About
RESUME

Downloadable copy coming soon

CONTACT

Cell: 425-765-6202

E-mail: kai@curtisforhire.com

BIOGRAPHY

Kai Curtis is a devious miscreant living and working in Seattle, WA. Formally educated in video game development and informally versed in the myriad ways of the web, Kai spends a lot of time pining for blue skies and sunshine.

Between stretches planted in front of a computer for fun or profit, Kai also enjoys ultimate frisbee, photography, and baking. In fact, he guarantees you a batch of fresh cookies if you interview him.

EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY

Independent web contractor
Various clients
Sept. 2000 - Present

Front-end Web Developer
Avelle, Inc.
Mar. 2008 - Aug. 2010

Web Developer
Engine Interactive
Dec. 2006 - Aug. 2007

Porting Engineer
Mobliss, Inc.
Oct. 2005 - April 2006

Game Developer
ZangoGames.com
Dec. 2004 - Oct. 2005

SKILLS, ACRONYMS, ETC.

HTML, CSS, Javascript, PHP, SQL, C++, Ruby

Photoshop, Vim

Windows, Mac OS, Ubuntu

EDUCATION

BS RTIS (Comp. Sci.)
Digipen Institute of Technology
Dec. 2004

Projects
Project
Customer-facing site and internal tools site development and maintenance
Client
Avelle, Inc.
Date
March 2008 - August 2010
Description
Kai joined the Avelle (formerly Bag Borrow or Steal) team full time in March of 2008, beginning two years of contributions to a wide array of projects, work that included project scheduling and coordination with groups throughout the company. Despite lack of familiarity when he arrived, he quickly grew comfortable with a foreign build environment that utilized Maven, Subversion, Freemarker, Struts, and Java while increasing and refining his knowledge of the front-end staples he'd already been working with: XHTML, CSS, and Javascript with a focus on jQuery.
URL
Avelle | The New Bag Borrow or Steal
Project
Miscellaneous
Client
Facelift Designs
Date
September 2007 - Present
Description
Kai has a long-standing relationship with Facelift Designs, a small web development house located in Florida, based on an continually growing reputation for reliability, dedication, and getting things done. During his most recent stint with Facelift, Kai has contributed his development savvy to high profile sites for local politicians - such as David Price (http://price.house.gov) and Hilda Solis (http://solis.house.gov) - as well as a variety of other organizations around the world, including Mercy Ships and the Black Women's Health Initiative. During this time, Kai also learned to work with the Accrisoft and Kintera content management platforms, further extending his ability to adapt his development techniques to the needs of any client.
URL
Congressman David Price's website
Congresswoman Hilda Solis's website
Facelift Designs website
Project
Caldera Springs
Client
Engine Interactive
Date
June 2007 - August 2007
Description
While contracting for Engine Interactive, Kai was asked to develop the site for Caldera Springs, a luxurious resort community in Oregon. Given Photoshop templates, Kai proceeded to develop and extremely effective XHTML/CSS-based solution that allowed for efficient develop and maintenance of the site. In addition to the fundamental layout work, Kai was also responsible for implementing the online contact mechanism for the the site - utilizing Javascript validation and PHP processing - and coordinating with the in-house Flash developer on the intergration of the Flash-based index page for the site.
Images
Caldera Screenshot #1 Caldera Screenshot #2
URL
Caldera Springs website
Project
Miscellaneous
Client
Engine Interactive
Date
December 2006 - August 2007
Description
Engine Interactive, a small, award-winning web development firm located in the Capitol Hill district of Seattle, initally employed Kai as a front-end web developer, tasking him with various CSS and Javascript duties. Kai quickly proved himself extremely capable as a troubleshooter on existing scripting and layout issues and as a problem solver in the process of developing new sites. Additionally, Kai leveraged his background in back-end development to take the reins on a number of PHP and MySQL-based scenarios, developing schema, porting databases between MySQL and MSSQL, and developing interactive functionality for various client sites. During his tenure with Engine, Kai worked on projects for a wide variety of clients, including Expedia, Precor, Seattle Savings Bank, and Caldera Springs (see above).
URL
Engine Interactive website
Project
Screenplay interview series
Client
MassDistraction
Date
October 2006 - December 2006
Description
