Jim Napier - Senior Game Developer

Originally posted on the official Gabriel Knight website.

I've been with Sierra for 8 months now. I have a wonderful wife, Marcia, and three really cool kids, Justin, Amanda, and Jessica. My son is an avid game player, just like me (at least I taught him something!) My daughters would rather play Barbies (oh well, you can't have everything).

I have been developing software for about 15 years. I've worked on all kinds of stuff, including games, electronic payment systems, operating systems, compilers, device drivers, communications protocols, and CAD programs. I'm especially interested in real-time 3D software. When I bought Bruce Artwick's book "Microcomputer Displays, Graphics, and Animation," I stayed up all night reading it. I'm like that developing software -- when I really get into a project I'll often spend every waking moment working on it. My wife and kids understand... really!

I'm currently developing the 3D engine for GK3. This is especially challenging because we're pushing the technology to its limit. This sometimes causes conflicts. The artists often gang up and threaten me with my life if I don't "give them more polygons." I respond by saying something like, "you need another axis here, and perhaps a control point there," at which point their eyes glaze over and they leave looking for aspirin. I added support for LOD (level of detail) recently, so maybe that'll hold them for awhile.

Actually, making things easier for the art and sound departments has been an important part of my job. I've been spending a lot of time building tools that let them test their work without programmer assistance. With a project as complex as this one, streamlining the production path is extremely important.

The GK3 team is a pleasure to work with -- I enjoy working with such talented and creative people. GK3 is going to be really cool!

Gabriel Knight Pages

Jim Napier - Senior Game Developer

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