Resume

Contact details

Email: paigeamberkirk@outlook.com

Personal Statement

I am a graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Games Programming with Industrial Placement. I completed my placement year as a self-employed programmer via the University of Derby's 'Be the Boss' scheme

I've been playing videogames for as long as I can remember, starting with the Play Station 2. Since I got my DS as a child, I started wondering how games were put together and how the game knew to respond to my inputs, so I kept trying to see if I could catch the game by surprise, and this was all before I knew what code even was. Technically I succeeded in catching a game off-guard once as I witnessed a bizarre graphical bug in Dragon Quest IX, but that was after I had started to learn how to code. Once I learned what code was, I threw myself into my studies and chose the GCSE and A Level options that would get me as close as possible to learning how to make a game of my own, which is what lead me to take on the Computer Games Programming course at the University of Derby, where I graduated with Second Class Honours (1st Division).

I now wish to take the next step and use my skills to make more games with more teams, big or small, so that the games may make at least one person happy.

I have a proficiency for C++ and C# amongst other programming languages, and I am always eager to develop new skills. My critical thinking skills allow me to break down larger problems into manageable chunks, and my intuition for documenting my code allows me to quickly resolve any problems I come across. My organisational skills allowed me to exceed in important team and Git Repository management roles in the Game Development module at university.

I am always ready to transfer my skills and learn new game engines and programming languages.

Engines and Languages

Game Engines:

• Three years of self-taught academic experience in Unity Engine
• One year of academic experience in Unreal Engine 5
• Two years of self-taught experience in RPG Maker MZ

Programming Languages:

• Three years of academic experience in C# and C++
• Four years of academic experience in C, SQL, and Python
• Two years of academic experience in Visual Basic, PHP, and JavaScript
• One year of academic experience in Assembly

Markup and Style Sheet Languages:

• Two years of academic experience in HTML and CSS

Libraries used:

• One year of academic experience in Direct X 11

Skills

• Fast learner:
• Acquired a good foundation in multiple programming languages and engines, demonstrating a rapid learning ability.
• Embraced opportunities to delve into various technologies, consistently achieving a deep understanding with ease.


• Organisational skills:
• Was assigned to and exceeded in important roles in team and repository management whilst those originally in those roles were absent.
• Habitually documents code and the methodology behind why it was coded in that way


• Teamwork:
  • Often finds self stepping in to help others, especially when there are time constraints.
  • Worked in a team of four programmers and five artists under the group name ‘Reunion studios’ in the Game Development module at university to produce the game ‘Warm Reunion’. Worked reliably and adopted tasks from struggling teammates to ensure that this project was completed in the face of short turnaround times.
  • Worked with a team of four programmers and four artists to produce a game in the Team Project module at university, then made a second game in team consisting of just the programmers.
  
  
• Creativity and problem-solving skills:
• Broke down board objectives into their component tasks and employed both standard and experimental solutions to solve these tasks in a quick and effective manner.

Projects

Game Behaviour: Forest Witch Unreal Engine 5

Was the sole developer of a vertical slice of a stealth and timing based game, demonstrating player controllers, AI controllers, constraints, and making a moving platform.

Game Development module project: Warm Reunion Unreal Engine 5

In a team of 9, I was the player-side logic programmer for this puzzle game, setting up the players, the split screen player spawning, the text prompts, the on-screen inventory, and setting up persistence for the settings.

Dissertation project: Four Different Third Person Camera Mechanics Unity

I was the sole developer of a third person 3D platformer consisting of four stages, with each stage giving different methods of camera controls, with those being no control, secondary input control, movement based control, and a combination of the previous two.

Snow Witch Unity

I was the sole developer of a full 2D puzzle platforming game that demonstrates my skills as a developer, incorporating patrolling enemies, moving platforms, and the use of constraints to ensure that physics objects act predictably.

Placement Year Project Unity

Set up a small company of five via the University of Derby's 'Be the Boss' scheme where we prototyped a puzzle platforming roguelike. As the lead puzzle programmer, I created the interactable items, including push and pull mechanics, moving platforms, and switches..

Education

2019 – 2023: Computer Games Programming, University of Derby

Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Computer Games Programming with Industrial Placement
2I - SECOND CLASS HONOURS (1st Division)

2012 – 2019: The Long Eaton School

A levels:

Maths (A), Physics (C), Computer science (C).

GCSEs:

Maths (9), English Language (6), English Literature (5), Physics (A), Chemistry (A), Biology (A), ICT(A) , Computer Science (A), Electronics (A), Environmental Science (B), RE (A).