Toby McCall:: Portfolio

Hello and welcome to my portfolio site. I appreciate your interest. A little bit about myself, I am currently working as a World Designer at BioWare Austin on StarWars: The Old Republic. I have a bachelor's degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, a Master's degree in Rhetoric and Composition from Florida State University and a professional certificate in Level Design from The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University. I've also obtained multiple Microsoft networking certifications. Taken individually, these accomplishments may appear to have little in common. However, in retrospect I see that I have been on a steady trajectory. Captivated by both story and computers from an early age, I have followed a path of creativity and design that lead me to computer game development.

While working on my M.A. at FSU, I attended a class in the geography department focusing on theories of place, movement and identity. Though the subject matter of this class was intended to discuss these concepts as they pertain to physical spaces, I found that posing those questions to virtual spaces proved intensely interesting to me and, because of my long time involvement with computer games, I found I had insights that allowed me to uniquely apply or challenge those concepts. It was then that I discovered the academic study of computer games and a place where my unique skills would an asset.

I hope to continue developing those skills and together with the practical game development skills I've obtained from The Guildhall, position myself as a conduit between the academic study of computer games and their development and production. I am specifically interested in creating unique and immersive game spaces and discovering what makes those spaces successful. I believe that computer games are a powerful medium whose potential for persuasive and unique storytelling we have only begun to glimpse. I know that computer games have allowed me to travel to worlds beautiful and dangerous, compelling and whimsical, and I wanted to be a part of that. And so I am.