Explore a more in depth presentation of my skills and experience in this digital resume. From my background in physics, to my passion for comedy, all of my skills contribute to what makes me a unique and valuable member of your team. I'm excited to show you what I'm all about and hope that this information gives you insight and inspiration to your current projects.
I've always been drawn to new technologies, but my strongest relationship is to virtual reality. It is the first properly executed piece of a completely new medium that will drastically shift the way we use computers, and therefore, our everyday lives. When designing anything, I listen deeply to my intuition and inner voice. This voice screamed when I put on my first VR headset, the HTC Vive, back in October of 2016. My brain instantly starting racing with the limitless potential of the hardware. It was a feeling I never got with traditional computers, or even with the touch screen devices we use today. It felt like everything had already been done and learned about these platforms by the time I was ready to create. Then I put on this headset, and suddenly, my personal goals in digital creation fell right into place.
There are three aspects that make me a unique developer, and these are strongest in the virtual reality platform. They include, physics, imagination, and communication. With these skills I can contribute to any project, but are most valuable in virtual reality development.
Physics. It's the secret sauce of virtual reality. It improves immersion, intuition, and overall enjoyment. When you think of virtual reality, the factors that stand out are usually visuals and audio. While these are important, I believe most developers don't consider the physicallity of the virtual world. Games are most fun when we are being challenged, when we are learning, and because physics enables an infinite number of possiblities, it enables an infinite amount of learning. If I interact with an object in real life, the object's reaction will be slightly different every single time. In video games, its happens too often that every result of your action is the same. By bringing physics into your VR worlds, we can make them much more fun and enjoyable. This is my specialty.
One of my strongest strengths in development is my ability to imagine the end experience of the user, and to separate all of the elements that contribute to that experience into easy to understand design documentation. When you design a moment or interaction in a video game, its easy to forget how much work goes into that moment. You have to consider the interaction system, 3d models, animations, textures, level design, audio, and overall, how the user feels. This is a lot to process and a lot to document. I break the experience into easy to digest components that can be deligated to various team members, and oversee that the experience maximizes the users enjoyment.
The following is a more in depth description of my most valuable experiences working in the digital creation industry.
My time at Phenomena started as in intern in 2018, during which I primarily focused on debugging and prototyping for their two projects Enter the Duat and Space Dance Harmony. Phenomena's primary focus is on location based experiences, which is why I pitched to them my idea for a game using the not yet released Oculus Quest. I had spent months designing the game and developing prototypes and they were excited with what they saw. I sold them the rights to the game and stayed on to provide more design work and in engine development. My game, Versus, was built over the next couple of months and was a hit with its users. Unfortunately being an arcade centered business, Phenomena was hit hard by COVID-19, and I was forced to leave the company in 2020.
Learn about my experiences during my time at Concordia University and how it impacts my work today.
I started at Concordia in the physics program in 2014. I have always had a passion for physics and find the underlying rules of the universe really beautiful. The skills I learned during my 2 years in the program help me in my work every day, whether its developing a VR game, or working with simulations inside of 3D art creation software. What really excited me about computer arts was the sheer amount of calculations a computer could perform. Having to do these calculations myself by hand gave me a much deeper appreciation for what a computer provides us in our everyday lives and in artistic practice. I later transferred out of the physics program into Concordia's computation arts program, where I used computers to represent the beauty of physics.
I always loved playing video games, but I felt like I was tiny fish in this massive ocean of legends. My love for computers and their ability to move people pushed me past this worry and I decided to drop everything and become a computer artist. During my time there I explored many different mediums and digital platforms, including coding, 2D design, 3D design, visual effects, game design, and virtual reality. I fell in love with virtual reality and focused my last 2 years in the program completely on creating VR experiences. I love the platform of VR because I no longer feel like a small fish, because nobody truly knows the potential of the medium yet! I am incredibly lucky to have found my passion during my time here and I have never regretted leaving physics once.
Here is a breakdown of all of my skills and why there are valuable to almost any project or team.
I have been using the Adobe suite of software for over 10 years and have become very comfortable using it. I use it nearly everyday in both my professional and personal work. Because of my wide range of skills in these programs, I am able to move from software to software when needed, and create massive projects all on my own. I am particularly strong suited to Photoshop, After Effects, Illustrator, and Premiere, but am familiar with all of the Adobe programs. Using this software in junction with my game design in particularly important, building textures, designing levels, creating graphics, and editing marketing material.
My greatest skill in game design is my ability to understand and breakdown a game into every element that makes it up. I have a deep understanding of player psychology and experience that allows me to truly put myself in their position, before the game even exists. In addition to this skill, I am also proficient in level design, UX design, prototyping, conceptualization, and documentation. I often build short games and experiences on my own or with small teams. In the coming years I will be using my skills to build various virtual and augmented reality projects and games.
I never saw film making as a big part of my career, it has always just been something that I love doing. Over the past few years however, my skills in filmography have become very helpful in building marketing material for various companies. I did a lot of work for Phenomena, providing informative videos and various advertising material for their various projects. I also work as a freelance director and editor where I build out projects together with clients to create what they cannot on their own. Comedy also plays a big part in my film making, as you'll see with many of my projects.
It's important to me to emphasize my commitment to teamwork and collaboration. These are the main factors that make a succesful project and I want to recognize them in my work and on this digital resume. When team members are able to ask questions, speak their mind, and feel like they're heard, a lot more gets accomplished. I pride myself on my ability to mediate conversations and meetings, making sure everyone has their say. Another valuable skill I bring in this regard, is my ability to note take and combine all team members ideas into easy to understand design documents. Work together, it moves things forward.