I worked with David when he was my manager while I was a Game Development Intern at Arkadium. Over the course of my internship, it was invaluable being able to work with a person who was such a skilled developer as well as an excellent teacher.

Having never worked in JavaScript before, David provided continual guidance and suggestions, helping me to quickly grasp the language and make the most of my internship. Incredibly good-humored and easy to get along with, David made the experience of working at Arkadium, not only educational, but fun as well - everyday I was assigned projects that challenged me and truly helped the company, an opportunity that I sincerely appreciated being given. In addition, David always emphasized expanding one’s horizons, through talks about game design, programmatic challenges, and encouraging me to be an active participant in the life of the company.

It was pleasure to work with David and be given the opportunity to learn so much from a person who is genuinely passionate about the work they do and sharing that passion with others.

Grant MacFaddin, Business Analyst, Deloitte Consulting
Reported to David at Arkadium

I worked with David throughout my two and a half years at Arkadium. He has been by far one of the kindest, most helpful, and passionate people I’ve had the opportunity to work with.

David and his team’s efforts crucially supported my client-facing role as a Partnership Manager. His knowledge of game design and skills in game development helped to create quality, engaging games and interactive content that our partners were proud and excited to have on their sites. The data I reviewed consistently for our partner accounts also clearly showed that end users were coming back every day to enjoy what David and his team worked to create. His commitment to Arkadium’s content did not stop after the first release, though. David was not just open but eager to hear internal, partner, and end user feedback to improve future iterations.

Additionally, David was always willing to help when our partners or end users were experiencing issues, regardless if the responsibility fell directly on him or his team. He would readily fill in the QA and developer gaps, especially when our teammates in Russia were out of the office for the day. And whenever I had questions about our tech that I didn’t understand, David would happily spend the time to explain every detail.

Lastly, David was a major contributor to Arkadium’s positive and friendly culture. He organized unique educational sessions (who else would know a pop-up book creator?) and after-work team building activities. I always looked forward to David-organized activities as they brought something new to light each time, and David’s energy, positivity, and kindness was infectious.

David has many wonderful facets to offer a company and team, and I would confidently recommend him in any capacity as a manager, developer, game/content designer. They would be more than lucky to have him.

Sami Aviles, Personal Fitness and Movement Coach, Shaktibarre
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I worked with David Or for six years at Arkadium. Our work together began with discussing user feedback for prototypes of games he built and communicating user-reported bugs from customer service channels. Eventually I began working in the same division as David, and eventually we worked on the same team when he was lead developer on a game I product managed. We worked together in creating solutions to data-driven and user-driven feedback designed to increase revenue in existing games, and we also teamed up for several special events, such as planning internal jams and participating in industry events.

Three things I admire about David are his commitment to continued learning, his initiative in helping to educate his coworkers, and his genuine interest in using feedback from users or data to improve products he is working on.

Over the years we worked together, David was constantly learning new technologies, and finding ways to experiment with his learnings for the benefit of the team and the business. He was not resistant to changes in technology nor changes in business direction.

David also created and hosted many educational events for employees each year I worked with him. He could successfully balance informing non-programmers of complicated subjects while demonstrating a depth of knowledge about new subjects for those who were more technically inclined.

While David was always committed to products he worked on, he was also willing to accept feedback and changes in stride. User feedback can be frustrating, whether it's a bug resurfacing through no fault of our own or players disliking a feature we worked hard on, but David was always open to understanding the root causes of these challenges and meeting them head-on rather than being defensive or stubborn.

For all of the reasons above, I would recommend David for any development role, but especially one where he can serve as a role model and source of learning for junior developers.

Brian Peterson, Product Manager, Customer Care, The New York Times
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

It was a pleasure to work with David. He is a very solid engineer from speed and quality perspective. He can pick up very complex problems and solve them well. He has thoughts on both engineering and design. Also, he is a good mentor who I learnt a lot from.

Leisen Huang, Staff Engineer, Wonder Workshop
Reported to David at Arkadium

I worked with David at Arkadium. As an R&D intern, I interacted with David almost every day, and every day he was a pleasure to work with. He is incredibly knowledgeable and kind, and working with him was both enjoyable and enlightening. David is a very supportive mentor, and I learned a great deal from him that has been applicable in the different positions I've held since then. He's extremely dedicated to his work, with the kind of passion that comes from someone who loves what they do. It was a privilege to work with someone as skilled, motivated, and positive as David!

Bisola Alugbin, Software Engineer, Riot Games
Reported to David at Arkadium

David Or is one of the most agreeable, easy-to-work-with people I've ever encountered. He's cooperative, a stellar team player, yet also proactive and effective about voicing his concerns or a differing viewpoint. David has a nearly infinite level of patience, and I think in the 3 years we worked together, I heard him complain two times. David is good energy.

Of the people I've worked with over the years, I've logged the most hours with David, so he and I got to know each other pretty well. David is a rare gem of both outstanding energy and talent. He has an innate and unfaltering understanding of the value of teamwork, cooperation, and helping others. I would be thrilled for an opportunity to work with David again. Overall, David provides a one-of-a-kind dynamic and a gift to any team he's on.

