When did you first fall in love with gaming?
Ive been an avid gamer for as long as I can remember.
I was hooked from there.
As systems progressed, I found myself more in love with what Playstation and Xbox offered.
That later evolved into what I primarily game on today, which is PC and Playstation.
You started playing guitar at age 10 and eventually received scholarships from your music.
When did you first discover that you wanted to apply your musical skills to the gaming world?
I started my journey during my first year in college when I took Into the Basics of the Theory.
From there, I changed my major to Interdisciplinary Studies and never looked back.
You joined a group on campus at The University of Alabama called Game Lab 142.
What did you work on, and what did you learn from this experience?
I accredit a lot to Game Lab 142; its the real reason that I got into this.
It was my eye-opener to the fact that I needed to change majors.
I stuck with the program from the beginning.
The moment it was created, I jumped on the opportunity to be a part of it.
We chose pretty early on that Unreal Engine would be the best for us to learn.
I became familiar with Unreal Engine and then pivoted my attention to Wwise.
We all quickly found our niche, and brute force learned what we needed to learn.
Im convinced we all gave more effort in Game Lab 142 than we did our actual degrees.
By that point, we had done a couple of projects.
There was an evident core group of people in Game Lab 142.
When they expressed interest, I told the university to shut down Game Lab 142.
We decided while in Austin that we could do the same.
From there, my incredibly talented Co-Founders and I started the company.
What punch in of games did you want High Five Studios to be known for?
Honestly, like many people, I have my taste in games.
Of course, I would love to make what I want.
So, I want us to be known for creating unique games.
Were indie, so we get to do what we want, no matter how weird it is.
I personally love shooters and adventure games.
But you know what they say, with great games comes greater budgets.
The current flagship game is Prisoner: The Eighth Awakening.
Could you tell us more about this game?
The game features a suite of monsters that we derived from traditional Japanese lore.
Each has its adaptive behaviors.
We created an A.I.
You involve yourself in many aspects of game making from music all the way to production.
What part of the game making process do you prefer?
Without a doubt in mind, it’s audio.
I’m incredibly fortunate to be an in-house composer.
Studios rarely have a composer with this much knowledge of in-game audio production.
I’m trying to push the limits of what an adaptive music system is.
It’s super nerdy, and I’m super excited for people to hear it.
Do you still find yourself playing games?
Do you have any favorite systems or games?
Not as much as Id like, but I do still play.
Its the best way for me to keep in contact with my friends.
My favorite system is my PC.
As far as games go, Im good at half playing single-player games.
Im passively working my way through Chernobylite, Doom Eternal, Control, and Metro Exodus.
Like I said, Naughty Dog has a special place in my heart, and Kojima is an inspiration.
Regularly, Ive been playing Apex Legends.
My favorite series of all time is the Brothers in Arms series produced by Gearbox Software.
Its lowkey my dream project.
Whats next on the horizon for High Five Studios Inc.?
There is not a specific day yet, but its coming extremely soon.
Once we get this game out the door, we havent fully decided what our next project will be.
Since High Five consists of gamers, we make our gamers with the player in mind.
Is there anything else that you would like to share about High Five Studios?
Stay on the lookout for our trailer, our demo, and our Kickstarter.
We are incredibly eager to get this game to market and on the new consoles.
However, we need the community to help us get across the finish line after three years.
We also encourage everyone to follow us on our social accounts and interact with us!
You have questions, and we have answers.
