Chris Walter joined the d3t team as a Project Manager on 18th February 2019. Chris has experience as a producer at Cubic Motion as well as being a BBC Children’s Producer. Chris tells us a bit more about himself…
Why d3t?
I applied to d3t because they work on a lot of different, really interesting projects. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with them in previous companies and have always found them to do amazing work and are lovely people.
What was the recruitment process like?
I had to a project management test, which I haven’t done before! That was very interesting. I was then asked to pop in to the studio for a chat, where we talked about my professional career, how I did on the test, all about project management and what I knew about d3t as a company. I was definitely nervous but the people interviewing me were very friendly and relaxed so it was easy to settle down.
FUN FACT ABOUT YOURSELF / HOBBY / SPECIALISM/ DRIVING FORCE:
As a Project Manager my driving force is helping brilliant people work brilliantly. I love helping people and working with others to create amazing things.
In my personal life I love video games. I try and play as many games as possible but I tend to play short games that are competitive. I used to travel around the UK playing Street Fighter 4 at tournaments, which was a lot of fun and I made loads of friends from all over the world. If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
Congratulations to our Head of Design, Hal Sandbach who has received his MSc in Psychology…Our Head of Design, Hal Sandbach recently received his MSc in Psychology from the University of Roehampton. Hal wanted to learn about psychology because it has a huge crossover with game design. After all, the same game will appeal to some people more than others, so there must be a lot going on in the brain that is outside of the actual game mechanics. The understanding of this crossover is becoming increasingly well-known and studied in academic and game design circles.
The course itself was not focused on games, but did involve looking into aspects such as motivation, learning and personality. For the final module, he carried out a quantitative study into how gamers could be influenced to behave in more or less social ways. This took into account how games have been shown to influence behaviour and outlook, and is more directly relevant to what we do than the more generic subject matter of the course.
Along with general on-going support from d3t, our other global KWS family got involved too; Keywords Studios helped Hal with this by sharing out his survey in one of the bi-monthly news emails, so anyone who completed that contributed to the results. Congratulations Hal!
For the last six years I have been working as an Office Manager for an online Landscaping Supplies centre called Complete Lawns Services Ltd. I started off doing the administration and bookkeeping for the Company and gradually took on the role of office manager and found this was something I really enjoyed doing. Prior to this I worked as an HR Administrator for a civil engineering Company.
Why d3t?
I had got the point in my role where I knew I needed to move onto the next stage in my career. When I seen this role advertised I knew it would have been a really good step for me. I did a little research on the Company and got a really good feel from the website and social media sites so I was really interested in the role. From attending the interview everyone seemed really nice which made me all the more interested.
What was the recruitment process like?
After applying I received an email to say I had been shortlisted for the role and was given an assessment to complete. Shortly after I was invited for interview. I was very nervous, but everyone was really nice which made the whole process a lot easier. I was then invited for a second interview where I had to go through real life scenarios from the role of office manager. I had to then do a short presentation detailing how I would handle these situations. A day or so later I was then offered the job.
TELL US SOME FUN FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF
I am a mum of three so don’t have much time to myself. If I ever do I really enjoy going to the gym or going on little days out with my family. If you want to join our talented team, why not check out our vacancies?
Susan Campbell joined d3t as Accounts Administrator in April 2016. With a corporate management background, Susan brings her strong organisational and financial skills to the business team.
Susan gained her experience during her career at Precision Controls Ltd. Starting in 1998 as an Office Junior, Susan progressed to Office Manager, qualifying at AAT Level 2 during that time. After having her son, Susan left Precision Controls Ltd. in December 2013 and continued studying at college. Susan went on to gain AAT Level 3 and since joining d3t, graduated to AAT Level 4 in November 2016.
Why d3t?
Susan explains, “Being the wife of a Director, I have been involved in d3t since the company started up with a team of three people, providing accounts guidance and support behind the scenes. When the internal bookkeeper post became available it made sense for me to take a more permanent role within the company as I had an encyclopedic knowledge of all things d3t as well as the accounting qualification and management experience.”
“It’s fantastic to see how much the company has progressed since starting out in 2011. The growth of our teams and our diversity has enabled us to become the go-to external development partner for our clients.”
Working closely with the Financial Director, Susan’s skills and expertise strengthen the company’s finance department, enabling the art and development teams to successfully deliver d3t’s multiple projects.
Interesting facts we should know?
“I enjoyed learning to play golf but after the birth of my son in 2013 the golf has taken a back seat, for now……… I also like things organised and in their place which I think is a pretty good quality for someone in an accounting role!”
The Airbus A380 is a magnificent beast and its noisy environment can be improved considerably with some decent noise-cancelling headphones. That goes for whether you are watching a movie on the in-flight entertainment system, listening to music, rehearsing your pitch, or even just trying to get some sleep.
For years I had over-the ear headphones, but a couple of years ago I invested in some Bose Quiet Comfort QC 20 in-ear noise cancelling phones. If you’re going to buy noise cancelling devices, you’re going to want comfort, excellent sound quality, good sound cancellation, and great battery life.
The QC20’s suit me well. They came with three different size fittings, and they stay in place without any issues.
I’m not sure about any health and safety issues – I don’t tend to read manuals when I buy gadgets – but I often leave them in and switched on but with no audio source when I’m trying to sleep on flights. To me it’s a great way of using the technology to arrive feeling a little bit more refreshed than being woken up every time someone accidentally presses the hostess call button as they try to get comfortable in their seat.
Making sure the batteries can last at least twelve hours is a good indicator of how useful they will be for a transatlantic trip, but with many makes and models you will be able to charge via USB while they are in use.
So sit back, relax, tune everything out, and have a great trip to GDC!
A decent bag is a must, and to be really flexible it needs to tick certain boxes.
It needs to be a suitable size for carry-on with your airline of choice and large enough to contain everything you need to have on your person while travelling or working.
Your bag should be one that you are happy to lug around the conference for days on end, so if you have business meetings or you will be taking notes at lectures, make sure it can take your laptop with plenty of room to spare. A lightweight waterproof coat, your laptop charger, a sweatshirt, promotional materials, and anything else you might find useful – having two hands free makes life a lot easier.
It should have plenty of pockets and compartments, but not too many! Sometimes the temptation is to get a rucksack or bag with countless zips and pouches, but when it comes to finding something like a passport or landing card quickly then you want to know where to put your hands on items straight away. I like to have an easily accessible compartment to empty all my metal items in at airport security; my wristwatch, spare change, phone, wallet and even my belt all get stuffed into the one pocket, and then easily retrieved so I can get organised again once through the scanners.
Another useful feature is if the bag can be completely opened up to reveal a central laptop section. At some airports they are happy for you to split your bag in half and send it through with the laptop sat on top. When this happens, being able to unzip, send through in a tray, and then reassemble makes for a very stress-free life.
My old Arcteryx Blade 30 is years old now but is still my all-time favourite – it ticks all my boxes.
