Jonathan Carter

Tell us about your role

I currently work for a small indie game studio called Fumb Games which makes primarily merge/merge-idle games for mobile platforms. What I do day-to-day will depend on the project I am working on, sometimes programming-based, as well as delving into art and design. My normal work day can consist of programming game mechanics, implementing art assets sent from the artist on my project, laying out and implementing UI based on mock-ups, producing and testing builds, bug fixing, and so on.

How did your studies at Solent help you prepare for your career?

My studies at Solent gave me all the skills I would need to get a role such as the one I’m currently in. We were all encouraged to start early on making our portfolios with the projects we were working on as assignments, as well as to take part in game jams and competitions. This is something which really helped when it came to job hunting after graduation. The biggest help for me personally was one of my third-year modules in which the whole class worked together in one massive group as if we were a game studio and made a title in three to four months. The experience gained from this module was invaluable as it gave me a taste of what to expect in industry.

What advice would you give to those wanting to follow in your footsteps?

My advice for getting into the games industry is to keep focused on what you do, and stick with it – it will be worth it in the end. I recommend you start early on your portfolio, keep it up-to-date and take the time to present it in a clean and professional manner.

It is also a massive boost if you can find the time to work on some personal projects or game jams during your studies and beyond. Go that extra mile – it could be anything from a project showcasing a game mechanic to a small game title. One of my oldest personal projects – which I still work on to this day – started out as an experiment in editor programming from a simple audio handling solution that I learnt in a module. Go wild and have fun with it.