Jacob Nowak, Game Designer

Overview

I am a Game Designer with over 3 years of experience and a degree in Game Design and Production. I specialize in creative troubleshooting, patience, and adaptability. My creative flair plays a crucial role in both crafting unique content and overcoming challenges throughout development. I am known to be a reliable team player and am confident I can provide any team I find myself on with a positive and fresh perspective.

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What Do I want?

To be a Game Designer! I enjoy pretty much all types of games and the unique problems that come with designing them. More importantly, I am a people person, meaning that I thrive when talking about complicated game systems and working with a team. Outside of that, I find that I actually have a lot to say about art and enjoy programming. I excel in positions where I can create and enjoy every step of the process. If you are looking for a creative, passionate, and consistent person, I'm your guy.

Education/Experience

Academy of Interactive Entertainment

Degree in Game Design and Production - 2019 to 2021

North Idaho College
English and Writing - 2018 to 2019

Post Falls High School & Kootenai Technical

Diploma and Welding certification - 2015 to 2019

Apprentice Millwright at S&S Industries

- The most relevant skill acquired is an aptitude for understanding and designing schematics for machines and building layouts, which I have found to help with level designs!

Level Design
Relevant Skills

Level Design(prototyping-execution)
C# and Lua Programming
Visual Programming with Bolt and Blueprints
Unity & Unreal experience (Also Pico 8!)
3D Art: Maya, Substance, Photoshop
2D Art: Photoshop, Asesprite, Etc
Game Balance and testing experience
Blueprint/Schematic Design as a Welder/MillWright
Self motivation and positive determination

Values

I value respect on a mutual level
I believe inclusivity and individuality are important when working with a team and in everyday life
There is always room for positivity, but maintaining a conscious level of tact within each engagement is vital
There is no problem without a solution or alternative
Passion and Creativity are hugely important
Anyone can achieve their dreams with enough elbow grease and dedication

Systems Design Relevant Skills

Economies(Experience building and implementing resource systems in games.)
C# and Lua Programming
Visual Programming with Bolt and Blueprints
Unity & Unreal experience
Knowledge of Google Suite, notably Google Sheets!
Game Balance and testing experience
Vast experience building workable flowcharts to outline game information
Experience with Jira and other similar software

Worldbuilding Relevant Skills

Direct Worldbuilding experience. Short stories, game concepts, MTG Plane creation.
Writing experience. Creating short stories and video game stories.
Experience creating Art bibles and World Guides.
Art brief experience on multiple unique project types.
Storyboard and Quest creation!

Other Skills

Game Design (Levels, Systems, Econonomies)
Collaboration and experience with Production, Art, and Programming disciplines
Testing and Feedback
Client production experience
Data graphing(Excell/Google Sheets)
Board and Card Game Design
Narrative Design(storyboarding, game plots)
Storyboarding
Project Management: HackNPlan, Jira, Etc
Sprint Planning & Scrum Management
Version control management: P4V, Git, Etc
UI/UX Design(Adobe XD, Figma, Photoshop)
Remote Experience with Teams, Zoom, Slack, and Discord.

Why A Jackelope?

In middle school, I had a jaunty teacher that nicknamed me Jackelope. I later attached myself to the name, due to my belief that the name suits my creative nature. Jackalopes are a combination of two ordinary things mashed into something mythical, and I believe that is fairly representative of how my creative approach can be!