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Students

Meet your classmates at Indie Game Academy

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Agnieszka Majchrzak
Agnieszka Majchrzak

Hi! My name is Agnieszka but you can call me Agnes! I’m 23 years old and I’m studying Game Design and Management. I also work as a Data Analyst and Game Designer. I am really interested in art - drawing, sculpting, 3d modelling and all in between. I’m pretty insane when it comes to making games - I seek new things, new solutions and new ideas everyday!

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Andy Lee
Andy Lee

Unity programmer with a professional background of test engineering. The Indie Game Academy was instrumental in landing me my first job working with Unity. I will die happy if I can ever create a game with even a fraction of the depth of Slay the Spire.

Find me on Discord: Ido#8983
Candace Hudert
Candace Hudert

Hello! I make queer and magical stories that are curious and furious. My background is in theatrical directing, with experience in clown and musical theatre to boot. I've been making small games, TTRPGs, and have written plays since I was in high school. I would love to explore what this medium can do and what kinds of worlds we can create. Looking forward to meeting you all!

Connect with Candace Check out my Itch.io
Christopher Reeves
Christopher Reeves

My name is Christopher Reeves. I am a composer here in Portland, Oregon and I'm really excited to get to work with everyone! I've had some experience working in film and some other visual media but videogames have always been a huge passion of mine since I was a kid, and I can't wait to marry the two. I love to make cool and interesting sounds, really explore possibilities and collide different tones to make something really unique.

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Dennis Gilham
Dennis Gilham

Hey, Syphorce here. Or you can call me Dennis. My current dream is to produce meaningful, interactive games and to make online gaming a safer place. I found out about IGA after I left my job in Aerospace and Defense to pursue a career as a Product Manager in game dev. When I’m not developing games, you can find me cruising around on my e-bike or at your local club shuffling to EDM. Nice to meet you all!

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Gwen Katz
Gwen Katz

I am a writer and artist who lives in Pasadena, California with my husband and a revolving door of transient animals. When I'm not writing historical fiction, I can often be found hiking, gardening, and teaching kids about nature.

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Jennevieve Schlemmer
Jennevieve Schlemmer

My degree is a BFA in sculpture and I spent 15 years working on large scale public art and community art pieces. I also worked on making comics and illustrations and was the president of a community comic & illustrator group, arranging community projects and art gallery shows. I self published 3 coloring/illustration books and successfully funded 2 of them through Kickstarter. Video games seemed like a natural progression with my skill set and interests.

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John Peter McGrath
John Peter McGrath

Software Engineer in the East Bay Area. Currently making small games on his spare time. Enjoys going out to arcades, aplenty in the East and SF Bay, to play simple and easy games. Yes, this dude is quirky with a tutu.

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Jordan Dickow
Jordan Dickow

What I see in myself and struggle with the discipline is that I know I want more in my life. I know I work my butt off for myself and when it comes to other people it's rare when you find that in other people. Not saying everyone wants what I want but I find that a lot of people are just going through the motions and settle for what everyone else is doing (I.E. Go to college, get a job blah blah) I guess I'm just looking for people like me who want to do their own thing and are just as driven to accomplish their goals.

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Joseph Roberts
Joseph Roberts

I am Joseph (Joe) Roberts- an IGA Level 3 graduate, XR enthusiast, and game designer. My education and experience include engineering technology, graphic design, multimedia, game design, information technology, XR, and more; I am always learning and looking to grow my skills. I enjoy the creative and innovative processes, and I believe games are one of the best mediums for those processes. My goal is to make great games with great people, so if you would like to network or talk please reach out!

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Kirk Allgeyer
Kirk Allgeyer

Name's Kirk - you can call me Captain if it's easier. I'm a Software Engineer, Indie Game Dev and burgeoning business owner. I've loved playing video games since I was a kid with a Windows XP Desktop. Now I'm taking my creativity and imagination to the digital space by building my own games! I saw IGA's Instagram ad and followed through with this awesome opportunity! I joined a team, built a pretty cool game and gained extensive, valuable knowledge that I'll apply to my business and processes going forward.

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Rowan Pippin
Rowan Pippin

Rowan is an artist/game designer with a degree in concept art and illustration and a passion for narrative and interactive experiences. Rowan likes games that teach players how to understand them by showing, not telling, and especially loves complex narratives that unfold gradually over time. He specializes in prop/enviro design but also has been learning blender 3d, coding, and game design theory in his spare time! (Rowan currently works as a Senior Communications Specialist at a law firm).

