A Bit About US
Alina started her games career in academia, working on NSF funded educational games. She was involved with research in the HCI and Sensify labs throughout her masters program at the University of Delaware, and started a game developer meetup group in 2019. Prior to Ruckus, her first industry job was at The Coalition working on an unreleased title.
She’s been playing games with her 6 siblings since she was 4, and loves games for the fabulous worlds and stories they create. She’s based out of Newark, Delaware and has a labradoodle terrier named Megaera.
Alina started her games career in academia, working on NSF funded educational games. She was involved with research in the HCI and Sensify labs throughout her masters program at the University of Delaware, and started a game developer meetup group in 2019. Prior to Ruckus, her first industry job was at The Coalition working on an unreleased title.
She’s been playing games with her 6 siblings since she was 4, and loves games for the fabulous worlds and stories they create. She’s based out of Newark, Delaware and has a labradoodle terrier named Megaera.
Michael started his gaming career working on mods for Quake back in the day while working as an aerospace machinist for the Boeing Company. Shortly after, his talents got him hired to work professionally as a Designer and he has made his mark on several popular releases from No One Lives Forever 2 to New World over his 23 plus years in the industry. He is a Mission/Level Designer to the core but has also contributed AI and Combat Designs to projects as well as lighting and animated events. Some other titles Michael has worked on include Condemned, FEAR, Shadow of Mordor, Tiny Tina and more.
Michael has worked many roles on many projects and has found his happy place is in the trenches. The people and the culture are what’s most important to him, everything else is peaches and cream with a good playlist.
Michael started his gaming career working on mods for Quake back in the day while working as an aerospace machinist for the Boeing Company. Shortly after, his talents got him hired to work professionally as a Designer and he has made his mark on several popular releases from No One Lives Forever 2 to New World over his 23 plus years in the industry. He is a Mission/Level Designer to the core but has also contributed AI and Combat Designs to projects as well as lighting and animated events. Some other titles Michael has worked on include Condemned, FEAR, Shadow of Mordor, Tiny Tina and more.
Michael has worked many roles on many projects and has found his happy place is in the trenches. The people and the culture are what’s most important to him, everything else is peaches and cream with a good playlist.
Jonathan Fawcett
Senior Environment Artist
Fawcett has been in the industry for over 9 years starting his career at id Software working on RAGE. Soon after id, he moved onto gearbox working on Homeworld remastered and the Borderlands franchise. He finds his drive and love of creation when working with other creative minds that he can learn and grow from. Surrounding himself with greater talent to better himself is always a priority.
He also has a passion for many creative outlets that range from clay sculpting, graphite drawing, photography, 3d printing, miniature painting and face painting (that’s the weird one). The list of desired creative outlets continues to grow.
Fawcett has been in the industry for over 9 years starting his career at id Software working on RAGE. Soon after id, he moved onto gearbox working on Homeworld remastered and the Borderlands franchise. He finds his drive and love of creation when working with other creative minds that he can learn and grow from. Surrounding himself with greater talent to better himself is always a priority.
He also has a passion for many creative outlets that range from clay sculpting, graphite drawing, photography, 3d printing, miniature painting and face painting (that’s the weird one). The list of desired creative outlets continues to grow.
Dia Hadley
Principal Animator
Dia has been part of the animation industry since 2005. His experience ranges from gameplay animation to cinematics, giving him a well-rounded skill set. In his professional career, he has shipped game titles such as Rise of the Argonauts, Battleborn, and many titles within the Borderlands series. His animation profession also extends to various Animated TV shows and high-profile Movies.
His passion for continuous learning and love for animation has set him on a path to be at Ruckus Games, where he will continue to grow and work with some of the best in the biz.
Dia has been part of the animation industry since 2005. His experience ranges from gameplay animation to cinematics, giving him a well-rounded skill set. In his professional career, he has shipped game titles such as Rise of the Argonauts, Battleborn, and many titles within the Borderlands series. His animation profession also extends to various Animated TV shows and high-profile Movies.
His passion for continuous learning and love for animation has set him on a path to be at Ruckus Games, where he will continue to grow and work with some of the best in the biz.
Scott Kester spent years in the comic book industry prior to joining the video game industry in 2007. His first released game was Borderlands and was instrumental in the art style change and main character concept design for the game and its DLC. He repeated those same roles again on Borderlands 2 and its DLC. Scott was the Art Director of Battleborn, leaning into his love of unique characters and worlds. He was the Art Director for Borderlands 3 and was responsible for overall franchise art feedback.
