Personal Statement

           Ever since I could remember, I always wanted to work in the video game industry. The fact that the imagination seemed to be the only limitation, was always very intriguing. Although I knew I wanted to work in the industry, I didn’t know in what role. I tossed around the idea of being a designer or a programmer, always flip-flopping between the two. I finally decided; I am going to be a programmer. The thought of working on something that isn’t seen by the player, but can be felt that something is there. I like to compare it to a film editor sometimes, because when a film is badly edited the viewer can pick up on it right away.  When the editing, however, is great, the viewer can’t help but be fully immersed into the story and forgets about the editing. It fits my personality like a glove. I am pretty shy, so, I always act in a way that makes me invisible to the environment, but at the same time I want to make a lasting effect on people. It’s a very strange contradiction, but programming, as I mentioned earlier, works with that contradiction. I can work on games that stay with people for the rest of their lives, while still feeling as though I am still in the shadows of my environment. Since not too many people know the names of programmers that work on a game, nor what they look like, I am free to roam about without being mobbed. Before I get there though I have to learn all I can to be one of the greatest programmers around. While I am in the CAT program I hope to learn as much as I can. Anything that would give me an advantage over the competition I want to absorb like a sponge. The industry has helped me in life, now it’s my turn to return the favor, for I am a programmer

Foreboding Bliss, Creative Writing, Spring 2011

         Fallen on my back, I lay on the ground. I survey the area around me. Teenage men wearing baggy pants way below the waist. I’d say get a belt, but it’s apparent they’re wearing them. They’re wearing hoodies that are too big for them. Some bear the logo of G-Unit, others And-1, the rest Nike. Hiding something evil no doubt in those oversized pockets. Listening to their hip hop records with headphones on, but for some reason I’m able to hear the audio from a distance. I don’t understand them, they’re just a nuisance to me. I see a twelve year old girl dressed like Paris Hilton. Good Lord, why? Why aspire to be a stupid spoiled whore instead of an intellectual? The worst part may be that the parents condoned this. I spot the child’s mother… she’s a whore… I guess that makes sense then. As I continue to survey my surroundings I see a woman on her cell phone. If I’m not mistaken she is eyeing me. No doubt she’s making fun of me to whomever she’s talking too. What I do to her? I’m on the ground, the least she could do is freakin’ help me. As I lay here dying, I’d be fibbing if I said I wasn’t happy to be. I can finally leave this God forsaken place. Life is God’s cruelest joke. Death is his way of apologizing. People go through life fearing their inevitable demise. Trying as hard as they can to prolong the inevitable. Wasting their time in my opinion. Death here I come! I suddenly see flashing lights followed by sirens. I guess that woman was helping me, damn. No I don’t want to live! I want to die! I hear the horrendous sound of running. Two men pick me up and place me on a stretcher. Get the hell off of me! I want to die! One of the men places a mask on my face as they load me into the back of the ambulance, sealing my fate. Goddamnit.

FreeFall, Summer 2008, Run Time: 34 seconds

In this level, I edited the script for the portals, so it wouldn't force you to look in a certain direction when you went through them. The level is essentially a long pipe with an invisible portal at the top and bottom, giving the illusion of an infinite loop. There are two portals in the middle of the pipe that lead you to two different "Break Rooms", unfortunately entering one of these rooms causes you to lose a ton of health. This level was also created at iD Gaming Academy, but unlike the Country Death Song level that was created in a couple days, this one was "finished" in one. I put finish in quotes because it could use a little more tweaking. This level is my favorite of the two levels, and I'm not the only one who thinks that. Mike Mullan, one of the programmers of Def Jam: Icon, and my instructor at iD Gaming Academy, said, "It was one of the most creative projects I've ever seen."

Self Portrait, CAT-110, Spring 2011, Photoshop

CountryDeathSong, Created Summer 2008, Run Time: 40 seconds

I created this level for Unreal Tournament 3 at iD Gaming Academy in the summer of 2008. It is a map made of 6 identical rooms, with 4 portals in each room. If you go through a portal you will be teleported to another room, but going back through the portal you just came out of, teleports you to an entirely different room. If that's not confusing enough, one of the portals teleports you into the death pit. There are some minor problems, like a portal not appearing in some rooms, but that doesn't damage the level in a significant way. This level was created in two days, and was inspired by a Violent Femmes song of the same name.