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Barry Wood's career since graduating from the University of the West of Scotland
Detail from 'Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao', the project Barry's most proud of since graduating. All images and trademarks are the property of their respective owners © Blitz Games Studios 2010
Barry Wood
University of the West of Scotland
BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology graduate
How did what you studied help you get a career in games?
It taught me everything I needed to know. Before the course, I literally hadn't even wrote one piece of code.
Now I'm writing thousands of lines of code every week! I couldn't have the job I have today if I hadn't attended the course.
What titles/projects have you worked on since graduation, and where at?
I have worked on the following titles (all at Blitz Games Studios):
- Triage Trainer (a government-funded medical training simulator)
- Are you smarter than a 5th Grader? (Xbox Live Arcade)
- Invincible Tiger - The Legend of Han Tao (Xbox Live Arcade and Playstation Network) - the world's first stereoscopic 3D game!
- Karaoke Revolution (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)
I also worked on a sequel to an older game on the Wii for 6 months, which was looking spectacular, but unfortunately due to the global financial crisis, the game was cancelled.
I'm currently working on another title which I cannot disclose at this point in time.
It taught me everything I needed to know. Before the course, I literally hadn't even wrote one piece of code.
What is your current role, and where? - can you briefly describe your daily duties and responsibilities?
I am currently a regular programmer at Blitz Games Studios (promoted from junior programmer just over a year after I joined the company).
I don't have a specific role - I pretty much do a bit of everything: vertex/pixel shaders, particle effects, HUDs (Heads Up Displays - displays of a character's vital statistics), front ends, player input handling, AI (Artificial Intelligence), camera work, creating/maintaining audio managers, image processing, profiling, physics simulation etc.
Program in your spare time. Create lots of demos which you can show off to potential employees. They don't have to be 3D jaw-dropping graphics, just create your own spin on a classic arcade game.
What was the toughest, most challenging thing you’ve encountered at work?
The toughest thing has got to be what I'm doing right now, which I can't go into too much detail about because of the non-disclosure agreement we have with our publishers, but I've basically been doing image processing - which to this day is an ongoing area of research.
What advice would you give to the current crop of students?
Program in your spare time. Create lots of demos which you can show off to potential employees. They don't have to be 3D jaw-dropping graphics, just create your own spin on a classic arcade game.
The more you code, the better you become, and you'll have lots of demos to show off to boot.
What’s the game you most wish you’d worked on, ever?
Pro Evolution Soccer 6 - I love football, and that game was just fantastic!
Do you have any industry role models/heroes?
Not really, no.
Which Game character would you like to be?
I suppose I'd say Sonic the Hedgehog just because he was always my favourite when I was young.
What’s the most fun you’ve had at work?
Hard question, I still have so much fun every day doing what I do! Working on the project that sadly got cancelled was a lot of fun though, especially because I was solely in charge of creating and maintaining the weapons system!
What are you most proud of?
My work on Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao. So much of what you see in that game was created by me; I did the HUD, some AI, special effects, the sound system, the camera system, the cutscenes, the score system, menu screens... too much to remember really!
The project manager for that game is always trying to get me back on his team, which makes me feel really good!
Tell us an interesting story about your life in games
Well, this is quite interesting I suppose. The secret title I'm working on just now is utilising a new technology which literally only a handful of programmers around the world have access to. It's up to me to get it all working - nobody in the company can help me because nobody knows how to use it! I'm in a locked room with the blinds always shut because no one else is even allowed to see it! How exciting!
Click here to find out about Barry's studies on the Skillset Accredited course at UWS.
And click here for further details of the BSc (Hons) Computer Games Technology degree that Shaun took.
