We often mention our team in terms of "Amplidudes and Amplidudettes", but we decided we should give you folks an idea of who we mean. You've guessed it, it's time for another instalment of our (semi-)regular feature, Meet the Team! If you want to know more about us, or your nephew wants to learn more about the career path of a game developer, or if you're just curious, read on.
He hides all the dirty coding behind a sleek interface, meet Benjamin, aka Gavos!
Who are you and what do you do at Amplitude?
Hi guys, I'm Benjamin, aka Gavos on the forums. I'm 35 years old with a wife and an 8-month boy, and I work as a UI (User Interface) programmer at Amplitude. Simply put, I'm the one who added this button to buy that building, with its icon/name/etc. But I'm also the one who grayed it out and added a tooltip telling you in red which resource you're missing. I participate in the meetings where we design the various game interfaces, then I create the layout of the panels (placing labels, buttons, images...), and finally I program the behavior of those panels. On top of that I'm also developing new features for our internal UI framework.
What were you doing before you joined Amplitude?
My first job was in a company that was selling a big resource management software to commercial harbors. Then I moved to Ireland and worked on the a software for ATMs (yes, a software that was asking you to insert your card and enter your PIN :-)). Then I worked on a huge finance software but I didn't like it either and that's when I decided to enter the video game industry. It was an old dream but I didn't consider myself to be good enough for that. So I came back to France, spent some months at home improving my game-specific programming skills, and I eventually managed to join the Ubisoft Paris studio. I worked on the automatic build process for Ghost Recon: Future Soldier, and after that on production tools on Just Dance 2014. So it wasn't necessarily a good start for a career in video games, but I eventually made it.
When did you join the studio?
I joined in October 2013 in order to work on Endless Legend. Mathieu (the big boss) was doing almost all the UI until then, but he couldn't find any spare time for golf so they hired me.
He didn't get back to golf, though.
What feature have you worked on that you're super proud of?
Not really a specific feature, but a few weeks before the release of Dungeon of the Endless I've been asked to join their small team for the final rush. Of course I would have needed more time, but in the end I was very happy with the amount of bug fixes, improvements and optimizations I made on this game in just a few weeks. Nothing spectacular, just many small bits of polish, I don't know if the other guys really felt the difference, but I did.
What are you currently working on?
I'm working on the UI for Endless Space 2. More precisely, the past few weeks have been spent on the diplomacy screen. Oh, and teaching a new UI guy on the project!
What's your favorite game of all time?
I would say the MMORPG Ryzom, because it's the only game that often pops in my head (especially when I have a walk in the nature) after so many years without playing. Despite its many flaws, this game had such great atmospheres... and the players managed to build a real role-playing experience. After this game I never managed to get hooked by other MMORPGs, really.
Is there anywhere on the Internet where I can see more of your stuff?
I made a few stupid games for online contests, you can find them there: http://benjamin.calvot.net/
What's your favorite faction or character in our games?
In Endless Space 1, the Automatons; not really for their gameplay but for their lore and their loading screen. In Endless Legend that would be the Roving Clans, because of the initial speed of their units and the narration style of their main quest. As for Dungeon of the Endless I often tend to start with Kreyang. Not really the usual answers, but in games I tend make choices based on very subjective reasons...
Is there a funny story that happened to you at Amplitude?
Sometimes we have some beers at the office after work. I remember one of those evenings, when 3 colleagues and myself decided to stay a bit later to finish a cask (was already opened, couldn't be wasted) and have a push-up competition. But when it was time to leave, none of us knew how to properly close the office. After a few wrong card swipes, we ended up locked in the staircase with our belongings on the other side of the door... Luckily our marketing director was living nearby, so we could call him to deliver us. He was already in pyjamas so thanks to him again. Oh, and for the 7 floors he had to climb, since the elevator was disabled at that time. I won't name the other 3, but 2 of them have already been featured in this blog. :-p
What's the next place you want to travel to?
I want to see the Australian bush... But I also want to see the Japanese city life. I supposed I just need to go Eastward, then!
If you could relocate the studio in any country, where would you want to go?
Corsica. It's beautiful, quiet, and you have both the sea and the mountain at hand. What do you think, Romain? 0:-)
What's your favorite junk food?
Cheese. I can make a whole meal with any cheese and bread. Especially when I get back home a bit drunk. Moreover, wine goes well with cheese.
That's it for Benjamin! We hope you found this interesting. Comments or additional questions, feel free to comment, but Benjamin won't answer for a while, since he just left on paternity leave. Good luck to him!
If there's a question you would like us to ask the interviewees, let us know!
