My name is Tommy and I am a Software Developer at Amazon. I attended Carnegie Mellon University majoring in Computer Science with a Minor in Game Design and another Minor in Social and Political History.
I'm a self-proclaimed nerd and am interested in learning just about anything there is to know. I like Science and Math, but also love to learn about History, Language, and Literature.
I was born in New York City and grew up in New Jersey in a wonderful household with two younger brothers. My mother's side of the family is from England and Germany, and my father's side
originated in Cuba- hence the Spanish name.
In my free time, my passion is games. I love to play them, but especially to design and make my own. Ever since I was a kid, I've been trying to make games to impress my friends and have fun!
As I got older, I learned how to program computer games and haven't kicked the habit since. This website is meant in large part as a space for showing off the games that
I have made.
Favorite Video Games: Sid Meier's Civilization, XCOM, Super Smash Brothers, FTL: Faster than Light, Fire Emblem, The Elder Scrolls
Favorite Board Games: Codenames, Avalon, Settlers of Catan, Twilight Struggle, Scrabble, Chess
Favorite Sports: Tennis, Soccer, Skiing
Also I am a huge fan of Magic: the Gathering and Hearthstone.
Will talk at length about any of the above.
Tomas San Miguel
5032 Forbes Ave,
SMC #2093,
Pittsburgh, PA 15289-2093, USA
(973)-214-6882
tsanmigu@andrew.cmu.edu
tsanmigu@gmail.com
BS in Computer Science, Minor in Game Design, Minor in Social and Political History • Expected Graduation: May 2019
I took classes in Computer Science and Game Design, but also have taken electives in Science and History. While I was there, I served as president of the Game Creation Society, was on the board of our Magic club, and even help start the Undergraduate Poker Club. At CMU I learned the value of hard work, but also made many lifelong friends and have excellent memories.
High School Diploma • June 2015
I graduated from the Pingry School with honors and won the Computer Science Award my senior year. I was a member of the Tennis team and the Soccer team and participated in the school plays and musicals as a techie, operating the lights and sounds and constructing sets. I also played in the jazz band.
SDE• Fall 2019-Present
After graduation, I joined Amazon full-time as a Software developer. I work on a project designed to improve the quality of the data you see when you are looking at a product on amazon.com. I have personally contributed substantial code towards an internal tool that is used by dozens of employees every day and handles Terrabytes of data. I have learned how to handle a tool that is live in production and how to quickly respond to user feedback.
At Amazon, I work with some incredibly brilliant people, and I learn new techniques and best practices every day. Although I still hope to work in games someday, this job has been an amazing experience that is teaching me to be the best engineer I can be.
Engineering Intern• Summer 2018
My first (and hopefully not my last!) foray into the game industry proper. I worked as an engineering intern on Crash Team Racing. I got to contribute real features and code that will ship with the game! I worked on a wide variety of tasks including gameplay, graphics, and UI. I also worked a little bit on the tools side. I learned version control with Perforce as well as how to use JIRA for task tracking. This was an awesome experience for me and really confirmed how much I like working in the games industry. I got to work collaboratively with many other talented individuals and I think I am a much better engineer coming out of the internship.
TA and Student• Summer 2017, 2014
I attended a 12 week program taught at CMU's own Entertainment Technology Center. I learned how to make games using Unity, met with
industry professionals, and was instructed in the art of game design. I first developed a very well received individual project called
Forever Falling. Then I worked in larger team and developed Angry Beards, a parody on Angry Birds. Finally, in a three week large project,
I led a team of six to create the game Ulrich, in which you play as a deranged scientist protecting his inventions from the government.
Later, I returned to the NHSGA, but as a Teaching Assistant instead! I taught the class programming skills, Unity, and helped them
integrate their projects onto new platforms such as Mobile, the HTC Vive, Occulus Touch, and the ETC's Cave. I worked closely with the students to
help create fourteen different projects by the end of the program.
Intern • Summer 2016
Dashbid is a start up in the advertising technology industry. Dashbid acts as a middleman between internet publishers and advertisers. I worked as an intern for three months. During this time I learned a considerable amount about web development and about the world of digital advertising. I helped compile valuable data and perform analysis to demonstrate how well or poorly certain publishers were doing. I built several web tools for internal use, including a tool for automatically converting URL macros into compatible forms and an onboarding website for new recruits.
Instructor• Summer 2015
I worked as an instructor at a tech camp held in the Summer hosted by my high school. I built lesson plans and then taught younger children (aged 9-15) how to use various software. Each week students would create their own project using the software. Among these were Unity, GameMaker, AppInventor, Alice, GameSalad, Python, and Lego Mindstorm.
Save your beloved Rubber Duck from falling over the waterfall in this two player game!
