Universe Builders is currently being set up and has one full time developer, James Knight, and is supported by the following developers who provide mentoring and consultancy.
- Michael Kerkow, a veteran game designer with over 10 years experience in game design and development including:
- Senior XR Developer : Snobal
- Software Developer : Lightweave
- Simulation Consultant : Solosi
- 📇 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-kerkow-64712b22/)
- Dylan Knight, a marketing expert who has helped successfully market digital products of all sorts including:
- Digital Marketing Specialist : Margin Media
- Marketing Specialist : BAMBRICK
- 📇 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/dylan-knight-28849b11b/)
James Knight
🏠 Sunshine Coast, Australia.
📧 jk@universe.builders
📞 0450215144
📇 LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesknightgd/)
Video Introduction
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp6cpmKnE_Q
Bio
James Knight is a lifelong multiplayer and MMO addict fan, having played almost every MMO and most online multiplayer games, and has dedicated his entire career to working with the most innovative multiplayer game and technology developers in the industry.
He is the founder and currently sole developer at Universe Builders. He has over 10 years professional experience in the games’ industry and over 3 years as a university lecturer. Pivoting from game design and 3D animation he transitioned into engineering and then product management roles, and still maintains a passion for design and art. He holds 2 bachelors degrees and has worked in several different industry roles including engineering, design, and development management.
Professional Game Credits
- Fortnite (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJW-bzXZM8M) : Engineer
- Nightingale (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVzai6zZM6A) : Product Manager
- World of Tanks (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=053YxOJqcm0) : Engineer
- Tomorrow Falls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR8VQ4nR2eQ) : Development Manager
- World of Tanks: Blitz (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsgyWcvGh6g) : Development Manager
- World of Warships (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDqwAiVR5JU) : Engineer
- Avatar - The Last Airbender (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KJXM9QWrB4) : QA
Technology Credits
- Unreal Engine 4
- SpatialOS
- BigWorld Technology
Personal Game Credits (student/personal projects)
- Karas Canvas (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8Au2roGToE) : Lead Designer
- Enchanted Scrolls (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23xnfEoDyKI) : Lead Designer
- Avoision (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jCNzcPfhOI) : Solo developed
- Scrapped (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHNiCUSzLXY) : Designer/Engineer
- Eternal Templar (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9FBOXm_zzE) : Lead Designer
- Space Junk (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hxHo0Su8q0) : Designer
Professional Experience
- Lecturer (Games) - Torrens University - 3 years
- Lead Educator (Games, Web) - Academy of Information Technology - 2 years
- Tech Product Manager - Improbable - 1 year
- Tech Project Manager - DPS Games - 1 year
- Server Tech Expert - DPS Games - 1 year
- Software Engineer - Wargaming - 2.5 years
- Software Engineer - Epic Games - 1 year
- Quality Assurance - THQ - 1 year
Education
- Scaled Professional Scrum Certification - Scrum.org
- Bachelor, Computer Science in Real-time Simulation - DigiPen Institute of Technology
- Bachelor, Interactive Entertainment and Game Design - Queensland University of Technology
For a full list of experiences and portfolio please see LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesknightgd/) for more information.
Impact of achieving grant funding
I’ve worked in AAA for 7 years and games education for 3 years and I’d love the opportunity to form a studio which combats the loneliness epidemic by creating games for players to have meaningful and positive experiences with their gaming communities.
Investing in Void Survivors means you provide me the time to express and upgrade my specialized MMO and web development skills to develop a prototype which could prove a new market have a large commercial impact.
Provided grant funding, I will dedicate 100% of my professional working hours towards it.
Further, as a passionate educator I’d love to provide opportunities for internships and junior positions under the guidance of senior staff who are passionate about educating and investing in the next generation of developers.
During production, I would love to achieve the support for at least two internship or junior positions.