What is a Ryan?

       My name is Ryan and I'm a game designer.
It's taken me quite a while to make that a provable statement, but now I can say with certitude that there are few things I enjoy on this planet as much as making games. I have always had a love of games; outdoor, on a table, and on a screen.

       When I officially accepted entrance to the University of California, Santa Cruz, I came in as "Undeclared Computer Science". I didn't even know about the newly formed "Computer Science: Game Design" degree, I just knew that the industry I wanted to work in was "computers".

       I look back on my first game design class, "Introduction to Game Design" and can't help but be happy. Walking in the first day, the professor was humming the Katamari theme in front of an audience of almost two hundred of my peers. The next action of my professor solidified the rest of my life. He pulled out a Guitar Hero controller and rocked out on a screen bigger than my house. It was then that I knew I had enrolled in the right school.

       Fast forward to now, and I couldn't be happier at what I've done with my time at UC Santa Cruz. I realized my passion.
Some people call being perfectly content spending 12 hours in lab 5 days a week insane.
Some people call subsisting on cheddar Sun Chips and water from the fountain down the hall unhealthy.
Some people call spending hours standing in front of a whiteboard drawing countless lines and circles and deriving formulae boring.
I call it Game Design, and that is what I love.

       Outside of making games, I've been fortunate enough to be able to take up numerous other activities during my time at UC Santa Cruz. Archery, cycling (both mountain and road), and rowing are just a few of the many things I've taken a liking to.

       Well now that you know all about me, there's nothing to do except view my projects! Or you could get in touch with me somehow.