benjames.me

Education

University of Cambridge. (2013 – 2016)

BA Computer Science (2:1)

Wrote a dissertation on simulating and rendering fluids in real-time in Unreal Engine 4.
Implemented a tool for procedurally creating planets as a team project.
IT Officer of the Spring Ball committee, involving maintaining and adding new features to a ticketing system for 2000 guests, and designing and creating the landing page.
Part of the university-wide Amateur Dramatics Club as a Chief Electrician.

Wilson’s School, Wallington. (2006 – 2013)

A Level: 4 A*s in Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Computing.
GCSE: 10 A*s including Maths, English, Triple Science, German and Business Studies.

Work Experience

To Play For – Technical Director: (July 2016 – Now)

Creating games, interactive stories and simulations using artificial intelligence.

NaturalMotion – Software Engineer Intern: (July – October 2015)

Wrote application code for Euphoria, an animation engine.
Implemented new debugging tools for in-house developers to visualise a scene’s data hierarchy, including a graph-based node editor and new views onto the application database.
Created a new workflow for adding basic lighting into the editor’s viewports.
Fixed many bugs, including ambient occlusion, collision and lighting issues.

Ninja Theory – Programming Intern: (June – September 2014)

Worked on the Disney Infinity platform, contributing to a large code base on a daily basis.
Implemented an algorithm to procedurally cut meshes at runtime.
Added some limb-slicing features so characters could play animations when limbs were cut off.
Involved working on multiple consoles to ensure consistency in rendering.

Jagex Games Studio – Technical QA Engineer: (July – September 2013)

Responsible for testing changes to game engine, including writing scripts to test new commands.
Investigated technical bugs such as crashes submitted by players and regressed fixes for them.
Engaged with the community in live-streams on Twitch and on forums to give updates on bug fixes.
Designed and scripted a boss in personal free time, with multiple special attacks and fight phases.

Amazon Development Centre – IT Assistant: (July – August 2012)

Implemented corporate website involving liaising between the design and system architecture teams.
Lead of a project to set up a multi-monitor rig displaying a graphic to welcome clients to the office.
Handled configuration and testing of communication devices in new office.

Pushbutton – Work Experience: (June 2011)

Collated and implemented content into an application built for a client to exhibit at the IBC Trade Fair in Amsterdam, showcased for worldwide audiences.
Designed the user interface and aesthetics for the application.
Rooted out various glitches and tested functionality fully to ensure suitability for the client’s specification.

Technical Skills

Programming. Strong knowledge of C++. Sound knowledge of Java and C#, as well as HTML, JS and WebGL.

Project tools. Adept with version control systems (Git, Perforce) and bug tracking software (JIRA).

Rendering. Knowledge of DirectX/OpenGL, shader languages and shader pipelines.

Engines. Good knowledge of Unreal Engine, and experience of writing MOBA-like networking code in Unity.