Abstraction, Mixed Media on Watercolor Paper, approx. 20” x 30”
I am a new and upcoming artist who is an entrepreneur, science teacher at Jones High, scientist, game designer. I am assertive, persistent, not afraid to speak my truth, and most importantly, proud of all the things I have done across my working career. I own my own independent game studio, Greatsword Games Studio LLC in downtown Orlando. In addition to working as a full time science teacher at Jones High School, I manage to find the time work on my true roots as an emerging artist here in Orlando.
I generally love to have many projects going on at once. If there is a creative stagnation, I love to be the instigator on bounching ew ideas off my teammates to fix problems logically and creatively. I am quick to be independent and I don’t mind helping out teammates, improving what they have, giving suggestions on places to improve. I’m generally a scatterbrained person but I can easily become focused on something I want to do.
I have been working on the material for a good part of my life, from drafting stories, the in-game universe of our current project, Project: Crimson. I made an number of prototypes and pitches for Greatsword Games Studios including Quantum Run, and an unpublished pitch for a multiplayer mobile puzzler: Battle of Ages.
I have always been an artist at my core and working in fine art is the way that fills the gaps my other pursuits haven’t been able to pursue. I am eager to take on the world with my paintings, drawings, and photography. A small sampling of my work can be found on my instagram account, @brianstrigel_art, but here on this website you will be able to find more directly my artistic breadth and depth. I have hidden this aspect of my career for a while for fear of hurting my professional appeareance in all other aspects, and I am only learning now that being an artist is only helping them.
I have industry experience in level design outside of my company, Greatsword Games Studio. As a level designer for Evening Star studios in Los Angeles California, I was responsible for creating 4 levels from concepting to the whiteboxing for their now released game: Penny’s Great Escape available on Steam. I have a MS in Interactive Entertainment from the world’s forefront game design program, Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy at the University of Central Florida, in Orlando, Florida.
My background has always been in art and science, and I have two Bachelor’s Degrees, one in Art and the other in Physics. I went on to study and teach at the Rome Art Program in Rome, Italy, in the summer of 2016. Time moved on and I decided it was right to pursue a masters in my other skillset, Physics and Entrepreneurship at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
I have found game design to best incorporate my technical skills with my creative vision. I am a huge RPG nerd, whether it be in Sci-fi or traditional medieval fantasy. I live by a personal motto of “Go big or go home,” so it is hard for me not be ambitious, and thus sometimes I often scope-bomb myself. Granted, I always finish what I start, even if it meams “killing my babies.” I am learning, however to grow more patient, but it doesn’t stop me from pushing for my dreams of being a lead designer.