Cover Letter Design

http://www.enigmasoftware.ca/henry/Resume****.html

Resume / Cover Letter / Sample Code Updated May 2009

Henry Smith

*****@**************.**

Available September 2009

home: 780-***-****

cell: 780-***-****

15 people have recommended Henry

Currently in: Edmonton, AB Canada

Objective

Senior programmer position at a world-class game development studio

Interested in GUI programming/design, rapid prototyping, scripting languages, and engine architecture

Skills

Eight years of game industry experience, plus many more as a hobbyist

Expert C++/C programmer

Development experience on PC, Mac, Console, Handheld, and Flash platforms

Published indie/shareware developer

Languages

Expert in C++/C, ActionScript 2

Familiar with Ruby, Python, Lua, JavaScript, UnrealScript, XML

Exposure to various teaching languages (Scheme, ML, Haskell, Eiffel, Prolog)

Tech

Familiar with Scaleform GFx, Flash, Unity, STL, Boost, Perforce

Exposure to Unreal Engine, NetImmerse/Gamebryo, iPhone, OpenGL

Experience

BioWare Senior GUI programmer on Dragon Age: Origins

Senior Programmer Architected and maintained a GUI framework in C++ and Flash/ActionScript used for all game UI

Mentored a junior programmer

Edmonton, AB Canada

2004 present Spearheaded a Study Lunch group for sharing technical knowledge and expertise

Member of the (internal) Technology Architecture Group

Worked with many aspects of the game engine including: graphics, input, game-rules, scripting, tools

Irrational Games Designed and built several major game systems for a PS2 3rd-person action title, using C++, scripting languages, and middleware

(now 2K Boston) (LithTech/Unreal). I worked closely with four other programmers and a small team of designers, artists, and testers.

Programmer Built tools and enhancements in C/C++ for a proprietary PC 3D game-engine (The Dark Engine)

Boston, MA

1999 2002

Enigma Software Built a shareware game for Mac, PalmOS, and Flash: www.enigmasoftware.ca/squish

Sole Proprietor Created all tools, code, art, audio, design, and a resource pipeline to make a nished game on three platforms

1996 present Working on two new games for Mac/PC/iPhone using the Unity game engine

Education Interests

All aspects of game creation/design

University of Waterloo

Human computer interaction and user interfaces

Waterloo, ON, Canada

Board games, word games, poker

B.Math in Honours Computer Science

Ultimate frisbee

Hiking

Relevant courses:

Piano

Introduction to Computer Graphics

Introduction to Arti cial Intelligence

Developing User Interfaces

Principles of Programming Languages

Algorithm Design and Analysis

http://www.enigmasoftware.ca/henry/CoverLetter2009.html

Resume / Cover Letter / Sample Code Updated Mar 2009

Henry Smith

*****@**************.**

9828 89 Ave

Edmonton, AB

T6E 2S4

Canada

To Whom It May Concern:

I'm a strong generalist programmer with over eight years of game industry and hobbyist experience. I'm looking for a full-time position, preferably starting no

earlier than June 2009.

I grew up with computers and have always had a passion for creating games. Even before I started programming I made board games, card games and puzzles. I

remember checking out library books and typing in hundreds of lines of BASIC code to make text adventures. I experimented with MUDs (and MOOs) as a

"programmer". My rst real games were written in HyperCard and I found that I loved combining stories, artwork, sound, logic, and simulation to make them

come alive. I still think it's magic.

Before starting university I released a shareware game for the Mac (a puzzle game inspired by Lemmings), which was picked up by a publisher. I've since ported

the game to PalmOS and Flash: www.enigmasoftware.ca/squish

Now I consider myself to be a very strong C++ programmer. I'm comfortable with object-oriented programming, generic programming, templates, the STL,

Boost, and Design Patterns. I'm a strong believer in using the best tools for the job, and will readily use engines, middleware, and scripting languages as

appropriate. In fact, I advocate using high-level/domain-speci c languages wherever possible. When it's not possible, I'm no stranger to low-level memory and

performance optimization.

I document my code, I have a keen eye for detail, I'm very organized, I love a challenge, I have my own opinions, I take pride in my work, I play well with others,

and I don't need to be spoon-fed.

My notable work experience includes working for Irrational Games in Boston (now 2K Boston), and BioWare in Edmonton, Alberta.

At Irrational I worked with a small team of programmers on a 3rd-person survival horror game for the PlayStation2 and was involved in almost all aspects of

the game, personally designing several critical systems. I worked closely with artists, animators, sound engineers, and testers. Unfortunately the project was

cancelled, but the experience I gained there was invaluable.

At BioWare I started out building a general purpose GUI framework for the Technology Architecture Group. I then transitioned to Dragon Age and became

the Senior GUI Programmer on the project. I was responsible for the design and maintenance of the GUI system and implemented or oversaw almost all GUIs

in the game. We used a combination of C++/Flash/ActionScript and the Scaleform GFx library to build the system. I also provided support and mentorship to

junior programmers.

You can nd some recommendations on my LinkedIn pro le:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/henrysmith

Please let me know if I would be a good t with your team, and thank you for your time,

Henry Smith

*****@**************.**

http://www.enigmasoftware.ca/henry/SampleCode2009.html

Resume / Cover Letter / Sample Code Updated Mar 2009

SpringWater

Files

SpringWater.zip

Description

This is an OpenGL simulation of a body of water using a mesh of springs. It also simulates re ection and refraction. It's written in C++ using GLUT. Mac and Windows binaries are

provided.

MultiNode (unrelated to SpringWater demo above)

Files (HTML-formatted code)

main.cpp

MultiNode.cpp

MultiNode.h

MultiNodeBase.cpp

MultiNodeBase.h

MultiNodeImpl.cpp

MultiNodeImpl.h

MultiNodeRef.h

NodeImpl.h

Description

This is a set of classes taken and adapted from one of my projects (so some of it is a bit out of context). It consists of a data structure for organizing objects into hierarchical

trees. Individual nodes can be in more than one tree simultaneously (have more than 1 parent), hence "Multi"-Node.

The interesting thing (I think) is the iterator class (de ned in MultiNode.h, used in main.cpp). I found I often needed to scan sections of a tree and perform operations on nodes

matching some criteria (ie. sort of a combination of STLs nd_if and for_each algorithms). However, I've never liked the style of for_each because the operation is always

separated from its use (the code that does the work is never in the same place as the loop control). eg:

for_each (start, end, functor_defined_somewhere_else)

I almost always wanted to do something simple enough and speci c enough not to warrant a totally new function, but doing the iteration by hand every time is messy and error-

prone, so I built a predicated iterator that enabled me to retain the structure of a traditional for-loop:

for (/* loop control */)

{

/* operation */

}

Speci cally, it allows things like:

for (tree_iterator i (root, SomePredicate); i; ++i)

{

i->SomeOperation ;

i->AnotherOperation ;

}

This way the iteration mechanics are factored out and kept together, and the body of the loop is devoted to the operation. I've found this to be a useful tool when dealing with my

object hierarchies. It allows for very complicated iterations to be represented clearly with all the appropriate parts abstracted.

Henry Smith

*****@**************.**

Contact this candidate