My name is Zach and I am a graduate from Oregon State University with a Bachelors in Computer Science. I have enjoyed playing video games for a long time, but in 2005 I got my first peak behind the curtain at what goes into making a game. Around then studios started to include behind the scenes bonus features with their games and that was all it took to get me hooked. I was too young then and didn't have the resources necessary to actually create games but I started pushing the boundaries in games and paying very close attention to details to try and figure out how things work and why. I decided to pursue a degree in software engineering and this has given me an excellent foundation which I can apply to games.
Before I started at OSU I learned basic programming with C# in high school and I found that I greatly enjoyed the challenges and problem solving that came along with it. C# was a great starting language for me because I could easily create desktop applications with visual studio. A little later in high school I learned the basics of C and a little of C++ with Arduino and from there began to explore programming with C/C++ and Java on Linux. In my early years at OSU I found great enjoyment in my CS classes. I would stay up all night working on projects just because I was having fun working on them. I took every opportunity I could to creatively solve the problems in my assignments and I excelled as a CS major. When I was finally able to start taking classes related to game development I was instantly hooked on graphics programming. Seeing triangles on screen produced by code that I wrote was very fulfilling! After that I purchased many books related to game programming in an attempt to prepare myself for the industry as much as I could.
Now that I have graduated, I find myself even more passionate about making games. After many long years of school I am excited to get work and show how dedicated I am about making games. I'm ready to work hard and put my degree to use!