tl;dr I am a programmer making games and interactive applications!

Me I'm Chris, and I'm a game developer based in Vienna, Austria. I've been working in the games industry as a freelancer for about four years, starting out part-time during my studies, going full-time in 2017. I graduated in Media Informatics, a Master's program at the Vienna University of Technology. The program's focus lies on human-computer interaction, interaction design, and game design.

Experience I work predominantly in Unity. During my project-based work in the industry, I contributed to experimental, art-related, and social-impact games, often using novel technology, as well as commercial IPs. I often contributed to game design, and in all of the projects I was either the only or the leading programmer. Therefore I have experience in working in full development cycles, from pre-production to post-release, and I am used to make decisions and take responsibility.

Interest I love working on challenging projects, both from a design and technology standpoint. I'm also generally excited about games in the realm of art and society, viewing them as a medium that is a cultural asset instead of a pure container for entertainment. I want to make games that use the unique attributes of the medium in new and innovative ways.

Hire I am available for hire. If you are interested in hiring me for any kind of project related to games or augmented reality applications, don't hesitate to contact me.

Vienna - All Tomorrows

Facts
  • Interactive theatre. Three teams use tablets to shape the future of Vienna.
  • Uses AR technology (ARKit).
  • Around 2.5 month of development time.
  • Developed in Unity using ARKit, and Processing.
Created for Volkstheater Wien
Made with Causa Creations
Role
  • Programming
Website

Vienna - All Tomorrows is an interactive theatre play, made for Volkstheater in Vienna. Three teams with each having a different role use an AR interface on tablet devices to shape the future of Vienna.

The Fallen (Ongoing)

The Fallen

Facts
  • Documentary game about Ukraine's forzen conflict.
  • Using shooter mechanics to tell stories of fallen soldiers.
  • Around 2-3 weeks of development for current prototype.
  • Developed in Unity.
Made with gold extra
Role
  • Programming and Game Design
Recognition
Media
Website
Presskit

Set in the foggy ruins of an obliterated airport in Ukraine's disputed Eastern regions, The Fallen portrays a merciless skirmish that knows no heroes. The game is applying a unique narrational mechanic, forcing the player to take part in the carnage in order to hear the stories of the dead soldiers. It’s a powerful anti-war essay that disguises itself with the conventions of the first person shooter genre, while telling the real biographies of fallen combatants from both sides of the war. The Fallen is a brechtian shooter. It uses the conventions of a (sniper) shooter, but differs from them drastically in a some of the core aspects. The player has at no point a clear understanding for which side s/he fights. Firing upon enemies and killing them allows the player to hear their story. A prototype of the game is currently available. It was nominated for the A Maze awards 2017 in late April 2017. Development on the game will resume later in 2017. For the finished version, The Fallen is aiming at a compact experience, an essay that can be played from beginning till end in approximately an hour.

The Fallen is being developed by gold extra with the aid of Andreas Leitner, Coco Rath, Causa Creations, and myself. The Austrian art collective gold extra produces artworks in and in between gaming, fine arts, performance, music and hybrid media. They are engaged in constant research in innovative art form to create the matching formal environment for their ideas.

Sole City (2016)

Sole City

Facts
  • Documentary game about the expierence of street traders in the streets of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
  • Created for an exhibition by Dr. Alexis Malefakis at Ethnographic Museum Zurich.
  • Developed in Unity for Android and iOS tablets.
Made with gold extra
Role
  • Programming, Game Design
Website

The documentery game SOLE CITY puts yourself in the position of the daily life of a steet trader, who attempts to sell shoes in the streets of Dar Es Salaam, Tanzanias Capital. Additional dynamics of society, like the knowledge of places, people and situations, are added to the game. Slipping into this role means mediating direct impressions of the daily life and emcourages an understanding of the complex social and economic situations of African boom countries and with that - a more diversifying world. Through the focus on the very mundane street trade, the players are engaged to become aware of the diversity of the African daily life, success and failure, the anger about high rents and much more. Starting from within this microcosmos, surprising insights in the Tanzanian society and global, economic and interpersonal contexts are possible. To make causes visible instead of discussing final effects, such es the "refugee crisis", constitutes the necessary commitment of art in the humanitarian situation of today.

