Katharine L Cardona (Anderson)

katharinelilly@gmail.com

I’m a coder, straight and simple. Give me a problem and I’ll find a solution.

As long as there’s a puzzle to solve, system to implement, or process to streamline I’ll be the happiest little programmer in the world.

While my career has been in video game programming (and at the same company for over 17 years), I am open to other possibilities. I may not have fancy certifications or experience in more generic systems, but I’ve spent almost 10 years working with a game whose codebase spans almost 30 years. Getting legacy code (good and bad) to work with both new and old systems flawlessly has been my personal focus.

Education

Coleman University

  • Associate of Science degree in Game Programming, Development, and Design
    • Graduated 05/22/2014
    • 3.97 GPA
    • Honors
      • President’s List (3.8+ GPA): May 2013 – June 2014
      • National Technical Honor Society as of June 2013
      • Magna Cum Laude & graduated top of class

Skills

  • Unafraid to take something apart to learn how it works, put it back together, and make sure it functions properly
  • Happiest when there’s a puzzle to solve, problem to investigate, system to implement, or process to streamline
  • Firm believer that learning a new programming language is just becoming familiar with the syntax and understanding the unique nuances and quirks, logic is logic and translates to each language
  • Multiple years of experience as a Release Engineer with a sub-specialization in tools, but have experience in many different areas (systems, networking, data, documentation, etc.)
  • Extremely comfortable in C++ and C#
  • Competent with JavaScript, Typescript, HTML, CSS, SQL, and Perl

Game Titles

  • EverQuest (13 months support, 9+ years development)
  • H1Z1 [King of the Kill & Just Survive] (18 months support, 3 months development)
  • PlanetSide 2 (2.5 years support, 9 months development)

Relevant Experience

Darkpaw Games / Daybreak Game Company

Associate Programmer -> Senior Software Engineer I on EverQuest [February 2017 – present]
  • Coded for end-to-end systems including client and server development
  • Work collaboratively with engineers, designers, and artist teams to ensure systems meet all requirements
  • Coordinate with Game Tech team to ensure smooth integration of related systems
  • Anticipate and resolve development roadblocks in new product development while continuing to support older systems
  • Major game system changes
    • Gameface
      • Learned the needed skills to assist with transitioning to (web-based) GameFace for the in-game UI
      • Implemented code standards for programming languages new to the team
    • Jenkins
      • Converted our existing build system (ANT-based) to use Jenkins
      • Provided generic “template” for other game teams to use when doing their own conversion
      • Gradually improved upon existing scripts/processes to use Perl, cutting ~1 hour from all builds
      • Maintained the new build system and remained the unofficial point of contact for any emergent issues
    • CS Tools
      • Created new tools from scratch for Customer Service
      • Implemented new functionality as various new systems were added to the game
    • Alternate Personas
      • Leveraged an existing system (“spirit shrouds”) from the early 2000s to allow characters to have more than one main class
    • Collection Depot / Tradeskill Depot / Dragon’s Hoard
      • Implemented a generic system to store large amounts of items (each item can consist of 35 – 100 columns with dynamic data in a database) in a simplified manner to allow for easing the overall database load
      • Designed this system to load data only when necessary, a major difference from other systems (real estate, general inventory, etc.) which load data immediately and store it indefinitely
    • Implemented the luck stat
    • Merchant window revamp
    • Attached reward sets to items
  • Server related accomplishments
    • Wrote, tested, and refined SQL needed for performing server merges
    • Put in hardware requests, set up necessary configurations, and was on-site for launching new servers
  • Large build/team tasks
    • Handled the actual launch (ran builds, verified those builds, and was on-call to troubleshoot any issues) of all expansions and other major events
Associate Programmer / Release Engineer (“Build Master”) on H1Z1 (Just Survive & King of the Kill) [November 2016 – February 2017]
  • Schedule all internal and public builds to ensure complete and successful regular updates
  • Gauge build viability as quickly and correctly as possible
  • Focus on Just Survive as primary Build Master
    • Main goal is to keep any new updates as bug free as possible to return the game back to a stable state
    • Control public facing data and assets to ensure clean builds with no spillover
    • Coordinate with the Operations, Community, Quality Assurance, and Development teams to maintain a clear channel of communication
    • Produce regular Live builds
      • Track specific changes through the entire build process
      • Pinpoint areas that may need further attention
      • Communicate with players through social media for not only tracking bugs, but also for gauging general sentiment regarding large updates
      • Extended availability during crunch time both before and after deployment to Live servers
      • Maintain and troubleshoot internal builds, while preparing for Test and Live builds
  • Assist King of the Kill as Tournament Judge and secondary Build Master
    • Maintain and monitor all internal builds
    • Determine bug and feature statuses both before and after builds
    • Track high profile issues from initial submission through each environment to ensure complete fixes
Customer Service Rep. (“Game Master”) on multiple games (EverQuest, King of the Kill, & Just Survive) [July 2015 – November 2016]
  • Locate, observe, and terminate cheaters
  • Test and escalate possible bugs to the appropriate teams
  • Develop new and innovative ways to detect cheaters, both in and out of game
  • Focus on King of the Kill
    • Live events, both onsite and off (TwitchCon 2015 H1Z1 Invitational, H1Z1 Showdown 2015, TwitchCon 2016 H1Z1 Invitational)
      • Create integral documentation, procedures, and processes
      • Coordinate with Development and Quality Assurance teams to maximize testing in a limited amount of time
      • Schedule and coordinate daily internal play tests with multiple employees (50+) from every team
      • Prepare for specific test cases that emulate potential worst-case scenarios at the event
    • Assist Quality Assurance in preparation for major updates
      • Test new features in unique ways
      • Thoroughly document new potential issues
      • Document new systems, both for the end user and other customer service personnel
      • Alert producers/managers/leads at discovery of possible game breaking bugs

Sony Online Entertainment

Associate Programmer / Release Engineer (“Build Master”) on PlanetSide 2 [June 2014 – February 2015]
  • Main focus on integrating builds between different environments
    • Ensure error free builds that incorporate all code, art, design, sound, and partner changes
    • Coordinate various tasks with multiple teams to produce a polished product
    • Diagnose any issues with a build as quickly and correctly as possible
  • Redesign and refine existing build system (proprietary process based on ANT)
    • Expedite builds on different platforms, with special attention to parallelizing tasks as a priority
    • Remove extraneous build code while implementing new and streamlined functionality
  • Prepare for additional platform launches
    • Create new branches in both Perforce and the build system for internal and external environments, complete with additional workspaces, branches, and databases
    • Implement multiple new types of builds (PS4 packages & PS4 patch packages) while simultaneously upgrading existing system
    • Provide multiple builds (both internal and external) per platform on a daily basis
  • Assist with game code tasks
    • Various C++ changes (gameplay updates and creation of additional functionalities as needed)
Senior Customer Service Rep. (“Senior Game Master”) on multiple games (Free Realms, Clone Wars Adventures, EverQuest, EverQuest 2, PlanetSide 2, Landmark) [May 2009 – May 2014]
  • Work extensively with development to design various logs, tools, and commands needed for upcoming launches
  • Create internal reference documentation for existing titles and upcoming releases, intended for new and existing agents
  • Test and escalate possible bugs to the appropriate teams
  • Assist Director of CS with both routine and spontaneous tasks
    • Create and maintain team schedules and track PTO requests
    • Prepare multiple reports for all supported games on a regular basis
    • Promote a continuous positive team atmosphere and train new agents