Brett Taylor, Puzzle Designer, Playdead, My Dog Zorro
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I had the pleasure to collaborate with David Or during my game design internship at Arkadium. When I met him, I instantly felt completely at ease. He is approachable and humble, yet exceptional at game development and design. If he is unsatisfied with his current work, David will labor tirelessly on it - even after hours - until it is to his liking, and always meets his deadlines. David is the kind of person who wants to make sure his work is the best it can be.

I enthusiastically recommend David for the Senior Game Developer position at Arkadium!

Felicia Wong, Software Engineer, Schrödinger
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

David is the sweetest developer ever! He is always well documented & organized, great at executing plans. He has the great technique in delivering the best & most fun games. Definitely a great pleasure working with David during my tenure at Arkadium!

Sunny Huijuan Zhu, Associate Director of Analytics, Policygenius Inc.
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I've had the pleasure of working with David during my time as a Research and Development Intern at Arkadium. There are so many things can be said, but fantastically clever and exceptionally fast are the first to come to mind. In one instance, we worked directly on level design and narrative framing for a web arena game, and David was swift to suggest and implement changes that would enhance the user experience. This holds true for numerous projects throughout the time that we have collaborated with each other; he never ceases to amaze with the efficiency of his tasks all while generously and honestly offering assistance to others.

As my supervisor, he has provided a plethora of insight and support pertaining to game development and design in the mobile and web games industry. Outside of the office, he is seen frequenting the local games scene, including Come Out and Play and the Sheep's Meow Arcades and is a pleasure to converse with on any occasion. I definitely recommend David and would be absolutely delighted if ever presented with the opportunity to work with him again.

Wen Shi, Software Development Engineer, Amazon
Reported to David at Arkadium

David is a skilled, hardworking developer to be sure. He has a can-do attitude which makes him great to work with, especially as a designer asking if they can have something implemented. Beyond that, he's a patient teacher, trusted consultant, and good friend. David always seeks to build projects flexible, with an eye toward support in the future and leaving behind documentation regularly. He is also one of the nicest, easiest-to-get-along-with guys I know.

Heather Arbiter, Product Manager, Jump Ramp
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

Although I never had the privilege of working with David directly on the same project, while I worked with him at Arkadium, I found him to be one of the most considerate and professional employees in the office. David is very easy to get along with, and clear in his communication. He always projects a positive and helpful attitude. From the way he arranged his workspace to the amazingly neat and thorough notes that he took, It is very clear that David is highly organized and on top of his assignments. Most importantly : he meets his deadlines. I have heard nothing but great things about David's work ethic and coding skills from producers, artists, and programmers that have worked with him. He participates regularly in game jams, is active in the local game development community, and is very proactive about learning more about game design and development. I highly recommend David Or for your projects or position at your company.

Simon Kono, Freelance Artist, The Game Agency
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I worked with David for approx. 3 years at Arkadium in a few different functions. I can happily recommend his work and say that he is both great at his job and passionate about what he does. David worked across many departments in my time at Arkadium and was someone who could fill a gap on any team. Most notably, he was an ace on the R&D team, quickly prototyping and finding areas of success or weakness in different game ideas as they entered the pipeline for development. The thing that stands out the most about when David and I finally worked together on a dedicated team was how he was always two steps ahead in delivering what was on our roadmap and it was always top quality.

Zachary Gabrielski, Director of Product Management, Dotdash
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I found David to be an incredibly well-rounded manager, product owner/designer, and developer during my time at Arkadium. As a manager, he was empathetic and knowledgeable about a wide range of best practices and development strategies. As a product owner, he did a fantastic job keeping my projects on track and cutting through the noise so I could find success with stakeholders. Finally, as a developer, David has an impressive ability to inject fun into any project and I was always very impressed with his ability to design enjoyable competitive/fighting games and game-inspired features in anything he worked on.

David's many years of expertise and passion for exploring all the nuances of design and development, particularly for games, has made him a very valuable mentor and productive individual in any development environment.

Jim Yang, Software Engineer, Better.com
Reported to David at Arkadium

I worked with David for years at Arkadium. David is experienced game developer who has skills in different technologies. He is great team player and he is very responsible and motivated person. David took part in rapid development of many succesfull games and participated in organization of many events in company (game jams, learning sessions etc). It is a pleasure to work with David.

Alexander Dryomov, Director of Game Programming, (formerly) Arkadium
Managed David at Arkadium

David was my senior project advisor and was an extremely valuable resource to have as I developed my project. Although the topic was unfamiliar to him (hip hop music), he provided a lot of guidance and direction in the choices I made on my final iteration!

Laura Schlossman, UX Researcher, American Express
Advised by David on NYU thesis

David is a phenomenal programmer for games and prototypes. He brings an extraordinary blend of creative talents to his work, including technical ingenuity, game design intuition, and an aesthetic eye. Unlike many extremely creative people, David is equally skilled at organization and managing his own time. Finally he has an insatiable desire for new knowledge and challenges and loves to share what he’s learned. Somehow, despite his outstanding skills and talents, he is a model team-player, and a pleasure to work with.

