Interests
Video games! Though I suppose that's a given. I've enjoyed them since I was quite young, my first memory of playing one being Treehouse, for DOS. From there, I progressed through other PC titles such as Kiloblaster, Neptune, Wolfenstein, Raptor: Call of the Shadows, Day of the Tentacle, Descent, DOOM, and others. Later on I received my first game console: the Nintendo 64. I was late to the console party; not having owned a Nintendo Entertainment System, or it's "Super" variant after it. Once indoctrinated, I enjoyed all that console had to offer, with titles like Super Mario 64, Goldeneye, Mario Kart 64, Blast Corps, Waverace 64, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Extreme-G, and far too many others to list. From there, my gaming exposure grew even further, ultimately leading to the present, where I still play games daily, if possible!
Aside from the obvious, I've a healthy obsession with technology; I build, upgrade, and maintain several computer systems. One of them is my main gaming rig, however I also have a dedicated NAS box set up, as well as a media server, used to serve multimedia both in-house as well as stream it to devices when away from home. I'm a supporter of the RIPE Atlas network, both in principle, as well as being able to use it to diagnose and monitor network information. I also love a good match of paintball when the weather permits! My marker is a Tippmann A5, custom-modified with a high-speed solenoid E-trigger, mounted in an ICP B5 shell. Flatline barrel, remote line, and X7-style hopper round off the rest of the marker. Bushball is my preferred style of play, especially if there's a scenario involved!
Education
I attended the Art Institute of Vancouver from 2005-2006, completing a couple terms, including the Foundations course. Back then, the program was quite art-focused, and since I wasn't aiming to be an artist, I decided to take a break, wondering if all game design was predominantly art-focused. In my spare time, I kept doing the things I loved; level editing in Valve's game engines (GoldSRC, then Source) via Hammer, graphic design and texture editing in Photoshop, and even some video editing and compositing via Premiere Pro and After Effects. After a lot of reading, research, and even talking to a few individuals in the industry, I came to the realization that for one to be creative does not mean one has to be an artist. Certainly there's artistry in designing an engaging level, or writing elegant code, but you don't have to be able to paint, draw, or similar at a professional level to be successful. This was a revelation to me.
I decided to pick up where I left off, and after some thought, applied to the Vancouver Film School. My acceptance into their Game Design program resulted in one year of extremely hard work. I learned so much while I was there, including the revelation I had prior was indeed true. My passion for game design grew at VFS, especially my love for level and systems design in particular. I had the opportunity to work with other dedicated VFS students, and also with industry professionals; their knowledge and experience was not only helpful, but interesting and inspiring as well. I graduated with an 89%+ grade average: less than a percent way from honours. I earned three awards, one of them specifically for level design, and all three relating to mechanics design.
Miscellany
I'm not usually one to talk about musical tastes, however I have a very fond attraction to chiptunes. One of the original methods of making this music was with the SID audio chip present in the Commodore 64. "Chiptunes" are sometimes described as "Gameboy music" or "8-bit music", however music created via the MOS Technology SID chip has the distinct style I prefer. This type of music was and is still heavily used in the Demoscene.
I also have a healthy Star Trek obsession; I've seen each of the series more than once, seen all of the movies (both old and new), and played more than my fair share of Star Trek themed games. How much of an obsession? I can tell you what would happen if you got yourself stuck in a static warp bubble, the difference between static and variable geometry pylons, or the standard intermix ratio for a given starship.