His love of characters, personality, and unique art styles are what continue to be his core driving force with over 14 years of experience and over 60 million copies of games sold.
Scott Kester spent years in the comic book industry prior to joining the video game industry in 2007. His first released game was Borderlands and was instrumental in the art style change and main character concept design for the game and its DLC. He repeated those same roles again on Borderlands 2 and its DLC. Scott was the Art Director of Battleborn, leaning into his love of unique characters and worlds. He was the Art Director for Borderlands 3 and was responsible for overall franchise art feedback.
His love of characters, personality, and unique art styles are what continue to be his core driving force with over 14 years of experience and over 60 million copies of games sold.
Jesse McIntyre
CTO & Technical Director
Jesse’s game industry career as a software engineer began in 2003 at Merit Industries working on the MegaTouch touch screen coin-op system. Before long he would join EA Mythic working on gameplay features and systems for Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online. In 2007 Jesse joined Zenimax Online Studios as an engineering lead on The Elder Scrolls Online, a role he would hold throughout the game’s entire 7 year development cycle. This role would include both technical vision holding as well as growth and leadership of an engineering team. In 2015 he joined the Riot Games R&D department focused on gameplay systems prototyping and management of inter-studio development infrastructure. His most recent role was at Elodie Games where he played an integral role in development of the gameplay prototype that would help secure their very successful Series A funding round.
Throughout his career Jesse has continued to cultivate his passion for the interactive experiences that exist at the intersection of art and technology. Along the way he has learned the gratification that comes from helping others do their best work.
Jesse’s game industry career as a software engineer began in 2003 at Merit Industries working on the MegaTouch touch screen coin-op system. Before long he would join EA Mythic working on gameplay features and systems for Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online. In 2007 Jesse joined Zenimax Online Studios as an engineering lead on The Elder Scrolls Online, a role he would hold throughout the game’s entire 7 year development cycle. This role would include both technical vision holding as well as growth and leadership of an engineering team. In 2015 he joined the Riot Games R&D department focused on gameplay systems prototyping and management of inter-studio development infrastructure. His most recent role was at Elodie Games where he played an integral role in development of the gameplay prototype that would help secure their very successful Series A funding round.
Throughout his career Jesse has continued to cultivate his passion for the interactive experiences that exist at the intersection of art and technology. Along the way he has learned the gratification that comes from helping others do their best work.
Jason has had a career in software engineering for over 8 years, previously at Twitch working with their partnerships, and made the jump to Ruckus Games. His foray into game development started with creating custom maps in games like Warcraft 3 and Counterstrike. More recently he’s been working independently on 3D platformers, focusing on his passion of creating characters and responsive mechanics that find the fun in small moments as simple as moving and interacting within environments. He’s currently making and playing games out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jason has had a career in software engineering for over 8 years, previously at Twitch working with their partnerships, and made the jump to Ruckus Games. His foray into game development started with creating custom maps in games like Warcraft 3 and Counterstrike. More recently he’s been working independently on 3D platformers, focusing on his passion of creating characters and responsive mechanics that find the fun in small moments as simple as moving and interacting within environments. He’s currently making and playing games out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Kevin Penrod
Character Art Director
Kevin Penrod brings over 14 years of game development experience to the team and has been passionate about art creation since he was a kid. He has a traditional art background which helped him transition well to digital mediums needed for game development. Kevin managed development of all characters for Gearbox Software and the latest Borderlands games.
He is focused on creating lasting relationships with external partners, creating a productive learning environment for internal artists and bridging the gap between design, animation and code teams.
Kevin Penrod brings over 14 years of game development experience to the team and has been passionate about art creation since he was a kid. He has a traditional art background which helped him transition well to digital mediums needed for game development. Kevin managed development of all characters for Gearbox Software and the latest Borderlands games.
He is focused on creating lasting relationships with external partners, creating a productive learning environment for internal artists and bridging the gap between design, animation and code teams.
Paul Richards
Principal Concept Artist
Paul’s novel, energetic designs have helped shape the look of the Darksiders, Overwatch and Halo franchises, with the more recent addition of Fortnite. Early employers include id Software, 3D Realms and Raven Software. There are more, but who’s counting?
An irrepressible evangelist of his craft since 1997, Paul encourages observation and experimentation for expression’s sake. In the collaborative art of game development, his formidable fun factor is many times multiplied.
Current base of operations : Seattle, WA, USA
Paul’s novel, energetic designs have helped shape the look of the Darksiders, Overwatch and Halo franchises, with the more recent addition of Fortnite. Early employers include id Software, 3D Realms and Raven Software. There are more, but who’s counting?
