Bug Abuse Lead Curator
Jagex Software

David C – Jagex

00:00:03 Hello, my name’s David C, I’m the Bug Abuse Lead Curator. The job generally entails looking at any breaks in the software that the players have managed to exploit. So this can be anything from a swimming glitch, where they’ve managed to swim through the air, to where they’ve managed to get out familiars which is a … and they have multiple familiars giving them a huge advantage over other players. So we look at the accounts, see if, you know, they’ve done it deliberately, is it an accident, just see the impact that it’s had on the community as a whole.

00:00:34 Working in a specialist team means that we see a lot of the negative aspects of on-line gaming. Whether, you know, whether this is protecting our players from on-line predators, whether this is gold farmers, which are – which are players who are dedicated to making money in-game, and selling it for real money. And these are often … criminal activities. So that – that’s quite difficult, because you don’t see all the players being happy, saying thank you, you just see the negative side. And so you’ve got to keep reminding yourself, we’re helping these people, you know, we’re doing what we can to look after them.

00:01:09 At University I studied Business – just a straight Business degree. In terms of giving a grounding as to how business works, it was excellent. How it translates into working in the gaming industry, is a different matter. It – there’s very little translation over. However you – we are finding that more gaming companies are moving towards having specific business functions where business graduates can – can go to apply and work in the industry they want to work in, without trying to gain technical skills such as programming or Art.

00:01:47 I got the job after six months of unemployment, whilst I was trying to get into the gaming industry. It is extremely difficult, unless you have a technical background, to get in. Ultimately it’s persistence, and the desire to do it. The six months that I was unemployed was terrible, my girlfriend supported me, which was quite embarrassing, but she did it because she knew that’s what I wanted to do. And my – my persistence finally got me the job here at Jagex. And that was definitely the turning point. Once I’ve got to that – once I got through that six month block and I had got interviews, and I’d got the job, I was ecstatic, to say the least.

00:02:28 What really inspired me to deal with that break, and get the job in the games industry, was my brother. He – he taught himself Kung Fu, and is now at the point where he’s the European Open Kung Fu Champion. And he done that by reading a book in a garage, that’s how he started. That – that dedication and determination inspired me. I was like – I want to work in the games industry. I’ve got a degree in Business, I don’t care, I want to work in the games industry. This is what I’m going to do.

00:02:56 At the moment my career is – I’m trying to move my career towards more of a business-related function, within the gaming industry. To put my skills to use, effectively I feel that that would be the best – best route for me. Mildly ambitious, it may be, but yes, I do have a dream. I suppose that ultimately, as with many gamers, they would like to start their own company. I think that I’d need to look at it from a business perspective, so, do I have the skills that I need to – to you know produce the product? And do I have the financial means to produce the product? So yes I do, but I’m trying to temper it with realism, which is often difficult.

00:03:40 I’m proud of the fact that, as someone with no previous gaming experience, I’m now in a specialist team in a gaming company. And yes, I feel that I’m doing quite well.

00:03:51 ENDS