Hey I'm Brad, I'm a recent graduate of Games Technology at the University of the West of England. I've spent the last 8 years developing games in my spare time and as part of my degree, most of this time I've worked on learning the software and practices that used in small game dev projects. While I've mainly focused on the programming elements of the game dev process, I've also spent time doing 3D modelling, level design and art for the various game jams and uni work I've completed. I've had experience with various game engines, Unity and Unreal being my most used, as well as 3D modelling software such as Blender and Maya. I've had experience with C++, C#, Javascript and C as part of my studies and personal work.
Background
I first got a taste of developing video games after first playing the original Little Big Planet and it's level editor, I spent time learning how to create emitters and complex shapes using the tools provided by the designers. My first level was a small bomb survival level, this was once a very popular type of level in LBP, where players would survive as long as possible from bombs raining from the sky. This ignited an interest in how games are made and the industry as a whole.
I started learning Unity soon after I got my first PC in 2013 where I had big ambitions, I very quickly learned how difficult game dev can be. However I slowly got to grips with the engine and from there start experimenting with small projects that I wanted to work on, learning how to use Blender for models and how to import them into Unity. This is also where I started first learning programming for games with Javascript and C#, having only done a small amount of HTML in school before, I spent a lot more time with Javascript during these early days before switching to C# after support was dropped for Javascript in Unity.
From here I started expanding my use of engines, starting with UDK and then moving to UE4 when it released, I found this engine to be a lot more graphically powerful at the time however for a beginner such as myself, it was a large step in terms of accessibility. I eventually became comfortable with the interface.
In 2016 I started at UWE in Bristol, UK on their Games Technology degree, this is a TIGA accredited course that covers a wide range of different aspects of game development, from more design based aspects to AI and level design specific modules. However the course primarily focuses on programming for games, namely in C++ using a low-level game engine framework created by a senior lecturer and also in Unity and Unreal Engine for other modules. The use of a low-level framework allowed me to focus on learning C++ and various concepts such as memory management.
During this time I also spent time taking part in Game Jams where I aimed to create a game in a short amount of time either in a solo or team setting, UWE is a major regular jam site for the yearly Global Game Jam and as such I had a perfect setting to learn how to come up with a concept, create a solid core game loop and polish a game in a short timeframe. It also gave me a chance to work within a team, with people of different specializations, including artists and musicians.