Coconut Lizard welcomes Darron Atkinson, Programmer to the team!

Please detail a bit of information about your experience/career background?

After studying a for a degree in Music Production, I began learning software development as a hobby, creating mobile games for iOS. As my knowledge grew, I began to recreate some of the mechanics found in my favourite games.

In 2019 I landed a job as a Programmer creating VR training simulations in Unreal Engine 4 for the oil and gas industry. Whilst in this role I worked on a range of things, including crafting the training experiences, gameplay scripting, and improving developer efficiency with various in-editor tools.

Why Coconut Lizard?

I was made aware of the company after an old colleague recommended them to me. I was impressed with the games that they had worked on in the past and the experience of the team members across all of the departments.

The interview was also a pleasant experience where I learnt a lot about the company values and work ethic. All of this was extremely impressive, and I am very grateful for the opportunity to join Coconut Lizard.

What do you love about games?

I love the interactive story telling nature of single player games that can rival blockbuster movies. I also love that multiplayer games can be a place for friends to hang out and play together regardless of where they are located within the world.

What games are you currently playing, and what is your favourite game?

I'm currently playing:

Horizon Forbidden West

Cities Skylines (I always come back to this game!)

My favourite game of recent years, however, must be The Last of Us 2. Although, in the past I have spent an unhealthy amount of time playing Ark: Survival Evolved with friends, where we would host servers and create community events within the game.

Any fun facts or hobbies?

Fun fact: I was the youngest Taekwondo black belt in the country for a short while, I got this when I was 8 years old! 

In my spare time I enjoy gaming, tv and film, I also play the odd game of D&D with friends.

A hobby that I have started recently is trying to sculpt game assets and characters in Blender. It’s early days so trying is definitely the key word here.