About Me

A vastly incomplete list for prospective girlfriends who are googling me, people with business opportunities and other Internet stalkers.

Professional Qualifications

I’m a product manager with 10 years of video and computer game experience in the online middleware sector, working for the GameSpy Tech division at IGN Entertainment, until March 2010. During my involvement, over 900 games shipped with GameSpy technology across all major platform and publishers, enjoyed by tens of millions of gamers world wide.

Prior to that, I was a software engineer developing web applications when CGIs in Perl were the hot new thing in town. In my spare time, I was a part of early gaming communities on the web, through the QuakeTALK newsletter, Aftershock fan site, Slipgate Central directory for first person action games and as the maintainer of the Walnut Creek idgames FTP space at ftp.cdrom.com, where hundreds of game developers submitted their user generated add-ons to become discovered by the world.

What Drives Me

Creating solutions that allow gamers to interact, compete, form relationship and extend their enjoyment in games, whether they’re multiplayer games at heart, or single player titles that can be enriched by online connectivity.

Forming a product vision based not just by market research, but also from the perspective of a gamer myself. The best products are made by people who also use them.

Refining that vision through contributions of the sales team who will infuse the needs of our clients. To an extent, this is important, but a truly good product doesn’t just fill a need, it creates one.

Being there for my team members, helping create the right working environment for them to shine, firmly clarifying a project’s objectives while also listen to their contributions, and motivating them by giving praise for a job well done.

Bringing a product to market as effectively as possible by evangelizing that vision to groups like sales and marketing and helping customers understand how our solutions can improve their own titles, while simplifying development.

Sitting back and watching the usage stats that show a product’s success.

Personal Indulgences And Peculiarities

• I enjoy long nights of exploring the vastness of the Internet.
• I’ve been know to early adopt a good gadget or two now and then (to put it mildly).
• Mars exploration and alternate history books are amongst my obsessions.
• Skeptical by nature, in the truest scientific sense. Only through understanding science, nature and the human mind can we improve our short life on Earth and create a better world for our children.
• Confident and opinionated about many things, and not afraid to take a stand for them. A person who doesn’t voice his beliefs to see how they match up against others wastes them.
• A life long cyclist, I commute by bike as much as possible (and trust me, it’s more possible than many people will believe).
• Curious about the world. Born in Germany to a Dutch father and a German mother, I’ve been fortunate enough to explore a chunk of Europe, while also living in the UK and US growing up. These days, my English is better than my German, and I don’t even speak Dutch. There is much more traveling in my blood.
• Just a touch wiser and humbler with age. So much more to tame, understand and share. The you ten years from now will always have lots to teach you.
• Unconventionally funny to the point of mild annoyance.
• Frequently painfully honest.
• Quirky and goofy in actions and thought.
• A firm believer that those who take from the Internet, should give back to it.

Remember: No short bio page can truly define a person. To understand them, you have to get to know them. A lot.