Tech Talent: This Junior Programmer Has His Eye On Game Design

Joshua Hutchinson

Joshua Hutchinson‘s interest in technology stems from his love of video games. Beyond the characters, Hutchinson’s passion lays within the building blocks of game development — each element that goes into making a story.

To follow his heart into game design, Hutchinson enrolled in Thinkful‘s full-time Full-Stack Web Developer online bootcamp. There, he’s stretched his technical skills, building several learning-based applications including an appointment manager called Schedulr.

Interested in learning more about this in-demand avid gamer? Read below about his growing development skills and what kind of company he’s looking to join following graduation day.

What is your previous education?

I graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agribusiness from the University of Georgia.

Why the interest in the technology field?

I wanted to be able to design and develop my own applications and programs. We all use a vast spectrum of technology in our everyday lives, myself included. I decided that I wanted to have a better understanding of the bells and whistles behind it all.

What projects have you worked on?

I have worked on several learning-based applications during my time at Thinkful. Of those, Schedulr is the most impressive both creatively and technically. Schedulr is a scheduling application built with small business owners and professionals in mind. It features a built-in email notification system to handle confirmations for appointment scheduling, cancellations or any appointment changes as well a reminder that is sent out for upcoming appointments.

What tech or tools are essential to you as a developer?

As a new developer who is still learning the ropes, I find that having a reliable code editor such as Visual Studio Code, and utilizing Chrome’s developer tools are essential to the job. Having and understanding these tools has been crucial to my learning process so far.

How do you stay informed and on-top of emerging trends?

I keep up with current and emerging trends by following local industry professionals on platforms like LinkedIn and using applications such as Flipboard as an easy way to stay informed on multiple interests. Attending local meetups and keeping in touch with the people I meet at the events has also proven to be an effective way to keep myself in the loop.

What are your best technical or creative skills?

I find that my strengths as a developer tend to show more in front-end development. I enjoy planning out the designs for a build ahead of time and allowing my technical skills and creativity to intertwine.

I typically find the detail work involved in the styling and design process of a build can be quite therapeutic. For me, the most rewarding part of a project is successfully building something that pleases the eye.

What’s next on your list to learn?

As an avid gamer, I would like to learn to develop video games in the near future. I’m interested in learning all of the important building blocks for game development, ranging from the small-scale animations to larger bits of character and environment design.

In my spare time, I like to practice with programs like Unity to teach myself the ins and outs of game development.

Are you interested in working for a startup, mid-sized company, or a corporate giant?

I am interested in working with a mid-sized company in which I can be a part of a team that can help me further develop my skill set and gain exposure to the tech industry.

Interested in looking at Joshua’s credentials? Here you go! PortfolioGitHub, and LinkedIn.