Michael VanderBurgh

Hi all and welcome to my portfolio page. Thanks for stopping by!

My name is Michael and I'm trying to get my start as a game developer, although I've spent the last 10 years (or so) working in various healthcare roles. I'm interested in gameplay design/programming as well as quest/narrative design and gameplay integration.

I have loved videogames for as long as I remember, starting with my childhood Atari and growing up alongside the industry. I always considered myself lucky for having a mom who enjoyed gaming as well, because the only time she told me I couldn't play was when it was her turn. My mom doesn't game as much these days because she says games have gotten too complicated for her -- and one thing that inspires me as a game developer is the desire to make new games that she (and other aging gamers) can still play and enjoy.

I have Bachelor Degrees in Business Administration with an International Business concentration (2009) and Game Programming and Development (2023). However, I have been working in various healthcare roles (both clinical and administrative) for around the past 10 years. How I ended up there is a long story on its own, but like many others during the pandemic I realized that I could no longer be satisfied working a job just for a paycheck (which I have been doing my entire life so far) and I needed to pursue a passion instead. That is when I started playing around with different game engines and realized that I enjoy the process of making games just as much as I enjoy playing them.

I know I still have a long way to go...but every adventure starts at level one!

Game Engines: Unreal Engine 4/5, Unity
Programming Languages: Unreal Blueprints Visual Scripting, C++, C#, Python
Other Software: Git/GitHub/Bitbucket, 3DS Max, Adobe Suite, MS Office, Discord

Located In: Buffalo, NY - Open to Remote Work and/or Relocation for Work

Areas of Interest:
Gameplay Design
Gameplay Programming
Level Design
Narrative Design
UI Design
QA Testing
Work Training/Simulations