An irrepressible evangelist of his craft since 1997, Paul encourages observation and experimentation for expression’s sake. In the collaborative art of game development, his formidable fun factor is many times multiplied.
Current base of operations : Seattle, WA, USA
Paul Sage
CEO & Game Director
Paul Sage has been a game developer since 1995. He has been an industry staple working in leadership roles on titles such as Ultima Online, Tabula Rasa, Elder Scrolls Online and Borderlands 3.
Paul has a strong directorial vision for the games he works on while weaving the best ideas from the team into a great final product. Being hands-on in a development role and being an avid gamer keeps his skills sharp.
Good games are made by good people, great games are made by great teams. This philosophy, combined with a no ego attitude, helps him and his teams deliver amazing games in a timely fashion.
Paul Sage has been a game developer since 1995. He has been an industry staple working in leadership roles on titles such as Wing Commander, Ultima Online, Tabula Rasa, Elder Scrolls Online and Borderlands 3. His last two games have netted well over a billion dollars and moved more than 28 million units worldwide.
Paul has a strong directorial vision for the games he works on while weaving the best ideas from the team into a great final product. Being hands-on in a development role and being an avid gamer keeps his skills sharp.
Good games are made by good people, great games are made by great teams. This philosophy, combined with a no ego attitude, helps him and his teams deliver amazing games in a timely fashion.
Keith started his career in video games doing design and level design work on multiple projects for Apogee Software, and later, 3D Realms. He joined Gearbox Software in 2006 as a design lead, where he worked on the Borderlands series and various other games for almost 15 years.
Keith sees himself as the Curator of Content for the games he works on: it’s his sworn duty to provide players with everything they need to explore and enjoy what the game has to offer.
Keith started his career in video games doing design and level design work on multiple projects for Apogee Software, and later, 3D Realms. He joined Gearbox Software in 2006 as a design lead, where he worked on the Borderlands series and various other games for almost 15 years.
Keith sees himself as the Curator of Content for the games he works on: it’s his sworn duty to provide players with everything they need to explore and enjoy what the game has to offer.
Carl Shedd
World Director
Carl Shedd has worked in the industry professionally for over 17 years. Carl started his career Gearbox Software in 2004 as a Level Designer for the Brothers In Arms franchise. In 2008 Carl was part of a small team that was integral to evolving the Borderlands art style into what it has become today.
After a small hiatus at id Software working as a Level Artist on Rage, Carl rejoined Gearbox Software to create and lead their Level Art and eventually their Lighting Art Departments. Carl’s last position was a World Building Director at Gearbox Software where he was responsible for managing the Level Design, Mission Design, Level Art and Lighting departments. Games Carl has contributed to include Brothers In Arms, the Borderlands franchise and Rage.
Carl Shedd has worked in the industry professionally for over 17 years. Carl started his career Gearbox Software in 2004 as a Level Designer for the Brothers In Arms franchise. In 2008 Carl was part of a small team that was integral to evolving the Borderlands art style into what it has become today.
After a small hiatus at id Software working as a Level Artist on Rage, Carl rejoined Gearbox Software to create and lead their Level Art and eventually their Lighting Art Departments. Carl’s last position was a World Building Director at Gearbox Software where he was responsible for managing the Level Design, Mission Design, Level Art and Lighting departments. Games Carl has contributed to include Brothers In Arms, the Borderlands franchise and Rage.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience building, managing and advising multi-billion dollar consumer businesses. Past employers include EA, Gamespot, Kabam and GREE. Andrew serves on the Board of Directors of Nexters, Ruckus Games and Rakuten Games. He has over $5b in revenue experience working in online media, social media game services, subscriptions, free-to-play, console games, online/PC games, mobile games and apps. His current focus areas include cross-platform games, virtual reality, decentralized development and digital identities and communities.
Andrew has over 20 years of experience building, managing and advising multi-billion dollar consumer businesses. Past employers include EA, Gamespot, Kabam and GREE. Andrew serves on the Board of Directors of Nexters, Ruckus Games and Rakuten Games. He has over $5b in revenue experience working in online media, social media game services, subscriptions, free-to-play, console games, online/PC games, mobile games and apps. His current focus areas include cross-platform games, virtual reality, decentralized development and digital identities and communities.
Joshua is an audio professional with fifteen years of experience in the game industry. He’s worked for studios such as ZeniMax Online, Bethesda, and IO Interactive, and on IPs such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and LEGO. He is a proponent of a Leading With Audio philosophy, and a seasoned team leader, with experience in everything audio related from QA to defining the vision for new IPs.
