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My name is Tim Carter, and XFunc_ is my portfolio
site.
I'm a freelance game designer, producer and consultant living in Toronto, Canada.
Currently I am CEO of Core Talent Games - a start-up that
does project-base game producing (www.coretalentgames.com).
As a game designer I'm focused on the subject-matter side of game
design, including developing realistic and "serious" games,
such as ones for disaster response training. I also like to develop
good story content, including dialogue and mission writing.
Recently
I spent two years working in the Baltimore-Washington area as a game
designer. I've worked for companies elsewhere, including New York
and Seattle, on a remote basis.
In this site I describe various projects I've been involved
in in a key role. I occasionally describe XFunc in plural terms
- as a "we" or an "us" - when speaking of
projects I've done
with collaborators.
I work in three main areas: game design, writing
(content, design and technical) and digital filmmaking. I have done
most of my work on a contract basis, but occasionally I work as an
employee.
I have had a long love affair with games - since I
was a teenager in the early 1980s. But at the same time I am a
content creator - I studied and worked in film and writing. I know
the syntax of game design
like the back of my hand.
Another thing I have done is outdoors work in the
hands-on "real world" - reservist military service in
Canada, some resource
industry work, and so on - which has been
invaluable when creating original design. Many people want to design
in a bubble (such as a game development office), but I think you
have to get out there. When I did key design of the hospital
training game Code Orange, for example, I took the initiative
to spend time in the big-city trauma unit of DC's Washington Hospital Center on weekend nights, seeing victims of car accidents, attempted
murders and so on, and how the practitioners worked the "organized
chaos" of
emergency medicine.
In game design I emphasize the language of game
design itself - not just making new technology. I emphasize design
that understands the larger world - rather than merely reflecting
unexamined desires of the creator. I emphasize critical thinking.
I prefer iterative development when prototyping
new projects. It's more realistic than scheduled
"waterfall" development at the early stage. Once such a prototype has been successfully built, then
we can go to the scheduled, ramped-up, full production phase.
In serious game design (and even design of some
realistically-flavoured entertainment games) I prefer to reflect the perspective of those who actually do it "in the
trenches" over those who stay in the realm of theory or "book
knowledge". I have done a lot of original research in game
design (as opposed to using other games as a starting point for
derivative design) and
have had the good fortune to work with many hands-on experts.
If you are looking for a significant contribution
in the field of games - either game design or commentary on them - or
in some other media or interactive field - and if I'm not currently
occupied with another project - then I can help you.
Please feel free to contact me.
Click here for my bio.
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