Skills and Qualifications
- Over ten years of game development experience
- Comprehensive knowledge of both theoretical and practical aspects of game design, with previous experience in design document creation for numerous commercial and academic projects
- Strong background in technical and creative writing with published work in a variety of contexts including gaming websites (Idle Thumbs, Gamasutra), literary magazines/journals (Modern Haiku, Other:____, Look In'), and books
- Highly refined creative and analytical sensibilities, adept at fostering a creative vision through generation and development of new design concepts along with critical evaluation of suggestions from other team members
- Robust comprehension of technical constraints for a diverse array of game hardware, able to formulate effective and elegant design solutions that are informed by a keen awareness of the distinctive qualities of the target platform
- Proficient in a range of programming and support languages including C/C++, Lua, Python, ActionScript, and JavaScript/AJAX with additional experience in UnrealScript, PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS, XSLT, and shell scripting
- Thorough understanding of various APIs, toolsets, and development software such as OpenGL, DirectX, Visual Studio, Perforce, SVN, GIMP, Photoshop, GNU Emacs, STL, CppUnit, GNU Make, MFC, Win32, GCC, Boost, RenderWare, Maya, VTune, SDL, OpenOffice, MS Office, and many others
- Experience implementing techniques and algorithms for AI pathfinding, collision detection, 3D cameras, finite state machines, message-passing systems, script interfaces, asset pipelines and more
- Familiarity with many topics and best practices related to software development, including Refactoring, Patterns, Object-Oriented Design, XML, UML, Test-Driven Development, Agile Methodologies (XP/Scrum), and Data Structures
- Extensive experience working in leadership roles within multidisciplinary team environments, proven ability to coordinate heterogeneous teams and facilitate communication of a unified purpose
- Comfortable adapting to high-performance situations with compressed time schedules for milestone deadlines
Game Development Experience (Commercial)
AI Programmer APB: All Points Bulletin (Windows)
Responsible for implementing, extending and maintaining AI systems for
a large scale, online sandbox game. Primary tasks
involved simulating a large population of AI controlled
vehicles within a highly dyamic urban environment.
Designer Re-Mission 2 (Windows)
Freelance contract with HopeLab to develop new concepts
that would expand on the core mechanics of the
original Re-Mission, a game created for teens who
have been diagnosed with cancer.
Collaborated with the Producer and Technical Lead
of the project to ensure that the final deliverable fulfilled the intended goal of increased gameplay
variety while retaining the proven treatment benefits of the existing game.
Programmer Marvel Trading Card Game (Nintendo DS)
Responsible for implementing an auto-pass system and other gameplay logic.
Lead Programmer Disney's The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (Game Boy Advance)
Oversaw a small team of programmers to ensure that all project milestones were
met. Primary responsibilities included designing and writing
new object-oriented system components, and communicating with the Art and Design Leads about overall goals and specific
tasks.
Programmer Cabbage Patch Kids: The Patch Puppy Rescue (Game Boy Advance)
Implemented the majority of AI, collision, and game object behavior
logic.
Programmer Elevator Action (Mobile/BREW)
Refactored the entire AI system into a much more elegant, scalable,
and intuitive object-oriented design.
Game Development Experience (Academic/Other)
Programmer/Designer Kigo (Browser)
Personal project to create a prototype for a browser based
puzzle game in ActionScript. Wrote an initial design
document and implemented a fully functional, playable
prototype on my own. Set up and
maintained a source code repository to better facilitate
rapid experimentation.
Designer Brickle (Game Boy Advance)
Homebrew handheld game prototype, came up with initial
concept and worked with a single programmer to implement a
working demo. Provided design and implementation
guidance and project oversight.
AI Programmer Insanity (Windows)
Worked in a small team to create a complete 3D game engine from scratch, with
significant personal contributions to the AI, camera, dynamic collision, and many other vital system
components.
Technical Designer Cardboard and Steel (Windows)
Wrote and maintained a comprehensive design document, including a realistic,
prioritized catalog of all game features. Programmed the camera system and script interface. Also wrote
and edited all in-game dialog.
Lead Designer Office Gear Solid (Windows)
Proposed original game premise and guided the team toward implementation.
Programmed the AI,
collision, level editor, and game
object behaviors.
Maintained the design document and technical specifications.
Programmer/Designer Skywriter (Windows)
Completed an enjoyable, fully functioning game in two weeks with no outside
assistance.
Level Designer Jack Dash!! (Windows)
Came up with the original game concept and utilized custom tools to build game
environments.
Additional Experience
- IGDA Albany Chapter Coordinator, April 2005 - September 2008
- Author, "A Framework for Classification and Criticism of Ethical Games", in K. Schrier and D. Gibson (Eds.), Designing Games for Ethics: Models, Techniques and Frameworks (Ethics and Game Design, vol. 2). IGI Publishing.
Employment History
September 2008 - Present Realtime Worlds AI Programmer
April 2005 - October 2006 1st Playable Productions Programmer
July 2001 - December 2002 Electronics Boutique Sales Associate
Education
January 2003 - December 2004 Full Sail University
- Bachelor of Science Degree in Game Design and Development
- Salutatorian of graduating class for Associate Degree program
- Received Course Director's Award for achievement in Artificial Intelligence
- Cumulative GPA of 96%
*References and portfolio samples available upon request.