A creativity first designer with roots in the world of electronic music and outsider art, he is a believer that while making games is hard work, it should always be fun. Joshua believes that the joy of making games comes from bringing together people of various disciplines, and diverse backgrounds, harnessing their creative energy and making something unique and fun in a collaborative environment.
Joshua is an audio professional with fifteen years of experience in the game industry. He’s worked for studios such as ZeniMax Online, Bethesda, and IO Interactive, and on IPs such as The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and LEGO. He is a proponent of a Leading With Audio philosophy, and a seasoned team leader, with experience in everything audio related from QA to defining the vision for new IPs.
A creativity first designer with roots in the world of electronic music and outsider art, he is a believer that while making games is hard work, it should always be fun. Joshua believes that the joy of making games comes from bringing together people of various disciplines, and diverse backgrounds, harnessing their creative energy and making something unique and fun in a collaborative environment.
Chris has been in the games industry since 1997. His first design role was on NCSoft’s Tabula Rasa and over his career has helped lead design efforts on a variety of titles including Darksiders, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Elder Scrolls Online, and most recently, Borderlands 3 where he served as Gearbox Studio’s Director of UX & Game Feel.
Chris is passionate about the moment-to-moment feel a player experiences with game controls, camera, and character movement and believes what separates a good game from a great one, is how well this is executed.
Chris started out in the games industry in 1998, when he first became a remote Game Master for Electronic Arts while still in high school. Wanting to become more involved on the development side, he decided to join NCSoft shortly afterwards where he transitioned into a design role on Tabula Rasa in 2003. Since that time, he has helped lead design efforts on a variety of titles including Darksiders, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Elder Scrolls Online, and most recently, Borderlands 3 where he served as Gearbox Studio’s Director of UX & Game Feel.
Chris is passionate about the moment-to-moment feel a player experiences and believes that what separates a good game from a great one, is how well this is executed.
Alexandra Takei
Business Director
Alex started her career in games at Blizzard and has background in revenue strategy, FP&A, and business model design across Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft franchises. Alex also has partnerships experience at Activision Blizzard HQ in deal making, deal governance, and deal modeling on Activision Blizzard King’s multimillion dollar deals. After Blizzard, Alex joined an indie studio called System Era Softworks (ex-343) as a PM on Astroneer and helped to close two seeds deals during her time in games investing at BITKRAFT.
Alex holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and was a 4-YR NCAA Varsity Oarsmen and a CRCA award winner both junior and senior year. Alex additionally holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business where she was also President of the Gaming Club and a member of Stanford Women on Boards. In Alex’s spare time, she is a host for a popular radio show, the Naavik Gaming Podcast, which keeps folks up to date on the tailwinds, headwinds, and macro economic pulse of the gaming industry.
Alex has witnessed several games business done wrong and right and is excited for an opportunity to begin something new. Her gaming interests are far ranging — from the potent narratives of JRPGS to the PvP arenas of MOBAs and TCGs to the indie world of roguelikes and pen and paper RPGS, her love for gaming is wide. She strongly believes there’s a game for everyone and is passionate about expanding the definition of what it means to be a gamer.
Alex started her career in games at Blizzard and has background in revenue strategy, FP&A, and business model design across Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft franchises. Alex also has partnerships experience at Activision Blizzard HQ in deal making, deal governance, and deal modeling on Activision Blizzard King’s multimillion dollar deals. After Blizzard, Alex joined an indie studio called System Era Softworks (ex-343) as a PM on Astroneer and helped to close two seeds deals during her time in games investing at BITKRAFT.
Alex holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and was a 4-YR NCAA Varsity Oarsmen and a CRCA award winner both junior and senior year. Alex additionally holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business where she was also President of the Gaming Club and a member of Stanford Women on Boards. In Alex’s spare time, she is a host for a popular radio show, the Naavik Gaming Podcast, which keeps folks up to date on the tailwinds, headwinds, and macro economic pulse of the gaming industry.
Alex has witnessed several games business done wrong and right and is excited for an opportunity to begin something new. Her gaming interests are far ranging — from the potent narratives of JRPGS to the PvP arenas of MOBAs and TCGs to the indie world of roguelikes and pen and paper RPGS, her love for gaming is wide. She strongly believes there’s a game for everyone and is passionate about expanding the definition of what it means to be a gamer.
