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It is time to get to know another member of the PreviewLabs team. Today, we have a chat with Jarne Beaufays: our young, ambitious programmer from Antwerp.
Q: Hello Jarne, as usual we like to get the boring stuff out of the way before we dive into the really tasty bits. Who are you and what do you do here at PreviewLabs?
A: I am Jarne Beaufays, 24 years old and one of the programmers here at PreviewLabs. However, I am currently also pursuing one of my other interests within the business: sales. Next to that I am also doing some project management for one of our clients.
While Jarne enjoyed visiting New York City, his heart really lies in Ghent.
Q: So a programmer with a commercial flair. How does this translate to your day-to-day job?
A: My days are very varied. Obviously, I do a lot of programming for some of our projects. In most cases when I am programming, I am working on one of the playable ads we make for Activision Blizzard Media. These are not prototypes, but actual fully playable mini-games. This means they require more polish than your average prototype. I am pretty much the sole programmer on these projects. I also do the project management for this client.
At the moment, I am doing some sales work as well. I am very grateful for our sales team to give me the opportunity to work alongside them. I am learning a lot from this side of the business. I get to talk with potential clients and go to business events to find prospects. As a developer, going to such events is extra interesting to me. I can attend with the mindset of a programmer to get inspired and learn new insights, and look for interesting contacts at the same time.
Q: You are doing a great job beating the stereotype of the secluded introvert programmer. Do you have a more technical background or rather a business education?
A: I studied game development at Digital Arts & Entertainment in Kortrijk, so my background really comes from the technical side of things. I have always been an extravert though and I really enjoy social activities as well. I have always been active in youth work, like organizing summer camps for kids. As a student I also worked as an instructor at a high ropes course. Before I joined the PreviewLabs team, I also helped out a local startup company on the sales side. So I have always been looking for variety in my job.
Jarne used to help organize youth camps and was an instructor at a high ropes course.
Q: Since you studied at Digital Arts & Entertainment, I presume you always aimed to work at a game development studio. What attracted you to PreviewLabs in particular?
A: Actually, even though I studied game development, I never was dead set on landing a job at a big game studio. My interests are very broad and I truly love programming in general, not just for video games. I actually came across PreviewLabs when looking for a job in the games industry in the Ghent region. The vacancy was a good match with my skill set and working here felt like a great opportunity to learn and grow as a professional. I am glad to say that this feeling was right, because I am learning a lot here and get to explore many of my interests.
Q: You have been with PreviewLabs for two years now, what sets this company apart in your eyes?
A: I know the word dynamic might be a bit of a cliché, but it really applies to PreviewLabs. We really have to have a dynamic working environment since our team is spread out across the globe with colleagues in Belgium, Argentina, Canada, and in our U.S. office These different locations are not silos that operate on themselves, but we all work together as a multicultural team. It doesn’t necessarily set this company apart but I didn’t think about it when I joined the team, so it ended up being an awesome surprise!
Q: Speaking of that team, PreviewLabs is growing at a rapid pace. How are you fitting in?
A: I love working with people from different backgrounds and cultures. Recently I spent some time working with some of our new colleagues in Montréal. It is great to feel the differences in how people approach work there. Although the biggest cultural differences with us Belgians, probably is with our South-American colleagues from Argentina. The stories about their day-to-day lives they share sometimes truly amaze me. I love how we all live in a different context and still work so well together as a team.
While it is clear that Jarne fits in well with the Belgian team, he actually loves working with all cultures present in PreviewLabs.
As to me in the team, I am pretty sure people by now have noticed that I am a critical thinker. I love asking questions to go deeper into what our clients want. I rarely accept a briefing at face-value but prefer to get through to the core of what our clients expect from us. I also notice that I tend to interpret questions differently or try to look at challenges from a different perspective. I guess that is also why I gravitate towards sales as well as towards programming: both are different forms of problem solving.
Q: Prototyping is a very specific subset of development. What attracts you to it?
A: Game development consists of three phases: prototyping, development, and polish. In the two latter stages, the main thing you do is tweaking and finetuning the various aspects of your game. Prototyping is where creativity comes in and you can actually play around with cool ideas. That part of game development was always the most fun for me. It is a lot more varied and allows me to move on to more projects in a shorter time span instead of having to dedicate years of work to one project.
Q: Has your job changed the way you look at games in general?
A: Definitely! Once you know how games are made, you start noticing more details. Even in big budget titles you wind up catching bugs and glitches that might go by unnoticed. You also notice systems and techniques used by the developers to make certain aspects of their games work. When I see something in a game that is not right, I am eager to explore this issue and see what causes it.
League of Legends is like comfort food for Jarne.
Q: Seems like you do not enjoy games in the same way the average player does then. What games do you tend to play when you are at home?
A: Well, I play a lot less games than I used to now anyway. With work and an active social life, it is hard to find the time for long uninterrupted gaming sessions. I regularly log on to League of Legends though. That game is comfort food for me and my friends. We know every little detail about how it works and which ways to play. Overall, the game in itself also is an incredibly nice and polished product, which makes it easier for me to simply start playing and lose myself in the experience.
Q: If you are not gaming after hours, what do you prefer to do to wind down?
A: If you offer me the choice, I will always opt for hanging out with my friends. I recently got a company car, which allows me to drive from my home in Antwerp to Ghent more often, which is where we usually go out to party. Next to that, I am also an avid climber. I love to seek out the extremes and climb via ferrata or do some canyoning. In other words: no climbing walls for me but actual outdoor trails.
Q: Since you are at the start of your career and clearly are not the type to sit around and do nothing, what are your ambitions?
A: Right now, I am fully dedicated to pursuing my various interests to discover my talents and see what I would like to build my career around. I love how I get to do this at PreviewLabs, where I can do both development and explore my appetite for sales work. It is a great place to learn.
Jarne loves working at irregular hours, from wherever he likes. Though we wouldn’t recommend working from this place over enjoying that sunset.
Q: Since you only have so many hours in your day and it sounds like you are cramming two jobs into your work schedule, let us conclude with one final question. What can you tell us that no-one in the PreviewLabs team already knows about you?
A: Wow, that is a hard question for someone who loves talking about everything so openly! I guess that this is something that I never really said out loud, but many colleagues might have noticed about me: I really do not like working 9-to-5. I like arriving late/really early in the office and working late, or going home early to get some more work in from home or from a summer bar. I like to build my life around my work and integrate it where I see fit. My girlfriend is a student, which means that she often is up late studying. I like to take that time to get in some work as well. Like I said: 9-to-5 is not for me.
Q: No big surprises there, I imagine! Thank you, Jarne, for your time!