About me

Zainab Ali
I’ve always loved to play videogames since I was very young. With time I began to develop an interest in how my favorite source of entertainment were made and that’s when I began to seriously pursue a career in the Video games Development Industry.
I personally enjoy working as a Gameplay Programmer alongside designers and artists, however, I also enjoy taking a deep dive into how game engines are programmed. Thus, I would like to challenge myself and work as an Engine Programmer.
I like to play open-world videogames with rich and beaming worlds and immersive storylines. To me, videogames have a unique way of providing an escape from our reality, while also giving us a way to explore current topics in our lives in a uniquely alternative way. It truly fascinates me how creative the human mind can be and I feel games development in one of the most exciting ways of expressing that.
I have mostly worked with 2D games professionally. My most recent work has been on the upcoming title Space Chef, by BlueGooGames. However, I would love to branch out and work in 3D games as well. 3D games require a strong grasp of 3D math when implementing features and I would very much like to delve into and work with that as well.
The best part for me about working on videogames is watching artists express themselves. I love working with them as it brings on the challenge of working with alternative ideas within the confines for the scope of the project.
I also developed an interest in full stack development for a short period of time. In order to explore what that career path would look like, I took a training course by Schema Zone, based in Canada. The training course took us through the motions of researching and developing an App, Database and Website for a brand that made luxury clothes for children.
Experience
April 2021 – Present Space Chef |
Space Chef is the flagship project by an indie developer, Bluegoogames. I have been working on Space Chef since April 2021 as a Gameplay programmer. I mainly implement key gameplay features but also, set up new levels and scenes. I also help with testing when needed. |
2022 Global Game Jam – GGJ 2022 |
Participated in my first game jam! with a few of my friends. The theme this year was Duality. We found a way to represent the theme while also providing a fun gameplay experience. |
2021 Project Maximon |
Developing in Unreal Engine 5. I alongside a few game devs decided to work on a project together. the project is currently in its inception stage. Building an open-world puzzle game with replay value |
2020 Gravity Boii Runner – Mobile Game
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Independently Developed a Endless Platformer for Mobile Android Devices in the Unity Engine. |
Education
2018 – 2019 Abertay University – MSc Computer Games Technology |
The natural step for me was to go for a specialization in Games Development. I pursued a Master’s degree in Dundee, Scotland, UK. I got the opportunity to have hands-on experience with many Game Dev specific APIs, IDEs and Engines:
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2015 – 2018 Mazoon University – BSc Computer Sciences |
I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Science In Muscat, Oman. Here I learned all the basics and fundamentals of the numerous disciplines in Computer Sciences. |
SKILLS
- C# 80%
- C++ 65%
- HLSL 40%
- UNITY ENGINE 80%
- UNREAL ENGINE 40%
- Directx API 40%
HOBBIES
Play open world Games inspired by DND or have RPG elements such as Divinity Original Sin 2, The Witcher Saga, Dishonored.
Design and Build Work Stations or Gaming Setups for friends and family
Watching various shows like K Dramas, Anime, Detective, Mystery, Thrillers
Discuss Topics of AI and latest Technologies