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Trevor Davis
Trevor Davis

I'm an aspiring software engineer who has always had a strong and vivid imagination. I'm new to coding, only been doing it for about two to three years now, but I'm excited to learn and be apart of a group that is willing to help each other. I have three kids, all boys under the age of six, and an amazingly supportive wife. I used to be a medical assistant, but quit to focus on school and my personal projects.

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David Doane-Swanson
David Doane-Swanson

I did internships in Southeast Asia, working as a marketing intern for a software startup and a producer for an advert gaming company. After university I brought together a team of my friends to start an indie game company. We finished a point and click adventure game which was released on Steam back in the days of greenlight. I've also worked as a PMO analyst and QA consultant, writing a testing library for enterprise level PPM software from scratch.

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David Bowditch
David Bowditch

I'm David, and I graduated in 2019 as a 3D animator, though I haven't had luck in getting a job in the time since (thank you covid, couldn't have had better timing). I'm an avid tabletop RPG gamer, and I've been keeping myself busy by writing content for tabletop games, including a bunch of stuff for D&D 5e and a mostly complete game based on the Ironsworn engine. More recently, I've decided to finally properly dig more into video game dev beyond just the visual side of it. Currently based in New Jersey, though I'm hoping to move sooner rather than later.

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Thomas Iu
Thomas Iu

I’ve worked on several game jam and club projects as a level designer and sometimes producer. I was a level designer on Primal Carnage, an asymmetric team PVP game on Steam. I was a puzzle designer and game master for live escape rooms at Off the Couch Games. I’ve been the copy editor for a college newspaper, and an intern video editor at a PBS TV studio.

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Rob Daniel
Rob Daniel

Rob has been involved in gaming and training using virtual worlds for engineering and enterprise networks. Working on using gaming and training to teach cyber security using Xbox connect, VR/AR, voice control.

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Christopher Reeves
Christopher Reeves

My name is Christopher Reeves. I am a composer here in Portland, Oregon and I'm really excited to get to work with everyone! I've had some experience working in film and some other visual media but videogames have always been a huge passion of mine since I was a kid, and I can't wait to marry the two. I love to make cool and interesting sounds, really explore possibilities and collide different tones to make something really unique.

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Leonardo Rodriguez
Leonardo Rodriguez

I'm a self taught programmer and work as a software engineering instructor, teaching people how to code and build web apps. Wanting to have fun while coding is what brought me to learning how to develop games. It's fulfilling and I enjoy watching others playing my game and having fun while doing so.


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Kevin Budhu
Kevin Budhu

I'm Kevin, a game enthusiast that graduated college with a degree in Electrical Engineering. I have a deep passion for code and its use to make components work and interact with one another. This passion originated through learning about Redstone circuitry in minecraft. I wish to work on games and meet new people to show the world how games can bring people together with memorable experiences.

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Mitchell Dennen
Mitchell Dennen

Mitchell completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I currently work in Visual Effects, I went to school to make games. I've been about 75% done with a metroid-vania game I'm working on for about a year now. So I am in part doing this program to rejuvenate my passion and goal of working on games for a living.


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Martin Roeck
Martin Roeck

My name is Martin - I am a newby game developer who loves to travel and explore the world. I am originally from Germany though I have lived in Italy, Switzerland, Korea, Germany, and the United States (NY and DC).

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Natalie Peck
Natalie Peck

I love to play games that focus on storyline or resource acquisition, and my favorite is definitely Everquest II. I play with my Dad and occasionally my brother, though I am just as happy to play on my own. I also enjoy Age of Empires III and Minecraft. When I play Minecraft, I like to focus on the stockpiling and building aspects, more than the hunting and PVE/PVP aspects.


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Jennevieve Schlemmer
Jennevieve Schlemmer

My degree is a BFA in sculpture and I spent 15 years working on large scale public art and community art pieces. I also worked on making comics and illustrations and was the president of a community comic & illustrator group, arranging community projects and art gallery shows. I self published 3 coloring/illustration books and successfully funded 2 of them through Kickstarter. Video games seemed like a natural progression with my skill set and interests.

