
Background
Heyo, I'm Jacob. So this page is just me writing some background on who I am and how I got into designing video games, if you want the short version of this then refer to the CV heading
Since I was little, I've been obsessed with video games, first playing on a hand-me-down Sega Master System and Super Nintendo. As I got older my interests gravitated towards PC games like Minecraft, Hearthstone and League of Legends, but my love for the medium remained. I would also grow obsessed with the creation and design of video games, endlessly watching YouTube videos on the topic (such as Extra Credits and Matthewmotis) and writing an entire essay for school titled "Video Game's effects on humans".
When I was 14, we were given a choice of subjects we could take for GCSEs, I was eager to learn how to program but I discovered that my school had no such option. Not to be dissuaded, I began to teach myself Game Maker Studio (Chosen due to fixation on Undertale at the time) and through it how to program. I've lost all the projects I created from this time, from what I remember they were unpolished and unfinished, but they taught me to make games and that's what's important. I've taken this determination forward in my life, I didn't wait until my school taught me to program, I did it myself. This has led me to develop further skills such as learning to play the guitar and sketch.
By College, I set on pursuing a degree in Computer Science, although video games were what I loved, I became anxious about my ability to enter such a competitive industry. Later, I would come to quite regret not taking a course in Game Design. I completed my A-Levels in History, Maths and Computer Science achieving an A in all three and enrolling at the University of Birmingham. Over the next 4 years, I grew less interested in Computer Science and realised that creating video games was what I wanted to do. The skills I learnt at university were immensely useful for achieving this goal (especially learning to program well) but it became clear that I wanted to enter the game industry as opposed to a traditional Computer Science position.
I began participating in Game Jams to start adding content to my portfolio and boosting my abilities. I ended up taking a year out of university due to personal reasons and spent this time creating video games, some successful some less so, but the lessons were learnt. For my final year dissertation, I would create a gamified fishing app to achieve a high grade for my degree while also furthering my skills. In 2023 I would graduate with First-class honours.
Since then, I've been living at home, working part-time jobs to keep money coming and performing volunteer IT work at a local heritage site. My free time is spent developing video game projects and adding to my portfolio. My short-term goal at the moment is to land a job in the video game industry and begin gaining professional experience in the field I've decided I want to be in. So yeah, if you're a recruiter who read all the way to here, hire me! please!
Influences
I believe experiencing and appreciating art is one of the best parts of being alive, I'm therefore VERY attached to works which have affected me in some way. Here's a list of some of my favourites over the years.
Games: Undertale was what got me into game design, I just loved the idea of making a game as good as it. The game I've probably played the most is Minecraft, I've loved that since I was little, but others in that time-wasting genre I enjoy are Rimworld, Dwarf Fortress, Civilization and Terraria. I played League of Legends for many years but am thankfully 1 year clean now, I still dabble in a bit of Hearthstone though. Other series to mention are Mario, Pokemon and Persona along with some indies I love like Ultrakill, Hollow Knight and Binding of Isaac.
Music: Aphex Twin is my beloved and has caused my music taste to be mostly electronic dance with artists like Machine Girl, Daft Punk, Lone, Flying Lotus, Crystal Castles, LCD Soundsystem, Underworld and so on. I'm super big into Talking Heads, love dream pop by artists like My Bloody Valentine or Cocteau Twins, and love the pop music of Bjork, Kate Bush, Charli XCX and Kero Kero Bonito. I'm very specific about the music I listen to while programming; If I'm stressed out then I put on ambient music, if I've just had a coffee and need to be efficient then it's 90s jungle, and if I just need to lose hours then instrumental hip-hop does the trick.
Books: I served two non-concurrent terms as the treasurer of the Game of Thrones society, I adore those books (even if they are a little problematic) and can read them over and over. I've read through The Witcher series and recently fell in love with the world of The Expanse which is another fantastic read. I've also tried to get some classic literature under my belt with books like Catch-22, 1984, A Clockwork Orange and The Handmaid's Tale.
Television: Big fan of HBO dramas like The Wire, The Sopranos and Succession but I'll always contend that the greatest TV show ever made is The Simpsons, utterly brilliant. I also watch a lot of anime because I'm very cool, I'm currently keeping up with Jujutsu Kaisen, Blue Lock, Chainsaw Man, and Jojo's Bizzare Adventure while some old favourites of mine are Cowboy Bebop, Full-Metal Alchemist, Steins Gate and Death Note.
Movies: Probably the medium I interact with the least; I'm a big fan of Dennis Villeneuve movies as I like sci-fi and David Lynch as I enjoy pretending I'm smarter than I am. Off the top of my head, my five favourites, in no order, are Blade Runner 2049, Uncut Gems, Hot Fuzz, Mulholland Drive and The Silence of the Lambs.
Cool Facts
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My team and I received 'Best use of Twilio' for our app Esquire Expire at HackTheMidlands 2019 🤓
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Played, leader of the Labour Party from 1963-1976, Harold Wilson in the musical Made in Dagenham 🔨
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Created a fanfic about a League of Legends Youtuber which they would turn into an animated short 🎬
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Heard Ed Sheeran was performing down my road but decided to stay in and play Ibb and Obb 🤘
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Legend in Hearthstone 😎
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Can match every national flag to its country 🗺