Port of a mature, custom C++ engine to console platforms.
- Worked alongside a small team of UI engineers to maintain the integrity of the original game quality with the release of each DLC pack.
- Implemented gamepad and input mode switching support on console platforms.
- Architected UI system in ActionScript to port online features to console platforms.
As someone whose childhood was riddled with sleepless nights as they spent hours creating masterpieces (read: garbage) in The Sims 2, and who had yet to do any professional game dev, I leapt at the opportunity to work on The Sims 4 when Blind Squirrel Games offered me a junior engineering role a few months after I graduated university.
The company’s primary function was supporting other studios, so the bulk of the work involved adding gamepad support to the PC edition of the game, and porting the title to both Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Although not the most glamorous gig in the world, I was over the moon to have it, and the experience was ideal for a complete noob because a lot of the big architectural decisions were made before I got there.
That said, a game with as much downloadable content as The Sims always has a lot of work to be done, so we were always busy. I did have a lot of opportunities to work on one-off bugs throughout the game’s bespoke engine, but the bulk of the work bestowed upon me was in ActionScript 3.0 and Flash, varying from new features to more one-off bugs.