Charlie
Kellner
ckellner@pacbell.net
Objective
To create modern-day legends
that will be remembered a generation from now.
Professional Experience
Languages: C, C++,
MFC, Assembly (x86, 68x, SIMD, RISC).
Internet: VBScript, JavaScript, HTML, XML, Shockwave/Flash.
Components: DirectX, Windows Media, QuickTime/Draw, RTime, RenderWare.
Tools: Dreamweaver, Homesite, Flash, Fireworks, Photoshop, Painter, KPT,
Bryce,
Studio 3D MAX, Sound Forge and various audio/video editors.
Hardware: Discrete Electronic (analog and digital) and Mechanical design
experience.
Employment History
Ask Jeeves, Inc., Los
Gatos CA. 9/2000-present
UI Engineer: Design and implement user interfaces for the Ask Jeeves Advisor
web technology, and supervise a three person team. Designed and co-implemented
a streaming video version of the Advisor for a well known client as my first
project.
iPlay Inc., Oakland
CA. 1999-2000
Senior Software Developer: Re-architected and programmed Bompers from a 2D prototype
into a 3D web based game using RTime networking, Direct3D and streaming media.
ePlanet Interactive,
San Mateo CA. 1997-99
Lead Programmer: Sole programmer and designer of FaceMe, a state of the art
multi-player morphing video chat featuring real time face tracking. Contributor
to PowerStation, ePlanet's interactive vision authoring SDK. Programmed several
demonstrations of technology and provided mentoring and assistance for in-house
content developers. Sole inventor of two patent applications.
Viacom New Media, Buffalo
Grove IL. 1995-97
Programmer III: Lead programmer of REX (Your Interactive Pet Dinosaur). Designed
and programmed AI and 3D systems. The 3D animation blended multiple actions
for each moving part to get a complex, realistic look. The AI was trainable
and could generalize past experience to similar objects it hadn't seen before.
Objects used realistic physics for collision and traction, and the engine could
be easily reused with new models and styles of animation under an artist's control.
Mammoth Micro Productions
Inc., Golden CO. 1994-95
Game Designer and Lead Programmer: Lead programmer and designer of The Pagemaster
StoryGame. The StoryGame Authoring System allowed the traditional tasks of cel
animation, scene composition, logic programming, scripting and sound design
to be performed collaboratively over a local area network. The StoryGame Engine
supported continuous interactive play testing from the first available text
script and storyboard sketches to the final product.
Digital Pictures Inc.,
Menlo Park CA. 1991-94
Senior Software Engineer: Sole programmer and co-designer of Sewer Shark for
the Sega CD, and primary programmer of Sewer Shark for the 3D0. Designer and
programmer of the Flying Colors motion video encoder, the DigiChrome multi-platform
video codec and the InstaSwitch CD control system used in Digital Pictures'
products. Sole inventor of two patent applications. Sewer Shark was chosen by
Sega to be included in the box with the first release of the Sega CD system.
Authorware Inc., Redwood
City CA. 1990-91
Senior Software Architect: Lead design architect of Authorware's education authoring
system for the IBM PS-2 Multimedia PC. Authorware and Macromind merged to form
MacroMedia.
MacroMedia Inc., San
Francisco CA. 1989-90
Software Engineer: Programmed the first generation of the Director Windows Player,
which duplicated the Macintosh Director's playback capabilities and visual effects
on the Windows 2.x platform. Portions of my 2D graphics code were licensed to
Microsoft for incorporation into the first release of the Windows 3.1 multimedia
system.
Epyx Inc., Redwood City
CA. 1989
Senior Programmer: Designed the system architecture for Super Temple, a large
scale extendable fantasy role playing game. Programmed a boogie board event
for California Games II, and contributed to the game play and level design of
the LYNX games Electrocop, Rampage and Gauntlet II.
Hasbro Electronics Inc.,
Foster City CA. 1988-89
Senior Programmer: Co-designed and programmed the original version of Sewer
Shark for the ISIX NEMO interactive videotape system, as a crash priority project.
The first 15 minutes of the experience were fully operational and debugged in
six weeks, including a new stream control language, event compiler and interpreter.
The final version of the 34-minute interactive movie was completed in the following
six weeks.
Axlon Inc., Sunnyvale
CA. 1988
Senior Programmer: Designed a laser disc based interactive movie authoring system,
and re-programmed a real time control system for Robopup, an early robotic dog
(a next generation Petster). Contributed to the mechanical and electronic design
as well as the onboard controller programming. After the improvements, Robopup
was able to successfully navigate the cluttered Axlon warehouse end to end without
getting stuck, follow an ultrasonic leash, and play simple games with real people.
Lucasfilm Ltd., San
Rafael CA. 1983-87
Designer/Programmer: Programmed the high-speed graphics, sound and motion control
systems for the first generation of Lucasfilm games. Rescue On Fractalus featured
the first real time fractal landscape in a video game. Koronis Rift and The
Eidolon had depth shading and perspective scaling cel animation. Battlehawks
1942 added a fast 3D object management system, and Labyrinth introduced multi-plane
backgrounds. Created the Animation Cel Editor system and the first real-time
game engines for the Atari, Apple and Commodore home computers. While there,
I programmed the first generation portable theater testing computer for the
THX audio division, and also constructed prototypes for several proposed location
based attractions.
Apple Computer Inc.,
Cupertino CA. 1979-83
Senior Engineer: Designed and programmed application software for the Apple
II, and system software for the Apple /// and first generation Macintosh. Lead
programmer of the Apple PILOT and SuperPILOT education authoring systems, which
included Animatrix (a character based animation editor), the Hi-Res Character
Generator and the Apple Pascal Toolkit. Programmed a fast assembly level 2D/3D
graphics subsystem for the Apple /// Raster Graphics Toolkit. Wrote several
Apple II games, including Apple Bowl, an early high resolution graphic game
with a 3D bowling alley and accurate pinfall. Received the Apple Spirit Award
for outstanding performance, and two Engineering Contributor awards for significant
design contributions to the Apple /// and the first generation Macintosh.
While there, I invented
the alphaSyntauri, the first inexpensive digital music synthesizer for the common
man. I modified and reprogrammed a Syntauri into an ultrasonic dolphin talker
for the Dolphin Research Center in Grassy Key, Florida. I also designed a custom
"listener" board that tracked vocalizations over a wide frequency
range, with real time frequency translation. They used the bidirectional talker
system in a two year study to prove that dolphins communicate cognitively. The
system was mentioned in the NOVA segment Signs of the Apes, Songs of the Whales
as "The computer that talks to dolphins".
Education
B.S. Physics -- Oregon State University, Corvallis OR. Math minor, extensive coursework in computer science, logic and higher math. Member Phi Eta Sigma honorary fraternity.
A.S. Computer Programming
-- Chemeketa Community College, Salem OR. While attending, I taught two evening
programming classes and a daytime computer operations lab, and also supervised
the campus data center.