Each player uses a stick to hit the water and create waves to push the duck away from the waterfall
and incoming obstacles. This game was made as part of the Global Game Jam 2017
This game was completed in January 2017
Chased by a monster that follows the rules of Doctor Who's Weeping Angels, you and a friend must survive as long as possible.
This game is a survival horror game. There is nothing more terrifying than turning around to see the monster(s?!) right behind
you. At release a number of players actually screamed! This game was made as a Game Creation Society project.
This game was completed in December 2015
Take command of an intrepid young girl in this single player stealth platformer.
This game's story was never quite finished so what is here is essentially a demo. However, it was
developed in a single month so I am still quite proud of it. The game includes stealth mechanics (including the original
phase-shift mechanic), a gravity ball, a mostly functional AI for enemies, and wall climbing for awesome platforming.
This game was developed as my high school senior project with a close friend.
This game was completed in May 2015
This is a total conversion mod to Sid Meier's Civilization V. It adds several new civilizations to the game, introduces two new eras at the end of the game,
and contains an extensive scenario where you take command of a futuristic and war-torn civilization at the brink of war.
This mod is completely free and has received thousands of downloads. Although it isn't perfect I was very happy to deliver this experience to many players.
This game was completed in April 2014
This mod is essentially a semi-historical scenario for Sid Meier's Civilization V. You can play as any of the in game civs or two newly added civs at the turn
of the twentieth century.
The mod is free and has several thousand downloads.
This game was completed in February 2013
Take control of the mad German scientist Ulrich in his quest to defend his robotic inventions from the evil clutches of the government.
This game was developed at the National High School game academy under my lead. The game features an impressive UI but the gameplay did not
quite end up meeting expectations. Although there is still much fun to be had in the game, it largely was a learning experience for me, teaching me
that it is most important to get the core gameplay working before dreaming up a million types of modifications you might want to add to your robots!
This game was completed in July 2014
Hurl Vikings off the end of your longship to tear down the puny towns of unsuspecting villagers!
This game was designed as a direct copy of Angry Birds as an excersize at the National High School game academy. I consider this game to be a great success
as we were able to recreate the experience of Angry Birds extremely well and add in very satisfying flavor of our own. We did this in just one week with little
prior Unity experience!
This game was completed in July 2014
Use just one button to avoid incoming obstacles in this addictive and extremely challenging game!
This was my first ever project in Unity. As an individual project, the art is essentially all programmer art but it still carries a certain aesthetic.
The game was a huge hit amongst my classmates for its difficulty to master and addictive nature. This was developed at the National High School Game Academy
This game was completed in June 2014
A puzzle platformer in which you restore color to the world with your trusty mirror.
This was the third project developed by the Moon Bean team. We developed this game in approximately three weeks, and I'm really proud of the sheer ammount
of content we were able to produce in that time frame. The game is very fun and takes an average player 30-40 minutes to complete end to end. It features cool level
designs, an interesting laser mechanic, and a nice balance between the action and puzzle aesthetics of the game. It also looks gorgeous thanks to our amazing artists!
This game was completed in March 2017
A puzzler in which you quickly complete rows and columns of icons in order to perform actions in an ongoing battle against a malevolent family of bears. Only the quick-witted will survive!
This was the second project developed by the Moon Bean team, as well as the first larger project (our first game was Duck Falls). The assignment was to, believe it or not,
"redesign Sudoku." While other teams took a more conventional approach (Sudoku + battleship or 2 player Sudoku), we decided to try something radically different. The game has a really interesting set
of mechanics, although is a bit hard to understand. I'm proud of this project because of how well we iterated on the game based on player feedback, making small but meaningful changes at each step which
dramatically improved the project.
This game was completed in February 2017
A cute game in which you take revenge on the evil hag of the classic Hansel and Gretel fairytale. It's Mario meets Katamari Damacy!
This was the final project developed by the Moon Bean team. The goal was to make a new take on a classic fairy tale and turn it into a game. The idea
behind this one is really funny and the game is really cohesive in terms of its aesthetic. I'm most proud of the ending sequence of this game, in which Hansel
rolls down a mountain and crushes the hags house.
This game was completed in May 2017
A puzzler in which you assume the role of a hacker trying to stop a sinister government operation.
This game was developed at the Global Game Jam 2018 in just 48 hours! I had an awesome team and we really clicked making this game. It's
impressively large for the time frame it was developed in and features extremely innovative game mechanics. It wasn't the best game for the showroom
floor because we'd have players play for an hour at a time! I'm proud of how this one turned out and it really is fun and interesting to play.
This game was completed in Januaray 2018
You can contact me directly via email. Please reach out to tsanmigu@andrew.cmu.edu or tsanmigu@gmail.com. I will respond as promptly as I am able.