PlayBrainstorm.com
About Us
Todd Ferguson
President and Principal Manager, Professor Brainstorm, LLC
Todd Ferguson started Professor Brainstorm with one thought in mind – helping kids become better learners. Todd combined his 15 years of business experience as a top account executive for a fortune 500 technology company with his own personal experience of having a special needs child, with the challenges that entails, to structure Professor Brainstorm by combining the top talents from the educational and entertainment worlds, hence creating a remarkable Edutainment product and media offering to help kids and unite families. Todd has molded the potential of an idea into a true force of educational media.
It is Todd’s personal mission and mandate to make Professor Brainstorm into a world class entertainment property and philanthropic engine to ensure that the benefits of Professor Brainstorm are shared with children the world over. His commitment to the cause of education, excellence in business and preserving creative edge is unyeilding. His concern for the well being of Professor Brainstorm as a company and it’s diligent employees is unmatched. He, along with a dedicated crew, have made the creation of Professor Brainstorm a labor of love.
Michael Maurino
Creative Director and Lead Illustrator
Michael attended Pratt Institute and Art Center College of Design finding his way into working for the entertainment industry. Originally from New York, Michael brings a creative dynamic and comprehensive technical talent to the table. He has worked for 5 years in the industry on various projects, but until Professor Brainstorm he had not found his true niche.
He has been with the company from the very beginning, before the online world was even in development. He designed and illustrated the entire first run of the Professor Brainstorm product line and art directed until completion of all subsequent product, and intellectual property under the brand of Professor Brainstorm and has helped to define what makes it stand out from any other endeavor currently on the market. He became Creative Director upon the creation of Professor Brainstorm, Los Angeles and has since then guided the vision that is the online MMO as well as designed and illustrated across the entire gamut of the game. He believes in the highest of standards in artistic and creative execution within the vast world of Professor Brainstorm and finds that working on a tool that can benefit the lives of children substantially and substantively is one of the greatest rewards that can ever be hoped for.
Ted Pendergraft
Senior Concept Artist, Illustrator, and Texture Painter
Ted is a Southern California artist who enjoys drawing, painting, and the study of the natural world. He has worked in the film, video game, and role playing game industries. His designs have been featured in Universal's "Van Helsing", Sony's "Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom", and Wizards of the Coast's "Dungeons and Dragons RPG." His work can also be found in the annual "Spectrum 14: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art" and the soon to be released "Spectrum 16."
Ted was instrumental before the advent of the online world in producing multiple card illustrations for the Word Challenge Card Game. Bringing a fresh and colorful style to the table was exactly what was needed to further complete the collection of card paintings. His role, as an artist on the MMO, was key to the unique iconic design of the property. He worked in multiple roles as a designer, illustrator and texture artist. The latter of which was where he imbued the 3D models he worked on with the same vigor and life as their 2D counterparts that he painted. He felt proud to be part of an amazing development team that worked to build an online world in hopes to foster a long lasting cultural phenomenon that equally entertains as well as educates.
Joe Kennedy
Concept Artist, Illustrator, and Texture Painter
Joe is a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of Otis College of art and design. He has been working in the entertainment industry for more than 5 years and has a multitude of talents ranging from concept design, animation, creative ideation, and a superb technical skill that is highly desired in gaming and the entertainment industry in general. His style is dynamic and inventive, employing design and stylistic choices not often seen in other contemporary work. His design and execution proved to be vital to the vibrant style of the game.
Joe worked as a concept artists, designer, and texture artist at Professor Brainstorm Studios. He was instrumental in conceiving and creating various elements of the online world’s many facets. Everything from building and prop design for zones, to 2D mini-game art production. He provided a rich dynamic and creatively unconventional approach to make the world and its denizens unique. His work as a texture artist helped bring Brainstorm's signature painterly style to 3D characters and elements. What would have normally been a basic function of texturing an asset model became an exercise in trying to make 3D models live like 2D paintings.
Christopher Powers
Lead Environment Artist and In-Game Design Programmer
Chris began his tenure at Professor Brainstorm as a 3D environment artist, working on all aspects of zone creation in their entirety, including but not limited to; building creation, texture work, props and other vital assets. Later Chris became the lead in-game design programmer and coordinated heavily with Left Brain Games to make each zone function and maintain artistic continuity.
