My real name is, as you can read in the headline picture, Jens Schöbel. Juliette Sierra are just my initials in the Nato Alphabet. I was born during the Cold War on the russian side of Germany - formerly known as GDR, German Democratic Republic.
I grew up in a small town named Lauchhammer in the middle of nowhere and studied mathematics in Heidelberg, one of the most famous cities in Germany. I've finished my degree dissertation and currently I am preparing for my exams. Whenever possible I enjoy spending time with my little daughter, whom I love so much.
Very early in my life I was fascinated by computer games and hence I didn't let the matter rest. I started to copy famous classics like Pac-Man and realized how much fun it was for me to create new environments for the little yellow guy or to enhance his mazes with small gimmicks and power-ups.
At the time when games like Starcraft or Unreal arose it was like a dream come true. The provided level editors offered the possibility to develop high-quality maps. During my work with the different editors I acquainted myself with the various techniques in the field of 3D graphics and lighting and later extended this knowledge at the University of Heidelberg. Using this experience I succeeded in reaching the grand finals of the MSUC.
Encouraged by this achievement I answered the advertisement of a game development project in the german UnrealEd forum and got hired as a level designer. Due to to some reorganization this game never appeared on the market.
After the birth of my daughter I strongly focused on her. But simultaneously I went in for the different processes of the game development in detail. Currently I am trying to apply some of these ideas to my own hobby project Bakanida City.
My academic as well as my private activities are focused on the game industry. Even as I persuaded my supervisor to accept the topic of my degree dissertation the will to gain ground in the game business was the motivation behind all my efforts.
In September 2008 I finished my degree as Diplom Mathematiker. Thats the German equivalent of a Master of Science in Mathematics.
Immediately after my exams I started working for Crytek. I got hired as a Level Designer but always was programming at the CryEngine. Actually that's not to hard because everyone is using the latest Engine. As a mathematician it was fantastic to work for Crytek: always cutting edge. But there is a difference between university realtime and game realtime. At the University it was slightly more cutting edge but only about feasibility: If it works it's fine. At Crytek it's much more about performance. That was very interesting for me since my background was a little bit different.