Hello World!

Hello! My name is Stephen Spanner, and I am a 27 year old programmer. It is my goal to become either a Gameplay or Tools Programmer for videogames, or a Technical Designer. In this portfolio I showcase my programming and design skills that I have learnt over the past few years in my free time and through my post secondary schooling.

Nonsense History

I have been a passionate video-gamer ever since I was given my first computer at the age of 5, before moving to Canada from England. My parents gave my brother and I an Amiga 500+ computer which played some of my favorite games that still often fill my free time, such as Lemmings and the Monkey Island series.

I consider myself very lucky in the fact that I have always known what I have wanted to do in my career, and began developing skills on my own at an early age. In my early teens, I would often spend my free time disecting games rather than playing them. This would usually begin as me checking the game files out, and would then lead to me editing the files. Shortly after, I was creating my own maps and models for Quake 3 Arena. I was fascinated with how games were created, and decided to make computer studies as my main focus in highschool. Throughout highschool I learnt some of the basic necessary skills for programming, but wanted to learn more advanced languages and techniques.

Once I had graduated highschool, I was set to study Computer Information Systems at UCFV (University College of Fraser Valley). I studied more advanced mathematics and programming courses, but wasn't too enthusiastic about the direction that the course was heading. After careful consideration, I decided to hold off on schooling until I was sure of my choice of education in hopes to learn more graphical or game programming. After some looking I became very interested in the Art Institute and was thrilled when I heard there was a location in Vancouver, as it was very close to where I was currently living. Within 3 months, I moved closer to the city and prepared for the intense education.

Since attending the Art Institute of Vancouver, I studied a wide variety of programming techniques over a number of game related topics. From 3D graphical programming to A.I. and even game and level design, I feel confident that I have necessary skills to become successful in the videogame industry.