He originally joined Gameloft Cluj in 2015 when he was still completing his studies in computer science at university. At the time, he was doing an internship for a company that worked in in the same building as us, and he noticed a bunch of people wearing Gameloft hoodies. When he realized they weren’t fans but employees, he went home and immediately sent us his CV!
Learn more about Laszlo, his career, and the amazing advice he has for all kinds of developers below!
Hi, Laszlo! Tell us about yourself.
I am a senior game developer at Gameloft Cluj currently working on the Auto Defense project.
I have been passionate about video games from a young age. I always wanted to take them apart and see what made them tick. I was also always more captivated by the tech behind games and how I could poke holes in my favorite games (modding and hacking come to mind here).
When I was younger, I was honestly not interested in programming that much. I saw it as a necessary evil to learn to help me make games in the future, but the more I got into it, the more I fell in love with how games work from a technical POV and got very interested in engines. Due to this, I have almost exclusively worked on games and rendering engines for other industries, while still playing the games I like of course (but admittedly less than I did before).
Somehow most of my hobbies are related to games in one way or another. For example, I started playing the guitar because I just loved the Diablo Tristram theme (which reminds me to start learning it!) and fiddling around with electronic music to generate soundtracks for my really bad top-down, 2D shooter.
What is your role, and what do you enjoy most about your job?
I got into mobile gaming during my high school years. At the time, Gameloft was the only publisher that regularly released titles that were similar to the core games I played on PC and console, so naturally I became a fan, especially of the early Modern Combat games.
I have worked with Gameloft in the past, filling multiple roles over the years from gameplay programming to online development, but currently I am a generalist, and I work on a bit of everything on Auto Defense, such as graphics, optimizations, and gameplay. I also work on full stack, from low-level stuff to SDKs and online functionality.
What I enjoy the most is that I get to learn new things repeatedly while working with great people, and due to the nature of the project, it's always something different, which keeps me on my toes.
What are some of your most memorable moments at Gameloft?
There have been many memorable moments and it's extremely hard to choose specific ones, but if I had to, I would choose the launch of Iron Blade, which was made in Cluj.
We all worked extremely hard on that title and were happy to finally get it out of the studio into the hands of real players.
What advice do you have for people who want to work in gaming in a similar role?
The thing that helped the most is seeing something cool in a game or an engine and trying to replicate it. Homemade demos and experience go a longer way then you would expect, and the most important trait of a good developer (at least in my opinion) is the thirst for knowledge and willingness to quench that thirst.
If you want to get a game programming gig, make some games. If you are more into graphics, implement some techniques from a SIGGRAPH paper and create an engine.
If you want to get into multiplayer programming, create a little multiplayer game, server, REST API related to games, or anything else useful or cool that you can think of. Just build it, and keep having fun doing it.
Also try to learn something new every day, and try to teach your peers something new every time you have the opportunity to do so.
Do not be afraid to ask for help and admit that you do not understand some things—the topics we deal with are vast and often complicated. Nobody is expected to know everything, but you are expected to do your research to try and find a solution and to reach out for help.
If you’re as passionate about gaming as Laszlo is, we want to hear from you! Apply to our job opportunities in our studios around the world here, and stay tuned for another edition of Humans Behind the Game!
