Ian Carson, Mark Gopaulsingh, Shaad Boochoon and David Lee
Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design
Degree: Game Development - Advanced Programing & Game Level Design
Year of graduation: 2013
Sheridan grads know that ambition and an entrepreneurial spirit can go a long way in today’s changing work world. “There’s a lot of fluctuation in the market,” says Ian Carson (Game Development Advanced Programming, 2013), “You can look around and try to get hired, or you can just create the job yourself.”
That’s exactly what Carson and his former classmates did. Carson is now the CEO of Vertical Depth Studios, a game design company he started with David Lee, Shaad Boochoon, and Mark Gopaulsingh, who act as Game Level Designer, Lead Game Designer, and Chief Information Officer, respectively. The idea for the company was born at Sheridan, mainly through Instructor, Max Piesner, who suggested that students looking for good job opportunities down the road consider starting an independent company as an eye opener to how the industry works. The group took that advice and Vertical Depth Studios became a reality soon after graduation.
The grads admit it’s been a continuous learning process. “You end up doing everything yourself,” explains Boochoon, but they welcome the opportunity to work hard and discover new capacities. “We’re able to do a variety of different things not limited to our specific skill sets,” Carson adds.
Vertical Depth Studios released its first app/game “String It!” onto Google’s Play Store and the Apple App Store in May. And the future looks bright. After a week on the market, the game was already garnering five-star reviews.
Having started work on their next two games, the group tells future alumni to “keep learning new things, and stay up to date as much as you can with the technology.”
Keeping on top of technology may prove a bit easier for Boochoon, a former systems analyst who holds a degree in Systems Engineering. Sheridan offered an artistic skills base for Boochon, who also graduated from the Visual and Creative Arts (2012) and the Art Fundamentals programs (2011).
Boochoon and Lee are both graduates of the second class of Sheridan’s Game Level Design program. Carson and Gopaulsingh are part of the second graduating class in Game Development and Advanced Programing.