10/24/08

Richard S. Levine

I'm originally from California.  Though I've lived in Washington, Texas, New Jersey and Arizona, my wife Carrie and I now call Florida our home.  We've been to almost every state in the country, but we've yet to visit Alaska, Maine and North Dakota.

I have worked for several companies on interesting projects with many fascinating people.  At Imagic, where I designed and developed Microsurgeon (Consumer Electronics Show's Most Original Game of the Year), I was interviewed by Richard Hart (PM/Evening Magazine) and BBC radio.  Microsurgeon appeared on the cover of IEEE Spectrum magazine, has been written about in a book (Lucky Wander Boy), and is on the cover of at least 2 music albums.

At Microsoft, I worked with some great software developers on the Windows team and in the consulting group.  My last year in the Microsoft Games group, I worked with Alexey Pajitnov, the inventor of Tetris. 

At RCA Laboratories, I worked with several experts on an interactive motion video shoot in the amazing jungles of Palenque, Mexico.  Our work became the world's first educational motion video game on CDROM.  I will always have fond memories of RCA's Nipper and Chipper (http://www.rca.com/content/viewdetail/1,2811,EI268-CI263,00.html).

At Mattel, I will never forget my first day on the job.  Arriving for orientation, I was curiously asked to be seated in a small but well decorated theater.  Shortly after, the curtains opened, and I was introduced to the history of Barbie (http://www.mattel.com/our_toys/ot_barb.asp).  Considering the games I worked on and the great people I met, the fun never stopped!  Along with the Intellivision "PBA Bowling" game I co-designed and developed, I am listed as co-inventor for 2 issued patents with Mattel:

                   Electronic bowling game: Patent 4,369,971 January 25, 1983 (filed 1981)

                   Electronic baseball game: Patent 4,395,760 July 26, 1983 (filed 1981)

At American Airlines, I had the pleasure of working with some of the nicest people I've met anywhere.  As a software specialist, I worked in a team of developers to program SABREvision for travel agencies.  I also lead a small team in the design of a next generation corporate travel booking system.  Carrie and I traveled places we will never forget, from the quiet solitude of Great Basin and Big Bend to the ruins of Coba to the splendor of Niagara Falls in winter.

I have an interest in many topics, so it isn't easy to pin me down as a particular career type.  I've been a teacher, programmer, game designer, manager and writer.  I continue to learn new things every day.  My current interests include Mathematics, Science Fiction, Space Exploration, All Things Computer, Game Design, Baseball, Basketball, Bowling, Disc Golf, Golf, Genealogy, Quantum Consciousness, Education, Travel and numerous other aspects of human endeavor. 

Skills:

Software Development(C/C++/VB/Assembly), Program/Project Mgmt, QA Mgmt

Teacher/Tutor, Writer

Experience:

Mathematics and Reading tutor (Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, SAT, Reading) for Huntington Learning in Clearwater, Florida.  Keywords: tutor, math, reading.

Science fiction and suspense writer.  See my favorites for links to my published stories.  My story, "A Comic on Phobos", was nominated for the 2006 James Award (best short story).  I am a member of the excellent Critters writing workshop online.  Keywords: writer, science fiction, horror.

Contracted with Manpower Professional to perform work for Exponent Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona.  Lead team of developers on Land Warrior training software project.  A recent article on Land Warrior can be found here.  Keywords: Architect, VB, C++, XML, SQL, Delta Force game hooks

Senior Software design engineer for Microsoft Corporation.  Keywords: C++, WebTV for Windows, Microsoft Consulting, Windows 98/2000 team developer, Games

Software Specialist for American Airlines SABRE.  Keywords: "C", lead, travel software design and development, SABREvision

Member Technical Staff for RCA Laboratories (later Intel).  Keywords: Palenque interactive cdrom, digital video interactive (DVI), "C", Windows

Senior Software design engineer for Tectonic Control (later Oracle).  Keywords: "C", Computer graphics, 3D Gantt charts, project management system, Unix

Games designer/software engineer for Digital Pictures, Cinemaware, Imagic, Mattel.

     Keywords: Double Switch/Windows, Kids on Site/Sega CD, It Came From the Desert/Amiga/PC, Microsurgeon/Intellivision --Consumer Electronics Show Most Original Game of the Year, Truckin'/Intellivision, PBA Bowling/Intellivision, Handheld Bowling, 8/16 bit assembly language, "C"

Software Design engineer for Coopervision Labs (later CooperCompanies Inc.).  Keywords: Medical electronics, diagnostics, 8085, 8051, realtime

Mathematics teacher.  Keywords: Fontana High School and Long Beach Jr. High School in California.  I also started the Oceanside branch of The Reading Game (now Sylvan Learning).

Education

·         UCLA            B.A. Mathematics      

·         UC Irvine       B.S. Computer Science

·         California State University L.A. Secondary Credential Mathematics