Managerial Work

While obtaining my masters at CalArts, I noticed quickly there were no current opportunities nor classes for students to pursue creative endeavors within the field of video games. Thus, for one my thesis projects I created the 'CalArts Game Makers' from 2017-2019. Games below were under my direction with support from Jeffery Huang, where groups of students produced a new game each semester. These games then are presented at the end of each year at various outside showcases including Dreamhack,. Expo, etc. I was also responsible for establishing connections for mentorship and collaboration with Disney Imagineering, thatgamecompany, Xbox/Microsoft, Harvard, and more. As of 2023, this club still runs today, and there are now classes and opportunities provided by CalArts that pertain to video game production.

Flyer Hydrant - 2019
Stop fires, save lives.
About:

I oversaw production of the Game Makers 2019 Alumni team.
 During 2018, various alumni reached out asking me if I could create a team for them, saddened they didn't have this collaborative experience when they were students. After learning there was a solid group of individuals willing to dedicate their time, I added an alumni group to develop a game and have it showcase at CalArts Expo along with the other games.

Expectations were higher for this group considering their experience, thus this group created the first mobile game under Game Makers. 
Credits: 
Nathan Savant - Team Lead and Game Design
Martyana Wasiluk - Level Design and Game Design
Jeff Huang - Programming and Shaders
Paul Flores - UI and Character Design
Alex Aguilar - Character Art and Music
Holland Sangster - Music
Kayle Khanmohamed - Sound Design
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo - Assistant Producer
Vincent De La Torre -  Producer
Starlight - 2019
Featured @ Dreamhack LA 2020
Starlight is an atmospheric 1st person walking sim/platformer in which you the player must ascend a surreal tower at the end of the world in order to receive a wish from a mysterious god.  It is a game about grief and coming to terms and acceptance. You spend the game ascending a tower and encountering characters that are going through grief in different ways, and in the end you yourself must make a decision that either determines if you have come to terms with your grief regarding the world or not.
About: 
Starlight is a perfect example of a team going the extra mile. I was fortunate enough to help direct this game by organizing various meetings and helping with different artistic styles and techniques, offering various resources to help navigate however necessary.

Various tasks included research, debugging, navigation, and artistic direction
Credits:
Isa Hannsen - Team Lead
Ji Hyun Ann [Charles] - Programmer
Kim Nguyen, Jack Nop, Megan Rufo - Art
Noah Lemelson, Rebecca Drapkin - Music
Kathleen Fox - Writing
Thomas Witwer - Sound Design
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo - Assistant Producer
​​​​​​​Vincent De La Torre - Producer
The Buckaroo With No Name vs. Mr Sleaze: A Fistful of Water and Vengeance! - 2019

When an evil villain (sleazy casino owner from Vegas) shuts off California’s water supply, it’s up to one nameless cowboy and his trusty lasso to retrieve his boot back and begin his quest to get the water back to California.
About: 
This comedic puzzle game was produced and overseen by me with support from Roy Berardo and Marley Townsend.

One of the biggest challenges for this project was the lack of programing knowledge. Most of my time was spent providing resources, tutorial, and examples to help deliver the best product using the limited technical skills available. Sometimes, the best finished product comes by using weaknesses as strengths.
Special thanks to Maxx Bradley for taking on various programming challenges for the team.

Credits:
Maxx Bradley - Team Lead
Jack Nop - Level Design
Travis Nishii - Writer
Samuel Wilby - Composer
Mandy Perea, Kim Nguyen - Art
Christopher Brosnan - Voice Acting
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo - Assistant Producer
​​​​​​​Vincent De La Torre - Producer
Dungeons and Dating - 2018

This is a 3D physics-based platformer where you play as a lost boulder who uses speed, momentum, acceleration, and double jumping to complete tasks for the local villagers in return for helping you find your way home!  Only the first level is  available in this build. The game is currently for Windows. 
About: 
Managing this game was a lot of fun, assisting and helping the growth and creation of this project. Supporting teammates in meetings, discord calls, and projects were vital to the success of this project.
Credits:
Travis Nishii - Team Lead
Soy Hopping - Programming
Fernanda Haiabe, Vania Xiang, Claire Redman- Art
Socks Whitmore - Writing
Evan Sutterfield, Samuel Wilby - Sound Design
Kyle Cooke-Gilbert, Noah Dean - Music
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo - Assistant Producer
Vincent De La Torre - Executive Producer
Iris - 2018
Click here to play​​​​​​​
You find yourself in a bleak, strange area, seemingly habited. You are given an automated message about your mission, you are a Debug Bot. Your mission is to restore a simple robot that is displayed on your monitor.
About:
 This project was amazing to work with and see flourish. The group worked well together, got over challenges creatively, and produced a fantastic game.

