PORTFOLIO
www.heatherarbiter.com
Samples of game demos, design documents and coursework.

ROCHESTER INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, ROCHESTER, NY – 2008-2010
Master of Science 	Game Design and Development
Course work: Completed numerous projects including full demos and several additional design documents (see portfolio). Majority of work completed in teams. Experience with design, programming and asset creation. Instrumental in documentation, balance, testing and gameplay refinement on projects.

The Trip: 3D Game, Capstone Project
Multiplayer “mock survival horror” about being struck by madness on an African safari. Contributed to design documentation, extensive gameplay programming, particle design, camera design, independent research on camera transitions for dynamic split screen. Built in C# with XNA, The Trip is being concluded for eventual release on XBLI. 

Revenge of the Duzzles: 2D Game Demo	
Top-down shooter about a maid combating flying dust. Programmed significant portions of gameplay including scoring, shooting and enemy spawning. Lead design sessions and authored design document. Responsible for testing and subsequent refinement.  Coordinated with composer to tune music to desired feel for the game. Produced with DirectX10 in C++.

Shelf Life: 3D Game Demo	
Platformer about a gnome who lives in a refrigerator and must arrange and stack food to navigate and prevent it from spoiling. Programmed significant portions of gameplay including scoring and world population. Responsible for testing and subsequent refinement. Authored design document and modeled several objects in world. Produced DirectX10 in C++.

Independent Study: HeatherWiki 
Designed and a developed a system for using MediaWiki for design documentation and building design documents. Augmented with software mods in PHP with SQL to automate document building and organization. System used successfully by others in both education and industry.

Graduate Assistant: Preserving Virtual Worlds project	
Worked with emulators and examined old platforms. Defined testing parameters for data to gather on emulators.  Collected, organized and documented results.

	
STONY BROOK UNIVERSITY, STONY BROOK, NY – 2004-2008
Bachelor of Science	Computer Science (Honors) with specialization in Game Development
Coursework: Created various game demos both solo and in groups in C++ and Torque. 

Senior Project: Spellcraft
Created an educational game demo using Torque Game Engine. Examined the viability of creating an MMO to teach upper-level vocabulary. Designed techniques for integrating the vocabulary training into multiple aspects of gameplay. Lead the asset creation team and managed the art pipeline. 


PROFICIENCIES
Languages: C#, C++, C, TorqueScript, PHP, Java, HTML, CSS, SQL, XML, Wikitext, Prolog, Processing.
APIs: DirectX 9/10, XNA, XACT, OpenGL, MediaWiki, Java Wiki Bot Framework, TinyXML.
Asset Creation: Maya, Blender, Bryce 5, Adobe Creative Suite, Adacity.
Documentation: Microsoft Office, Visio, MediaWiki, Confluence Wiki, PBWiki, LaTeX.
Torque Game Engine: Coursework and industry experience.  Scripting in TorqueScript and modding the engine in C++. Extensive work in transferring assets from artists into engine.


WORK EXPERIENCE
Programmer/Scripter, Forever Interactive
Summer 2009: Worked on upcoming RPG title in Torque. Scripted elements of system to do vast visual changes in world without reloading levels. Worked with designers, programmers, and artists.  Managed studio wikis. 

Conference Associate, GDC
March 2009 & 2010: Assisted in sessions and manned information booths. Checked badges, distributed surveys, and ensured that attendees had a positive experience at GDC.

Sysop/Bureaucrat, GuildWiki
2007-2009: Appointed administrator of game wiki by earning trust and respect of community. Participated in discussions of policy, formatting and content. Extensive experience with MediaWiki, Wikitext, and community management.

Intern, Active Web Group
Summer 2007: Web and graphic design with Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Created templates for email offers. Utilized various web design techniques. Generated content and sections of various websites including www.smithtownrestaurants.com.

Offie Assistant, Sana Plumbing Corp
Summers 2002-08: Reception and word-processing. Instituted system for computerizing manual bookkeeping system. Assisted with moving existing manual records to computer. 

Intern, Citigroup
January 2006: Diagrammed stages of development for new automated report generation process. Learned about software development in the financial industry. Experienced working in a large, corporate IT environment.

Intern, Creative Image Co.
Summer 2005: Created system for media archiving and filing. Trained others in organizational efficiency. Learned principles of marketing and advertising