ABOUT ME
I still remember the first time someone gave me a digital game to play, using one of those “modern” back then - Brick Game Consoles …
I was at the age of 6 and I was totally taken over by it!
By the time I was in my second grade, I was already obsessed with games and I did manage to collect the required money in order to buy my fist Nintendo Entertainment System – “My Precious”.
And so I took on the long road of Gaming, going through countless number of games and occasional console upgrades – paving my path along the way with various emotions, lots of fun and sometimes destruction! ^_^
My Gaming Career reached its initial peak, when the first Gaming Clubs were opened and me and my friends were “planting roots” there all day and night …
Clubs were the holy place where you could measure your skills in a game and climb the imaginary pyramid of the “best player in town” for each individual game.
Participating in local tournaments or even celebrating your birthday for a whole week in the club was a regular thing among us! :D
In time, thanks to Moore’s Law, the price for a personal computer and fast internet were affordable - so the fun was pushed back at home … providing me with the skill to “destroy time itself”!
Staying for one more game and then noticing the rising sun right before going to schools was a daily routine.
With the boom of online games and the spread of MMORPGs, "the shit got real” and suddenly the full-dive in immersion experience took over!
But with that new state of obsession – a new “seed” was planted in my head …
That was the desire to understand:
"How everything is made within a Game?"
Little by little, using reverse-engineering and lots of reading … the seed evolved into a new desire:
"I want to make a Game!"
My first attempts were mainly done using whatever existing games they were, with embedded World Editor in them - allowing me to create mods, campaigns or even run private servers for me and my friends to enjoy.
But with the announce of UDK as a public platform for making games using Unreal Engine 3 in November 2009, everything else was considered a child’s play …
This marked the beginning of a new era where prototyping games from scratch was bringing me more joy than playing games …
Before I know it, I went into “frenzy mode” and I quickly and passionately started learning various software programs in order to be able to make everything on my own – as professionally developed as possible!
Teaming up with other passionate people and starting side-kick projects after work, was a painful experience due to the fact that I was overwhelmingly motivated compared to the rest ... and those same motivated people were dropping out in the long run – making one unsuccessful project after another.
At some point a friend mine send me link for an available job opportunity as a Game Designer in Gameloft …
Where for my surprise as someone who does not have the required professional education – I was embraced and accepted!
And so I took on the long road of Game Design, going through countless number of workflow improvements and occasional job promotions – paving my path along the way with various projects, lots of friends and sometimes destruction! ^_^