Joana Uyyek
As someone who enjoys visual art, storytelling, and solving technical problems, game design represents the perfect intersection between my various passions. Games can tell interesting, and most importantly, interactive stories in a way that is difficult or impossible in other media. They can present beautiful landscapes to explore, characters to meet, and challenges to overcome, both alone and with friends.
I started game design making maps and mods using Valve's Source SDK, putting thousands of hours into various projects before branching off into other games and tools. Most of that time was spent on a standalone story mod for Half-Life 2, which ultimately proved too ambitious for my teenage self but taught me a great deal about the design process, as well as being my first experience leading a small development team.
Ever since I graduated from UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Computer Science: Game Design, I've continued with independent projects and mods, and I look forward to what I'll be able to do in the future.