In Game, In Life #6: Gamers are at the centre of a Future of Virtual Reality — Engine Programmer, Nuno Leiria
Computer-generated interactive experiences are critical to commercial life. Increasing digitisation, use of 3D design, ‘smart’ systems and increased popularity of virtual gaming are just a few of the reasons. One effect is that demand for specialists in designing user experiences like websites is going through the roof just now.
2021 is the 25th anniversary of the release of Quake, the first person shooter game in which players could use the underlying Quake Engine to build new levels, weapons and challenges within the game to play with friends. It was a seminal moment in the history of interactive 3D experience and production of virtual worlds.
Nuno Leiria is a Senior Engine Programmer at Epic Games. In the past, he has worked on games like Risen 3: Titan Lords for Piranha Bytes and Fable Legends for Lionhead Studios. Nuno has long been fascinated by the interactivity of games. Now working at Epic, the company behind Unreal, the engine that powers games like Gears of War, Mass Effect and Bioshock, Nuno believes that gaming is a vital source of exceptional talent and skills for the future — a belief that underpins our mission at Game Academy.
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GA: Your favourite games are Final Fantasy, The Last of Us and God of War. What would you say has been your greatest achievement in gaming?
Nuno Leiria: I have completed everything in Final Fantasy VII. I got the gold chocobo, the Knights of the Round summon and beat the ruby and emerald WEAPONs. After hundreds of hours and multiple playthroughs, that is the experience that resonates the most with me.
GA: What is it about the game that you find so engrossing?
NL: Definitely the story and its character development. The characters have complex backgrounds that you uncover as the story unfolds. It’s compelling to see how they evolve and you become invested emotionally as you play through the game.
GA: Do the characters become personally reflective, somehow?
NL: “At the end of every road you meet yourself”, the American playwright Samuel Behrman once said. In exploring these worlds, I’m also learning about myself.
GA: You’ve been involved in making several major games. What’s been your professional role?
NL: I’m a systems programmer working mostly on the game engine, rather than the game itself. I care for the hardware the game runs on — which could be a PC or a console such as a PlayStation or an Xbox. On a typical day, that could mean optimising code, developing graphics features, creating tools for artists, or just making sure the game doesn’t crash!
GA: You’ve spoken in the past of “being better” for playing games. What do you mean?
NL: First, there’s a very practical thing: my hand-eye coordination is off the charts. But second, there’s something more subtle. When you read something, the story of someone else plays out in your mind as if it were a movie. But when you’re playing a game, it’s you and it’s your character. You’re making the choices — and that means you’re forced to engage with your moral reasoning.
GA: The implications for this are profound, aren’t they, considering that computer-generated realities are becoming so ubiquitous?
NL: Definitely. Soon, people will be engrossed in a 3D medium and real-time interactive 3D content will be part of the shared culture. Today, many industries outside of games already make use of it — car showrooms, architecture, construction and simulation, to name a few. Most things that could benefit from having a 3D visualisation are now using game engines to produce it.
GA: What are the implications for gamers?
NL: Really exciting. Gamers are well versed in this 3D medium and so in a unique position to take advantage of their existing skills in an increasingly digital world.
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Game Academy is a new tech service. We help gamers find a new job, educational and training opportunities through the power of game play. Journey to a new career at http://gameacademy.co and join our community on Discord, a server fired up by game skills and their power. Game Academy is supported by the UK Department for Education and Nesta through the CareerTech Challenge.
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