Curriculum Vitae Updated 06/09/2016

Tom ClarkAddress: Mercury Cottage, 1-3 Newport Road, Tayport, Fife, DD6 9AUTel: 07543 636377 E-mail: tdclark814@gmail.com

My driving ambition is to work in the computer games industry to aid the design and development of user-friendly, entertaining and challenging game experiences. I have an MSc (Distinction) from the University of Abertay in Computer Games Technology and a BSc (Hons) Degree (2:1) in Computer Science from the University of St Andrews. My varied experience working with and testing software as well my time as a games journalist has challenged me to consider what makes a quality, long-lasting game. I have played all types of games on many platforms and my enthusiasm for gaming has given me insight into what different types of gamers expect.

Key Skills Games reviewing, previewing and evaluation Games testing including participation in BETA testing events Preparing understandable design documents and reports Understanding what makes good generic software design Programming including website development Team and project working Working on my own initiative, planning and working to deadlines Highly motivated and passionate about gaming across a wide range of platforms Highly numerate, literate, innovative and able to solve problems Full clean driving licence

Employment and Work experienceHubio (Jan 2014 to June 2016, redundancy) Quality Assurance Tester - Testing that software meets requirements for different clients. Performing Daily Smoke Tests. Testing new features. Test case creation. Identifying defects in software. Creating and updating defect reports.

Antix Labs (Mar 2010 to Oct 2013, company closure) Games Tester - Testing client games adhere to a set of detailed test criteria on the Antix Game Player on-device software client. Expansive testing life-cycle and platform conformance testing documents created to aid new testers complete desired tests. Official test descriptions simplified and new manual tests created. Writing client reports so games can be Certified or Rejected based on test results. Occasional programming work using OpenKODE – a platform independent "C" language.

Dynamo Games (Jun 2009 to Mar 2010) Internship extended to a Contract - Designing and developing social games for Facebook, including their award winning game Soccer Tycoon.

TPLD (Team Play Learning Dynamics) (May/June 2009) Placement - Discovering and documenting bugs in TPLD's game creation tools.

AceGamez (2007 to Mar 2011) Staff Reviewer - voluntary PC team leader responsible for 7 staff reviewers. Example articles: Dungeons, Alan Wake and A Gamer's Guide To Hell. The AceGamez website went offline so my work for them is no longer publically available.

Gamedot (May 2012 to Sept 2012) Member of News Team - Example articles: Alan Wake 2 announcement teased, Deus Ex: The Movie and The End of the World?. The Gamedot website went offline so my work for them is no longer publically available.

EducationUniversity of Abertay MSc (Distinction) Computer Games Technology 2007- Dec 2008Courses studied include: Game Design and Development, Games Programming for the PC and Xbox, Console Game Development, Artificial Intelligence for Games, Mathematics for Computer Games, The Games Marketplace.

University of St. Andrews BSc Honours (Upper second) Computer Science 2003-2007Courses studied include: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Graphics, Software Engineering, Human Computer Interaction, Advanced Internet Programming, Computer Architecture,

Operating Systems, Computer Security, Data Communications and Networks, Graphs and Algorithms, Logic Specification and Verification, Machines and Computation, Databases, Professional and Social Aspects of Computing.

High School of Dundee 1990-2003SQA Advanced Highers: Computing A, Physics BSQA Highers: Mathematics A, Computing A, Physics B, Classical Studies B,

English & Communication CSQA Standard Grades: 8 subjects, 4 at grade 1 including Computer Science.

Programming and Software SkillsI am competent in the use of a range of programming languages including C, C++, JavaScript and HTML. I can use MS Office applications to a high standard.

I understand basic symbolic Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Intelligence for games and the mathematical principles for games development. Many of my coding projects and practical work have involved the use of pseudo code and Unified Modelling Language (UML) diagrams.

I have designed and created dynamic websites which interact with databases. An example created independently is http://www.thedeadtimes.co.uk.

Software Projects during higher educationAbertay University Masters Project (Feb 2008 - Dec 2008) - I chose an innovative project to investigate whether Genetic Algorithms could be used for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment in games. I implemented demonstration software to show this technique is feasible in game-like environments. I compared it to other techniques and, unexpectedly, it performed the best. My mark: 19/20 (a distinction). My dissertation, including demonstration software and coding, can be downloaded from http://www.thedeadtimes.co.uk/Dissertation/TomClark-Dissertation.zip.

Abertay University Game Design and Development course (Jan 2008 - May 2008) - In a team of eight people, I helped develop a prototype game called InterTwine. My role was designer and game interface programmer and I also wrote a design document for the full game. The prototype was implemented in the 3D graphics library "Ogre". My mark: 17/20. The project website is http://www.thedeadtimes.co.uk/InterTwine/InterTwine.html.

St. Andrews University Major Software Project (Sept 2006 - April 2007) - I chose to design, implement, test and document a computer game using the development environment Game Maker. This was the first ever computer game project done at St Andrews. My mark: 15.5/20. The project website is http://www.thedeadtimes.co.uk/Hunger.php.

Grants, Awards, Prizes and AchievementsUniversity of Abertay MSc funded by SAAS (Students Award Agency for Scotland)

University of St. Andrews Voted first prize for my presentation on "Consequences of a Digital Age" by staff and studentsMedal for CS1004 Internet ProgrammingOglesby-Wellings Memorial Prize - Computer Science

High School of Dundee W E Crichton Prize for Computer StudiesEdinburgh-Angus Club Prize for Classical Studies in Form 5

AceGamez My preview of Fantasy Wars was quoted in PC Gamer Magazine, Issue 185, March 2008 page 83.

I attended the launch event for Unreal Tournament 3 as a member of staff and contributed to the coverage article.

Referees1. Gordon Milligan, Head of Quality Assurance, Hubio Ltd., Suite 1, Marketgait Business

Centre, 152 West Marketgait, Dundee, DD1 1NJPhone: +44 (0) 2037 454732 E-mail: gordon@gordonmilligan.co.uk

2. Mike Foss, Former Chief Operating Officer, Antix Labs Ltd.Phone: 07900 003693 E-mail: mikejfoss@gmail.com