GameFace: Ben Sweeney
Unreal Engineer
Speech Graphics comprises over 50 talented individuals who each drive our company forward through their technological, linguistic, operational, and creative experience.
We want to give a face to the many names who strive to deliver our industry-defining facial animation software.
Ben Sweeney one of our Unreal Engineers, is the next Speech Graphics player showing their GameFace. His role reloves around ensuring our software works within Unreal Engine as intended.
Ben Sweeney, Unreal Engineer
What does a typical working day look like for you?
As an Unreal Engineer most of my time tends to be spent developing our SGX Unreal Engine plugins. This includes our Producer plugin and our currently in development Studio plugin which was demoed at GDC. A big part of what I do is porting/recreating our existing tech in an Unreal environment as well as simultaneously adding specific features and making alterations that are more suited to the context of a game engine.
As a natural requirement of this role I also have to be familiar with the SGX tech outside of Unreal too, which means I’m not entirely restricted to working inside Epic’s engine and this leads to some nice variety in my work. Of course, on top of this I also attend standup and design meetings, in which we discuss any problems that may arise in addition to the direction of and vision for our products.
What has been the proudest moment of your career so far?
I would have to say ‘finishing’ (software is never truly finished) my first professional project which was the SGX Producer Unreal plugin, that is definitely up there. Mostly due to it being a significant milestone for me. Having said that, the Studio Unreal plugin has proven to be significantly more complex to develop and has so far provided many challenges. So maybe when the time comes to release it, that will take the crown.
What’s the first video game you remember playing? What’s your all-time favourite video game?
The earliest game I recall playing is Pokemon Yellow on Game Boy. I was very young at the time and had absolutely no grasp on the mechanics whatsoever, but I do remember having great fun nonetheless, even if it did involve losing repeatedly. Progression is overrated anyway…
There are a fair few contenders for all-time favourite video games, but I will have to go with Dishonored. Everything about this game just seems to gel with me whether it be the steampunk-style world, the creative combat or just the freedom of choice given to the player. Of course, the sequel and spin-off are fantastic as well but as the game that provided my first experience of the series, the original has to be at the top for me.
What are you currently playing?
I am at the moment in the midst of a harsh learning curve playing Sifu. I’m loving it so far but I am still waiting for that eventual ‘click’ that happens with this kind of initially punishing game (looking at you FromSoftware). Aside from the fact that it might as well be actually me trying to fight at the moment and not a martial arts expert, the combat is very fluid and satisfying. Not to mention the really unique mechanic where you age years each time you have to resurrect, both in the game and in real life.
Also on the side I’ve been playing Subnautica: Below Zero, which if you’re into survival games and are not completely terrified of the deep sea, is a lot of fun. But don’t harm the Pengwings, if you do you’re a monster, just saying
What are you reading/watching/listening to at the moment?
Currently I’m rewatching Game of Thrones as a warmup for when I eventually get around to starting House of the Dragon. Although I started this ‘warmup’ a good couple of months ago so maybe in hindsight a YouTube recap would have made more sense.
In terms of music, lately I’ve been listening to a lot of Kaytranada who is someone I always come back to and also Hive Mind by The Internet. Some of my other favourites are Anderson Paak and The Weeknd.
What is your experience of working with Speech Graphics?
I’ve been here almost a couple of years now and since day one everyone was extremely welcoming and you could tell how deeply they all care about the work that they do here. As my first professional job after studying, I couldn’t have asked for a better environment to go into. It’s great being able to work on tech that really pushes boundaries and it means that you are constantly learning. I only have positive things to say about my time here.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
I’ll be visiting Rome later this year and it’ll be my first time in Italy so I definitely can’t wait for that. I’m obviously planning on seeing the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain, oh and doing the main attraction which is eating so much pasta that I can’t move.
