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Michael Ammer                                                                              Level Designer MCAmmer146@gmail.com                                                                               5000 Whitestone Ln, Apt 1527 (412) 952-4519                                                                                                                     Plano, Tx 75024

Skills

Editors & Engines – Unreal Technology 3 (Unreal Tournament 3, Gears of War), Radiant (Doom 3, Call of Duty 4), Gamebryo (Morrowind, Oblivion), Hammer (Half-Life 2), Unity

Scripting/Programming – OblivionScript, DoomScript, JavaScript, C#, Unreal Kismet

Art Asset Creation – 3D Studio Max, Adobe Photoshop CS2, Texture Maker

Office Applications – Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Adobe Acrobat Professional

Written & Verbal Communication Skills - Very strong written and verbal documentation and communication skills   

Design Specialties

·         Architectural Design Skills

·         Strong BSP Creation & Editing

·         Modular Level Construction/Detailing

·         Terrain Creation and Editing

·         Atmospheric Lighting & Sound

·         Level & Environmental Scripting

·         Machinima/Matinee

·         Modeling, Unwrapping, & Animating  Assets

·         Level and Gameplay Flow Planning

·         Concept, Pitch, & Design Documentation

   

Game Development Experience

The Ghost Ship – Standalone Doom III mod (Masters Project)                             January 2009 – April 2009

Level Designer, Scripter

  • Created a self-contained, standalone story-driven level within the Doom III engine to determine the effects of camera perspective on player investment
  • Wrote a custom 3rd-Person camera mod to test against standard 1st-Person perspective
  • Designed, BSP blocked out, textured, decorated, lit, and placed enemies for 10 minutes of gameplay
  • Wrote several custom scripted sequences within DoomScript designed to maximize player immersion/investment within the space
  • Interviewed playtesters who playtested both perspectives on the level, analyzed and organized data, presented results as a Master’s Thesis

     

Leviathan – Unreal Tournament 3 Total Conversion (Team Project)                     December 2008 – April 2009

Special Effects and Matinee Artist 

  • Worked directly with Art Lead to create the textures, materials, and emitters necessary for game particle systems
  • Worked extensively with Unreal material editor and Cascade to create engaging and realistic particle effects, as well as dynamic and adaptive in-game materials
  • Worked with Level Design Lead to create atmospheric, environmental, and story-advancing Matinee sequences
  • Designed and scripted the game’s introductory level

 

Nightbear: The Stuffening – UTIII Mod/Gametype (Team Project)              August 2008 – October 2008

Game Designer and Weapon Artist

  • Concepted and designed gameplay for a custom multiplayer UTIII gametype and mod
  • Documented & pitched game design, oversaw production
  • Modeled, unwrapped, rigged, animated and imported each of the game’s 6 guns
  • Worked to create high-detail, high-poly first person meshes for guns, as well as low-poly 3rd person versions

 

Moriarcis: City of the Dead – Oblivion Mod                                                        March 2008 – May 2008

Level Designer, Scripter

  • Created a completely autonomous city of undead skeletal citizens
  • Designed layout and flow of underground ruined city, as well as 2 new dungeons
  • Populated city with custom skeletal NPCs, complete with daily Radiant AI schedules
  • Wrote 7 custom spells with OblivionScript, each with a unique scripted spell effect, such as the summoning of skeletal companion NPCs
  • Wrote scripts for custom-made placable, posable, and equippable skeletal mannequins
  • Created 2 reassembled and retextured armors

 

Work Experience

Last Bastion Games                                                                        January 2007 – July 2008

Artist/Game Designer  

  • Worked part time in conjunction with a programmer to create Unity-based, web-distributed games
  • Used 3ds Max and Photoshop to model, texture, rig, and animate low-poly assets for 3D web games 

The Pennsylvania State University                                             January 2006 – May 2006

Flash Game Design Teaching Assistant  

  • Worked with a Professor of Game Theory to instruct a class of 18 students in the art, scripting, and game design skills necessary for the creation of Flash-based games

 

Education

Master’s of Interactive Technology                                                                                     The Guildhall at SMU

Specialization in Level Design                                                                                                May 2009    

Gearbox Scholarship Award Winner                                                                                                                            

Bachelor’s Degree in Integrative Arts                                                        The Pennsylvania State University

Specialization in New Media                                                                                                     May 2007

Minor in Architecture