“每一款游戏都非常不同, 但其核心是, I've found that software is software no matter how you look at it,游戏设计说道 & 开发专业毕业生Rich Skorski说.

作为一名高级软件开发人员 万智牌竞技场 (Wizards of the Coast's latest digital iteration of their popular 万智牌 card game) his job is to, as he describes it, "make sure that the game is running and fun."

"As a team, we decide these are the things we want. These are the features we're adding to our game,他说. “这是球员们所要求的. Then my next job is to go ahead, do it, and make sure that it gets done."

His position has him primarily working on server backend. This means that part of Rich's job is to work with several other teams to maintain the game's card database, 追踪玩家数据(包括胜利), 损失, 卡拥有, 等.), and make that data readily available for players to access to enjoy the game. 目前有2000多张卡 万智牌竞技场 and a player population of well over 100,000, there’s a lot of data to manage.

Rich’s job is fundamental to the stability of the game. 为了让游戏高效运行, he has to design code that is not only functional, 但适应性强. What might look like gibberish to an outsider is actually a complex system of statements (actions performed in a program) that all need to work in harmony. This includes everything from the player data that Rich manages to gameplay animations to syncing thousands of players to each other at any given time.

在他之前参与的项目中，比如 无限的危机 or 指环王在线, Rich might write code that serves a single function – a “get it done” line of code. 与 万智牌竞技场 he found that he had to design code that was not only organized but able to be modified without harming the game.

你可以说, ‘嘿, 让我碰碰运气，重新组织一下这段代码, so that way the pieces that I'm changing are a lot closer together,’”他说. 这听起来很傻, but If you're looking at a piece of code and figuring out how it works, it's a lot easier to do that if it's all right in front of you.”

For Rich and his team having accessible data is crucial for implementing updates or tracking changes being made by its high player population. 在纸上, it would seem easy to just reorganize different lines of code so they were neater and more organized, but a single line of misplaced code could result in game crashes or players losing their collections.

"You're going to be moving a lot of different pieces [of code] that probably aren't even directly related to the feature or task that you're working on,他说. "So, the amount of change you're adding to the system is a lot greater, 这就带来了更多的风险."

When faced with trying to implement high-risk changes, Rich has found that he often gets stuck in his own head. "I feel like this is going to be the right way to do it, 我就会陷入优柔寡断的境地,他说. “我喜欢列举可能的解决方案."

One of the biggest lessons Rich learned was in the value of teamwork and being able to rely upon others. "The important thing to learn is that there's people alongside you that are going to help you,他说. "If I'm making a decision and I start working on it, 我应该走出去问别人“嘿, 你觉得我的进步怎么样? 进展如何?'"

当被问及他从哪里得到这种见解时, Rich cited 满帆 and his experiences working in an environment where going alone meant failure. These lessons have persisted throughout his career and have informed the way that he works today.

"Once you can work with everybody together, that's when you excel,他说. “这才是你真正成功的地方, 满帆航行, 我认为, did a really great job of giving me the foundational pieces to get there."