For the past year, computing instructor Jeff Yim has been teaching Object Oriented Programming 2 (part of the Computer Systems Technology Diploma). We asked him to tell us more about his background in games development, and how his career led him to BCIT.
Q: Please tell us more about your background?
A: I had my start at BCIT many years ago when I took a summer course to learn how to program in Pascal. After that I went on to Queen’s University to get my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science. I’ve always wanted to be a game developer, so before I joined BCIT, I worked in industry at Electronic Arts. Later, I was an independent developer, making games and apps for iOS, PC, and XBox One.
Q: What made you decide to explore teaching opportunities?
A: I’ve been a software developer for over 17 years and wanted to try something new. I recalled how much I enjoyed being a teaching assistant during university and decided to apply to BCIT.
Q: What do you enjoy about teaching?
A: My favorite part about teaching is getting to interact with students one-on-one during labs. I love answering their questions and seeing their ‘ah ha!’ moments when they understand a particular tricky problem.
Q: What is a typical work day like for you?
A: A typical work day consists of delivering lectures and labs, holding office hours to help answer student questions, and preparing for lectures and labs for the next day.
Q: Could you tell us more about your work in games development?
A: I was a front-end engineer at Electronic Arts, working on titles such as Fight Night Champion, Grand Slam Tennis and more. Each title provided a very different experience, from massive 200 people teams to smaller 20 person teams. I’ve released over 15 games over iOS, PC, and XBox One as an independent developer. My most successful game was an infinite runner style game called Mechanic Panic which was featured by Apple. My more recent games have been built using Unity and C#.
Q: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
A: I had a great first year at BCIT and am definitely looking forward to the new school year!
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