Along with making lands for characters to inhabit, he programed the interactions between the characters in the world and players of the game. His dedication was above par in not only creating the initial assets and implementing them, but in rising to the occasion in solving unique and puzzling problems along the way of development. His troubleshooting was instrumental in making many of the games' parameters function. His persistence proved indispensable, and his approach to any problem or artistic choice with confident understanding was vital. He truly enjoys his work and is proud to be a part of something that is both fun and educational. Chris has become a champion for Professor Brainstorm and believes in the product, the brand and the idea of it as a true tool for education and enjoyment.
Gabe Sventek
Lead Character Modeler
Gabe is a 3D modeler and rigger who has worked in the video game industry for 4 years and has worked on projects such as Stuntman: Ignition and Jumper: Griffin's Revenge. His range of exceptional skills and devoted work ethic were a cornerstone of bringing the 2D illustrated Professor Brainstorm card illustrations to life.
At Professor Brainstorm Gabe was the lead character modeler. His duties included creating detailed character models of main and ancillary characters as well as rigging models for animation, and preparing them to be textured by the other artists. Gabe's used his extensive skills and intuitiveness to capture the uniquely styled characters of the Professor Brainstorm world in the 3D realm. Gabe's attention to detail became essential and his models became the realization of illustrated characters into tangible beings. Gabe brought to the table an unfailing willingness to solve problems presented in expressing the stylistic portrayal of characters in 2D illustrations as 3D creatures. He was able to find ways to creatively and ingeniously develop tools and shortcuts to make Professor Brainstorm’s signature characters retain their signature features when becoming a 3D asset.
Regev Gamliel
Lead Character Animator
Regev has worked on various projects in the past, some of which include “Grand Theft Auto 4” “Unreal Tournament 3” “Meet Dave” and commercials for clients such as “Sony Vaio”, “Pokemon”, “Wrigley’s Gum”, and “CTIA Communications.” His coolness, persistent drive and sheer talent made him indispensable as an animator and creative asset for the studio.
Regev's job at Professor Brainstorm was to bring life and personality to the 3D characters. The way a character moves says everything about its temperament and behavior. This is particularly important to emphasize in a game like this in which there are so many types of creatures, all very different. This is the approach he has applied to all aspects where his involvement was present, His work ranged from working on player avatars, to non-player characters (NPC's), greeting animations, cinematics, effects animations and more. Regev was the first of the 3D team to work at Professor Brainstorm and has provided heart and soul to every aspect he has touched. His work has become the cornerstone for the unique attitudes, expressions and actions displayed by the characters and creatures in Professor Brainstorm’s world.
Jophen Stein
Web Designer, Character Texture artist and 2D game Artist
Joe came to Professor Brainstorm to help with many aspects of the online game, offshoot materials and a substantial amount of other assets. In addition to exhibiting in galleries nationally, He has also been involved in art projects, apparel design, and ad campaigns for clients such as Vans, Elwood, and Howe Denim. Joe was brought on because of the high quality of his design sensibilities and became a highly valued and extremely diligent team member.
Initially Joe was in charge of early web development and design. Later his services were utilized for design of promotional material, flash animations, backgrounds Illustrations, and mini game design. He would later be instrumental in the area of creating textures for 3D models. His willingness to delve into uncharted waters and approach techniques he had not yet worked with became a signature of his ability to adapt broadly and with versatility across multiple aspects of the game. Joe was willing to put in as many hours of dedication as it took to get things done. He approached every task given to him with an open mind and a willingness to master and complete a new project.
Asher Dudley
Lead Animator
Asher was brought on to replace Lead Animator Regev Gamliel after his departure. He has had 8 years of industry experience including doing work for companies such as Meteor Games, G4 TV, Filmworks FX, and Paranoid US. Asher jumped into the Brainstorm MMO with no hesitation and acclimated to a team which was gelled cohesively. He arrived with extensive and impressive skills and made a deep impression on the feel, movement and personality of each creature he worked on.
When searching for a person to fill Regev's shoes we had to make sure our new animator would be able to breath life, emotion, and the subtle details of movement into our characters. Asher imbued so much lush character into the models he was responsible for that his signature impressions can be seen throughout the citizens of the game. Responsible for animating cycles such as walks, runs, and idles he played a vital role in bringing numerous NPC's and avatars to life, as well as providing crucial animations for 2D mini-games. He not only filled the void left by Regev but made a mark on the project that can be seen, felt and believed in amazing ways and rose to the occasion to become a priceless lead team member.
