Meet Squanch Presents: Brandon Gonzales!
Hey, is this thing on? You can hear me? Ok good.
WELCOME BACK SQUANCHIES!
Whew! You’ve come to the right place. Congratulations on clicking one of the best articles ever published on the Internet. You now have exclusive access to our Q&A with our epically awesome Gameplay Programmer, Brandon Gonzales. Take a seat, consume the words below, share them with your buds, and repeat.
Take a walk through his start in the industry, first videogame, and (more importantly) discover who he thinks is the best James Bond. Are you ready? Doesn’t matter. READING STARTS NOW!
Oop–sorry for yelling.
Brandon Gonzales, Gameplay Programmer
What do you do at Squanch?
Hi, I’m a Gameplay Programmer! I’ve gotten the opportunity to build and influence a wide variety of gameplay systems in our project. Everything from AI, to combat systems, to even some player abilities. Squanch promised to let me work on “cool shit” and they delivered!
What got you into the industry?
I was very fortunate to have attended New Mexico State University where I earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science. Outside of school, I spent many hours watching Unity and UE4 tutorials on YouTube. After five years of college, self-taught game development, and finishing 15 game jam projects, I started a year-long process of sending out applications to any game studios I could find while working a full-time job. It was stressful, but it definitely paid off as I was eventually hired by Squanch!
Do you remember your first video game?
Oh yeah! Strange Science is a puzzle platformer that technically can still be played on Kongregate (please don’t, it’s pretty bad!). It was the only Flash game that I’ve ever made, but I spent six whole months programming powerups, making music, and designing levels. If you’re looking to make your first game, don’t do this! Your time is much better spent participating in short game jams. The skills you will learn from finishing your first project will be more valuable than the project itself.
What was your last completed video game?
I’ve completed a few since the time of writing, but the last project that I am most proud of is Demo Disc 1, a game inspired by old PlayStation 1 demo discs. My game dev buddy, Brandon Baldwin (super handsome 3D artist), and I wanted to invoke the aesthetics and silliness of games in the late 90’s while still making a gripping and challenging experience. We spent roughly 6 weeks on it! The game has a few twists so I’d definitely recommend checking it out if you are into that sort of thing! Shameless plug, ACTIVATE: https://doc-ill.itch.io/demo-disc-1
Nacho or Cool Ranch?
Cool Ranch, but jalapeno flavored chips are my real jam!
Who was the best James Bond?
My favorite Bond is probably Sean Connery, but Daniel Craig has definitely warmed his way into my heart! <3
What was your favorite age?
16 is easily the best age. It’s the age where you know everything there is to know in the world and you’re literally invincible.
What’s your go-to Karaoke song?
“You’re The Best” by Joe Esposito. Nothing gets me more pumped than dumb 80’s montage songs!
Any key learnings you’d like to share with other aspiring gameplay programmers?
- As mentioned before, your time is very well spent participating in game jams. Game jams will push you to learn new skills and complete projects. Completed projects can really help your resume stand out among the rest, but be sure to only list off your best work. If you’re unsure about where to find upcoming game jams, one of the best places is the itch.io game jam page.
- Games are a collaborative art form, and learning how to work with people from different disciplines is mandatory. With that said, try to get yourself some game dev buddies! Not only will they help you learn a little bit of project management, but they will also help you stay motivated and accountable. Most itch.io game jams will have an associated discord server, so be sure to introduce yourself and mention that you are looking for a group to join!
- Finally, don’t get too discouraged when job searching. Interviews and technical tests are completely different skill sets than game development, so you’re bound to have a few that go sour. Whenever this happened to me, I made it a point to treat it as a learning experience rather than a failure. I maintained a growing list of questions (both technical and personal) that I wasn’t able to answer well, did the research to understand those questions and how best to answer them, and reviewed that list on a weekly basis. It may be a lot of work, but it was extremely helpful for landing a job in the industry.
