ABOUT TIMOTHY COURTNEY

Timothy Courtney an American artist, writer, software developer, game designer, and photographer.

INTRO
I'm Timothy Courtney. I'm known for different reasons to different people, mostly for my art, photography, software,
and creating video games like Lucas the Game and Space Ace Assassin: Capital Galaxy.
Lucas the Game was published in 2015 and distributed in the Groupees Psychic Pixel Party Bundle alongside games like Synonymy narrated by Richard Dawkins,
Subterrarium, Sword Of The Samurai, Hypercronius, Naninights, Alice's Mom's Rescue, and Pixel Poetry: A Film About Games, Art, Society, and Culture.
Lucas the Game made additional history worldwide, as it was the first published video game to have all the art made in Gimp.
At that time, Gimp wasn't yet well known to people who weren't Linux users,
and aside from a few excited early adopters and loyal enthusiasts,
Gimp wasn't considered to be a capable Photoshop alternative.
It has now been well written about around the world how this video game, Lucas the Game, was created using Gimp for all the art.
It was a moment that has helped open up people's eyes about what a powerful and important software Gimp is.
I'm also known as the creator of software applications like PHP News Report, Open Bundle, and Virtual Input System.
My longtime passion is for photograpy and I have an extensive collection,
especially of street photography and documentary photography.
When I have time, I work on animations, and collaborations with other artists.


EARLY YEARS
I was born in Houston, Texas at a hospital downtown that was years later demolished.
At an early age, I discovered art and creativity in general.
As a painter and artist in varying mediums, I started to win awards locally and regionally in a metropolitan area known as Greater Houston.
I had a unique style and created prolifically.
Many people including art teachers began noticing my gifts,
and began to personally work with me on gallery and competition submissions,
where I won first prize several times.
I later joined a photography club and developed a passion for street photography and documentary photography.
Growing up, I would often sing in school plays, public events, church gatherings, and in a regional Honor Choir.
I joined theatre groups and competed regionally in Solo Improvisation and mainly Duo Improvisation.
My primary Duo Improvisation acting partner died soon after in the Iraq war.
Around this time, my grandmother who I was very close with along with two of my other relatives were killed in an automobile crash.
I lost three family members instantly due to two intoxicated people coming back from a fishing trip.


VIDEO GAMES
In 2015, I published Lucas the Game. Lucas learns through a prophecy at birth that he must save the world.
He immediately leaves and goes on an unusual and challenging adventure.
Lucas the Game also included an amazing and unique soundtrack by Matt Clark from the Austin-based band Ola Podrida.
Lucas the Game was the first video game ever published to use Gimp for all the art.
Shortly after publishing Lucas the Game, I had game studios all over the country trying to recruit me.
I think I said it best when I told Shiver Entertainment's top headhunter,
who wanted me to move from Houston to Miami,
"If you're looking for someone to clock in and do what they're told, it's not me".
I respect them a lot, but it's just too corporate for me.
After that, I published a video game called Space Ace Assassin: Capital Galaxy.
It's a game in the arcade style shooter genre.
In Space Ace Assassin, the player controls a spaceship through treacherous tunnels.
The idea for the gameplay mechanics came from the feeling of being trapped,
while driving an old car through the Washburn Tunnel in Pasadena.
In SAA:CG, the Earth and other inhabitable planets have recently been destroyed in what is considered the final war.
An intergalactic government is in control of everything and has built a society of elaborate space tunnels.
The intergalactic government believes they have achieved supreme power,
that is until it is challenged by a spaceship known only as the Space Ace Assassin.
To beat the game, the player must navigate through 23 intense tunnels with robotic guards patrolling.
Space Ace Assassin rewards high scoring and precision movements.


SOFTWARE
Along the way, I've made a number of software applications, most notably PHP News Report, Open Bundle, and Virtual Input System.
PHP News Report allows a user to completely operate a curated links website.
The idea is that an individual can run their own homepage of headlines,
for any subject, be it news or a less controversial niche subject.
To my surprise, upon publishing PHP News Report,
famous American political person Charlie Kirk,
immediately started criticizing PHP News Report publicly
for apparently allowing just anyone to think that they were the news.
When I was creating PHP News Report, the last thing I ever expected was
that this software was going to offend anyone.
I later published Open Bundle, which is a server application that gives the user
the ability to run a curated digital products website.
Open Bundle gives a website operator the capability of
grouping licensed games, software, music, and movies together and selling those bundles.
I also published Virtual Input System, which allows an app developer to implement a
ready-made graphic keyboard and dialog prompter into applications like video games.
Virtual Input System is helpful when a person is playing a video game or interacting with
any app on a TV screen and needs to answer a series of questions in detail.
I've written many programs in languages like C#, Python, PHP, JavaScript, among others.


PHOTOGRAPHY
Since childhood, I have felt a strong calling for Photography.
I like the idea of creating images of fleeting moments,
and I like the idea of documenting this human experience.
I've had my photos and videos on every major news network in Houston,
and some regional programs, as well as online news sites and magazines.
It's a thrill and amazing everytime.


ANIMATION
I started animation by drawing pictures on the corners of book pages, then flipping through the page corners to watch the drawings in motion.
Now, I mostly animate digitally for cartoon cutscenes, video games, titles, and various animated Gif files.


GAME TALK
Game Talk is a series of interviews I created with video game artists, musicians, and designers.
I talked in detail with the most influential people in video games.
My interviews included people like Canabalt developer Adam Saltsman,
Captain Forever creator Jarrad Farbs Woods,
Else Heart.Break() developer Erik Svedäng,
Musician for Fez, Rich Vreeland,
Firewatch developer Nels Anderson,
Hotline Miami creator Dennis Wedin,
Hotline Miami developer Jonatan Cactus Söderström,
Musician and painter, Niklas Åkerblad,
IndieDB creator Scott INtense Reismanis,
Not a Hero designer Jake Hollands,
Skytorn creator Noel Berry, and
Storyteller developer Daniel Benmergui.
After I published Game Talk, the reception was amazing.
People were amazed by the previously unknown details extracted during these interviews.
I credit that to the fact that everyone I talked to was sincere and candid because they just felt like they were answering a peer.
Game Talk has had a great impact on video game history.
Many details revealed during Game Talk have been well written about and read worldwide.


UPDATE
Today, I am a family man with a wife and child,
who enjoys barbeque and spending time with the family.
I also enjoy outdoor activities and mixed martial arts,
which have a way of inspiring me further as an artist.
I find inspiration in all kinds of places,
even spotting a rare bird taking a break in my vicinity.
I have several art projects ongoing, most of the time.
I have an extensive music and movie collection,
and I love to consume as much art as I can.
I'd like to talk about current projects,
but I rarely talk about anything I'm working on
unless I'm releasing it or it's almost complete.
I also remain very active in photograpahy,
which has always been rewarding.
To see that beautiful picture you just captured,
and look forward to editing it,
is a great feeling everyone should experience.

Timothy Courtney