Ben Pitt
Accomplished, imaginative and versatile game designer & developer
SHOWREEL: Vimeo / YouTube

Over a decade of commercial experience designing and producing games and rich interactive content. Clear and concise writer and speaker. Have taught 3D and programming in university and primary school environments. Active and well-recognised contributor within the developer community.

EMPLOYMENT
2012-PRESENT  Consultant, Unity Technologies
2004-2012 
Senior Game Developer, Skive
1999-2004 
Freelance Game Developer and Web Developer.

First-hand commercial experience in almost every aspect of game production.
Currently specialising in Unity 3D.

SKILLS
CODING 
Gameplay, AI, procedural level generation, motion aesthetics, visual effects, shaders, asset pipeline and production tools.
 
CREATIVE 
Game design, concept brainstorming, pitching, mock-ups stills and rapid playable prototyping.
 
AUDIO 

Sound effect and music acquisition and production, editing, mixing & looping and integration into games.
 
3D 
Modelling, unwrapping, texturing, rigging, animation, environment art, physics proxies, lighting.
 
PROJECT 
Technical specs, time planning, asset specification, coordination and integration, project collaboration and communication.
 
VIDEO 
Digital video editing and production, including compression and publishing for game integration or web streaming.
 
SERVER 
Web services for games (scoreboards, achievements, replays, friend sharing/challenges, etc), multiplayer networking, security.
 
BITMAP 
Texturing, scamp & mock-up artwork, 2D sprite art and animation.

Extremely fast to pick up new languages and software.

TOOLS
LANGUAGES 
C#, Javascript for Unity, ASP.NET (MVC & Webforms), PHP, Perl, SQL, Director Lingo, Actionscript.
SOFTWARE 
Unity, 3DS Max, Visual Studio, MonoDevelop, SoundForge, Premiere, Shockwave/Director, Photoshop, SVN. Most Office-like packages, & much more.
PLATFORMS 
Equally proficient developing on both Windows and Mac. Have administered Linux servers.

Educational background of Art, Design, Maths and Science

EDUCATION 1996-1999  B.A. (Hons) Interactive Art, University of Wales, Newport
1995-1996  Diploma, Art & Design, University of the West of England
1993-1995  A-Level Art, Maths, Music Technology, Computer Science


For a full view of my work client projects, and a more diverse mix of personal
projects and experiments, please see my showreel on Vimeo or  YouTube.

     
     




SELECTED CLIENT WORK


HOMETOWN GP

(Vodafone / Skive)
2010
Unity, Web







Ground-breaking Formula 1 racing with dynamically generated levels. Players create tracks using a custom Google Maps route planner. Altitude, buildings, water and vegetation positioned according to route data and satellite imagery analysis. Launched in 25 markets across the globe including the UK, Australia, Singapore, Germany and Spain. 15,000 tracks were created and raced in the first few weeks.

Video / Screenshots / Further information

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all game code including all procedural level generation code and game programming, visual effects, sound, art asset specification and integration. Contributed significantly to pitch work and project planning. Colleagues contributed: Route designer (Flash) and Actionscript integration with Google Maps API layer, 3D models & textures, web services.


DAMAGE CONTROL
(Nestle KitKat / Skive)
2011
Unity, Web



Action puzzle game. Match patterns against the clock by destroying buildings with a wrecking ball. Part of the current KitKat UK site.

Video / Screenshots / Further information

My Roles: Game design, all game programming, building textures, sound, stock music selection editing & looping, art asset specification and integration. Contributed significantly to pitch work and project planning. Produced in 25 days. Colleagues contributed: Surrounding 3D scene artwork, Flash interface.


QUAD BIKE TRAIL KING
(Box10)
2011
Unity, Web



Quad bike racing through wooded trails against AI competitors. Advanced visual effects including dynamic light-responsive exposure.

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all code including visual effects programming. 3D environment and quad bike models, textures, sound, level design, interface.


JACKAL TRAINING & BATTLEFIELD AMBULANCE
(COI / Skive)
2009
Unity, Web







Test drive the Jackal off-road vehicle around an assault course, and navigate an army ambulance to a village through aftershocks in an earthquake zone.

Ambulance: Video / Screenshots
Jackal: Video / Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, physics, sound design, visual effects, art & vocal asset specification and integration, collaborated on level design.

These games integrated into a larger seamless experience made up of over a dozen flash and video sections. In addition to producing these individual sections of work, I played a key role in the overall creative and technical planning of the entire project. Colleagues contributed: 3D Models and Textures, web services.


QASHQAI STUNT CHAMPION
(Nissan / Skive) 2008
Shockwave, Web



Four amateur teams from across the globe practice outrageously dangerous stunts over dilapidated and flimsy ramps and equipment. Included track editor allowing users to design their own stunts.

Game: Screenshots, Editor: Video / Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, physics, sound design, level design, art asset specification and integration. Colleagues contributed: 3D Models, textures, flash interface, web services. Stock music.


SHELL 24 HOUR CHALLENGE
(Shell / Skive) 2008
Shockwave, Web



Single and multiplayer racing game with car damage, pit stops and dynamic day & night cycle.

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, physics, sound design, level design, art asset specification and integration. Colleagues contributed: 3D Models, textures, flash interface, web services. Stock music.


CHAMPIONSHIP RALLY
(BP / Skive)
2007
Shockwave, Web



Multi-stage rally game, collect petrol and oil while completing country, desert and snow courses.13m+ plays.

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, visual effects and sound, web services (scoreboards, challenge friends), art asset specification and integration. Selected, edited & looped stock music. Colleagues contributed: 3D models and textures, Flash interface.


OPERATION S.A.V.E
(Cartoon Network / Skive)
2006
Shockwave, Web



The "Kids Next Door" battle pirates in a 3rd-person treehouse water fight.

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, asset specification and integration, sound design, visual effects. 3D character animation. Colleagues contributed: 3D Environment and character models, Flash interface.


CRASH COURSE FOOTBALL
(Ladbrokes / Skive)
2006
Shockwave, Web



World Cup teams compete in cars to score with giant football. Physics-heavy action, with complex team-based AI powering CPU opponents.

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, 3D stadium modelling & texturing, sound, server-side web services. Physics written from scratch. Colleagues contributed: Car model, Flash interface.


WATERSLIDE SLALOM
(Starburst / Skive)
2005
Shockwave, Web



Hurtle down twisting waterslides, avoiding the edges and collecting starburst along the way for extra time.

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, sound design, 3d modelling & texturing for slides. Web services for scoreboards and challenge-a-friend. Selected, edited & looped stock music. Colleagues contributed: Player 3D model.


M3Power Jetski Challenge
(Gillette / Skive)
2005
Shockwave, Web



Jetski racing game for Gillette Razor brand. Over 100m plays to date. "... the most successful advergame on the Internet" - Miniclip

Screenshots

My Roles: Technical planning, game design, all programming, sound, visual effects, art asset specification and integration. Web services for scoreboards and challenge-a-friend. Colleagues contributed: 3D models, textures, Flash interface.


HANNAH AND THE PIRATES CAVES
(Neopets)
2003
Shockwave, Web



Action/puzzle platformer. Recover all the treasure amongst complex puzzles, booby traps, falling boulders and flooding cave systems. Over 50m plays to date.

My Roles:
Technical planning, all programming, sound design, level design, all environment graphics. Colleagues contributed: Player and enemy character graphics.