Here’s a quick overview of the Software and Technologies I have mastered. For a more in-depth view I recommend reading my Blog and (if you understand german) listen to my Veteran Game Developer’s (SpieleEntwicklerVeteranen) Podcast.
Programming Languages
C#, C/C++, Objective C, Lua, SQL, GML, ActionScript and Python are only a short excerpt of the programming and scripting languages I know inside out. I quickly pick up any language and I regularly toy with the most widely used languages such as Java, PHP and the scripting languages of Torque and Unity.
I should also mention that I speak and write English and German fluently.
Platforms
iPhone, PC, Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and Gameboy Color/Advance are the platforms on and for which I have developed games. Learning the intricacies of a new platform is not an issue for me and I actually enjoy it because I love to learn new hardware and systems.
Development Environments
Visual Studio with Visual Assist, Xcode, UltraEdit, Eclipse, Unity, Torque, Game Maker and the good old command prompt are my primary work tools. In addition to the numerous proprietary applications I have worked with in my career. And I can always add another tool to my toolbox, there’s always room for any tool that helps getting the job done.
APIs for Software Engineering
.NET Framework, XNA, Qt, NHibernate, DotNetMagic, SmartPropertyGrid, SandGrid, wxWidgets, MFC/Win32, SQLAPI++ and so forth … Those are only the more well-known APIs I have put to good use. Some are proprietary, like the IP communication protocol API I used to write a debugger for Battleforge. The debugger connects to the live game, so both debugger and game are able to transfer data and commands back and forth in order to debug and change gameplay logic.
Applications
Wiki (Confluence, TikiWiki, etc.), Bug Tracker (Jira, Bugzilla, etc.), Task Planning (Acunote, Project, etc.), Source Control (Perforce, Subversion, etc.), Profiling (Instruments, VTune, etc.), Mindmapping (XMind, Freemind, etc.), Office (Microsoft, Open, Star), Databases (MySQL Studio & Query Browser, MS SQL Studio, many others) … do I have to say more? Basically every common application used in successful game development companies is second nature for me.
Project Management & Processes
Agile Development with Scrum. As a matter of fact I have been doing agile development even 10 years ago – without calling it agile or even realizing what it was. It is quite difficult still to master agile development, as its success is mostly a matter of the right circumstances and human relations above anything else. Which is why I keep my friendly manners even in the worst of circumstances.
Training and Presentations
Training sessions, retrospectives and presentations have always been a recurring part of my work. For example I have trained all EA Phenomic employees on how to use our Wiki and I held a presentation at the Leipzig Games Convention Developer Conference (GCDC) 2004 about creating content in Spellforce.
