About me:

Hello! My name is Kieran McKee, and I’m currently a student at the DigiPen Institute of Technology in Redmond.

I used to be a student at WWU studying computer science, before fully committing to game development and transferring into DigiPen’s BA in Game Design program. I’m current specializing in Technical Design and trying to learn as much as my brain can possibly handle about the other design specialties.

I’m currently the Technical and Systems Designer as well as Associate Producer for my DigiPen game team, called Oblivion Owls. I love working with my team of eight other nerds and applying everything I’ve learned towards improving the project. I can’t thank my professors enough for everything they’ve taught me. It’s strange to think that I learned more about game design in my first semester at DigiPen than I did in a decade of teaching myself, but it’s true. And all I want to do now is to learn more!

My next goal is to learn from the best, out in the field. I work my ass off at DigiPen, but I want to know how the pros do it in their studios!

Personal Interests:

  • Collecting old sci-fi novels from the 50s-70s, specifically books that have either:

    • A famous and respected author (Ray Bradbury, Frank Herbert, Asimov, etc.)

    • A ridiculously cheesy and hilarious cover (I don’t know why, I just love them)

  • Making pixel-art

  • Filling notebooks with random ideas and technical designs

  • Talking about how underrated the Pokémon spin-off games are

  • Studying Game Design

    • Favorite designers:

      • Richard Garfield

      • Masahiro Sakurai

      • Chris Bell

      • Lucas Pope

All my life, I’ve been making games. The first thing I ever programmed when I was a kid was a text-based adventure game, which was just hundreds of lines of if statements. My first ever job was at a little place called Code Ninjas, where I was a “Sensei” teaching elementary and middle-school kids how to make their own games using Scratch. I taught both one-on-one and in front of a class of 20+ kids.

(Side note: I cannot stress enough how useful a skill it is to be able to explain code to a seven-year-old, and how often it’s come in handy when talking to adults. Plus, I can now put Sensei on every resume I make for the rest of my life!)

Since then, I’ve created tons of new projects both personal and for DigiPen, and Technical Design has become my passion. Games have always been my creative outlet, and there’s nothing I’d rather do with my life. Right now, I’m working on putting together a portfolio of all the little things I’ve made over the years, so check back in a bit.

Get in touch →