Alex started her career in games at Blizzard and has background in revenue strategy, FP&A, and business model design across Overwatch, Diablo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, and Starcraft franchises. Alex also has partnerships experience at Activision Blizzard HQ in deal making, deal governance, and deal modeling on Activision Blizzard King’s multimillion dollar deals. After Blizzard, Alex joined an indie studio called System Era Softworks (ex-343) as a PM on Astroneer and helped to close two seeds deals during her time in games investing at BITKRAFT.
Alex holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania and was a 4-YR NCAA Varsity Oarsmen and a CRCA award winner both junior and senior year. Alex additionally holds an MBA from Stanford’s Graduate School of Business where she was also President of the Gaming Club and a member of Stanford Women on Boards. In Alex’s spare time, she is a host for a popular radio show, the Naavik Gaming Podcast, which keeps folks up to date on the tailwinds, headwinds, and macro economic pulse of the gaming industry.
Alex has witnessed several games business done wrong and right and is excited for an opportunity to begin something new. Her gaming interests are far ranging — from the potent narratives of JRPGS to the PvP arenas of MOBAs and TCGs to the indie world of roguelikes and pen and paper RPGS, her love for gaming is wide. She strongly believes there’s a game for everyone and is passionate about expanding the definition of what it means to be a gamer.
Brian Thompson
Senior VFX Artist
Brian used to think there was no way he could get a career in game development doing just the VFX — who would pay somebody to do all the fun stuff? He got his answer in 2012 when he began working on skins and champions for League of Legends, and later went on to contribute to projects like Trove, Darksiders Genesis, and Hearthstone throughout his 11 years of experience.
Having cultivated a keen eye for color, motion, shape and timing across a lifetime of playing games entirely for their VFX, Brian brings his passion for visceral and stylized swipes, impacts, sparkles and explosions to any project he works on.
Brian used to think there was no way he could get a career in game development doing just the VFX — who would pay somebody to do all the fun stuff? He got his answer in 2012 when he began working on skins and champions for League of Legends, and later went on to contribute to projects like Trove, Darksiders Genesis, and Hearthstone throughout his 11 years of experience.
Having cultivated a keen eye for color, motion, shape and timing across a lifetime of playing games entirely for their VFX, Brian brings his passion for visceral and stylized swipes, impacts, sparkles and explosions to any project he works on.
Dan Wellman
Principal Software Engineer
Dan’s passion for games comes from the social and community aspects. His favorite games are MMOs and co-op experiences. He began his game development journey by creating community levels for Team Fortress Classic and programming World of Warcraft add-ons.
Dan joined the game industry at Raven Software to work on Call of Duty: Black Ops. In 2011 he joined Zenimax Online Studios where he found his passion for UX, programming systems like Crafting, Lockpicking, and many others on Elder Scrolls Online.
In 2014 he joined Blizzard Entertainment to ship four expansions for World of Warcraft. Four years later, he joined the early days of incubation to build the AI foundations for Unannounced Survival Game.
Dan’s passion for games comes from the social and community aspects. His favorite games are MMOs and co-op experiences. He began his game development journey by creating community levels for Team Fortress Classic and programming World of Warcraft add-ons.
Dan joined the game industry at Raven Software to work on Call of Duty: Black Ops. In 2011 he joined Zenimax Online Studios where he found his passion for UX, programming systems like Crafting, Lockpicking, and many others on Elder Scrolls Online.
In 2014 he joined Blizzard Entertainment to ship four expansions for World of Warcraft. Four years later, he joined the early days of incubation to build the AI foundations for Unannounced Survival Game.
Dustin started his journey by learning how to create mods for Minecraft in 2013. After graduating from Champlain College in Vermont, he started working on Spellbreak in 2019 and has worked on handful of other projects since then. Dustin is a generalist gameplay engineer who loves to focus on player abilities, game AI, sustainable & modular systems, and features which promote equity and accessibility in games.
Outside of video games, Dustin is a passionate collaborative storyteller (primarily through TTRPGs like Dungeons and Dragons) and loves rock climbing, cycling, roller-blading, and cooking/baking.
Dustin started his journey by learning how to create mods for Minecraft in 2013. After graduating from Champlain College in Vermont, he started working on Spellbreak in 2019 and has worked on handful of other projects since then. Dustin is a generalist gameplay engineer who loves to focus on player abilities, game AI, sustainable & modular systems, and features which promote equity and accessibility in games.
Outside of video games, Dustin is a passionate collaborative storyteller (primarily through TTRPGs like Dungeons and Dragons) and loves rock climbing, cycling, roller-blading, and cooking/baking.