My journey continues, and I'm excited about what could be next.

I've been an artist and designer in video games for seventeen years. I've actually worn all kinds of hats in the game industry, including running an art department of forty people, being a Creative Director for a magazine, curating a gallery show on video game art, and doing a stint in Human Resources. I briefly had my own startup with the goal to make positive impact games I could play with my son. These days I manage a small team of artists creating artwork for a family-friendly video game that's a big hit around the world. What I do professionally is the fulfillment of my own childhood dream.

For the last eight years, in addition to my day job making games, I've run a website that tracks game companies globally. I love hearing from people around the world about how I've been able to help them find their dream jobs or how listing their company has put them "on the map". I recently completed three papers on Positive Impact Games for the National Conversation on Games and the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy. I also had the opportunity to work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation to make a little girl's dream of being a game designer come true.

My four year marriage to my first girlfriend ended in divorce (we separated in November 2011). We were together for six years. We're doing a decent job as coparents.

I'm a proud dad of a three year old. He's a better dancer than I am. I fit the word "poopoo" into songs because it cracks him up. I treasure our time together, and he amazes me constantly.

My ex-wife and I adopted a kitten from a friend few years ago. I named him Pip after a character in a Richard Scarry book, and he's joined me on my big adventure. I love that little guy.

I have dual citizenship (American/Canadian) and I've been all over the world. I'd like to spend more time in Iceland and Norway.

I recently took a trip to Washington DC to see some of the museums I've wanted to visit since I was a kid. I once had an armchair critic tell me that what I did wasn't art. One highlight of the trip was seeing The Art of Video Games exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

1. Being a dad.
2. Caring, sharing, and dreaming. And then making stuff happen.
3. Finding the silver lining in tough situations. Being happy.
4. Faux accents and in general being a bit of a dork.
5. IT Support, process engineering, and snake charming.
6. Words with Friends.

My smile and good nature!

Books: I love all kinds of art books.
Movies: The Party, Airplane 2, TRON, The Namesake, The King's Speech, Koi... Mil Gaya, Oblivion
TV Shows: Friday Night Lights, Monk
Music: Elizabeth Mitchell, Sharon Lois and Bram, Talvin Singh, Nitin Sawhney, Kraftwerk, Underworld, Röyksopp, Pomplamoose
Food: Chaat. Tzatziki. Kebabs. Barbeque. Sorbet.
Games: Words with Friends, Skylanders

1. A fast computer to run my art tools and my Cintiq!
2. My car... I like going wherever the fancy strikes. Public transit wins sometimes, but not often.
3. The change purse and the tip card in my wallet. I appreciate the little details that make life smoother.
4. My iPhone is my everything information appliance. My son takes pictures and listens to music with it. There's no going back.
5. I'm not much of a cook yet, but I do care about my kitchen! For some reason people seem surprised when they come over and find that I'm not living like a "bachelor".
6. The little black notebook that my family gave me for my birthday a couple years ago. Inside they filled the tiny pages with "Things We Love About You!!"

how to live a simple, comfortable, and balanced life and how to raise my son well. I want him to have the very best in the world. I also spend a lot of time thinking about how to make the game industry a better place and how we can do more meaningful work.

01/10/2013
Just made some more progress, so I feel good about posting this: the latest thing I'm thinking a lot about is how to get video games into hospitals for patients to use to normalize their stay and help with pain management. The first hospital I'm doing this with is Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, and I'd like to find another children's hospital in the Bay Area to do this with this summer. I feel like I'm in a unique position to do something like this with my personal network across the game industry. If you know anyone I should be talking to, please let me know.

02/04/2013
The project with Texas Children's Hospital is going really well. I've been in my new place for just over a week, and am thinking a lot about where stuff goes. Spring cleaning is coming a bit early, I think.

meeting friends for dinner and doing something fun, or staying in and working on a personal project.

If you're looking for a few more things to differentiate me from the other fish in the sea:
1. I've tandem-jumped out of a plane and dry heaved upon landing. So I'm not the most graceful fellow in the world!
2. I've tried an improv class and done some karaoke. I'm not great at either, but hey, I had fun!
3. I've taken sauna while in Sweden and chased it by jumping into a cold lake. Naked, of course. Aw, yeah!

I'm a pretty open book once you get to know me, and I've given you a headstart. So now it's your turn...

... you do something for a living that helps people or makes the world a better place. Teaching, Social entrepreneurship... that's hot. :)

... you engage in some form of creative expression. You get bonus points for taking the seeds of ideas from your head and giving them form or flight.

... you could see yourself dating a responsible single dad. I have a three year old in preschool and I'm the proud new owner of a cottage in El Cerrito... that's hot, too! Innit?

... you live/work either in Marin or the East Bay. I had to admit the impracticality of getting into and out of San Francisco after a few dates in the city. I work in Novato and live in El Cerrito. I want to spend more time with you than I spend on BART or in traffic and looking for parking.

... if you're a lawyer and would consider giving a few hours of your time to helping me legally protect my map before I get others involved in developing it further.

... if you're a web programmer who would enjoy working on a site that has made a positive difference in people's lives and gets 30,000 visits a month from around the world, hello!