On the 24th May we were delighted to welcome Shahid Ahmad to Dundee, where he gave an inspirational talk about his phenomenal career in games and shared his advice for both established and aspiring game developers.
Shahid gave a heartfelt talk about his years in the industry, explaining how his fascination with early game consoles inspired him to learn programming at a young age in order to make his own games. Shahid talks about the love he had for programming at this time, and how it enabled him to maintain a degree of control in amidst childhood situations which were ultimately uncontrollable. After establishing himself as a talented game developer Shahid eventually moved to Playstation, where he worked as a Developer Relations Manager, spending many successful years meeting with developers and securing games for the platform. The talk was filled with anecdotal examples of Shahid’s own experience, which danced between both the comical and the heart-wrenching. Using standout moments from his career, Shahid shared his practical advice in regards to success, reputation and pitching, from the point of view of someone who has lived, learned and evolved during their career.
Shahid spoke candidly about his own ‘mistakes’ during his career and shared the wisdom that followed. For instance, the necessity to be nice and respectful when talking with peers and clients, to be able to deliver on the promises you make, and to allow yourself to evolve with the ever changing circumstances of life in order to be the best you can be.
We want to thank Shahid for sharing with us his invaluable experience and providing us with a wonderfully entertaining talk. We’d also like to thank our partners for this event; Abertay University and Henderson Loggie.
