Curriculum Vitae

Personal Details

  • Name:James Graham Michael Talbot
  • Address:< withheld >
  • Telephone:< withheld >
  • Date of Birth:2 June 1981
  • Nationality:British English
  • Marital Status:Single

Objectives

I have been passionate about videogames for many years, and hope to pursue a successful career in the development industry. This has been an aim of mine for a long time, and was the reason for choosing the education path that I did.

I am a self-motivated and determined person. I love acquiring new skills, and view the videogames industry as an excellent way to challenge myself and be creative. As much of my time is spent around computers and games anyway, I see this as an ideal way to earn a living.

Education and Qualifications

  • 2005

    日本語能力試験
    Japanese National Language Proficiency Test

    Level Attained:
    3ç´š (Level 3)
  • 1999 to 2004

    UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTER
    Department of Computer Science

    MSc Advanced Computer Science

    BSc Computer Science
    First Class Honours
  • 1992 to 1999

    CALDAY GRANGE GRAMMAR SCHOOL
    Grammar School Lane . Calday . Wirral

    A-Level

    English
    Grade A

    Russian
    A

    General Studies
    A

    Maths
    B

    11 GCSEs, with 10 at Grade A or above.

Computing Skills

I am self taught in a variety of web design languages, including XHTML, CSS2, PHP, Javascript and XML. I am skilled in C and C++, and have a working knowledge of Direct3D, DirectSound and OpenGL, among others. Variously, I have also studied SML, Java and Delphi. Being well-versed in the principles of imperative, object-oriented and functional programming, I am confident that I could pick up new languages quickly and effectively.

To complete my BSc, another student and I jointly undertook a final year project investigating collaboration in virtual environments. The resulting software, LOKI, was the winning project of the departmental engineering prize, sponsored by Phillips, for 2002. This also gave me great experience of working as a team and making joint design decisions that could be implemented independently according to individual strengths.

My MSc project was in the field of business applications of virtual environments, using the department developed C toolkits, Maverik and Deva. My degrees have given me a good grounding in the fundamentals of software design, artificial intelligence, computer graphics and virtual environments. The modules chosen for my MSc reflect my career aims:

MSc Modules

  • Computing Shape: Beziers To NURBS
  • Mobile Robotics
  • Advanced Virtual Environments
  • Extreme Java
  • Computer Animation
  • Neural Networks

Employment History

  • Mar 2004 to present

    NOVA GROUP
    Minatomachi . Osaka . Japan

    English Teacher
  • Oct 2003 to Mar 2004

    UKIS - HOME OFFICE
    Olympic House . Manchester Airport . Manchester . England

    Database Consultant and Admin Assistant (part time)
  • Oct 1999 to Sept 2003

    MANCHESTER FOODS LIMITED
    Wilmslow Road . Fallowfield . Manchester . England

    Staff Trainer, Cashier and Administrator (part time)

Leisure Interests

Back in England, much of my free time and money was spent playing videogames. I own the majority of consoles, and also purchase second hand games and consoles that I missed out on first time. As a result, I have a large collection of old and new titles, from Secret of Mana to Soul Caliber II and many in between, crossing all genres.

I read extensively, both novels and non-fiction, and always have a few books on the go at once. I enjoy teaching myself programming and learning new techniques, which builds on the knowledge gained from my degrees. I am intrigued by foreign languages and am currently learning Japanese.

I don’t live my entire life indoors! I also played football for a university departmental team, and now participate in regular five-a-side with friends, as well as being a former county hockey player.

References

Personal and professional references available on request.

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