History
AKQA / Millipede
Lead Developer, Lead Game Design
September 2008 to November 2023
Joining Millipede in 2008, I quickly found my place in a small but dynamic team of creative developers. Creating apps, games, promotions and learning objects initially in Flash, we evolved with the technology into native apps and HTML5, with my own technical skills and deep background in computer systems and languages empowering us to move quickly and productively with the times.
As the team and the projects grew I become both lead developer and game designer, working directly with clients, concepting, pitching and proposing project designs, documenting technical solution designs and development plans, architecting codebases and content pipelines, managing development teams and mentoring junior developers, taking multi-million dollar projects, such as the ELLA language learning apps, through from concept to successful delivery and evaluation.
Once completed the ELLA language learning program consisted of 11 apps, tackling different language topics, each delivered in all 13 languages of the Australian curriculum. The activities within the apps made extensive use of audio from native speakers, animation, music, songs, games, microphone input, accelerometer, gyroscope and peer to peer networking. The complete system includes a backend for teachers that tracked curriculum aligned reporting for each student, along with analytics used to support a trial process and independent evaluation. Hugely loved and successful, these apps are now in use in 5000 preschools throughout Australia and showing incredible results in student's confidence in second languages, building from their play based, immersive approach.
The full list of clients and projects from my long service at Millipede and AKQA is extensive, and includes games, AR experiences, promotions, team building and training for The Coca Cola Company, KPMG, both federal and state Departments of Education, including number 1 app store releases for Dumb Ways to Die, BP, Donut King, and Boost Juice.
Each individual project was it's own challenge, to find the intersection of creativity, design, and technical capability that would deliver an amazing on-target result, reliably, within fixed times and costs.
Barrel of Donkeys
Partnership
Barrel of Donkeys is an indie games partnership with best friend and award winning animator Julian Frost, we released our indie game Toybox in 2011 to excellent reviews, before going on to create the original Dumb Ways to Die mobile game.
Dumb Ways to Die, designed and developed entirely by Barrel of Donkeys, was a world wide mega success, spawning an entire gaming franchise that remains to this day.
The game was downloaded over 100 million times, and went to the top of game download charts around the world on both iOS and Android.
SSi Ltd
Senior Developer
February 2003 to February 2008
At SSi Ltd (Systems Software and Instrumentation) I worked as a senior developer on comprehensive vertically integrated ERP and CRM systems for industries including bakeries, workshops, and real estate valuation.
During my time I implemented a fully integrated document management system, that allowed seamless centralised storage of documents to be easily added to any database entity.
I was also the lead developer on the new version of Grazing Systems Limited farm modelling software, completely overhauling the user interface and vastly expanding the power of its simulation and modelling. I took advantage of the latest linear programming features to approximate non-linear elements creating a much more realistic and powerful model, and transformed the workflow from an opaque batch process to a highly interactive exploratory model, able to uncover a much broader range of optimisation and insight.
Working at SSi showed me the power of building comprehensive systems, with developers working across the full stack, deeply understanding business needs, to make sure every investment in development is delivering tangible benefits to the business.
Southland Building Society
Developer
July 2001 to Dec 2002
As a developer on the core financial systems at Southland Building Society, I led multiple development projects including an updated loan approval workflow, cost of funds analysis, and data archiving.
I worked directly with technical and business leaders on requirements and solution design, as well as demonstrating technical expertise in deep dives on legacy systems, threading, and database locking to resolve issues in important batch processing systems.
Working on a system where people's bank accounts are literally in your control teaches a healthy respect for process, safety, and compliance. Maintaining and extending a codebase with legacy elements stretching back to the 70s, trains a developer's attention to detail and patience.