Jack Emmert
Jack is chief creative officer at Cryptic Studios. He earned his first master's degree from the University of Chicago, and his second from Ohio State University. He left academia in July 2000 to co-found Cryptic Studios, and design the hit MMP games, City of Heroes and City of Villains. Jack is currently working on the much anticipated Marvel MMORPG. GCS: Inside Cryptic Studios: Art, Programming, and Design

 

Shayne Herrara
Shayne started his career as a production artist at Sierra Online in Eugene, Oregon. He then went to LucasArts where he worked on titles such as Star Wars: Force Commander. After his time with LucasArts, Shayne found himself in a five year commitment with EA, allowing him to add numerous titles to his resume. Shayne is currently an art director guiding Cryptic Studios into the next generation of videogame visuals. GCS: Inside Cryptic Studios: Art, Programming, and Design

 

John O’Neill
John is director of business development managing the Vicious Engine brand. John began his games industry career at MicroProse in 1994, initially working as a programmer and ultimately building business and vendor relationships. Working internationally, he successfully established and managed the consulting branch for InstallShield Software, Ltd. John holds a B.S. in computer science from North Carolina State University. GCS: Pitch your Game Idea; Sell Your Game

 

Shannon Posniewski
Shannon has engineered and developed software for a number of technology companies. He worked at Stellar Semiconductor as both software and hardware engineer. Stellar was acquired by Broadcom Corp, where Shannon led development of cable set-top box software and hardware. Joining Cryptic, Shannon designed the architecture of and implemented the combat engine for City of Heroes and Villains as senior programmer, and was promoted to director of Technology for Cryptic. GCS: Inside Cryptic Studios: Art, Programming, and Design

 

Tracy Seamster
Tracy began as a designer/GM with Simutronics Corporation in 1996, holding a variety of positions including senior game master and product manager for Alliance of Heroes. She became a game designer with Sony Online Entertainment in 2004, designing and implementing quests for EverQuest II and its first three expansions. Tracy is a member of Women in Games International and IGDA. She can only be bribed with dark chocolate. GCS: How Did You Make It?: Three Success Stories

 

Mike Sellers
Mike co-founded Archetype Interactive in 1994 and was president and lead designer on Meridian 59. He has a B.S. in cognitive science and before getting into games spent 10 years working as a software engineer (3D CAD) and user interface designer (medical and scientific visualization, among other areas). In 2002 he founded Online Alchemy and is currently working on a next generation MMOG based on proprietary advanced artificial intelligence software, developed under contract with the US DARPA. GCS: How Did You Make It?: Three Success Stories

 

Darius Kazemi
Darius spent his college years networking in the game industry, getting various small internships and making lots of small games. His first industry job out of college was as a QA tester at Turbine Inc. He worked his butt off, played it smart, and moved up in the industry. He dispenses networking advice on his blog, and can be found at the Boston Postmortem every month.  GCS: Tips & Tricks to Making a Lasting Impression

 

Brandon Sheffield
Brandon is the co-founder and editor of enthusiast game site Insert Credit, which was instrumental in the shift toward more personal and subjective treatment of games. He believes that since the experience of playing games can be personal, reviews should be honest about their personal nature as well. Brandon is also features editor of Game Developer magazine. GCS: Pitch your Game Idea; Sell Your Game

 

Frank Cifaldi
Frank Cifaldi is the Features Editor of Gamasutra.com, as well as the founder of Lost Levels, the first publication dedicated to games that never made it to commercial release. He has contributed articles and content to Edge, Wired, Nintendo Official Magazine, Tips 'N Tricks, Insert Credit, and others. His love is real, but he is not. GCS: How Did You Make It?: Three Success Stories

 

Fiona Cherbak
Fiona Cherbak has enjoyed a career in recruiting, marketing, public relations and strategic planning for clients in digital entertainment and technology, such as The Walt Disney Company, Origin Systems, Kinesoft Development, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Intelligent Transportation Systems Council. She is presently overseeing client services for Enterprise Talent, and L.A.-based executive recruitment firm in entertainment and media. Previously, she was head of business development for leading game recruiting company Mary-Margaret.com. In these roles, Fiona has drawn on her expertise as a recruitment specialist for Walt Disney Feature Animation, where she was responsible for recruiting over 300 animation artists and programmers for seven feature films. GCS: Stay on Top of Your Game: Practical Career Advice from an HR Insider

 

James Beech
James Beech started building user-made levels for Unreal Tournament back in 2000, eventually going on to win in the Make Something Unreal Contest.  This encouraged him to follow up his BFA degree with a Masters Degree from The Guildhall at SMU. Upon graduation, James accepted a game designer position at Sony Online Entertainment. GCS: How Did You Make It?: Three Success Stories