David Smith
Game Developer & Tinkerer
I make games and other things.
I have 3 years of professional gamedev experience, with two commercially successful shipped titles in different game engines.
Before this, I graduated from Staffordshire University with a First Class Honours in BSc Computer Gameplay Design and Production.
Working in small-team game development has made me develop a wide variety of skills across multiple disciplines. I know a bit of everything, and a lot about a few things. Mostly programming.
I am currently working on all aspects of game development for the None in Three project at the University of Huddersfield.
The rest of the time, I'm working on a couple of games of my own, and tinkering with other technologies.
GAMEPLAY PROGRAMMER (2014 - 2015)
Due to UDK and Unreal Engine 3's lack of support for the PlayStation 4, we had to rebuild the entire game in Unreal Engine 4.
My work on the project involved a complete rewrite of Ether One from the ground up using C++. Like with the UDK version, I built a library of gameplay functionality for the designer to implement with Blueprint.
At the time, Unreal Engine 4's console implementation was in its infancy, so I worked with the PS4 team at Epic Games to resolve issues with experimental PS4 platform code, and modified the Unreal Engine 4 codebase for console-specific purposes.
Unreal Engine 4 does not ship with a Scaleform license, so I rewrote our existing UI systems using a combination of Unreal Motion Graphics and C++.
I was also responsible for ensuring that Sony's Technical Requirements were met, and the creation of all development and shipping builds of the game.
GAMEPLAY PROGRAMMER (2012 - 2014)
My primary role on this project was to write Gameplay Systems for a UDK-based title using UnrealScript.
After constructing the necessary systems, I built a library of custom Kismet nodes allowing the designer to implement gameplay logic.
When necessary during prototyping, I would create placeholder art assets and then collaborate with the technical artist on interactive visual elements, including material instance changes caused by in-game actions, and lighting effects.
Further into the project I concentrated more on the features required for releasing a high quality PC game, including a Save System, Language Options, and Advanced Graphics Settings.
Ether One includes interactable 'Blackboard' elements that players can type puzzle solutions onto. I built these elements and our menus using a combination of Adobe Flash and Autodesk Scaleform.