Obligatory About Page
Hello!
Hi. My name is Cory Sponseller. I typically go by 'Schazzwozzer' on the net. I've created this humble little portfolio site to convince somebody to pay me to help make videogames.
I started with 3d modelling around my junior or senior year of high school. Though intellectually curious (I like to think), I was a poor student, and with high school graduation approaching, I was pretty indifferent to the idea of further institutionalized learning at some junior college. At the time, game development was something far off and unreachable to me — the territory only of learned programmers, practitioners of an arcane art not meant for young, starry-eyed lads. I was shocked one day to see a professional game developer saying on a message board that college was not a necessary step into the industry. I contacted her, exchanged an e-mail or two, and that was all the impetus I needed.
Art was where my most practical skills lay, so game art was the logical path to take. I bought a couple of those thick, expensive 3d modelling books, but it was really the doing that I learned most from. Using online tutorials, I pretty quickly grasped the basics of modelling, texturing, rigging, and even animation.
Humble origins: my first ever low-poly character model, a rip-off of the Druid Werewolf design from Diablo II
Here I am, six years after I first started that journey. . . and, well, I've got a trail of failed mod teams and startups to show for it. I've learned an awful lot though, both what to do and what NOT to do. In any case, free work is not a luxury I can afford any more, so it's time to see what these skills of mine are worth.
Whew, six years. Hell, it's about time.
Hey Everybody, Let's Talk About Video Games!
I've been playing games since Christmas of '88 or '89, when my grandparents bought for my brothers and I a Nintendo Entertainment System. In those early days, we were mostly drawn to strong two-player games, Bubble Bobble, River City Ransom, and Guerilla War being big hits for us. By the time the Super NES rolled around, I found myself attracted to more involved games — early RPG-types like Soul Blazer and Final Fantasy II. This trend culminated in the mid-to-late '90s with games like Earthbound, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears, and of course, Final Fantasy VII
For so many years, I was scarcely aware of PC gaming, but I was lucky enough to make a new friend in 8th grade who DID have a PC. I'd ride my bike over to his house roughly every day, and was lucky enough to be exposed to serious classics such as Quake, Fallout, Diablo, Heroes of Might and Magic II, and adventure games like Monkey Island (in its third iteration at the time). These PC games have influenced me more than I could probably express. It was a level of sophistication completely new to me.
These days, I am pretty platform and genre agnostic. I appreciate both the simplicity and purity-of-design common to console games, and the ambitious, often experimental design often typified by PC games. Going forward, my hope is that I can work on projects that incorporate the virtues of both. Games that are player-friendly without being condescending. Games that challenge established conventions while maintaining commercial efficacy. Games that CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER.
Ahem. Pardon. Got a little carried away there.