In Jam City’s Employee Spotlight series, we are highlighting the diverse and exceptional talent here at Jam City.
Meet Max Litvinov, the Associate Software Engineer for Jam City’s hit mobile game, Cookie Jam Blast. Max is passionate about the science behind engineering video games and offers guidance for young engineers looking to break ground in the games industry.
What drew you to Jam City?
I played Panda Pop, Cookie Jam Blast and Marvel Avengers Academy before joining Jam City so I was familiar with their large and successful game portfolio as well as the impressive profiles of their executives. I had also heard great things about the company’s culture.
Describe your role on the team.
I’m an Associate Software Engineer for the mobile game, Cookie Jam Blast. I work primarily on gameplay elements which include characters, game modes, game buffs and player rewards. Gameplay elements could include logic, physics, animation and interactivity with character’s in the game. I also assist in live operations.
What makes Jam City stand out among other mobile games companies?
At Jam City, we are guided by data and driven by fun. There’s a lot of emphasis put on game analytics for everything we do. Additionally, decisions here are made by groups of people — and not just one single executive — so we have multiple minds working towards a common goal. When features come out, everyone provides input during the entire development process.
Have you always wanted to build a career in gaming?
Yes. Gaming appealed to me at an early age since I started playing games like Halo and Plants vs. Zombies. The more I played games, the more I wanted to learn about the science behind engineering video games.
What advice would you give employees about how to succeed in their role?
Ask questions and don’t be afraid to do so. Experienced people know how to get things done so when you’re stuck, it’s better to ask how to accomplish something properly in order to move on to the next step. As a result, you become a better all around employee because your learning curve increases exponentially.
What guidance can you give young engineers about breaking into the games industry?
It’s all about persistence. You learn more the harder you work towards something and that will ultimately lead to more opportunities. In April, I spoke at the East Coast Games Conference about taking a modern day approach to breaking into the games industry. My main point of discussion was to work on your own video game projects to figure out if you actually enjoy the work. Making your own video games allow you to take something fun — and learn from it — while building your own portfolio. This talk will release on ECGC’s Youtube channel shortly and is provided with many specific resources and as well as real-world examples.