Gameplay / UI programmer
Hi! My name is Yann and I am a 27 years old French game developer. I grew up playing video games, from Pokemon to Need for Speed. Mostly a console player I only started playing games on my PC when I was 20+ years old. I have always had a deep interest in video games. It started of as simple interest in new games but transformed into a desire to question and understand the logic behind game design decisions and finally when I had the chance I learned to program in order to take part in the process of creation itself.
How I came to be a develloper
My education has generally revolved around science ever since highschool. I went to a preparatory class after graduating, which is a specific type of curriculum in which we are taught high level math, physics and chemistry to prepare us for exams and allow us entry into engineering schools. I was accepted into Telecom Sud Paris, where I had my first chance to really learn how to program. We touched upon some Java, some C, had classes in C++ and C#. I was also officially introduced to Unity. I knew the engine existed before, just never tried using it. This is when it clicked in me that development was something I liked to do, and for the first time it felt like I had a chance to do something I joked about doing when I was a child : making games.
First working experience
This leads me into my experience on the field. To validate my master degree as an engineer, I was taken as an intern in a small game studio called Ninpo. The people there were nice and welcoming. I worked on client projects and did lots of debugging (no better way to learn). I became an employee there at the end of the 6 month internship and stayed in the studio for 3 and a half years. My experience there was incredible. The team size fluctuated slightly but we never had more than 10 people working. That small size was a boon in my opinion for a young developer like me because it forced me to be responsible. Responsible for my work but also for the time it took to do the work. We had a lot of clients and projects going from VR explorable environments to 2D hardcore roguelikes, so a lot of different expectations and time constraints. I also quickly had a chance to think and implement my own systems and architecures, always under the watchfull supervision of the boss to make sure I didn't over engineer the feature or make mistakes. All in all a great learning experience.
What now?
Good Question. I have been training in Unreal Engine to keep up with the industry and to have some fun with it. I'm open to discover and work on new and old projects. The aim is always the same, make something that someone somewhere will enjoy !