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My name is Tim Carter, and XFunc_ is my portfolio
site. I'm primarily a generalist game designer with experience in filmmaking,
military and new media.
I live in Toronto, Canada and work as a game designer
and design
consultant. 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.
I am 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.
Currently I am teaching game design subjects at
the University of Ontario, Information Technology (UOIT.ca). I am
also
involved as lead game designer in a proposal with SimQuest (out of
Washington DC) to develop a real time strategy game to train hospital administrators response practices
to pandemic events (one of the top potential threats facing the
world now). We have passed Phase 1 and are now moving our
application to Phase 2. This project is being funded by the United
States Office of the Secretary of Defense.
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, 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 Washington Hospital
Center on weekend nights, seeing victims of car accidents, attempted
murders and so on, and how the practitioners worked the "circus" of
emergency medicine.
In my work I emphasize certainty of voice, in-depth research, and listening to and discovering the
essence of the client's story - focusing on the objective of the
project rather than the wants of the creator. I find many game
developers have an unearned sense of entitlement when designing a
serious game - namely that the game should be fun to them (like an
entertainment game) rather than effective to the client - a habit I
work to avoid.
I prefer iterative development when prototyping
new projects - simply because it is more realistic than scheduled
"waterfall" development - even though cautious clients want the
security blanket of an on-paper schedule (many game development
companies provide these documents knowing full well they have no
idea whether they are right or not). Iterative prototyping is a
realistic and proven technique to design new types of games in a low
risk manner. 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 theory and "book
knowledge". I have done a lot of original research in game
design (as opposed to using other games as a starting point) 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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