MassDistraction, a multimedia services and ventures group, envisioned a series of interviews between screenwriting luminary Syd Field and today's hottest screenwriters. To realize this vision, MassDistraction contracted Kai for a wide range of technical and creative services. Working with the creative director at MassDistraction, Kai actively participated in the design for the Screenplay web site, rapidly developing hand-coded site prototypes. Upon design completion, Kai developed a WordPress template from the static layout code, allowing the Screenplay team to harness the power of an exisiting, well-known, documented content management system. As part of this transition, Kai developed a custom set of WordPress functions to further simplify the workflow for the content development team. At present, Kai is finsihing WordPress integration and developing a custom plugin for podcast feed management.
Images
Screenplay Screenshot #1
URL
Screenplay interview series pre-beta gateway
Project
Lightnin' Lure product site
Client
Lightnin' Lure, Facelift Design
Date
September 2006
Description
Lighnin’ Lure contracted Facelift Design to establish a web presence in support of a televised ad campaign. Facelift in turn contacted Kai to design a site incorporating graphics from Lightnin' Lure's print and video materials. Working closely with Facelift, Kai quickly designed a site to the client's specifications that prominently featured several phrases and graphics that were identified as key to the client's market identity.
Images
Lightnin' Lure Screenshot #1 Lightnin' Lure Screenshot #2
URL
Lightnin' Lure product site
Project
Google maps integration
Client
Ookles, Inc.
Date
May 2006
Description
Ookles contracted Kai to develop a Web 2.0 maps services mashup. In the course of the project, Kai independently evaluated various online map application APIs, eventually choosing one map application with which he integrated data from a JSON stream provided by Ookles. Any further details are withheld as the Ookles product/service is still pre-release.
Images
None
URL
Ookles Development Blog
Project
Celluar handset game porting, multiple titles
Client
Mobliss
Date
October 2005 - April 2006
Description
Kai worked as a full-time porting engineer for Mobliss, Inc. During his time with Mobliss, Kai was responsible for developing and contributing to ports for such critically-acclaimed titles as Brady Bunch Kung-Fu and New York Times Crossword. While Kai was already familiar with C++, he rapidly learned about the BREW and J2ME environments on the job.
Images
None
URL
Mobliss games page
Project
Brainonz sound engine
Client
Zango Games
Date
April 2005 - June 2006
Description
While designing and prototyping a number of other projects, Kai stepped in on Brainonz, a puzzle game similar to Lumines, to create an interactive sound engine based on DirectX 9 technology. Kai worked closely in conjunction with an offsite musician, collaboratively producing the engine through an iterative design process. As part of the process, Kai developed test applications and provided technical support to the musician. The result was an engine that dynamically responded to the player's in-game status.
Images
Brainonz Title Screen Brainonz Screenshot #1 Brainonz Screenshot #2 Brainonz Screenshot #3
URL
Download page for Brainonz
Project
Jade Shadow
Client
Zango Games
Date
December 2004 - April 2005
Description
Kai made a splash upon arriving at Zango Games by contributing significant elements to the product design for Jade Shadow, a futuristic shooter for the Windows platform. In collaborative brainstorming sessions, Kai planted the seed that blossomed into the highly interactive and destructible game environment. On the technical side, Kai implemented various aspects of the player upgrade system and the enemy navigation system. When the product reached code completion, Kai once again donned his design hat, assembling approximately 50% of the levels for the game.
Images
Jade Shadow title screen Jade Shadow gameplay screen #1 Jade Shadow gameplay screen #2 Jade Shadow gameplay screen #3
URL
Jade Shadow review at gamersinfo.net
Project
PrepPoint corporate site
Client
PrepPoint Tutoring and Admissions Services
Date
Fall 2003 - Fall 2004
Description
PrepPoint, an educational services provider serving the Bay Area in California, needed a web site to advertise their services. Since the company had no other branding at the time, Kai created not only their site but also their logo, letterhead, and business cards. Having covered all of their customer-facing needs, Kai proceeded to develop a LAMP-based system for tutor management, a product that removed much of the overhead for organizing and dispatching tutors.
Images
Screenshot from preppoint.com
URL
Preppoint.com company site
Project
Frictionless Commerce corporate site
Client
Frictionless Commerce
Date
May 2003
Description
The creative director at Frictionless Commerce came to Kai with a Photoshop file and the need for a new templatized backend for their corporate site. In a matter of weeks, Frictionless had their new site up and running with HTML, Javascript, and PHP courtesy of Kai. In addition to all of the technical work on the site, Kai provided documentation and support for the features of the new system.
Images
None
URL
Frictionless Commerce company site