Marco Colombo CRe-AM Interview

Name : Marco Colombo

Job Title : Software Engineer

Organisation : Self Employed

Sector : Video Games / VR

Web Link : www.mrcojo.com

Interview Date : 26/11/2015

Location : London Unity User Group Meeting

Short Biography

My name is Marco Colombo.

I was born in 1985, in a small town in the north of Italy...That same year, Super Mario Bros. was released for NES. Do you think it was coincidence? I like to think not...

 

I always had a strong passion for videogames and computer in general since I was 4, when my parents put an AMIGA600 in my room. It was love at first sight.

Straight after my experience with keyboard and CRT my attention moved to that small grey box, with a controller attached on it...it was called NES.

Even if I didn't realize it yet, my path was clear: I was supposed to make videogames.

 

I grew up with an exponential passion for games and I improved radically my videogames culture, day by day.

I studied Computer Science and Engineering, until after a couple of years as a programmer in a big consultancy company, I decided that I couldn't keep my dreams anymore, so I left Italy in search for a way in the videogame industry.

 

Now I am constantly looking for challenges and experiences that can improve me and my skills...

CURRENT INTERESTS:

• What current technologies and tools fulfill your needs in your practice?

I develop games and prototypes using Unity as a game engine. To keep my tasks tracked I use the Scrum Agile Development Framework's concepts and online tools (liek Trello). To keep my code up to date and tracked, I use Git and software tools to handle my repositories (like SourceTree).

• What technologies do you see emerging in the next 5-10 years?

Definiyely Augmented Reality. It has a massive potential. Virtual Reality as well, but probably it's gonna take some more time, and there is a chance that AR will somehow "replace" VR in the future, in my opinion.

• Could you identify any strengths and weaknesses with these technologies?

VR tends to isolate completely the user from the reality he/she is living in. I think technology doesn't have disadvantages or flaws. It is progress. A bad, obsessive, and destructive use of it though, could be harmful, yes.

FUTURE INTERESTS:

• Do you think there are additional technologies or tools needed, or that you would wish for?

I am dreaming of a future where alternative and enhanced interactions and algortihms are interconnected easily and in a smart way, in our everyday life. Haptic feedback, positional tracking, eye tracking, neural interfaces, and image recognition algorithms are just a short list of examples.

 

• If these were available what would you be creating?

The limit is our imagination but I would probably create a fun video game, cause this kind of entertainment, is my strongest passion. Maybe an educational one, to train teams to work together in an efficient and satisfying way.

• Can you see any strengths and weakness involved?

Strengths? Many. Like improving our everyday life with powerful tool that allow us to be more efficent and less stressed.
Weaknesses? Not really. As I said, weaknesses come from a bad and not constructive use of technology.

7. What do you recommend to fill the gap between creators and technology providers?

I recommend using Agile Frameworks to bridge creative people, technicians and managers. Scrum, for example, is designed (and based on maths, so, no magic involved) to satisfy the need of the individual, but always considering the team as a whole, and its goal, as the highest priority.