Computer Science and programming tutor (GCSE, A-level, degree) - 10 years tutoring experience, videogame industry veteran

Learn more about Andrew

• Can you tell us about your first experience using a computer?

  My earliest memory of using a computer is typing in the name of a friend into my Sinclair ZX Spectrum, aged about four or five. There was a special trick to this, as the first key typed would actually enter a command keyword, so you had to do that, type the name and then delete the command, which was not as straightforward as it would be today as that computer did not have dedicated cursor or delete keys. However, I did have to ask my mum how to spell 'Adam'.

• What is the technological evolution that has marked you most and what will be, in your eyes, a turning point in this field?

  The invention of the microprocessor enabled the creation of what used to be known as microcomputers. Today we just call them computers - 'micro' distinguishes them from the old minicomputers, which were 'merely' the size of a filing cabinet. They in turn were small compared to mainframe computers, which would take up an entire room. Similarly, the development of the microcomputer led to the concept of the personal computer (PC), another term we barely think about today, which contrasts with old mainframes which were often operated by a whole team of people.

• Explain your expertise, your interest in it and, more broadly, its importance in the computer world.

  When I got my first home computer aged four, I was amazed that you could use it to control what happened on the TV. I started experimenting with writing simple programs on it - initially ones which made farting noises, and then very simple games. I went on to have a career in the videogame industry, and still make my own games when I'm not tutoring. Games are responsible for getting a lot of people into computer science and programming, and we might not have the current breadth of apps and online services if games had not inspired people to get into the subject.

• Do so-called 'visionaries', such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg inspire you or do you have other role models?

  My role model is a game developer called Jeff Minter. He's been making games since the early 1980s, and he's always been focused on his own very specific creative vision, rather than being driven by what's conventional or commercially sensible. His games have names like Llamatron and Revenge of the Mutant Camels, they are full of baaing sheep noises and little jokes, such as the difficulty levels in one game being named after different types of curry.

• Provide a valuable anecdote related to your subject or your days at school.

  I worked on a game called Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Wild, where the player could build a zoo. I had to come up with a system for naming the animals. We already had a set of names for the humans who visited your theme park, so I decided on a system where the game would choose a random name for an animal where the first letter of the name would match the kind of animal - e.g. "Larry the Lion". The next problem was in how to choose the name. If the player creates multiple lions, they should all have different names, but randomly choosing from names starting with L risks choosing a name which has already been assigned to another lion. The game could check against all lions to see if any of them already have the same name, but if there was a match, it would then have to choose another random name, and check for that. It might even randomly choose the same name that it just tried! This could end up being very slow, and would get stuck in an infinite loop if all 'L' names had been used up. What I needed was a way of stepping through all 'L' names in an order that seemed random but only looked at each name once. A Google search came up with something called Mersenne primes, a type of prime number. It turned out they could be used to achieve the goal. I didn't need to be an expert in maths or have a complete understanding of why these worked - it just mattered that I was able to find out about a tool I could use and make use of it. Similarly, game developers often use a mathematical construct known as quaternions. Very few people actually understand the maths behind them, but they don't need to - they can just use them as a tool and move on with their lives.

• What would you say to an uncomfortable person in front of a screen who says that "IT is too complicated"?

  I learned to use computers by experimenting and reading what's on the screen. In general, you won't destroy the computer by trying different things. What is important is to actually read what's on the screen and think about what it means. A lot of people just skip dialog boxes without reading them, because our brains sometimes have a tendency to want to avoid thinking too hard. I do this myself sometimes!

• What are your other passions, related or non-related to computers?

  It's important to stay fit and healthy. My career in the videogame industry was cut short because I worked very long hours, sometimes without a day off for months at a time (including working weekends), and my health suffered greatly. These days to keep fit I do an activity called Rabble, which is like playground games for adults, or sport for people who don't like sport. It's a good way of meeting people, as well as staying fit.

• What makes you a Superprof in IT?

  I've been tutoring since 2015. When I started, I wasn't sure if I would be any good at it - but I've now had over 200 students and their parents often tell me that their child has been enjoying and benefiting from the lessons. I think my perspective as a videogame industry veteran is also helpful, as I can explain certain topics by referring to games with which the student may be familiar, and provide programming examples from the code of my own games.