Lead Tools Programmer

Joining us from a dimension of Fire and Mice comes Jared Hefty (The Artist Formerly Known As Birddawg), waving a scarf and flicking bits of radish at us. Jared relieved Iowa State University of a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and now they're starting to miss it. He has worked on Q3F and Ritual's Star Trek Elite Force II and has carved several sheds from soap.

Jared's favourite metal is bismuth (atomic weight 209) which has the lowest thermal conductivity of all metals. Except mercury. And jam. Jared is the master of a giant, velour moth, whose incessant whirring has almost deafened us. Unlike his colossal lepidopteral pal, Jared fits into a standard size envelope, and can be sent for minimum postage.

Things You Were Too Afraid To Ask...

Every once in a while, we interrogate one of our own and put their answers up for all the world to see. Read on to find out more about what Jared does, how he ended up at Splash Damage, and more.

What do you do at Splash Damage?

I'm a senior programmer here, in charge of the tools team (which used to be just myself, now enhanced by the addition of Flavius) and the in-game user interfaces. I also pick up random tasks in the game engine and game code; I get a nice variety of tasks to work on, overall. There's always a nice juicy challenge around the corner.

Why did you want to work in the games industry and how did you get started?

I started doing level design as hobby back when the original Doom came out. I kept it up over the years, all the way through Quake 3. After I graduated from University with a degree in Computer Science, I took a job at Ritual Entertainment as a level designer. While there, I started to maintain the level editing tools, which led me to where I am now.

Why did you join Splash Damage?

I was the lead level designer on the Q3F team for a couple of years prior to working at Ritual, so I knew most of the guys at Splash Damage already (this was yeeeaaars ago. We've added quite a few new people to the company since then.) When the tools programmer opening came up at Splash Damage, I jumped at the chance to work with them again. It's a solid team, and we get to work on some pretty awesome projects. I haven't looked back since.

What are the best and worst parts of your job?

The best part is being the go-to guy for everyone and being able to directly improve everyone's productivity. It's very satisfying to watch as someone realizes that a new feature or improvement can help them accomplish something they couldn't before, or do something more quickly.

The worst part is also being the go-to guy for everyone; sometimes there can be quite a lot to juggle all at once.

What was your first gaming experience?

I won't count the classic Oregon Trail that I got to play at school. I will say that hunting squirrels was awesome, though. The first game I ever played on my home PC was id Software's Commander Keen. I have a soft spot for 2D side-scrollers; I wish there were more of them out now. :)

What types of games do you like, and what's your favorite game of all time?

I tend to like FPS games; though you'll also find me playing Diablo 2, Oblivion or Mass Effect to change things up. I tend to get restless after an hour or so of playing any game, so FPSes tend to work perfectly for my attention span. :)

Having originally started out in mods, do you have any tips for people wanting to break into the gaming industry?

It sounds like a cliché, but being passionate is incredibly important. Find something you love doing and dedicate your time to becoming great at it. Don't be shy about talking to studios that you admire; they can't hire you if they don't know you exist.

How active do you remain in the mod community now that you work at Splash Damage?

I've put a fair amount of time into maintaining the Enemy Territory: QUAKE Wars SDK for the community and helping people use it. So I'm still very much involved, just from the other side of things.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work?

I tend to read quite a bit. Right now I'm going through Terry Pratchet's Disc World series. I also watch quite a few movies and TV series, go to concerts and pubs, and do random digital paintings. I guess I lean towards introversion overall. :)