I believe that games should move the audience emotionally no less then great movies or great TV series.
Cliché is by far our biggest adversary.

If you Build it – They will come!
Everything in life can be moved its just a question of time and Pressure.

Curriculum Vita

Date of Birth: 23^rd November 1977
Country: Israel
Address: Frishman 6 – Rishon Le Zion – Israel
e-Mail: roy@petrograd-game.com
Mobile: +(972)-50-7275222
Home: +(972)-3-9673706

Game Industry Experience

2008 – Still – Game Designer and CEO of Space Cowboys Development Studio.
2008 – Still – Game Design Lecturer at the HIT Holon Insitute of Technology.
2007 – Still – Game Designer at A.B.G Systems LTD.  Educational Game design.
2007 – Still – Game Design Consulting at Animation Labs studio Israel.

Current Project – I have created and lead a team of talented developers. The studio that I’m heading is called “Space Cowboys Development Team”. I’m filling the roles of: Game Designer, Game Director, Narrative Designer, Story Designer, Gameplay Designer, Cutscene Director, Project Lead and Team Lead.

Petrograd

General: The Game is an Action Thriller, that will be extremely atmospheric, Petrograd is a fictional Industrial workers town, with population of about 200,000 people, it is located someplace around Ukraine / Eastern Europe and the time frame is after the fall of the USSR.

Storyline: An Entire city population has vanished practically over night, after the local authorities have tried to investigate the strange event they vanished as well, the local government contacted the US/NATO C.D.C agency when a strong suspicion of Unconventional  warfare was at play. The C.D.C agents’ live video feedback was cut abruptly after they entered the town, and they ceased communications shortly after. The Special Black-Ops Unit was contacted, and you (the player) as a Special Operations Agent was sent there to retrieve the C.D.C doctors, knowing only their last location in the city of Petrograd.  The city will prove to be a unique place where things might not be as simple as they appear, and solving the mystery might require all of your unique skills.

Below are only several of the Unique features that the Petrograd Game will offer.

• Realistic Combat Mechanics with Reactive Enemies
• Unique Story and Narrative
• Extremely Atmospheric and Immersive Environments

Combat Training

General: A Singleplayer Action level, in which I designed, and created everything by  myself,  including level design, game design, dialogue, story, and script it is an award winning level in the ICMC competition held by Intel and Crytek.
Storyline: Invited to a remote special training base, that turns into a nightmare when a forces of the North Korean army invade and attack it for unknown reason.

Combat Training Links:
Video Trailer Video Demo
Download – Full Mod from Crymod.com – (requirs installed copy of Crysis)

CryENGINE2 Sandbox2 Experiences

I have studied the CryENGINE2 Sandbox2 since October 2007, and have practiced all aspects of it, I am active in the Crymod Community as a Forum Moderator, trying to help out and share all the knowledge that I acquired. I’m proficient with the use of the CryENGINE2 in the following aspects: Terrain Manipulation and texturing, vegetation placing, objects and entity placement and manipulation, Flowgraphs Scripting, AI manipulation and placement, Trackview (cutscenes), Facial editor (including lip sync), Material Editor, Decals, Custom Textures , Material importing, Object importing, and more.

Past Professional Experience

2006 – 2008 – Integration and Marketing at A.B.G. Computers Ltd. Marketing, Instructing and QA.
2004 – 2006 – Instructor and Assimilation at Ness IT Ltd. in the Security Sector with Police Intelligence.
2004 – still – Video Director – Various Post production Studios.
2000 – 2004 – Video Editor and Digital Composer – at various Post Production Studios.

Other Professional Skills

Experienced with PC tech, software, hardware, and Net. Experienced with Video Editing programs – Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premier, Discreet Flame. Experienced with Media Editing programs – Adobe Photoshop, Paint.Net and various other programs. Experienced with Police and Military Intelligence methodology and techniques.

Military Service at the IDF  (Israeli Defense Forces)

1997-2000 – Full term of service in the Israeli Air Force (Anti-Aircraft), squad commander, and Instructor. Various Instructor Roles at the Air Force Academy, and Head Instructor in an active AA platoon.

Education

2004 – 2006 – Game Design Education – Self taught according to US Game Design Schools’ Curriculum, GDC lectures since 2003, and various published articles from sites like www.gamasutra.com.
1994 – 1997 – B.A. in Biology from Bar-Ilan University Israel – with human anatomy specialization.
1991 – 1994 – Full high school education in the USA – with arts and science diploma and SAT.

Languages

English                - Fluent: read, write, speech and translate.
Hebrew               - Fluent: read, write, speech and translate.
Russian               - Basic: speech.

Personal Note

Gaming History I have been a Gamer since early age, since then the love for games just got stronger until I felt I wanted to know how to make games, I fell in love with game designing, and it had become my passion, I have studied with the consultation and help of veteran Game Designers, like Lee Sheldon, David Freeman, Bob Bates, Eric zimmerman, Petrick Redding, and more, as well as 1000s of GDC lectures and many Text books, and articles. Since the start of my studies I have learned a lot from each game I complete, by reverse engineering it, I love FPS games, like Crysis, and Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, action adventure games like Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia, Roll Playing Games like Mass Effect and Fallout 3, and of course Stealth Action games like Splinter Cell. I am excited that finally games are becoming more immersive and more story driven and that they bring a wonderful experience that is interactive with the player making him be the author of his own story, and thus immersing him into another dimension, which is much more then any other entertainment media can do.

Game Development It is my Dream and passion to develop games, and to do Game Design at any level, Narrative Design, Gameplay Design, Storywriting, Dialogue Design, Cutscene Direction, Level Design, and any other Game Design roles. I find that the tools today are amazing, and they let me bring anything from my imagination to life – without any limits or boundaries. I’m sure there is a lot more to learn and I do learn every day.

I’m completely motivated and hard working, and always thirsty to learn more and share my knowledge with others, I would be more then happy to relocate as it is part of the Game Development business.

Other Interests

Designing Games, Playing Games, specially First Person Shooters, Tactical Shooters, RPGs, MMOs, and the occasional Strategy. Paint Ball, Ice-Skating, and everything that has adrenalin involved.

Thank You

Roy Shapira
Game Designer

http://www.royshapira.com

http://www.petrograd-game.com