Developer Spotlight: Woot3

Welcome to our latest Developer Spotlight publication! Today, we’ll be looking into Woot3, who has created various plugins on the Roblox platform, as well as helped to create Egg Hunt 2018, The Great Yolktales. There’s a good chance you’ve seen his work somewhere on Roblox, and now you can learn about how he found Roblox and got to where he is today!

How long have you been a part of Roblox?

I joined Roblox in 2008, so a little over 10 years ago.

What inspired you to begin developing on the platform?

Having developed games using Flash, I was not entirely new to programming or game design when I started developing on Roblox. So many developers were already pushing the boundaries of the platform and I could see a lot of potential going forward into the future. Really it was the opportunity to grow and learn with the platform that’s kept me here for so many years and I’ve loved every single moment of it.

What challenges do you face as a developer?

Motivation. Motivation for sure. While developing is super-fun, it requires a lot of self-discipline and hard work. Sometimes it’s very easy to get tunnel vision and focus too much on the details which makes it difficult to see the big picture and remember why you’re investing so much time and energy into a project. I often find that taking a step back, working on something else for a bit, and returning later can be useful for overcoming this.

You’ve worked with teams before on games such as the 2018 Egg Hunt. How was that experience?

Fifteam was the first large scale team that I worked with, up until then I had predominantly worked by myself or with a couple of other developers. It was awesome being able to collaborate with so many other talented developers to bring the 2018 Egg Hunt to life! Most of the work that I did involved implementing the backend systems. Though, this didn’t require a lot of communication with other members of the team, aside from describing how these systems worked if they needed to use them. That said, I am very thankful to all the team, specifically Beeism and buildthomas, for keeping me sane, and helping me test everything!

You’ve made a lot of plugins. How many have you made, what’s your most popular one and how do you decide what to create?

To date, I’ve published 12 plugins which each serve a different purpose. My most popular of which is the waterfall generator. When it comes to deciding what sort of plugin to create it’s generally a question of how much free time I have and the value the plugin would offer to developers. I currently have a list of 13 different ideas which range from visual coding tools to custom UI editors.

Any current projects of yours relating to Roblox that you would like to talk about?

There’s a few I’ve got on the back burner at the moment, but none I’m ready to talk about. I’ll actually be joining Roblox as a full-time employee later this month, so my focus will be on that.

You’ve won a Bloxy award. How was that experience?
Honestly, when I found out, I was ecstatic because I saw just how much hard work went into the egg hunt 2018. It was incredible to see my friends recognized for the hours that they had put in to create something beautiful. I, myself, was especially happy to receive this award above all others though as I created the cutscenes for the game. A surprising amount of time was spent timing cuts alongside music, trialing all sorts of crazy camera angles, and writing dialog; receiving recognition for this truly made it worthwhile.

How was your experience with Roblox’s engineering internship program?

When I tell most people about the internship I’ve had with Roblox, they tell me it sounds like I was on holiday for 3 months each summer. I got to live with some truly inspiring developers, go rock climbing or swimming every day, and enjoy the California sun. But it was a lot of hard work too! I spent most of my time programming, meeting with other members of staff, or demoing different projects I’d be working on. I learned a lot from them actually, and I’m really thankful to my manager, Magnus, for all his support and guidance.

How has your experience been with RDC?

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the first RDC back in 2015, and have attended every one since with the exception of 2016. Each has been a unique experience for me:

• 2015 was the first major Roblox event that I attended. I was able to meet many developers that I was familiar with for the first time and learn a little more about Roblox and what the future holds.

• 2017 occurred during my first internship. It was amazing to see so many new developers at the conference in comparison to 2015. I got to learn all about how they got started with Roblox and see some of the awesome work they had done!

• 2018 occurred during my second internship and I was invited to speak about Roblox Studio in one of the breakout sessions. This was an amazing opportunity for me as I got to discuss much of what I had learned and share some of my own experiences with Roblox. They even let me announce a new feature which I never would have expected 3 years prior.

How was competing in the Game Jam?

So, I’ve competed in 3 game jams now: EU 2015, US 2017, and US 2018. Game jams are one of my favorite things, I love seeing what people can put together given the short amount of time that they have. It’s also a great opportunity to work with people you’ve never met before. In 2015, Yourius, Ravenshield, Arch_Mage, and I created this little top-down shooter where you had to capture planets in space.

Do you have any advice for other developers?

I suppose this is more general advice, but if something interests you then chase after it. I think this is one thing that I’ve allowed to guide me and hasn’t steered me wrong so far!

Thanks to Woot3 for taking to time to answer our questions. His work on Roblox has been both exceptional and inspiring, while also helping tons of fellow developers! You can follow Woot3 on Twitter and on Roblox should you like to know more about him and keep up with his work!