SOLE CITY is part of the exhibition "Make a living from old shoes" and builds on the research of the curator Dr. Alexis Malefakis, who has been intensively engaged with the situation of street traders. Sole City was presented as an installation in the exhibition and, at the same time, is accessibile as an online game for mobile devices.

My First Book of Tracks

Facts
  • My First Book of Tracks is a children's book by Roland Maurmair, accompanied by an augmented reality app.
  • The app displays 3D models of animals when pointed at illustrations in the book.
  • Developed in Unity for Android and iOS.
Developed for Roland Maurmair
Role
  • Programming
Website

My First Book of Tracks is a children's book in which knowledge transfer happens by way of the archaic art of track reading, in combination with virtual information through augmented reality.

The content presents seven tracks of indigenous animals which are included in the book in the form of embossed prints. The opposite page, in each case, shows an illustration of the respective animal. With the help of the Book of Tracks app the image can be scanned with a Smartphone or tablet, and the animal, subsequently, visualized three-dimensionally on the paper.

The app was developed in Unity, using the AR platform Vuforia.

Burn The Boards

Facts
  • Social impact mobile puzzle game about e-waste recycling in India
  • Created with Causa Creations and Jamo Games.
  • Created in Unity for Android and iOS.
Made with Causa Creations
Role
  • Programming, Level Design
Media
Website
Presskit

The player takes on the role of Arun, a villager who came to the big city with his wife and child to try his luck. Arun gets work in Chopra’s e-waste scrapyard, a small backyard factory where a dozen workers recycle electronic components. In order to feed his family, Arun has to recycle as many boards as possible, while toxic fumes will also poison him at the same time. The gameplay is based on puzzles that get increasingly complex. The player has to break the board apart in the most efficient manner, maximizing the profit. Through a shop system, the player can also purchase items that increase the characters ability to pick components, protect his health and help him to deal withhealth issues caused by the work. The game can only be won by hard work: after a particular sum is reached, Arun can afford to retire from his recycling job and look for healthier opportunities.

Burn the Boards also aims at tangible change. Not only does it want to inform about the dangers of e-waste recycling and the hazardous conditions of informal workers, but it will also allow for an impact in reality. With the support of the German NGO Action for World Solidarity Causa Creations will donate 50% of its revenues to the support of migrating work forces in India, most of whom are Dalits ("Untouchables").

MADchen (2014-2015)

MADchen

Facts
  • Atmospheric 2D puzzle game.
  • Created in a game design course at University.
  • Made in Unity for Windows, Mac, Linux.
Made with @lunamalie
Role
  • Game Design, Level Design, Programming, Sound Design
Recognition
Media
Website

MADchen is a puzzle game for PC. You walk a girl through her own nightmare, exploring the rooms of a house. Your goal is to exit rooms by turning on the lights - what seems to be scary when it's dark might not be scary afterall as soon as it's illuminated. Your little teddy is the only support you have to get you by the wicked creatures you will meet. But move carefully... A hasty step can be your last one!

The design focus was on the core gameplay mechanic of using light to directly influence the surroundings and to open ways through the levels. The atmosphere should create a feeling of anxiety and helplessness in players. This feeling is promoted by not giving the avatar the ability to jump, so players can't simply avoid monsters by skillfully overcome them. Playing the game should feel like an experience of cautious exploration.

The major area needing improvement is the level design. The core mechanics would need to be introduced in a "safe environment", where players can grasp the concept of how a newly introduced mechanic works without failing if doing it wrong.

Spaceship (2015)

Spaceship

Facts
  • Local multiplayer game.
  • Created at Global Game Jam in Graz, Austria.
  • Created in Unity for Windows, Mac, Linux.
Made with
Role
  • Game Design, Programming, Sound Design
Website

Spaceship is a local multiplayer game for 4 players. The players are in control of ONE spacecraft, together they have the heroic task of maneuvering the vehicle safely through the depths of an asteroid field, and reach their space-station. Each player controls a different part (engines or laserbeams) of the spacecraft. BUT WATCH OUT! Every action taken - may it be firing a laser or thrusting the engines - will have an enormous impact on the balance of the spacecraft.

This silly games lives from it's unique way in how players need to cooperate. No communication means soon death. The controls are as simple as it gets - one axis and one button.

Drop me an Email: chris@tali.at

Follow me on Twitter
Background Image | CC BY-SA 3.0 
http://subtlepatterns.com/concrete-seamless/