Tom Rassweiler, Senior Vice President of Games, Arkadium
Managed David at Arkadium

David is a highly talented developer and tester. While we were working together at Massive/Microsoft, David was one of the top performers on the team. His bug reports were insightful, detailed, and very well written. He was not only an efficient QA lead but also did excellent work at developing testing tools to support the rest of the team. I would highly recommend David for any development or QA position.

Sam Bjorkman, Senior QA Engineer, OneStream Software
Managed David at Massive Inc

I had the pleasure of working with David during Arkadium's Game Jam. He showed great enthusiasm and was quick to adapt to the different technologies we used for our project. We worked alongside with the rest of the team to solidify the design and technical aspects of our game, and he was always quick on his feet to achieve solutions to our problems. It was a great working with David and recommend him to the highest degree.

John Luu, Product Manager, Scholastic
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

David's a really sharp guy that I'd trust with any development job that needs doing. I had the pleasure of working with him on a few different teams during my time at Arkadium, and he always stood out as a guy who got our code done fast and clean. He's an awesome problem solver who knows games, and he's a great addition to any studio looking to bolster their dev team.

Joe Laurino, Game Designer, Avalanche Studios
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

David moves quickly - when he stops coding, it's because he's already prototyped the feature you were talking about earlier. Besides being a talented programmer, David has an awesome range of skills and interests in art, game design, and other areas. The best thing I can say about David, though, is that I've learned a lot by working with him, and he is always happy to share his knowledge with his coworkers.

Vincent St. John, Product Manager, Blackbaud
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

Sometimes you meet someone in your career that breaks the saying 'Jack of all trades master of none', David is one of those guys - a Creative & Engineering powerhouse that is also extremely professional and caring as a manager and as an employee. Highly recommended.

Stephen Jarrett, Vice President, Creative, King
Managed David at Arkadium

David's development expertise, leadership, and creativity brought to market content reaching millions of monthly active users. He was personally responsible for and delivered on coding ways to bring game functionality to AI driven interactives, but also managed a large team of developers to implement improvements on our top played HTML5 games.

David individually provided an outstanding output for Arkadium, and still made time to answer any technical questions or brainstorm ideas for clients. But his impact on the entire team and the culture were equally valuable. He went into every day with positive energy, and his was contagious.

His 1st place Halloween costume had the whole office in tears laughing, he planned popular social events to connect better between departments, and on day one he immediately made me feel at home. If you are looking to build a winning team capable of great development, David is an essential building block for both culture and code.

Alex Welcing, Developer, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

In my time at Arkadium, both as an intern and a junior developer, David's role as senior game developer and my direct supervisor was instrumental in my overall experience with the company, and in my growth as a developer over this short period. His vast knowledge of the field and expertise as a programmer, as well as his extreme amicability and willingness to teach made him the perfect mentor, and helped create an environment of expedited learning and constant growth since day one.

David was an attentive and empathetic manager, always being keen to make sure I had everything I needed. Whether it was a request to show me best practices regarding a certain paradigm, or just a moment of his time to think aloud and pick his brain, David was always willing to spend the extra time and energy to ensure all my questions were answered.

I would vouch for David in any capacity, both developer and manager.

Calvin Lee, DevOps Engineer, Radancy
Reported to David at Arkadium

David is an incredible teacher with a positive attitude toward his work. He is organized, patient and thorough in the projects he manages and is always willing to educate those interested in the gaming industry. When he's not working on the next coolest game, he's driving the culture at Arkadium with fun social events like board game nights! It's a pleasure to learn about the various approaches and ideas he applies to his work. David's qualities embody a great leader and is a valued asset to any organization!

Andrew Conner, Manager Business Operations, Samsung Ads
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I worked with David during my time as a Game Design Intern at Arkadium and learned an incredible amount from his outstanding design sensibility. We collaborated directly on a design exercise and I was impressed by the fact that he always knew exactly how to improve an idea and push it to its full potential. More importantly he was an absolute pleasure to work with, making sure to synthesize our contributions and approaching any conflicting ideas without ego for the sake of the larger goal of high quality work. On top of all of this, David is incredibly involved in the game design and development community. I ran into him at every event while I was in NYC and have seen him in the years since at all kinds of game conferences. David is an absolute asset to any team!

Ben Sironko, Programmer, Blue Marble Health Co.
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

I always say David is the employee of the month... forever. He's my favorite person to work with creatively, and he's far too humble about his level of skill. He's always upbeat and funny, and works together to tweak the details; it's like having a magic genie to make ideas come alive. I always say that the best game programmers have a strong designer side, and Dave is the picture of this. He stays busy honing his skills, going to conferences, studying the finer details of games, and improving on everything he knows. Dave's #1.

Drew Blomquist, Freelance Artist & Animator, (formerly) Arkadium
Worked alongside David at Arkadium

David is my supervisor when I did internship in Arkadium Inc. He is a patient person and I really learn a lot from him!

He taught me a lot about how to encapsulate features into good models, and some design pattern let me can make better design for program. Also he let me know basic function about SVN version control system.

I also gained a lot of experience for having meeting with professional people via his help!

Wen-Shiu Hung, Software Engineer, Google
Reported to David at Arkadium