Who am I?
I'm Hugh Tyson, a Software Engineer for the games company Sports Interactive who make Football Manager.
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I was a student at the Vale of Leven Academy between 2011 and 2017. I left school and went straight to university in Dundee, where I studied Computer Games Technology for 4 years and graduated with a Honours Degree.
After graduating from University I got a job at Sports Interactive, where I have been working for 2 and a half years and have contributed to 3 game releases, FM22, FM23 and FM24.
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What do I do?
I'm a Software Engineer, which means most days I am problem solving and writing code. Since working at Sports Interactive I've been part of the Rule Groups team, so my team focuses on real life changes in football and works on implementing them into the game so they can be simulated into the future.
Sports Interactive is based in London, near the Olympic Stadium, but like a lot of game development companies they offer the opportunity for remote work. This means I still live in Scotland and travel to London for once a month for 3 - 4 days at a time.
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Roles In The Games Industry
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There are between 200-300 people that work at Sport Interactive. While we are all part of 1 large team I work in a close knit group of 12 people - 7 Software Developers, 4 Quality Assurance, 1 Producer. I also work with Designers and Computer Artists in the company depending on what feature I am working on.
These are typical roles you would find in almost every team/company in the games industry, but what do they do?
Software Engineer
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A software developer is responsible for implementing gameplay mechanics and developing the underlying code and system within the video game. There are multiple disciplines a Software Engineer can go down in the games industry such as: Gameplay, Graphics, Engine, Audio, Animation.
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Key Responsibilities:
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Designing and implementing game features and mechanics.
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Collaborating with artists and designers to integrate graphics and gameplay seamlessly.
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Debugging and optimizing code for performance and stability.
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Staying updated on industry trends and emerging technologies.
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Skills Required:
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Problem-solving and logical thinking to address complex technical challenges.
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Understanding of Mathematics and Physics
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Effective communication within a team
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Understanding of programming languages such as C++, C#, Java, Python
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Quality Assurance
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A person working in Quality Assurance (QA) is responsible for testing the game. They must identify and report bugs they find for the Software Engineers to fix.
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Skills Required:
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Verbal and Written communication skills
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Good Attention to Detail
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Strong analytical and troubleshooting skills
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Producer
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A Producer manages the development process of the team. They oversee timelines, budgets and set out what the team is working on.
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Skills Required:
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Project management
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Leadership and teamwork
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Resource allocation
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Communication
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Computer Artist
Creates visual elements for the game, including character, environment and animations to bring the game to the screen. Like Software Engineers there are multiple disciplines Computer Artists can work in, such as: Concept Artists, Environment Artist, Character Artist, UI/UX, Technical Artists.
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Skills Required:
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Artistic Skills and creativity
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3D Modelling
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Animation Skills
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2D Drawing Skills
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UI/UX
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What did I Study?
High School
I studied for the full six years at the Vale of Leven Academy between 2011 and 2017.​
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Alongside studying for my exams throughout my 6th year I also took a part-time job at KFC which was great! I got to meet loads of new people while also building experience working for the first time. In my 6th year I was also Head Boy at VOLA.
Abertay University — BSc Computer Games Technology (Predicted First Class) | 2017 -2021
​National 5's​​
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Maths
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English
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Computing
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Physics
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Chemistry
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Geography
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Highers​
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Maths
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English
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Computing
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Physics
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Chemistry
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Geography
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Through UCAS I applied to Abertay University and went to study Computer Games Technology. For this you needed a 2 A's and 2 B's in your Highers, with a requirement of a A in Maths.
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There are multiple reasons I chose this course. It had a focus on games development, but was also just a general Computer Science course allowing me the option to move into another field after I graduated if I couldn't find a job in the games industry.
The course took 4 years to complete and had a heavy focus on games maths and physics. There was also another course Abertay which we shared some modules with (Computer Game Application Development) which more focused on gameplay mechanics. Throughout the course you do 6 modules a year, 3 before Christmas and 3 after Christmas. These come in the form of either exam or as projects. If you look about on this site you can see some of the projects I worked on in university and as personal projects.