Johnny Mejia
3D Modeler
Johnny was brought on at the advice of Chris Powers as another excellent asset as a 3D modeler. He has worked for such studios and companies as Cinevision Digital, Buildestroy, and Collision Studios. He was brought on to meet the the needs of an ever growing demand to produce better work at a faster pace. He did just that by applying countless hours, extra effort, and a natural talent for exceptional work, done at exceptional speeds. Johnny melded perfectly and was able to execute any variety of tasks given to him across a wide range with precision and polish.
At the studio his responsibilities were to build environments and characters and lay out UV's for the texture artists to paint. Johnny excellently delivered the characters and scenes assigned to him. His diligence and willingness to approach any asset cooly and positively made him a pleasure to work with, and a breeze to communicate to. His innate ability to project from even the most basic of conceptual drawings was of great benefit as he could extrapolate significant information from a simple source. He personally feels very proud to be a part of the project having seen the passion of those around him endeavor to help educate children who play this game.
Marta da Costa
Project Manager
Marta is an NYU Film and TV Graduate who came to Los Angeles in 2003. She worked as a Production assistant and coordinator in the Art Department of many film and tv shows, combining her two loves, art and organization. In the spring of 2008, she joined the team at Professor Brainstorm to be the Project Coordinator, organizing and scheduling artists working on card artwork and initial 3D developement. She then became Project Manager at the Los Angeles studio once the World of Brainstorm MMO became priority.
At Professor Brainstorm Los Angeles she was tasked for keeping track of all assets being generated 2D, 3D, and creatively. She bridged the gaps between the Brainstorm main operation in Chicago, the studio in Los Angeles, and the programmers at Left Brain Games in Connecticut. She has been tirelessly devoted to the idea and the execution of Professor Brainstorm as a viable product. Her undaunted faith as well as unquestioned command has made her a true force at Professor Brainstorm and one of its best assets for continuation as a studio, a company and an innovative educational tool and entertaining media property.
Manny Brillakis
Director of Gaming Operations
Manny is one of the original Chicago based creators of Professor Brainstorm. He has 20+ years of gaming industry experience which includes being the owner of “Phantasy Zone” a Gaming, Comic, and Collectible store with LAN setup. There, he taught kids about gaming daily. He has been a game tester of both card and computer games. In addition, he also hosted and coordinated Tournaments for various gaming events. Since owning his store he has worked on developing several of his own games and ideas.
During his time in Chicago he was instrumental in the development of the Word Challenge and Equation Invasion card games. While at the Professor Brainstorm studio, or working from his home in Arizona, he was a key player in conceptualizing and developing the richness and immersion of the online world. Continuing with the Professor Brainstorm IP, he has developed new games including Dice Games, Travel Games and iPhone Games. Manny was also the person who created the Word Challenge Tournament system. Manny is an endless source of ideas, creativity, and wisdom. In addition to this he also is a master at organized solutions and complex problem solving and has become the keystone to the creation of Professor Brainstorm’s past, present and future.
Alan Mashak
General Manager and Coordinator
Alan initially started working for Professor Brainstorm in Chicago. Having known Todd for nearly 15 years Alan was Todd’s right hand man. Alan came to Los Angeles to oversee progress on the Professor Brainstorm projects in 2008 and stayed on until mid 2009 as the studio’s manager. During this time he was tasked with accounting, office scheduling and other operational duties.
At the Professor Brainstorm Los Angeles Studios Alan served as a vital logistical link between Chicago, Los Angeles, and Left Brain Games in Connecticut. He oversaw communication between the various project locals and kept them all in close contact. He advised Todd on operations at the Los Angeles studio and kept the team in Los Angeles up to date with Todd’s needs for the success of the company. He made sure the company’s priorities were executed to the satisfaction of both Todd and the LA creative staff. More importantly however was Alan’s role as a constant source of good morale and positivity. He was an unceasing believer in the potential of Brainstorm and devoted to seeing that the creative team’s needs were met at every turn. He was selfless in his commitment and to this day inspires and comforts us all.
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