Matthew Ruane
QA Technician
Matt. Matthew. Matty-boy…? What is there not to say about Matt, the infamous office fiend who makes a thousand puns a day and plagues our Slack with ones made specifically to sound like Glowmade? Lord, I don’t even know, but what an actually fabulous man is Matt Ruane!
Part of our QA team, he’s a profeshnul vidya game testa! His words, not ours. He’s also an absolute joy who brings so much life to the development process, which you will absolutely understand as you read on. So, shall we?
Ah, Matthew, we’ve been expecting you… So, what is it you do at Glowmade?
I’m in QA – you build it, I break it! I spend my day testing new code, and reporting new issues so they can be fixed. Means I get to play a lot of the game, which in theory means I should be quite good at it… in theory.
Now how would your parents describe your job?
My mum still thinks everything game related is a “Playstation,” and my Dad hasn’t played a video game since Doom was released, so their description wouldn’t be too accurate. My mum did once proudly tell her friend I worked with “fixing game people.”
How did you get to this point in your career?
Honestly? I sort of stumbled into it. I used to work in game retail, and didn’t like customers. So got a job in a testing company through a friend, of a friend, of a manager. Hopped about a number of companies since then – tumbled into AI engineering briefly, was an E-sports commentator for a little bit, before finally settling happily at Glowmade.
What’s your origin story? What made you want to pursue games?
I wish my “moment” could be as inspiring as some of the other stories I’ve heard at Glowmade. But honestly, the main reason I started looking for a career in video games was after watching the closing credits for Borderlands 2 and thinking “Huh would be cool to have your name in the credits of a game… I could probably do that.”
Share something you love doing outside of everything video games.
I’m a huge fan of Dungeons, and Dragons. Could easily spend hours, and hours playing that with my friends, living the life of someone a lot more athletic than I.
Other than that when I’m not procrastinating about it heavily, I build, paint, and play Warhammer 40K. as for how many mini’s I have in my painting pile… it’s more than thirty… whoops?
Who or what inspires you?
Corny answer I know, but my friends super inspire me. They’re all wonderfully supportive of me, and do a lot to make me want to better myself… the dorks 🙂
Share something you appreciate about yourself. Give yaself a pat on the back, why don’t ya?
Oh jeez. Um… I’m pretty good at making poached eggs? I managed to get my housemates cat comfortable with being picked up? Um… I’ve only totalled two cars in my life!
I like to think I’m a pretty positive person. I like making people laugh. Also not to brag but I’m really good at swinging random objects around like a sword.
What’s the best thing about working at Glowmade?
The team at Glowmade are far and away the best part of working here. Everyone gets on really well, and it makes working here a bit of a breeze. We’ve got a great mix of different interests here, whether you want to play some games, chat about movies, or play some cards, you’re bound to find a group.
Hey kids, top tip! Find yourself a workspace with as many talented bakers as Glowmade. There’s never a shortage of “Oh I brought in some brownies/cookies/biscuits/cake that I made.”
(This is so true, shout-out to Kelly’s INCREDIBLE strawberry roll cake and to Scotty’s lotus biscoff!!)
Anyone on the team who stands out as a role model, or source of inspiration, perhaps?
Oh, lord, that’s a tough question. The QA team is full of some really inspiring people. I’m going to sayyyyyyy… Alex Gibson. He’s super knowledgeable about the job, and always on hand to help people that need it. Also he let’s me call him lots of stupid nicknames which is a plus in my book (Luv ya Giblet!)
What do you want from your career? Any goals you’re looking forward to surpassing?
I have a bit of a “Jesus take the wheel!” approach when it comes to my career. Honestly, I mostly just like picking, and tackling goals as they come up. With how fast the industry moves, I love learning new skills, and proficiencies with the technology we use. My current goal is moving into some more audio work, making sound effects, and yelling into a microphone.
(Never seen a more relatable answer, you just get me!)
What are your top tips for someone looking to get into games?
Gaming has never been more accessible. Between remote working, YouTube tutorials, Indie development, and publishing, there are just SO many opportunities to get involved.
The best advice I could give is to simply throw yourself in. Apply for work at your favourite studio, learn Unity from forum posts, or put that game you’ve been working on out on the internet! You’d be surprised how far you get by just taking that first big step!
In your opinion, who is the cutest Glowmade pet?
Cookie. Easy answer. She’s my housemates cat buuuut I like to pretend she’s mine. She sleeps on my bed, and wakes me up every morning for food. If you say “Dreamies!” in a high pitched voice she starts yelling, and runs into the kitchen for treats.
(Boooooooooooooooooo biased!!!!)
What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
I used to do Dog Obedience shows…as a handler, not the dog. I have a couple of rosettes in the loft at my parents place.
What game do you wish you could’ve been part of developing?
Deus Ex: Human Revolution, for sure. Aside from that game being fantastic, some of the QA stories to come out of Edios-Montreal sound hilarious. Would have been a real funny story to have been on the QA team during that games localisation passes.
