Author Credentials

Hey, this is kind of an "About the Author" page, but it will go into more detail than most of those things.

Anyways, I'm a student at Hampshire College, studying "Interactive Entertainment Software Design and Development". Or in laymans terms, I'm making video games.

Deisgn and Development Work
  • About eighth grade, I made some (simple, poorly designed) games using Macromedia Flash Fusion.
  • As a hobby I have designed new class mechanics for D&D 3.5 (I'll make a post linking to them someday soon).
  • I took part in a class using Cabana to make a game similar to Advanced Wars for mobile devices. I was one of two members on the design team, and I was the contact with the engineering team. It was a 6-person 8-week project.
  • I took part in a class using Unity to make a 3D 3rd-person platformer-adventurer. I was one of two members on the design team, with equal work. It was a 15-person 3-week project.
  • I was in a class again using Cabana, this time to make mobile apps. Projects included an advanced Tamagotchi and a World of Warcraft Raid Composition Calculator.
  • As a hobby I design new champions for League of Legends (RIOT Games).
Technical Experience
  • I have spent two summers doing QA for various software. Mostly Interactive Education stuff, with some Interactive Entertainment thrown in.
Gaming Experience
  • I started with the Jump Start series in early elementary school, going into Roller Coaster Tycoon and Age of Empires II by the end.
  • I started playing MMO's with Runescape in middle school.
  • RTS Experience
    • Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings (and Conquerors Expansion)
    • Starcraft (and Brood War Expansion)
    • Empire Earth II
    • Cossacks: European Wars
    • Starcraft II 
    • I Own Warcraft III, but haven't had time to play it yet.
  • RPG Experience
    • Runescape
    • MapleStory
    • Oblivion 
    • Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
    • World of Warcraft
    • Knights of the Old Republic (I haven't finished a full playthrough- not enough time)
    • Mass Effect
    • Dragon Age: Origins (and Awakening Expansion)
    • Mass Effect 2
    • Rift
    • Champions Online
    • Forsaken World
    • Spiral Knights
    • Neverwinter Nights II (No full playthrough)
    • Balduer's Gate (I haven't even had a chance to install it)
    • Diablo II (No full playthrough)
    • Diablo (Haven't even installed it. But I will.)
    • Assassin's Creed
    • Assassin's Creed II
    • Demon Soul
  • MMO Experience
    • World of Warcraft (including endgame of both Wrath of the Lich King and Cataclysm expansion packs)
    • Rift (Didn't get to level cap)
    • EVE (I don't even know if I got out of the starting system? Whats space? How do I buy gold? What is this ISK stuff? Holy crap its a thousand ISK for the cheapest piece of junk I can find? I'm gona be rich!)
    • Champions Online (I've spent more time with the character creator than in game)
    • Forsaken World (With chicks who look (and dress) like that, why forsake this world at all?)
    • Spiral Knights (No. It is not a Gurren-Lagann reference)
So I've played a fair number of games, and I've definitely forgotten a few. Minecraft should be up there somewhere.... Anyways, while I'm not the most prolific gamer, I have had experience and I can comment on what I've seen of those games fairly. I haven't seen the endgame for any MMOs other than WoW so I won't comment on them. I'll only say what I like and dislike of WoWs and then add in what I've heard other games do.