Joe Wise

Education

• University of Southern California

  2016 - 2018

  Master's in Computer Science

  Specialization in Game Development

• University of California, Santa Cruz

  2013 - 2015

  Bachelor's in Computer Science

  Honors in the Major

  GPA: 3.54

Experience

• Embedded

  Fall 2017 - Spring 2018

  Director, Engineer, Designer

  Embedded is a VR game where players take the role of a photojournalist that is embedded with a team of soldiers in the Vietnam War. Throughout the game, the player takes photos of what they witness and chooses which photos will be published for everyone to see, thus deciding whether the public will see the war as a necessary and patriotic action or a haphazard and cruel one. I created this photojournalism-themed Virtual Reality game for USC’s Advanced Game Projects, conceiving of, writing the game design document for, and pitching the game to faculty and industry judges. I assembled and managed four engineers, three artists, two designers, one composer, and one producer. I formulated the underlying architecture for analyzing sentiment and composition of photographs and programmed player movement, photography mechanics, and photo quality analysis in Unity.

• Sony Pictures Entertainment

  Summer 2017

  VR Innovation Associate

  I contributed to a number of Virtual Reality experiences for Sony Corporate Development. I was Lead Engineer for a branching narrative horror experience based on Sony IP and a relaxing meditation experience. I negotiated design issues between executive and artistic interests to create two engaging VR pieces.

• Lucid Sight

  Spring 2017

  VR/AR Engineering Intern

  I developed several Virtual and Augmented Reality game prototypes for the VR/AR startup, Lucid Sight. While at Lucid Sight I gained experience using tools for targeting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and HoloLens in Unity. I also collaborated with CTO and lead engineers to foster, implement, and document best practices for VR.

• Speedy Packets

  June-September 2014

  Software Engineering Intern

  Speedy Packets developed Speedy TCP, an alternative to traditional TCP. Speedy TCP takes advantage of Random Linear Network Coding to help speed up network file transfers. During my first internship, I ported their C code from Linux to Android using the Android Native Development Kit. I overcame issues of scattered documentation and worked mostly independently on the project. Currently, the Android app is being used for internal testing and demos to potential customers.

• Speedy Packets

  January-September 2016

  Software Engineering Intern

  During my second internship, I created an automated test bed to measure and report various metrics such as battery usage, speed, and throughput compared to TCP. This included setting up a network of virtual machines to emulate a range of connection conditions and writing scripts to run tests on the network, analyze the data, and then graph the relevant information.

• Struggle

  August-December 2016

  Gameplay Engineer

  Struggle is a 3D exploration-based game where you play as the tiny imaginary friend of a frightened little girl. Frightened during a thunderstorm, she tasks you with going out into the mysterious carpet world to collect light and bring it back to her. I contributed to player controls, enemy AI, puzzle design, and puzzle implementation. Created in Unity using C#.

• Amélia Blume and the Cursed Heart of the Old, Old Woods

  January-June 2015

  Gameplay Engineer

  Amélia Blume and the Cursed Heart of the Old, Old Woods is a side-scrolling platforming game that utilizes 3D assets to tell a story about dismantling hostile environments using nonviolent means. I engaged in quality assurance and implementation of player movement, platforms, sound effects, and music. Created in Unity using C#.

• Cat Escape: Meow or Never

  February-March 2014

  Gameplay Engineer

  Cat Escape: Meow or Never is an action platformer for the web. I used JavaScript with ImpactJS to develop this Sammy Award nominated video game. I contributed to player movement, controls, audio, and enemy AI. During this project, I utilized and mastered a new framework to create a video game against an aggressive timeline.

• Edibility

  May-June 2014

  Android Engineer

  Edibility was a mobile app that used Java with Android SDK in development of app displaying menus of UCSC dining halls. I contributed to user interface, preference saving, and application flow. Our team utilized various APIs to create application against aggressive timeline.

Where I Am Based