ABOUT Leo.Ceballos

 

NAME: Leonardo J. Ceballos

BORN: San Juan, Puerto Rico, Earth (Terra), Sol System, Orion Arm, Sector ZZ9

DATE: 1980 AD (TERRAN), 12,457 3rd Epcoh (Galactic)

RACE: Homo Sapiens Sapiens (Terran) (Disputed)

VITAL STATS: Mammalian, omnivorous,1.75m (5'-9"), green optic receptors, dark brown hair

CURRENT LOCATION: Atlanta, Georgia, Earth (Terra)

 

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT:

Hello, and welcome to my portfolio site! My full name is Leonardo J Ceballos, but everyone calls me Leo, so feel free to do that. Until recently employed as an interactive 3D visualization developer (using Unity and WebGL), I am also a game artist and designer, self-styled sci-fi writter, veteran gamemaster (and DM, storyteller, narrator, you name it) former web designer/developer and archviz artist. I have been creating computer art in various forms professionaly for over a decade, and have been a gamer almost three times as long.

 

I am the child of an artist and an engineer, and therein lies my greatest struggle. At any given time, the left and right sides of my brain are equally ready, alert, armed, and spoiling for a fight (or at least a challenge!). I enjoy everything from traditional mural painting (which I once did professionally) to building computers (for which I have an A+ certification) but I have found that in order to feel fulfilled, and maintain the fragile truce inside my own head, I have to challenge both aspects of my personality. It was for this reason that I set off to Syracuse Univesrity, where I received a BFA in Computer Art; it seemed the perfect solution to my situation. Upon returning home I began to work as a web designer (and occasional developer) and to produce 3D Architectural renderings; first as a freelancer, and then with a local advertising agency (RE Advertising) which specialized in real estate campaigns.

 

Meanwhile, as the titanic struggle to find a path raged in my head, I played games; pretty much since I can remember. I remember Pac-Man, Space Invaders, Donkey Kong, and Star Voyager on my dad's 2600; I'd watch for hours as he played Sierra's early Quest games on an 80/66 IBM PS2. I remember begging for and finally getting my own NES. I remember Starflight, a little known 1986 PC game that even back then blew me away and opened my mind to narrative and design possibilities that I am still exploring today. I would go on to play more video games than I can easily count and own console after console; NES, SNES, Playstation, N64, Game Boy, Game Gear, Lynx, Gamcube, PS2, Xbox 360, Wii, PS3; though I have always come back to the PC for many of my favorite experiences. But my passion for gaming extended beyond the digital. I first played Dungeons & Dragons in elementary school, and almost immediately ended up being the Dungeon Master; I would go on to run RPG campaigns constantly until a little after college; over 15 solid years; and frankly I would pick it up again in an instant.

 

A few years ago, still feeling somewhat unfulfilled with my career choices, I came to realize what should have been obvious from the start; I needed to be involved in game development. And so I took off again, and so here I stand with an MA in Game Development & Interactive Design from SCAD Atlanta. I have also had the opportunity to work at the Georgia Tech Augmented Reality lab as part of a project funded by Qualcomm and currently, I am racing to complete my first solo commercial game project, Darkdawn: Encounters. While working on these things I have found a degree of satisfaction with my work I had not experienced before; the various parts of my personality are all finaly aligned. No matter the deadlines or difficulties, I find I thrive on the challenges presented by game design and development, and I look forward to the opportunity to work on more and ever grander projects.

 

Please look around the site and enjoy my projects; I will try to keep it updated and full of things to play and test. And if you have a game-related project you think I could help you with, please contact me and tell me all about it!

 

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