Behind the Games: A Dev’s Life at justDice

Our team here at justDice is a blend of fun and professional. And that’s what these posts aim to unlock. We want the Humans of justDice features to focus on getting to know the people and minds behind the scenes. We’ll get to know a different team member every month, giving you an exclusive look into how we work together here at justDice 🙂 

Say hello to Fahmy, our team’s quiet, focused powerhouse and creative spark plug. Known for his ‘quiet at the desk, lively in the meeting’ style, Fahmy is the brain behind many fresh ideas and the eye that catches the little things we might miss. He’s all about blending thoughtful design with a dash of fun, making every project a journey worth taking.

Now, let’s hear directly from Fahmy about his experience at justDice so far!

Q1: The World of Unity Development

“Fahmy, as a Unity Developer, how have your previous experiences shaped your work at justDice? Can you walk us through your journey and role here?”

🗣️ Before justDice, I mostly worked on F2P mobile games. During the hyper-casual craze, I made hyper-casual games like everyone else, but I also worked on a bunch of mid-core mobile games. Moving to justDice, there was an upgrade in the scope of projects for sure. The scale and ambition are bigger, and we spend more time ensuring we make a proper product. 

Aside from that, the games also have another aspect: users can pay out real cash. This introduces a completely new set of challenges and experiences, from safeguarding against fraud to optimising when to delegate tasks to the server rather than the client.

Q2: Bridging Cultures

“Being from Egypt, do you think your cultural background brings a unique perspective to your work and justDice? If so, how?”

It’d seem logical the cultural shift from Egypt to Germany would introduce some sort of difference in how people think and behave, but I found otherwise. Both countries have distinct cultural differences, but it has almost no effect on day-to-day life, people’s motivations for what they say or do are the same. People are people, I guess.

That being said, I think when it comes to understanding the target audience for our games, these cultural differences really shine because our audience is quite widespread, and every person on the team seems to interpret the motivations behind player actions differently. I think this helps us put better A/B tests and build on each other’s feedback to reach something that our players want to engage with.

Q3: Passion Projects

“Given your expertise, you’ve had your hands on some cool projects here. Can you share a sneak peek into a project that you enjoyed and why it stood out?”

The latest project we’ve been working on has been quite fun. The characters are quirky and unique, gameplay is fast and feels good. It stands out because it has dynamic gameplay and a ton of different weapons to use. Since our projects include a payout aspect to the users, sometimes that dictates directions with a more arcade-y feeling, but that last project gameplay is action-packed.

Q4: High Fives

“Most developers have that ‘Yes!’ moment. What’s been your proudest win here at justDice?”

Well, I came on board at a particularly difficult time when COVID was rampant and the streets were empty. We spent some time working remotely before eventually going back to the office. You can imagine then that I did not have the typical office onboarding process; things were still hectic. So I asked around for some things and figured some things out on my own.

It must have been months of working in the office before I accidentally looked in a corner I never looked at and discovered there was a stash of heavenly goodies (chocolates, snacks, chips…etc.) that I had never noticed before! The major win moment is the smaller things in life!

A more personal point is I also got married while working at justDice, and I am pretty proud of that moment as well. Who’s to say which of these ‘Yes!’ moments affected my life more? It’s a close call.

Q5: Challenges

“Share a story about a tough challenge you cracked here.”

I think one of the toughest challenges I faced here was learning how to operate the office coffee machine; it changed my life.

Q6: The justDice Difference

Having previously worked in various environments (including civil engineering), what makes justDice stand out from the other places you’ve worked?

Well, not having to stand in the sun/heat watching over a concrete slab getting poured while wearing uncomfortable safety equipment is pretty sweet. If it wasn’t the site, it was the office dealing with clients or contracts, very stuffy business, dressed like a banker, hated every minute of it. 

Who knew building real structures wasn’t like building them with Legos?! It’s crazy! I probably should’ve thought of that before taking out that 5-year college course for Civil Engineering. It seems clear now, but hey, hindsight is 20-20. 

Building games, however, I’ll take that over civil engineering any day of the week! Not only do we dress and act casually, but I also get to work on fun stuff with fun people. It pays better, too. But no one tell the civil engineers that, or we’ll all be living in shacks soon enough.

Q7: Behind the Screens

“What’s your go-to source of inspiration or that one thing you need to get creative?”

Short answer: headphones and quiet time.

Longer answer: You know, when you’re watching/playing a good movie/series/game, any piece of media, it can spark ideas. But it has this moment where the music, the dialogue and/or the atmosphere just hits your emotions hard. In a way that you can personally relate to, it’s almost poetic. Not the canned “awe” moments we get in mainstream media. But something more personal is that if you show somebody else, they’d probably feel nothing. I usually save those clips I feel I relate to and rewatch them randomly.

Q8: Unveiling the Mask

“What’s a fun fact that the team might be surprised to learn about you?”

In Egypt, we use first and second names rather than first and last names. So there I’m Fahmy Hady, which literally translates to Fahmy is quiet/calm.

Q9: Dev to Dev: Advice to Others

“Finally, if you could share advice or an insight with aspiring developers in Egypt and beyond, what would that be?”

If you can afford it, don’t go after the money; don’t go after the client/company that will give you the most money. Go after what you’ll learn from and/or enjoy the most. If you go after something you learn from, your skill set becomes more refined. And if you go after something you enjoy, you will make something you can show off and be proud of. 

What I see often are young developers who go directly after the highest paying employer even though they learn nothing, but they still do go after them. Because they equate their success with how much money they earn. Which is not untrue, but it is short-sighted. They often get stuck in a specific range and never get out because they never learned anything to inch themselves out.

Once you are actually good and make products that are not generic, products that players really like, the money will follow. Things you enjoy/learn from will soon align with what gives you the most money.