While the assessors pour over submissions, write feedback and help put together shortlists we thought we would take a moment look back at one of our recent Rising Star winners.

James Hutchison won an interview for the Sumo Digital Rising Star code placement last year, and landed the role! He has been working hard as part of the team on Sumo’s 1st self-published title Snake Pass.

The University of Central Lancashire Masters graduate was allowed a little time to step away from his keyboard and speak to us about Rising Star and his experiences at Sumo.

Name: James Hutchison
Current Job: Programmer
Dream Job: Lead Programmer
Favourite Games Platform: PC
Favourite Game of All-Time: World of Warcraft
FPS or RPG: RPG
Tea or Coffee: Tea, I’m British
AR or VR: VR
Stark of Lannister: Stark
Discovery or Orville: Orville
Block Party or LAN Party: Board Games Party

Aardvark: Hi James, thanks for talking to us. So, what inspired you to work in the games industry?
James: In a word, Minecraft. It’s the reason I learned how to code and started me on the path towards games development.

Aardvark: How did you get involved with Grads in Games?
James: It was through my university, and I’m glad I did.

Aardvark: What has been the biggest surprise since you started working in the industry?
James: How calm everything is, even with the pressure of meeting deadlines, everyone is nice and chill (so far).

Aardvark: What’s it like working on AAA titles?
James: Working on a AAA is different from your University assignments, there is a lot more organisation and more responsibility

Aardvark: Are you looking forward to seeing your name on a game’s credits?
James: It’s quite a weird feeling seeing your name in the credits of a game; it makes you want to work harder on the game so that it reflects the work you’ve put into it.

Aardvark: What would you say to someone thinking about entering Search for a Star or Rising Star?
James: It was worth it since it got me this job. On the other hand, it takes a fair amount effort to get through to the finals, especially in the amount of time needed to get your project working and polished alongside your normal University assignments.

Aardvark: Looking ahead what do you think the next big change in the industry will be?
James: Following the recent headlines and public uproar, I think in the next couple of years we’re going to see some major changes to the microtransaction/loot box models. Perhaps the use of cryptocurrency in games might show up somewhere, who knows?

We would like to thank both Sumo Digital and James for their time and support for Grads in Games.
If reading about James’ experience has inspired you, why not go to the Grads in Games Challenges page and see if you could be the next Rising Star!