Hello there! I’m Ethan from Telluride High School. So, I guess I’m here to tell you about my Pinternship. I started my internship at Illfonic on Monday. So, whats Illfonic? Well, it basically means “dope sound” but its also the name of a company that makes games. At Illfonic I’ve done lots of cool stuff, I really have, but if I told you I would have to kill you. But maybe I can tell you just a little, huh? Promise not to tell? Ok… so at Illfonic I’ve spent my first couple of days shadowing a guy named Paul. No joke, this guy is a literal wizard when it comes to coding stuff! He has taught me some programming tips and helped me understand the basics of making a game.
Right now, well right now I’m writing this, but at Illfonic I’m learning C++. This language is the industry standard for development–kinda crazy, it been that way for the past like two decades! It’s a pretty great language in some ways, but in others, it’s just broken and chaos. A good example is that C++ makes it really easy to interface directly with the hardware. I’m still learning how this all works, but yeah, I’m learnin’ lots and havin’ a ton of fun!
The office there is really cool too and everyone is nice! I’d love to show you a photo, but then again, if I show you I’ll have to kill you. But I’ll make a lil thing in gimp for you to see what it might look like.
Other than just learning C++ I’ve been learning how to use Unreal Engine too! On my first day Paul decided “Today, today is the day I put animals in the game.” So he has been putting animals in all week. Turns out it takes a LOT for just adding one animal. You also have to add classes to support small things for the animal, like health. And you need to add hitboxes to them, simple and complex ones. Add AI so they can move and not be stupid hunks of meat. You need to add structures, so they can spawn properly and not just POP into reality like some sketchy genie. There is much more to games than what appears on the surface.
I’ve also done some stuff outside of Illfonic too. What? You thought I stayed there all the time. Ha, nope, only teachers do that. Just kidding. Over the last week, I moved in with my host family. It’s pretty cool cause they’re my actual family. I’m staying with my uncle, Mike and his family. Mike, Jenifer, and Ruth. They have been all been super cool. I haven’t gotten out of the house much other than to get to the workplace, it has been super busy but I look forward to running around Denver quite a bit more over the next 6ish weeks! When I first got to Mikes place they were like “let’s watch something!” so we watched Chernobyl, all 5 episodes. Also, I’ve got to say Jenifer is a fantastic cook. You can give her ingredients and she could make something delicious! Its been super nice staying with them, they are super nice! So, thanks guys!
At the moment I haven’t seen much of Denver other than what’s on the way to the internship. I’ve been biking and taking the lightrail there every day. It’s pretty great, I probably bike less than a mile then get on the train for a little while then get back on my bike and bike a little less than a mile there! Public transport in Denver is great!
I think I covered a little of everything so this should at least be a little interesting to read. I know I’ve had fun this first week and look forward to informing you of what I do next, next week!
-Ethan
General Kenobi! A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.