Went to UCSD to learn about computers. Learned how to be a code monkey. Applied it to online games. Loved it. The rest is history. Currently making bugs as the lead online engineer at Spliced.
Too Short; Didn’t Read
Humble Origins
In the fourth grade, my parents upgraded the family computer, and made the terrible decision to give me the old one. The first thing I did was take it apart. Turns out, computers are just adult legos! The internet taught me the basics of computers, but I wanted to learn more.
Learning Time
I was privileged enough to get accepted into UC San Diego. I went for a Computer Engineering degree, but ended up leaning much more heavily into computer science. I picked up programming there, and was just enamored by it. Something about being able to build something and have no consequence of failure was really appealing to me. I graduated with the Computer Engineering degree, and a Cognitive Science degree for extra flavor
A Whole New World
After a year working at a tech startup in San Diego, I was contacted by a recuriter for Amazon Game Studios. They were developing a brand new MMO and needed someone to scale test their server infrastructure. I took the job without hesitation, even though I knew very little about servers and networks. Fast forward 4 years and we shipped the game (New World) and I am now branding myself as an “Online Engineer”.
Supporting Something For Everyone
A former colleague turned me towards a new startup: Spliced. I decided to take a leap and join; the corporate structure of Amazon was getting to me anyways. I was tasked with gluing together a game that was advertised as something for everyone. I spent four years making the game feel cohesive, with a focus on player experience at every step of the way. I picked up some deep knowledge about Unreal Engine, (notably the AngelScript fork (thank you HazeLight)), and slowly climbed the fun ladder until my title had “Lead” in front of it (my favorite metal).