Aaron Pulkka

aaron@pulkka.com 310-574-2878
Minneapolis, MN, USA

Summary

Experienced game industry professional, applying multifaceted technical and creative background to facilitate the development of innovative and profitable entertainment experiences.

§    Solid academic and real-world grounding: Master’s degree in Computer Science and well over a decade of international game development experience.

§    Especially adept at cultivating communication between teams and rapidly adapting to change – strong leadership, problem solving, communication and project management skills.

Activities

 

§ Game Developers Conference (GDC) Speaker (February, 2008) San Francisco, USA
“What Are The Business Gotchas?” (Panel)
“Game Outsourcing Around the World” (Panel)

§ IGDA Leadership Forum Speaker (November, 2007) San Francisco, USA
“Leveraging Outsourcing to Enhance Development”

§ GDC China Speaker (August, 2007) Shanghai, China
“Building Lasting Outsourcing Partnerships”

§ GamePlaces International Speaker (July, 2007) Frankfurt, Germany
“State of the Game Industry” (Keynote)
“Next-Gen Technology” (Panel)

§ IGF Judge (2003-present, Judge Emeritus 2008), Annual Independent Games Festival

§ International Game Developers Association (IGDA), Project Management Institute (PMI), Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Media Entertainment Technology Alliance (METal)

Experience

2008-Present              Activision                                                         Minneapolis, MN

Director of Production, Activision Minneapolis Publishing (2008-Present)

§    Supervising the production of many cross-platform game projects (including casual and mass-market console titles), by directing internal producers and external development teams.

§    Participating in slate planning, evaluating potential development partners, and managing P&L roll-up of projects to ensure franchises maintain creative, technical and financial objectives.

 

2006-2008                 Vivendi Games (Activision Blizzard)                Los Angeles, CA

Sr. Director of Outsourcing (2006-2008)

§    Directed outsourcing and offshoring of game production services for Vivendi’s game studios worldwide (Vivendi Games merged into Activision Blizzard in July 2008).

§    Facilitated the initiation and management of production outsourcing services for many next-generation game titles (Microsoft XBOX 360 / Sony PS3 / Nintendo Wii) including:
§ Ghostbusters, Prototype, Bourne Conspiracy, 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand, World in Conflict, Timeshift, Empire Earth III, Crash, Spyro and other unannounced titles.

 

2006-2006                  THQ                                                          Agoura Hills, CA

Project Director, XDG (2006)

§    Co-founded External Development Group (XDG) to establish efficient pipeline between internal THQ studios and external outsourcing resources worldwide (including China, India, Europe and Australia).

§    Evaluated and engaged the services of outsourcing vendors, to allow core teams to focus on delivering innovative game play for next-generation games (360 / PS3 / Wii).

 

1998-2006                  Sony Development (Hyper Entertainment)         Burbank, CA

Vice President, Game Development / Digital Media (2001-2006)

§    Provided technology and design consultation for digital entertainment projects, including for theme parks, museums, malls, arcades, and other location-based entertainment venues.

§    Consulted as Director of Development for game outsourcing startup (VYK), establishing distributed production pipeline and successfully delivering assets for multiple console game titles (XBOX / PS2 / Gamecube). Managed overseas art production for clients in USA.

Manager of Game Development (2000-2001)

§    Managed team of artists and engineers to productize HyperBowl attraction, originally developed specifically for SONY’s METREON, for the home and arcade markets (sold over 1 million copies).

§   Hyper Entertainment spun-off from Sony in 2000 through a management buy-out.

Technical Director / Project Manager (1999-2000)

§    Directed game development for grand opening of SONY’s MEDIAGE in Tokyo, Japan

§    Quaternia, Badlands, HyperBowl (aka Cyberbowl) (Networked PC Arcade Games)

Lead Programmer (1998-1999)

§    Developed motion-simulator game for grand opening of SONY’s METREON in San Francisco.

 

1995-1998                  Walt Disney Imagineering                                       Glendale, CA

Project Lead, Research & Development

§    Massively Multiplayer Online Games Project (foundation for PC MMO game: ToonTown Online)

Show Designer / Senior Programmer, Virtual Reality (VR) Studio

§    Completed two launch titles on SGIs for the DisneyQuest location-based entertainment center:

§    Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride (Multiplayer VR Arcade Game)

§    Hercules in the Underworld (CAVE-based Arcade Game)

 

1993-1995                  Human Interface Technology Lab                          Seattle, WA

Research Associate

§    GreenSpace (Trans-Pacific Networked, Immersive Game Demonstration @ NICOGRAPH Tokyo)

§    Co-moderated Usenet newsgroup sci.virtual-worlds (Virtual Reality research discussion forum)

Education

1995                          University of Washington                                       Seattle, WA

Master of Science, Computer Science

§    Emphasis on Human-Computer Interaction and Networked Virtual Reality

§    Completed thesis on Large-Scale Multi-user Virtual Environments (MMOG)

§    Treasurer, UW Chapter of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery)

1992                          University of Washington                                       Seattle, WA

Bachelor of Science, Computer Engineering

§    Graduated Cum Laude, with emphasis on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

§    Vice President, UW Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu (Electrical Engineering honor society)

1989                          North Seattle Community College                      Seattle, WA

Graduation Speaker, Pre-Engineering

§    John Barton Memorial Physics Scholarship recipient (academic achievement award)

§    President, NSCC Associated Student Body

§    Treasurer, NSCC Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa (National honor society)

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