Biography
Stephen Gonzalez graduated from the New York University Game Center in 2021 with an MFA in Game Design. He also holds a BFA in Game Design from Bloomfield College, as well as a certificate in Game Design from Vancouver Film School. Before joining the Rider University faculty, he developed and taught Game Design for 10 years at Bergen Community College.
With a finger on the pulse of the gaming industry, Mr. Gonzalez uses his passion for teaching and learning to become more knowledgeable with current trends and technology to help his students learn the latest tools to make their games easier. He has participated in STEM Research Programs with high school students, developed budgets for computer labs to be equipped with bleeding-edge hardware and software for game development, and helped students with their projects to produce games in the market.
Specializing in level design and environment art, Mr. Gonzalez is knowledgeable in a broad range of necessary game development skills such as 2D and 3D animation, modeling, texturing, lighting, and more. Having gone through mentorships with Take-Two Interactive, Rock Star Games, and NYU Game Center Game Designers, he is well versed in industry standards and has a strong sense of what is expected within the game industry.