Ensuring each member has their voice not just heard but respected is vital to the success of any team, and watching a team grow and overcome technical and artistic roadblocks was an honor to support.

Credits:
Isa Hanssen - Team Lead / BG Artist
Gavin Morrison - Programmer
Kanoa Ichiyanagi - Concept Artist
Zack Ross, Evan Johnson - Music
Noah Lemelson - Writer
Kai Tucker - Voice Acting
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo - Assistant Producer
Vincent De La Torre - Producer
Rollerball Island - 2018
Featured @ Dreamhack LA 2020

This is a 3D physics-based platformer where you play as a lost boulder who uses speed, momentum, acceleration, and double jumping to complete tasks for the local villagers in return for helping you find your way home!  Only the first level is  available in this build. The game is currently for Windows. 
About:
One of the biggest accomplishments with this project was to ensure creative growth as simply a support role. My goal was to not interfere with the creative process to promote as much individual creative growth as possible. My tasks included making the creative and collaborative project more efficient, by providing tools, resources, and even faculty support in order to accomplish their goals.

Credits:
Tobias Du - Team Lead
Green Ohlson, Worsey - 2D Art
Isa Hanssen - 3D Art
Yuri Gause - Story
Holland Sangster, Zach Ross - Music
Roy Berardo - Programming
Steven Hixson, Thomas Witwer - Sound Design
Vincent De La Torre, Jeffery Huang - Producer
Phytonaut - 2018
Click here to play

A farming fetching game featuring Philip, who lands on a planet in search of seeds to plant on their home and befriends a variety of sentient alien plant life!
About:

A challenge that arose for this project was replacing team members who needed to drop due to homework/class workloads, while inspiring current team mates to continue the project. Jumping in and supporting on the creative process was crucial to help navigate this project back on course for completion. 
Credits:
Ben Tillotson, Ryan Yoshikami - Music
Kai Tucker - Sound Design
Seon-ho Shin, Lily Windsor, Whitney Yuen - Art
Socks Witmore - Story
Nathan Ho - Programming
Vincent De La Torre, Jeffery Huang - Producer
Fresh Cuts - 2018

You are a robot barber equipped with art supplies, challenged to give the most accurate and creative hairstyles to your papercraft patrons.  Using scissors, you have to arrange paper atop the heads of your customers based on the description the give you. After you are finished, you'll receive a review from the customer based on how well you do.
This game is only currently available for Mac.

Andrea Reyes, Rob Gilliam, School of Film/Video, Character Animation
Hayden Sterling,
Ivy Liu, Jeffery Ng, Jeffrey Huang, School of Music, MTIID
Kyle Cooke-Gilbert, School of Music, Composition
Mandy Perea, School of Art, Fine Art
Marley Townsend, Vincent De La Torre, School of Film/Video, Film and Video
Théotime Vaillant, School of Film/Video, Experimental Animation
Travis Nishii, School of Critical Studies, Creative Writing
Art Thief - 2017
Featured @ Dreamhack LA 2020​​​​​​​

Fresh-faced security guard Olive defends the museum from a nefarious art thief.  She must gather clues, solve puzzles, craft items, and listen to the many woes of the museum’s colorful cast of employees, artworks, and enemies

Green Ohlson, Isa Hanssen, Lily Windsor, School of Film/Video, Character Animation
Jeffrey Huang, Nathan Ho, School of Music, MTIID
Holland Sangster, Kyle Cooke-Gilbert, Roy Berardo, Yuri Gause, School of Music, Composition
Marley Townsend, Vincent De la Torre, School of Film/Video, Film and Video
Théotime Vaillant, Whitney Yuen, School of Film/Video, Experimental Animation
Tobias Do, School of Film/Video, Film Directing
Travis Nishii, School of Critical Studies, Creative Writing
Speedy Storybooks - 2017

Speedy Storybooks is a procedurally generated storybook game where players bring to life the text on each page. These stories can be printed out and shared with your family members and friends.

Andrea Reyes, Hazien Lyles-Saunders, Robert Gilliam, School of Film/Video, Character Animation
Ben Tillotson, Jeffrey Huang, School of Music, MTIID
Brandon Chang, Kai Tucker, Ryan Yoshikami, Zack Ross, School of Music, Composition
Théotime Vaillant, School of Film/Video, Experimental Animation
Vincent De la Torre, School of Film/Video, Film and Video
Special thanks to these fine people who helped me along the way:
Jeffery Huang (2017-2018)
Marley Townsend, Roy Berardo (2019)
Theotime Vaillant (2017-2019)

And special thanks to the directors of each game:
 Green Ohlson, Zach Ross (2017)
Toby Du, Ryan Yoshikami, Marley Townsend (2018)
Mandy Perera, Isa Hanssen, Travis Nishii, Maxx Bradley, Jam Gram, Worsey, Nathan Savant (2019)
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