My name is Jimmy Koene and I am a Senior Engineer from The Netherlands. I am a graduate of International Game Architecture and Design (IGAD) at NHTV Breda as an engineer where I graduated cum laude with a GPA of 3,50.
Getting Started
In 2010, I started playing Minecraft. Shortly after finding this game, I started making mods in Java. Later, I started writing tutorials on Minecraft mod development. These tutorials were amongst the most popular sources on this subject for years.
After writing tutorials for several years, Pearson Education contacted me with a book offer. I was asked to write a book about Minecraft mod development in the Sams Teach Yourself series. The book now has two editions and is for sale on websites such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. During this time, I also got into contact with game development and started writing my own games.
Education
Shortly after creating some small games, I enrolled in International Game Architecture and Design (IGAD) at NHTV Breda as a programmer. This is an HBO education in the Netherlands for all disciplines of game development. I entered the school as a programmer and learned about Unity, Unreal Engine, C++, C#, etc. Currently, I’m focussing on AI programming.
During my time at NHTV, I worked on the mandatory school projects which resulted in some fun games, but I also joined game jams such as the Samsung VR Jam and Global Game Jam 2016 and worked on various freelance jobs related to game development including Becoming Vincent. I received a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Creative Media & Games Technology after graduating.
Internship
My first professional working experience in the games industry was an internship from September 2017 to July 2018. During this time I worked as an AI & Gameplay programming intern at Triumph Studios which is a studio based in Delft, The Netherlands owned by Paradox Interactive. Triumph Studios has an in-house C++ game engine called Creator Engine in which I worked on various game, AI and engine features.
England
Upon graduation, I moved to England for my first job as a Junior Gameplay Programmer at TT Games from July 2018 for 1 year. The studio is based in Knutsford, United Kingdom, and is part of Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment. After that, I moved to Brighton where I worked at Studio Gobo as an Engineer.
Sweden
After spending more than 4 years in England, I moved to Sweden where I work as a Senior Engineer at Coffee Stain.
Plans & Ambitions
My ambition is to keep growing my skills as a gameplay programmer and a senior team member. I want to keep up to date with all the new technologies while focussing on creating fun games.