I am Christian Allen, and I am a 32 year old video Game Designer.
I grew up in Eagle River, Alaska. After high school, I joined the Marines, where I served four years in the Military Police, mainly at MCAS El Toro. After finishing my tour in the Corps in 1999, I returned to Alaska, serving in the Air National Guard with the 176th Security Police, and working for the State of Alaska as a Child Support Enforcement Officer. Later, I went to work IT & Communications for the Department of Emergency Services.
I started making mods for the Rogue Spear series in 1999; and in 2001, I decided to make a career change and get into the gaming industry. I moved from Alaska to Arizona, and attended the Art Institute of Phoenix. During this time I also joined the Army National Guard, serving with the 855th Military Police Company. In 2002, I was hired by Red Storm Entertainment/Ubisoft Entertainment as an Assistant Game Designer. Since then I have worked on a variety of military-themed first person shooters, in a variety of rolls, from Scripting to Weapon Design to Lead Designer to Creative Director. In 2006, I completed my B.S. in Game Art and Design through the online program of the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. In 2007 I accepted a Design Lead position at Bungie Studios and moved to Kirkland, WA. In 2009 I began work as Lead Game Designer on an unannounced project at WB Games.
In addition to being a professional game designer, I also work to contribute to the game industry as a whole. I have been active as a lecturer, speaking for three years at the Game Developers Conference, as well as lecturing at Indiana University. Along with lecturing, I have been featured in several texts, including Media Works by Mark Deuze and Game Project Management by Novak and Hight. I am active in several organizations including the IGDA.
I live with my wonderful wife of over 12 years, Angeline Fowler, who works in the business side of games, and my beautiful daughter, Isabel, who works in the consumer side of games. I am an avid firearms collector, and also enjoy airsoft and video games.
NOTE: The opinions I express in this blog are my own, and don't represent those of my employer, publisher, government, or the Illuminati.