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David Goodwine Chief Academic Innovation Officer and Executive Director School of Game Development
David Goodwine is a graduate of the Academy of Art University’s animation program and a 20+ year veteran of both the film and video game industries. His credits include work as a producer, manager, and director on game projects like Legacy of Kain Defiance, the Lord of the Rings the Two Towers, the Return of the King, Project Snowblind, and Tomb Raider Legend. In 2009, David returned to the Academy of Art to help start the School of Game Development. With his extensive experience in all aspects of the game production pipeline, he co-developed a curriculum to teach concept art, animation, 3D modeling, and game design. Since 2012, David has been instrumental in not only running the department as its executive director, but also introducing new technologies like augmented and virtual reality and establishing a game programming degree. Today, David splits his time between managing the department, bringing in new technologies and partners as the Chief Academic Innovations Officer, and also broadening the scope of online education through course offerings and virtual classes that bridge the gap between onsite and remote learning. BFA and MFA graduates from the program have gone on to work at game and film companies across the industry like Electronic Arts, Activision, Epic, and Sony PlayStation.
Industry Credits:
Have worked in TV, Film and Games Industry for 25 years.
Companies I have worked for: Wild Brain, PDI/Dreamworks, Electronic Arts, Crystal Dynamics
Created the first website with a team of 5 for the release of Shrek.
Commercials worked on: Wonka Candy: Fun Dip, Laffy Taffy, Nerds; KFC Dancing Colonel; Ritz Crackers.
Movies worked on: Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do Right, Legend of Bagger Vance, Evolution, Shrek
Games worked on: The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Legacy of Kain: Defiance, Project Snowblind, 25 to Life, Tomb Raider: Legend, Tomb Raider Anniversary Edition
The biggest obstacle I’ve had to overcome while pursuing my artistic dreams is “Not listening to people’s negativity about going into animation (Art) as a career!
Position: Part-Time Faculty, Game Development (Concept Art Discipline)
Industry Credits:
Game credits include Toxic Grind by Blue Shift, Inc, WarJetz by 3dO Games and Dungeoneer card game by Atlas Games.
Illustration Clients include Marvel Comics Licensing, Livermore Valley Wine Growers, County Connection Transit Authority, and Pelican Travel Agency.
My Fine Art paintings have been exhibited in both group shows and individual shows throughout the United States, and also in Canada and in the United Kingdom.
Feature articles about my work have been published in Art Business News, Fine Art Collector, and SkyWest Magazine.
I have participated in outdoor art festivals and was named the Feature Artist for two different festivals, San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, and ArtExpo Las Vegas.
Jax is an Art Director and Concept Artist with 15+ years of experience in the Entertainment Industry, specializing in design and storytelling for film, games, TV, and IP creation.
She has worked with clients such as App2le, Fortnite, Capcom, MachineZone, Stan Lee’s POW!
Entertainment, SyFy Channel, Digital Domain, Wizards of the Coast, Super Evil Megacorp, Hi-Rez Studios, Adobe, and Psyop.
Founder of Chimera Studios, providing art outsourcing for games.
Portfolio for Games 1
Rapid Game Development
Game Freemium and Monetization
Position: Instructor for the Game Development Department
Michael Witzel began his career in technology and communications in the US Marines. There he built large-scale communication networks from the ground up. Michael pivoted into the gaming industry and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Academy of Art’s School of Game Development. Michael combined his passion for games and esports and created the ArtU Esports Program in 2016. He continues to progress the program forward with the goal of making it the number 1 collegiate esports program in the world.
Level Design for Video Games 2
Game Genre Development
Action Adventure and RPG Level Design
Position: Instructor for the Game Development Department
Industry Credits:
Sly Cooper,Pac-Man, Jurassic Park, and Tomb Raider
Jason Weesner is a senior game designer with over 25 years of
experience in the game industry. He’s a professional nerd who
was raised on Dungeons & Dragons, pinball machines, Doctor
Who, and Boy Scouts and somehow found a way to turn all of
that into a career.
Game Engines
Portfolio for Games 1
Games Portfolio Preparation
Game Studio – Game Design (SP)
History of Gaming
Position: Instructor for the Game Development Department
Industry Credits:
Crystal Dynamics, Dena
Phillip Kauffold studied animation at the Art Institute of California-San Francisco, then got his start in games working on Tomb Raider: Anniversary at Crystal Dynamics. While animating the Tomb Raider games, he also started rigging characters and props, and eventually managed the cinematics pipeline. Following that, he worked on a variety of mobile games at DeNA – San Francisco such as We Rule, We City, and Dreamtopia. He also worked freelance on other projects, such as an avatar system designed to help people with hospital discharge instructions.
Phil started teaching character and creature rigging at Academy of Art University in 2012, and has developed curriculum for technical animation, animation, and virtual reality.
