During the development of The Last of Us I began to ask myself where I saw myself in the future. Did I have that hover board I so dearly wanted? Probably not. More specifically where did I see myself in my career. I love visual effects. Always have and always will. The problems I've had the opportunity to solve through visual effects have always proven equally complicated and exciting. I'm always trying to challenge myself. If I get too comfortable doing something then I need to push myself. If I'm scared then I know I'm on the right track. It's in the spirit of challenge that I began pursuing a shift in career direction. One that also felt like a natural progression. This is how I ended up here. Where is here? I'm being too cryptic. Plainly, here is the discipline of game design. I've always been fascinated with game design and the intricacies within. The problems to solve are vast and meticulous and require many many loops of iteration. On top of this it calls upon your collective experience in life and academics. The great thing is that each of us have unique experience to call from giving us our own special ways to pose problems and solve them. Game design is one of the most challenging and unique disciplines I've encountered and I'm very fortunate to work with some of the best game designers in the industry. This is something I have put a lot of effort and though into. After shipping The Last of Us I knew I wanted to make the shift if the opportunity were presented to me. This brings us to now. As of this post I am now working primarily in game design. I'm always a little unsure of myself but it's always been a motivational factor to prove to myself that I can do it. I look forward to creating interesting and exciting experiences for players and benefiting from the immense talent that resides in our design department. I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for the people I look to for inspiration and support. It's because of these people that I've come this far. I'm also super freaking lucky to work in a studio that has provided me with the opportunity for such growth. My blog will naturally reflect my current work and interests and while visual effects is not my primary focus now it will always be one of my biggest interests.
I also want to mention that my wife has always been my biggest supporter and without her I'd be lost.
