"I have taken all knowledge to be my province." - Sir Francis Bacon

My name is Tyler Carpenter, and I'm currently living in Seattle, Washington. I spent the first twenty-six years of my life living in California, but I'd had the notion to move to Seattle since I was about eighteen. I could make up stories about why that was, but the truth of the matter is that I and several friends are huge fans of the Shadowrun RPG, which is set in Seattle, and we thought it would be keen to move up here.

When I went to college, I had the idea that I wanted to be a reporter. On some level, I still want to be a reporter, but the major I chose just didn't work out. By accident, kismet, or forces still vaguely understood by even me, I ended up in another field. After falling in love with one particular professor's teaching style and another's ideas, I majored in what I like to call 'talking a lot about Japan and then writing it all down.' On the plus side, if you ever need to know about Japan, ask me. I probably know, or I know where to look.

This also means that I've had to become bilingual. I speak, read, and write Japanese. My speaking's better than my writing, but that's because I talk a lot.

I'm a big fan of a lot of things. Foremost among these are role-playing games, graphic design, Japanese culture and religion, photography and cyberpunk/posthuman fiction. I'm a media junkie - no newspaper is too local to read, no story too obscure, and no tidbit of news too bland.

I love to learn. If I don't know it, I want to know it. I've been repeatedly confused by interviewers asking if I'm a 'lifetime learner.' I didn't realize people could be anything else.

I guess you could say that my occupation currently is "gaming industry mercenary." Contract to contract in the world of video games in Seattle, doing various jobs that need to be done. Currently I'm working for the Xbox LIVE division of Microsoft, doing graphic design and writing style guides.

I never set out to be a graphic designer, a coder, a web developer, a network admin or a marketing writer. Like so many other things in life, though, that's how I've ended up. I've done all those jobs and more, and I've come to realize that no matter what I'm getting paid to do, I'm going to keep working on those skills until I've either completely mastered them or I become obsolete. I'm betting my skills will get scrapped before I become a DaVinci of design, however.

My training in design is an accumulation of skills I learned for fun, for the most part. I enjoy design, creation, and the artistry of creating a coherent whole. Given how long I've been doing this sort of thing, I believe my skillset is fairly impressive. At the very least, it covers a broad area. Take a look at my resume or keep reading for my skillset.

I know a decent amount about Search Engine Optimization, TCP/IP, and network security. In addition, I'm extremely experienced with nearly all aspects of computer construction, maintenance, and networking. I've never owned a computer I didn't build by hand, and my employment history means that I spent a great deal of time ensuring certain networks ran in tip-top shape. I'm extremely experienced in print media - despite the fact that I've worked as a web developer for nearly ten years, every position I've held has also required that I produce print media. This means I'm an excellent copy editor, know how to prep documents for publication, have an excellent eye for detail and am confident with pretty much any sort of curve ball I'm thrown. I'm adaptable. Situations in flux and hard deadlines are what make a job worthwhile for me. One of my biggest assets is the belief that nothing is impossible - no matter what system I have to use, what type of program or codebase it takes, any job can be done.

If you would care to hire me for either short or long term freelance, or propose a permanent position with your company, feel free to contact me. I can be reached at:

Tyler Carpenter
2220 12th Ave. W
Seattle, WA 98119
(805) 708-3677
tcarpenter@absconditus.org OR
adarael@absconditus.org