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ABOUT ME

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Hi, my name's Ethan. I'm a game designer that specializes in level and encounter design, which is accentuated by a background in film and narrative. I have experience in Unity and Unreal Engine.

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My skill set includes environment research, level sketching, blockmesh, with experience modeling 3D environments in Maya and Unreal BSP, narrative design, and creating level mechanics and gameplay sequences, including in-game cinematics. 

 

Feel free to look around my site to see more of my work.

MY LEVEL DESIGN PHILOSOPHY

I believe that Level Design is storytelling. Whether it is an action-packed combat encounter, a slow walk through an abandoned mansion, an exploration puzzle, or the myriad of other activities and interactions players might experience in a level, enhancing those spaces with storytelling fundamentals like a clear purpose, defined motivation, and a structured beginning, middle, and end has allowed me to leverage my background in narrative into more engaging and compelling gameplay sequences.

OTHER LORE DROPS

Before getting into games, I earned a bachelor's degree in screenwriting, which has proven beneficial in pacing and structuring levels and level sequences. When I'm not working on games (or playing them), I love to cook, I've played guitar for most of my life, and I have a really cool t-shirt with Nick Offerman on it.

SKILLS

LEVEL DESIGN

  • Research

  • Sketching

  • C# Scripting

  • Blueprint Visual

  • Encounter Design

  • Scripting

  • Playtesting and Rapid Iteration

  • 3D Modeling

NARRATIVE DESIGN

  • Environmental Storytelling

  • Screenwriting

  • Traditional Storytelling

  • Dialogue

  • Character Barks

  • In-Game Cutscenes

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TOOLS

  • Unity Engine

  • Unreal Engine

  • Maya

  • Confluence/Jira

  • Perforce

  • GitHub

EDUCATION

DigiPen Institute of Technology

BA Game Design, 2023

Redmond, WA, USA

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Webster University

BA Screenwriting, 2013

Webster Groves, MO, USA

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