So, I decided to do something fun and make two separate about pages, depending if you want personal information about me, or just want to see my resume.
There is also a Google Doc version of my resume available here, if you need it for reference.
Hi there! My name is Robin VanGilder, I was born in 1989. I'm a man, and my sexuality is none of your business, even here on the personal side of things. Politically, I consider myself something of middling leftist (which is to say: not an anarchist). But I'm not much of an activist or anything, mostly just talk about stuff on twitter and my blog.
I am a Seattleite born and raised. I've lived here in West Seattle for my entire life, except for a few years during college. I love living here in the Pacific Northwest, and never want to move anywhere else.
All my life, I've had a passion for video games. On computers, consoles, handhelds, whatever. I enjoy RPGs of all kinds (except RTwP) and platformers. I'm interested in traditional roguelikes and fighting games, but don't play them very much, as I am very bad at them. I do enjoy the more modern interpretations of roguelikes, like Spelunky or Hades or Monolith. I also love ARPGs like Grim Dawn or Diablo 3, and the Souls series of games and the recent imitators of it.
Since I was young, I've loved reading, though I don't do as much of it as I used to. I tend to either enjoy more modern fantasy fiction, or victorian literature, with little in between. My absolute favorite book is Moby-Dick; or, the Whale, I've read it many times, and I've been working on a blog about each chapter for the past year or so, over on my blog. I have a great affection for the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, I've ready every single one of them.
I listen to way too many podcasts, often while playing games, working, or just going on long walks around West Seattle. I love comedy podcasts and more narrative-driven ones, in particular Friends at the Table, an actual-play RPG podcast. Many of the shows I listen to are pretty well known, Comedy Bang Bang and whatnot, but there are a few more obscure ones that I love dearly and wish to recommend:
- The Shrieking Shack: A Harry Potter podcast for and by lapsed fans. Extremely funny and cathartic, nice to hear something like this from people of my own generation.
- Apocrypals: A bible podcast, covering one book each week, either canonical or very, very non-canonical. Also very funny, featuring a couple of comics bloggers I've known for quite a while.
- Scream Scene: A horror movie podcast that is aiming to review and rank every horror movie ever made. They've been going for a few years now, and have just made it to the '50s. Very informative and fun, lots of great details about the crew of the films, their inspiration, and the state of the world at the time the movies were made.
Not gonna bother linking to sites or whatever, you know how to find podcasts, or else you don't know what they are.
I love cats, and you can find many, many pictures of cats on my social media feeds. I'm currently living with three cats: Tina, Martha, and Gravy. Occasionally, I will post pictures of them on twitter, particularly Martha, who has long majestic fur. Tina, a tiny black cat, is the one who hangs out in my room all the time. The other two used to belong to my brother, but he left them here when he moved in with someone who is allergic to cats.
I am very interested in becoming a game designer, but more specifically in creating better UI/UX for games. Doing it for websites is a bit of a compromise, but it offers better prospects for someone with my background. Also, I know that the video game industry is a terrible place to work, so maybe I'm better off not getting into it in a professional capacity. Still, I'd like to make one some day, after I get myself on my feet in some sort of career that actually brings in money.
A lot of my beliefs are too complicated to get into here, you can find them scattered throughout my various writings on my Wordpress blog. Suffice it to say: I believe primarily in human dignity. It is something that cannot be added up, cannot be given or taken away. I believe that a better world is possible for all of us, and that nobody should be left behind. Since this is such a forward-facing site, I won't get more explicit than that. You'll have to go do some reading if you want to learn more!
Web Developer & Designer in Seattle, WA
I have worked in customer service directly with the public at the Pike Place Market, and am currently in training for web development and design at Seattle Central College. My skills include:
Freelance Web Designer, Seattle WA
MARCH 2020 - PRESENT
Sales Agent, Seattle WA
NOVEMBER 2015 - MARCH 2020
Student Tutor, Ellensburg WA
JANUARY 2012 - JUNE 2013
South Seattle College - Associate of Arts
SEPTEMBER 2010 - AUGUST 2011
Seattle Central College - Associate of Science - Web Design
SEPTEMBER 2019 - JUNE 2021
Dean’s List & President’s List - 2019-2020 School Year, Seattle Central College.