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Contact Information
Personal Backstory:
I found my love for video games at the age of 4 in 1998, and that passion has stayed with me ever since. Throughout school, I was involved in a wide range of activities, including sports, theater, and choir. Growing up in West Virginia, I initially felt that becoming a game designer wasn’t something I could achieve, and I doubted my abilities, thinking "I wasn't smart enough" for any kind of computer work.
I graduated from high school—barely—and decided to try out for American Idol. After making it through a few preliminary rounds, I was eventually dropped. Around the same time, I also flunked out of college. In 2015, I enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and became a Public Affairs Specialist, also known as a Combat Correspondent.
After completing bootcamp and public affairs training, I was stationed in Tokyo, Japan, as a broadcaster for American Forces Network (a military TV station). From 2016 to 2018, I produced over 100 video, radio, and social media news reports across the Pacific Region, with opportunities to travel to places like Thailand, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, and India. During this time, I earned promotions from Private First Class to Sergeant. With the promotion came the responsibility of leading a team of more junior service members, and leadership became one of my favorite aspects of my time at the station.
After three years at my previous duty station, I received orders to become the Marketing and Communications Director at the Marine Corps Recruiting Station Headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina. In this role, I was responsible for managing social media traffic across 26 different social media pages, posting, monitoring, and reporting on engagement. I also handled various forms of recruiting material, including T-shirts, billboards, and radio commercials. Additionally, I took charge of all marketing events and played a key role in lead generation efforts.
I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 2022. Since then, I’ve held various odd jobs while completing my degree. Eventually, I started my own LLC and have been working to establish a small business. Yes, I quit my day job because I’m fully committed to pursuing a career in Interactive Technology. This profession is where my passion lies, and I’m dedicated to making it my full-time focus.
During my active duty service, I enrolled in a game design associate's degree program in 2020, where I was part of an extended version of the program on the Courage and Creativity Scholarship. After my honorable discharge from the Marines, I switched to the traditional class schedule, taking one class per month. I successfully earned my associate's degree in game design in March 2023.
However, due to program changes at my school, I wasn’t eligible to move on to the bachelor's degree program because the game design and game development programs were merging into a new Interactive Technology Bachelor's program. This meant I needed additional credits from the game development program. I adapted by earning a second associate's degree in game development during the winter of 2023, while waiting for the Interactive Technology program to be fully implemented.
I graduated as valedictorian and am set to graduate on March 5, 2025, with a Bachelor of Science in Interactive Technology. For the capstone project, students form teams around a "Vision Holder" to collaborate and release a game project over the span of four months. My prototype project was selected, and I was honored to take on the role of Vision Holder, acting as the lead game designer for the capstone project.
I am currently continuing to learn and grow as a game designer, with the goal of joining a team as a systems designer, game designer, or level designer. I’m excited to bring my skills and passion to a collaborative environment and contribute to creating engaging and dynamic game experiences.
Full Sail Capstone Project: "Brain Rot Riot"
Game Description
Unleash the Apocalypse! 🧟♂️ Hack, slash, and strategize your way to global domination in this action-packed Third Person zombie game. Start as Patient Zero, grow your horde, and consume "Brain Power" to evolve your hive-mind! 🧠 With dynamic combat, strategic upgrades, and a world infection system, your choices shape the fate of humanity. Are you ready to rise?
Key Features:
- Be Patient Zero – Control the first zombie and start the outbreak.
- Strategic Gameplay – Use your Brain Power to unlock abilities, evolve your zombies, and face human resistance.
- Dynamic Environments – Battle through various zones, each with unique challenges and features.
- Horde Building – Grow your zombie horde to overpower humanity.
- World Infection Percentage – Track the infection’s global progress and earn rewards as the world falls to the outbreak.
Design Pillars
1: Satisfying Attacks- The game is about the player taking control of the first zombie in the world and trying to spread the sickness. The Core Combat for the player should be as satisfying as possible. The more crunch and punch the better. The player should feel they are causing some serious damage when they perform any kind of attack!
2: Horde Control- The player should be able to choose to eat or turn any human AI I encounter. Turning them would add numbers to the horde while eating them would gain “Brain Power.” (XP) The zombies need a leader which fate has chosen to be the player. On the battlefield the player will also direct his troops.
3: Brain Power- The player will gain Brain power through eating humans. This brainpower will be the life blood of the game. It will be the player experience and currency. Without brain power the player is in fact just another dumb zombie.
4: World Domination- The human are fighting back! It is up to the player to dominate any human forces and keep his horde alive and running rampant. The ultimate Goal is world Domination and all the features and controls serve to accomplish that goal.