HELLO MATT, LET’S START WITH HOW DID YOU GET YOUR JOB IN GAMES?
Hello! After completing a 4-year integrated masters in Computer Science for Games at Sheffield Hallam, I applied to Ballistic Moon and was lucky enough to be offered a job as a Junior Software Engineer. I moved down to Aldershot nearly 2 years ago after accepting the role and have lived here and been full time in office ever since.
WHAT DO YOU DO DAY-TO-DAY?
My day-to-day consists of completing any engineering tasks I have assigned, providing any support to those who need it – ranging from other engineers to artists, and generally ensuring that any issues within my area of the game are found, dealt with and relevant tasks assigned out.
WHAT MOST EXCITES YOU ABOUT YOUR ROLE?
Honestly, I’d say it’s working on a game that I am proud of – I feel extremely fortunate to be working on such an amazing game as one of my first projects straight out of university. Additionally, since joining I have continually been challenged and pushed to take on whatever is needed of me, I am now a point of contact for many areas and appreciate the responsibility I have been given.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE ASPIRING TO BE A SOFTWARE ENGINEER?
If someone looking to join the games industry as a software engineer is reading this, then I’d say always trying your hand at everything that comes up and never turning something down because you don’t know how to do it. I have worked on a countless number of things since I joined Ballistic Moon that I previously had no idea how to do, programmed in languages I had barely touched before, it’s not always about knowing everything but your approach to figure it out and learning from your experiences.
WHAT’S THE BEST THING ABOUT WORKING AT BALLISTIC MOON?
There are many things I love, and I could go on and on, but if I had to pick just one (I may be bias as I organise it!), it would have to be “Football Fridays” (or whatever day everyone is free). We have a small Astro Turf in the new office, and every Friday lunch, a bunch of us will go out and play football for an hour. I absolutely love it; it’s a great way to keep up fitness without realising you’re doing exercise, we all always have a great laugh..
THANK YOU MATT!