AARON

CALTA
CREATIVE
DIRECTOR

aaron.calta@gmail.com
(310)383-6971
aaronmcalta
Creative, passionate, with a diverse
set of skills and a keen sense of the
world around me.
Over the last seventeen years I've
come to appreciate the
unexpected. Every project presents
new challenges and the
opportunity to learn (and also
succeed). There's no greater joy
then creating digital masterpieces.
Known as a stalwart among my
piers; I am respected for being hard
working, pushing boundaries,
prideful and taking nothing for
granted.

Projects
X-Men: Mutant Academy
Cars
Wu-Tang: Shaolin Style
MTX: Mototrax
Thrill Kill
Synth Racing
An Impossible Game
Over 20 others..

Skills
Software Development
Creative Thinking
Leadership
Presentation
Communication
Documentation
Game Design
Level Design
Mobile/Console/Web Platforms
Mentoring
Multi-tasking

Employment
Let's Play Forever

Culver City, CA

Creative Director/CEO

May 2014 to Current

Design consultant for game and non-game related projects on mobile/web platforms.
Increased user retention 300% over a two month period through simple UI/UX tweaks in six month old game.
Increased Ave. Session Length more than four times and IAP by an infinite percent - same project.
Drove IAP to month-over-month record purchases with simple design suggestions.
Specializes in increasing traction via simple design and UI/UX tweaks.
Twistory Studios

Santa Monica, CA

Director of Mobile

Jun 2013 to May 2014

Released Top 12 Paid App Store game - Ouch Couch! (3 week project / 4 man team).
Increased Download Rate, User Retention and IAP in Belles War month-over-month via UI/UX and presentation tweaks.
Brought focus to presentation and design in an engineering centric environment.
Brought best practices to a start-up environment: Version control to the art team, Project management and work accountability
via Shotgun Studio integration, Studio wide design documentation via internal wiki, Team building and A/B testing exercises.
Oversaw integration of key technologies Game Engine - Unity, Online Multiplayer - via Hydra and various analytic suites.
Race to the Moon
Creative Director

Released 10 games in a four year span (2.5MM downloads total).

Featured by Apple eight (8) times including New and Noteworthy four (4).
Quickest time to market from project start - sixteen (16) days.
Coordinated remote talent from around the globe (five different time zones).
Replaced team members on the fly as personal matters requested their attention elsewhere.
Completed four (4) titles as the sole team member delivering the Art, Code and Design.
Sold one concept outright to a well-known publisher for an undisclosed amount of money.
Collision Studios

Scripting
Unity 3D
3D Studio Max

Venice, CA

Lead Designer

2007 to 2008

Hired on as a Design Lead to correct previous designs with four months left in the project. managed team, changed
focus/'corrected the ship', created manageable design goals, released on time and on budget.
Wrote and pitched projects to biggest publishers in the games industry. (Sony, Capcom, EA, Activision among others)
Won multiple contracts for studio based on documentation generated.
Fostered a group of first time game developers on best practices, desired work output and accountability.
Rainbow Studios
Senior Designer

Phoenix, AZ
Aug 2004 to Aug 2007

Took on additional responsibilities whenever possible: Creating AI splines for NPCs, Designing and Creating five mini-games,
Populating world with random gameplay moments, Coordinating with Pixar, etc.
Instrumental in gameplay and physics balancing via focus group testing.
Helped create new functionality for the design staffs proprietary tool set.
First two games in the Cars franchise (by Pixar) sold 15MM/6MM units respectively.
Left Field Productions

Thousand Oaks, CA

Senior Designer

Mar 2002 to May 2004

Created a track editor tool which is insanely robust and still unmatched: 300+ track pieces, 1400+ suggested rhythm sections
based on track layout, Online track playing/sharing, Competitive AI - all created in under two months
Instrumental in keeping the game running at 60fps on PS2 and Xbox by running vigorous performance analyzation.
Responsible for all facets of design for 3 outdoor tracks, 2 indoor tracks, 1 freestyle arena, 1 free-ride environment.
Scripting AI functionality and other small features. Also created the foundation for the trick system.
Other responsibilities include; development of game systems, front end layout and functionality, fine tuning game physics, and
game documentation (for proposed functionality, game systems, etc.), artist management.
Lucky Chicken Games
Designer

Santa Monica, CA
Apr 2000 to Feb 2002

Created innovative gem and flight system assist for children's Playstation 2 game - Casper: Spirit Dimensions.
Continuously changed roles to whatever was needed: level design, object placement, AI pathing / scripting, design
documentation, QA management, team management, schedule creation and coordination with publisher.
Brought six (6) projects to market across five console platforms in under a two year span.
Paradox Development

Thousand Oaks, CA

Designer

May 1998 to Mar 2000

Created a 'Blood Letting' system that sixteen years later is still rarely unmatched in robustness - still some of my favorite work.
Created a number of inventive solutions to get a four unique characters worth of sounds in a 512k chip.
Learned all new technologies on the job: Sound Forge, 3D Studio Max, Proprietary tools, etc
Mentored Sound FX Coordinator replacement - who went on to win awards for God of War.

Research
Story Writing

Venice, CA
Jan 2009 to Jul 2013

Education
Cleveland State University

Mathematics, Japanese, History 1997