be able to get inside a player’s head. Different people react in different ways to the same game – why is that? What aspects of the game could turn some people against it?
You should be handy with a pencil (physical and digital!) and good at transforming ideas into visual artworks.
Work Hard, show passion, be confident and get together a great portfolio whether that be in programming, art or design. Don’t underestimate the positive experience an internship will have on your career and once you’ve grabbed an opportunity to work in a games studio, don’t let go!
Some advice for university students, definitely do an 