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Dan Mellott
Dan Mellott

I've been in tech since 2004 working as either a software engineer or software dev manager. The majority of my career (~11 years) was spent at Amazon and AWS where I worked as an engineer and manager in multiple parts of the company. I started off writing systems to process orders on Amazon, but eventually moved on to building a live streaming platform and related video player used for the site.


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Matthew Molanare
Matthew Molanare

Matt completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge. His House also won the House Cup during his Cohort! I started my own board game developer and publishing business back in 2014 with some friends. We have since developed and successfully self-published 2 games, and are continuing to work on more. I recently completed an introduction to Unity course where I worked on 4 very different types of games, learning about Unity and game programming in general along the way. I loved it!

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Hamna Faisal
Hamna Faisal

Level 3 Game Dev and Wizard of Joy. Love making cute games and gobbling French fries. I'm also a Teaching Artist at LEAP-Non Profit in NYC. Ex-Graphic Designer, Ex-Illustrator, Ex-Artist. A disciple of everything Augmented Reality and problem solving in any way. Love mentoring positive game-based learning!


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Shannyn Cowart
Shannyn Cowart

I currently work as a freelance writer for Dead Talk Entertainment where I write horror entertainment articles. My other published works include a text adventure game created with twine: The Hallows published on itch.io, and a point-and-click game created in Unity: The Museum of Natural Mystery which won third place in the IGA 48 hour game jam. I also co-wrote and worked in the art department for a short film that premiered at the Iron Mule Short Film festival. You can even find me on IMDB!

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Katie Wu
Katie Wu

I'm self-taught in full-stack JavaScript, machine learning, and Blender 3D modelling. I have a scrappy learning style, as I learn from Youtube tutorials, Coursera, stack-overflow, and medium/TowardDataScience articles day in, day out. Although I no longer see myself using my college degree in a traditional U.S. foreign affairs career sense, I hope to integrate that B.A. knowledge into the software applications I build.


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Raed Tabani
Raed Tabani

I love game design and Ideation, I'm currently a software architecture student and have been learning Unity for 2+ years now. I did work briefly as Unity gameplay programmer for a local company in my hometown and I feel I learned a lot from that experience.

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Adrian Marple
Adrian Marple

Adrian completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned his Level 3 Badge! I've got CS degrees from Berkeley and Stanford. Then I joined a startup that got acquired by Google. After about six months, I switched the UX side of things as a prototyper where I was much happier and learned a ton about the world of design. Then in 2018 I quit and decided to pursue making games as a career. I released a first-person puzzle game called Obversion back in January and my current main project is a Minesweeper Zelda-like codenamed Metasweeper.

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Jeremy House
Jeremy House

Jeremy completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! He will also be returning as a Professor in Cohort 2! I'm a product manager who works in tech who wants to work in games. I have been working on games as a side project for the last few years.

Play his Game
Kyle Waldon
Kyle Waldon

Kyle completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator and earned the Level 3 Badge! My name is Kyle and I'm from Alberta, Canada. I'm passionate about creating fun and creative things. I have been playing and composing music in some capacity for over 20 years and even went to University to further this passion. Recently this passion has taken me to make music and sound for video games, which in turn has guided me to game development as a whole. I look forward to learning and creating something with everyone!

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Nike D'Amico
Nick D'Amico

Nick completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator and earned the Level 3 Badge! I originally started out as a 3D modeling intern at Smashing Graphics Game Studios but over time I quickly rose to a game design and managerial role where I now lead and provide vision for multiple console-based projects.

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Ben Cortijo
Ben Cortijo

Ben completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I currently work at Activision as a game tester for the Call of Duty series for over a year now. (Don't ask me about black ops I have an NDA). I also studied video game design in college and have worked on a few games out now. Overall I've been doing this six years now and I'm looking to try and make something on the side.

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Mayara Fortin Professor
Meredith Fletcher

Meredith completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! She will also be returning as a professor in Cohort 2! I am a narrative designer with a focus on visual novels. I have worked on games like Lovestruck, Chapters, Changed, and several NDA-protected projects. I'm eager to expand my skills to more traditional design and coding aspects, and to learn more about starting a studio.


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Jovan Desir
Jovan Desirstudent

Jovan complete the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I am just mainly starting out when it comes to work experience in gaming. I have published a few apps on each app store that I would be more than fine with showing and linking down below. I have fair knowledge of Unity and Buildbox, another program that deals with making games.

