Senior Mobile Game Developer (Jan 2008 - present)
Venan has grown from small games for classic cell phones to being one of the
foremost developers
of iOS games. My first project for the company was Monopoly® for the iPod classic. Since then, I have been lead developer
on a good number of titles and have contributed to almost all of Venan's productions via work on our cross-platform game engine.
All of Venan's games are produced boutique-style in very small teams (2 - 4 developers) and in rapid development cycles
(about 4 - 6 months). As a developer at Venan, I have had to work very closely with both artists and designers; we adhere
to the belief that developers are not just programmers, and should be an integral part of the design process.
RoadTrippin' (EA Mobile)
(June 2011 - present)
RoadTrippin' is a freemium game contracted to Venan through EA Mobile.
As lead developer, I was in charge of the design and implementation of both the iOS client and the server infrastructure.
The iOS client communicates via RESTful HTTP transactions to a 10+ node, load-balanced Java server (JBoss) backed
by a sharded MySQL database.
Responsibilities
Led a team of 2 - 4 developers.
Design and implement client using an asynchronous, message-based architecture. Design and implement the server
platform including REST transactions and database back-end. Work closely with deployment and system administration
teams to provide support during produc roll-out and updates. Design and implement a framework for DLC to
easily add new content at a later date.
Accomplishments
RoadTrippin' was released Nov 2011 and is currently being enjoyed by thousands and thousands of players.
Key Technologies
Freemium game concepts, iOS, C++, Objective-C, Java, REST, MySQL, JBoss, sharding, Amazon Cloud services, DLC.
NBA Elite 11 (EA Mobile)
(Oct 2010 - May 2011)
NBA Elite 11 is the 5th in the series of EA Sport's basketball franchise ported to mobile gaming. Venan has produced
all of them since NBA LIVE 07. This installment is the second to make use of the full technology of the iOS platform and
includes a full 3D skeletal animation system, OpenGLES shaders, and an extensively optimized rendering pipeline.
Responsibilities
Led a team of 3 - 4 developers.
Design and implement the upgrade to NBA Live for iOS. Design and implement OpenGL shaders. Maintain and enhance
3D skeletal animation system.
Accomplishments
NBA Elite 11 was released in November 2010 and was enjoyed by many players until EA's license with the NBA expired :(
Key Technologies
iOS, C++, Objective-C, OpenGLES, GLSL, shaders, 3D skeletal animation.
Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (SEGA USA)
(Aug 2009 - Jan 2010)
This game was officially licensed by the IOC as a tie-in for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. It featured four events: curling,
snowboarding, figure skating, and skeleton - all rendered in 3D. Each event had unique gameplay and input mechanics. For example,
curling required the player to use tactics and touch input to aim and manipulate the stones while snowboarding made use soley
of the accelerometer.
Responsibilities
Led a team of 3 developers. Design and implement the architechure of the game. Implement a framework that would easily allow
for new games to be added at a later date.
Accomplishments
The game was released at the end of January and enjoyed by a handful of people before SEGA pulled the game a week later
for undisclosed reasons :(
Key Technologies
iOS, C++, Objective-C, OpenGLES, GLSL, shaders, 3D skeletal animation.
In addition to the specific projects listed above, I provided miscellaneous support and library development on the following titles:
Book Of Heroes
Ninjatown: Trees of Doom
Space Miner
Space Miner Blast
For additional information, see Venan Entertainment Inc.
Bioinformatics Developer (Aug 2005 - Dec 2007)
Engineer, design, architect, and implement a graphical application suite used to automate tissue/cell analysis.
Suite integrates third-party fluorescence microscopy hardware with custom software
(AQUAnalysis™). Massive tissue micro-array (TMA)
and whole-tissue section (WTS) data sets are collected and analyzed in a "one-click" process using cell morphology
and biomarker quantization. Additionally, managed development environment server (Linux) containing SVN source control,
back-ups, and additional infrastructure.
Responsibilities
Advance technology development up through FDA medical device certification.
Develop and implement new analysis algorithms. Design and implement hardware to software interface.
Design and implement graphical user interface. Maintain software repository and change tracking systems.
Manipulate and analyze high precision images for use in high throughput micro biological quantification.
Key Technologies
Fluorescence microscopy, biological imaging, TMA, WTS, .NET, C#, MS Visual Studio, Windows GUI design,
Linux, SVN.
For additonal information see HistoRx.
Internet Developer for Global Services (July 2000 - Aug 2005)
Open Infrastructure Offerings (April 2004 - Aug 2005)
This project encompassed transforming a spreadsheet-based business process into a dynamic MVC-based Java web application.
Responsibilities
Spearhead development of multinational, high-profile, enterprise Java application. Investigate and recommend technologies.
Design MVC component architecture, including security layer and tag library for consistent look and feel. Take lead EJB developer role.
Responsible for application deployment / maintenance of application on development, testing, and production machines.
Performance tuning.
Accomplishments
Released April 2005. Estimated savings of billions of dollars to global operations cost and return on investments.
Key technologies
WebSphere 5, WSAD 5.1, EAD4J, Struts/Tiles, EJB, AIX, DB2 V8.
HorizonAG internal/external site development (Oct 2002 - Aug 2005)
HorizonAG's web portal required such features as granular access control, complex system administration, and
product tracking/reporting functionality.
Responsibilities
Working in a very small team to design and implement internal and external interfaces to company functions.
Administer application server/database and project software repository.
Key technologies
DB2, Java (J2EE), Apache, Tomcat, Struts, Tiles, CVS, Linux.
SmartCard - Card Management System (CMS) (Apr 2001 - June 2002)
Developed base functionality for a fully integrated life-cycle management system for SmartCards and embedded chips.
This is a web based management solution for embedded chip providers.
Responsibilities
Develop, expand and enhance a base framework into an application capable of managing millions of cards. Design, create,
and implement a client and server through which a user can interact with their personal SmartCard via a home computer or kiosk.
Accomplishments
Architected framework change saving weeks of coding time; greatly assisted systems administrator with UNIX related task including
the creation of Perl/shell programs to automate the build process.
Key technologies
Java (J2EE), Java (Applets), WebSphere, IBM DB2, EJB, Perl, Visualage for Java, JSP, and XML, Java SmartCards, JCOP.
IBM
Manager: IT Services Residential Computing Consultants (Aug 1998 - May 2000)
Managed eighteen consultants in providing 24 hour, on-site computer and networking support for all university students.
Administrated a Linux server that housed services needed by Helpdesk staff.
Responsibilities
Staff management, training of consultants, and hardware/software acquisition. Provide tech support for and assist in installation
and maintenance of cable modem network. Systems administrator.
Key technologies
Debian Linux, MySQL, Perl, and Apache, ModPerl.
Wesleyan University
