I have been enamored with game design since I was young, particularly within the discipline of environment design. Originally my map designs were confined to multiple sheets of paper, until one day I came across Unreal Tournament 2004 and was introduced to Unreal Engine. Included with my copy of the game was the Unreal Editor, and a copy of Maya PLE which would serve as the starting point in my game development journey. Back then there weren't many free tutorials on YouTube, so I gathered knowledge anywhere I could find it, mostly through discussion forums or self practice. Over the years I began to build upon what I had learned, and take interest in other aspects of game design.

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Fast forward to 2014 when UE4 was released. I immediately jumped ship from the former tool, UDK, and was amazed at how more streamlined the tools were. One of the main reasons I am a loyal Unreal Engine user is that no matter what iteration, there is a familiarity to it. Not long after the engine's public release, Epic announced plans to introduce an asset marketplace. At that point I knew I wanted to not only be a part of it, but to help pave new ground and set a standard for content going forward. In the months leading up to it's debut, I planned out what would eventually become a vast collection of interconnecting assets. My goal was to create a massive library of assets, all categorized by specific styles, that indie developers could draw from. Something that was highly modular, so as to set it apart from other developers, and ever growing - allowing developers to be able to have something for every perceivable need. Above all, however, these assets needed to bear a quality found in modern AAA titles. For nearly 5 years I worked full time on the UE4 Marketplace, and was honored to be able to supply quality assets to so many indie developers. I met many great people along the way, and had so many wonderful encounters and conversations with customers who found use in the products. Photos of the assets can be viewed on my ArtStation.

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Fast forward to 2019. After a long and very rewarding experience working on the UE4 Marketplace, I knew it was time to move onto the next chapter of my game development journey. I had learned many things over the course of my time working on marketplace assets. Each product I worked on, I designed with the same effort and dedication that I would for assets I would personally use myself. However, working on assets meant for broad distribution required a certain element of modularity that could at times come into conflict with art direction. I wanted to be able to work on a project that didn't have any restrictions. My goal was to tie together 3 main elements: Story, Gameplay and Visuals. I enlisted the help of my brother to aid me, and we began work on the initial incarnation of what would eventually become Simulacrum.

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Just as I began my endeavor into the UE4 Asset Marketplace with specific goals, I do so now entering the indie game arena:

• To help set new standards for what gamers can expect from indie developers - not only in narrative and gameplay, but visuals as well.

• To foster a climate that bridges the gap between developers and players with regards to communication.

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I look forward to accomplishing great things at Caldera Entertainment, and hope you are just as excited about the future of Simulacrum as we are!