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Mitchell Dennen
Mitchell Dennen

Mitchell completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I currently work in Visual Effects, I went to school to make games. I've been about 75% done with a metroid-vania game I'm working on for about a year now. So I am in part doing this program to rejuvenate my passion and goal of working on games for a living.


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Zhifeng Wu
Zhifeng Wu

Zhifeng completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! Hi everyone my name is Zhifeng and I come from Guangdong, China. At the moment I am getting my MA degree in media studies in NYC. Perhaps like most of you, I have been a video gamer since I was very young. I consider the open-world RPG genre to be my favorite and I am actually writing my master's thesis on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, my favorite game of all-time

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Gino Lyonsstuden
Gino Lyonsstuden

Gino completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! My name is Gino Lyons and I'm from Nashville, Tennessee. I have played games all of my life and I have always been intrigued about making them. I received my Associate's Degree in Graphic Design but I realized this is not the path I want to pursue. Every time I think about my career path I always think about something in the video game industry and I hope I can figure out what that is while taking the course.


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Aaliya Mondesir
Aaliya Mondesir

Aaliya completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! Her House also won the House Cup during her Cohort! My name is Aaliya Mondesir and it is my dream to make a video game! I really love to code so I think it would be great to code for a game. I also write music and part of my dream is to score a video game. Looking forward to meeting everyone.

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Hamna Faisal
Hamna Faisal

Hamna completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator program and earned the Level 3 Badge. Her House also won the House Cup during her cohort! I have a level each of three games I started. I’m and ex-artist, ex-graphic designer, ex-activity specialist and currently a pharmacy tech. I was also teaching kids AR pre-covid. My goal is bringing positivity to children and adults through games.


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Matthew Molanare
Matthew Molanare

Matt completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge. His House also won the House Cup during his Cohort! I started my own board game developer and publishing business back in 2014 with some friends. We have since developed and successfully self-published 2 games, and are continuing to work on more. I recently completed an introduction to Unity course where I worked on 4 very different types of games, learning about Unity and game programming in general along the way. I loved it!

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Trevor Smith-Holbourn
Trevor Smith-Holbourn

Trevor completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I have worked in IT Support for most of my career, most recently as a Network Engineer. At the end of 2019 I decided I wanted to pursue a career in coding and joined a bootcamp. Since completing the bootcamp I have started as a solutions engineer with Datadog. My goal is to work for a small game studio and release my own games upon the world.


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Vinayak Karuppasamy
Vinayak Karuppasamy

Vinayak completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge. His House also won the House Cup during his Cohort! I've been working as a software developer for the past 7 years now. I have worked on a variety of projects ranging from web apps to analytic platforms, in a variety of different languages and technologies. In my current role, I'm part of a team which is developing a financial domain specific query language (kind of like SQL, but for financial data). We're building this using Java and Scala.

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Dave Schaub
Dave Schaub

Dave completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I've spent the past eight years working as an IT admin for a manufacturing plant. In that time, I've done some programming in C# and VBA for MS Access. I also have experience with C++ programming. In the past year, I've started learning game development in Unreal Engine and Unity, and 3D modeling in Blender. I'm also comfortable using graphic design programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator.


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Jesús Vila
Jesús Vila

Jesús completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! I have around 8 of work experience in education. I teach different courses related to philosophy at the university level. Thanks to my critical thinking experience in philosophy, I was able to lead the development of the educational programme Growing in Thinking within the social project Rurapuk. Currently I am developing a boardgame that gives kids the experience of being scientists.

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Tyler Nellissen
Tyler Nellissen

Tyler completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! Almost all of my jobs have been in the human service side of things and within the Deaf Community. I've worked in residential group homes for intellectually disabled adults, social service agencies as a case manager supporting those with chronic illness, and as freelance sign language interpreter. Supporting people, or trying to anyway, is an important part of my professional life.


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Andrés Fernandez
Andrés Fernandez

Andrés completed the IGA Video Game Accelerator Program and earned the Level 3 Badge! Throughout college, I've worked on various class projects: an APEX/SQL event registration system, simple data visualization web apps, and Algorithms problems. Outside of class, I've worked on a 2048 remake, a text-based adventure game engine, and most recently a Discord bot. I'm hoping to transition to working on a game next, and I'm very excited to get the chance to work on one collaboratively.

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