ποΈ Software Engineers Podcast ποΈ Episode 2 with Sean Austin
VP of Engineering of Super Evil Megacorp
For this episode of Software Engineers, I invited Sean Austin, the VP of Engineering of Super Evil Megacorp, a AAA mobile-first indie game studio based in San Mateo, California.
To be transparent, I had the chance to work with Sean for several years. And I have always been very impressed by his great work ethics, dedication, and broad knowledge. And he is one of the first person I thought of when preparing this podcast!
Sean was not destined to be in computer science at first. He originally wanted to pursue a career in physics, and willing to be a funny physics high-school teacher. But in our discussion, he explained what made him change his mind. Spoiler: it includes video gamesπ.
We also go through his role and responsibilities at Super Evil Megacorp. "Being the VP of Engineering is about creating the best home for engineering talent," explained Sean. A role that is not tech-oriented, but people-oriented.
The E.V.I.L. Engine
Super Evil Megacorp is using a custom game engine named E.V.I.L. engine. I was also curious to ask him questions about the origin and reasons for such a choice.
Sean emphasized by controlling the entire codebase, they can create a very tailored experience for their games. It is not possible with commercial engines which are often proprietary and generic to fit the most use cases possible.
In short, we also talked about several others subjects like transition through COVID-19, managing remote teams, parenting and video games, etc.
But enough, time to listen nowπ§
π If you liked the episode and are interested to work at Super Evil Megacorp with Sean! Check out their career page: superevilmegacorp.com/careers. And if you want more info or play Catalyst Black, click here: catalystblack.com.