It was a hot June in Boston. Not unseasonably so, but uncomfortable nonetheless. An enterprising young computer programmer was packing his things. He was moving to California to work on an exciting project with venture-backed startup. It was a visionary idea that he'd poured a lot of his time and creativity into. It was something that would change video gaming forever. This is not his story - we just subleased his apartment.

Days later, two recent graduates of a local law school sat in the 160 square foot studio apartment that they were paying far too much for and proceeded to almost-die of heat stroke. One of them looked at the other and said "What about tea?" Outside their window the economy quietly collapsed.

The debris of a failed retail empire was stacked in the far corner of the room, out of sight. They weren't going to make that mistake again. Not yet. As the sun beat down on them through curtainless windows, they resolved to be able to afford a dishwasher, and went out to eat.

A week passed. They found themselves stuffing too many large desks into a Ford Focus, packing away their lives, and transforming the studio. The desks jostled with each other for space. One of them slept on a couch, the other on a mattress on the floor. The mattress needed to be shoved into a closet each morning.

People began passing through each day. Lists were made, spreadsheets started but left unfinished, drawings were drawn and models modeled. Words painstakingly written. Crowded at two, the studio could barely contain them all. Upstairs and downstairs, neighbors complained. They turned up the subwoofers to drown out the talking. They were busy making a video game.

      Unauthorized Biographies

Ali Abrar, Founder Ali Abrar (aka the Mighty Githinji) graduated from York University and Harvard Law School before co-birthing the harbinger of handheld RPG doom known as iPwn Studios. The Brooklyn native was raised in Toronto, but inevitably crossed back over the border after having his fill of moose and catsup. While he wears many hats, Ali is often wrist deep in world/story conceptualization and working out game play mechanics. His spare time is spent thwarting the schemes of arch rival, Brian Tansey. All of this is accomplished while on an unwavering daily diet of cereal, omelets, milkshakes and chicken (in that order), washed down with the European formula of Ovaltine.

Brandon Marion, Animation Intern Brandon's friends were seriously concerned when they discovered his dead rat puppet set. After several failed attempts of necromancy, Brandon decided not to reanimate his rats. The only thing he was able to bring to life was a mound of pizza dough which went on to become the Pillsbury Doughboy. Casting aside reanimation (for now), Brandon attended CDIA where he was taught about the regular kind. He excelled in many fields including modeling, rigging, and animation. Brandon found his place in iPwn Studios, an awe-inspiring place full of wonderment, bedazzlers and pizza boxes. And he's a drummer.

Brian Tansey, Writer Establishing a secret headquarters in the corner office on the second floor of an apartment in Dorchester, Brian became B-Tansey, a White Knight to protect the iPwn story from vice and villainy. His colleagues remained his confidants, tending to injuries and offering sage advice - whether requested or not! B-Tansey became an urban legend, a cautionary tale that sent shivers through the city's underworld. This iPwn Writing Crusader found a friend in Ali, an iPwn owner who didn't approve of B-Tansy's methods, but appreciated the results of his nightly script writing. B-Tansy's Rogues Gallery grew to include a host of bizarre criminals, such as the Githinji The Butcher, Scags, Greg-i-Type and the Iron Man.

Chris Alexander, 3D Artist, Flash Animator NO From the far ends of the province of Xingjang, a young Master 克里斯亚历山大 also known in the western world as Chris Alexander, trained every day, through the 4 seasons of every year, all he needed to know to become the best Kung Fu master in the world. He became so good that he was able to enter the Chinese Elite league of Martial Arts. After kicking and punching his way through the league tables, he soon reached the since 10 years unbeaten, Emperor of China, Tai Mai Shu. It was a long lasting and power draining fight. In the last minute before the final gong, the young master took his chances and took down his opponent with one of his personalized katas. Tai Mai Shu could not take the shame of his defeat, and so he banned the young master for eternity from his fatherland. Chris travelled half the world to soon find a place where he could settle and start to create a new type of Arts, which he named the Arts of the 3 Dimensions. The young master is once again close of becoming an expert of his art and here at iPwn Studios we can consider ourselves lucky that he chose this place to perfect it!

Chris Kapp, 3D Modeling Intern Chris Kapp has the extremely exciting job of turning pretty pictures into pretty 3D pictures that can smash things. With an Ad Design BFA from Syracuse University and a 3D Computer Animation Certificate from CDIA, he decided to skip the pizza sales portion of his career and settled down in Cape Cod to dive right in to real life. He cannot survive without an iPod, probably because it's fueling the pacemaker keeping him alive. Like a fairy godmother, he lives far away, visits rarely, and makes our dreams come true.

Fatima U. Abrar, Writing Intern The youngest member of the iPwn gang, Fatima is usually tasked with watching out for the po po as the iPwn crew pursues its diabolical plans. Unfortunately, she's so ganksta that she raises suspicion. For that reason, we can't keep her too close. They're watching her and the heat is on. She's laying low in Canada now, in a safehouse. She poses as a student at York University, but contributes to the iPwn project from afar.

Francisco Marmolejo, Game Designer Francisco marmolejo is sometimes referred to as 'The Beast', because of his beastly (street) soccer skills and monstrous appetite for chillies. A true Mexican at heart, Francisco hails from San Luis Potosí. When he isn't performing magic tricks with soccer balls and consuming preposterously spicy food, francisco studies math, reads Spanish and french literature and goes bouldering. He speaks almost every language known to man. He has also played almost every game ever made for the Super Nintendo. His experience with RPGs and platformers is invaluable in coming up with ingenious and fresh challenges within the familiar mechanics of blood knight.

Greg Matisoff, Art Director In 666 B.C.When the Flaming Bird of Rock and the Most Metal Guitar clashed, something was born, it was ME. Flying me forward in time to the year 1985 (time travel due to the amount of power), with my mythical metal blazing powers, I created a guitar made of swords and played the best rendition of "Everlong" anyone could withstand in their mortal ears. Along my travels I met up with a homely looking man named Kimbo Slice at CDIA, the computer arts school I graduated from. I taught this man the art of tripping people and growing a beard at the same time. Obviously my life could be more badass, so I created a cartoon that described what my band would be like, me being the lead singer of course, I named this band "Deathklock". To this day I am still pumping out the songs you hear each episode while being an art director at iPwn Studios

Jeff Borges, Composer Jeff Borges was adopted into the Osbourne family, there they kept him prisoner in a cell down in the basement. Only eating dog food and hearing Ozzy’s musical genius from under the floor boards, he began to acquire an acute ear for music. Memorizing any and every note that came through the decrypted cell, Jeff began to emulate the sounds by pounding on the walls and the metal bars. Until one day Ozzy heard the noises from under the floor, so he decided to investigate. Jeff heard foot steps coming down the stairs, which was a very rare occasion, because the only time there was human contact was when it was feeding time. Jeff quickly started to bang against the walls to impress Ozzy, then Ozzy quickly said… Stop! Then he turned back around and went up stairs. Saddened by Ozzy’s reaction towards his ear jarring sounds, Jeff started to pick the lock of his cell. He finally opened the lock after many moons, he packed some clothes, diapers, and dog food. After traveling for awhile, Jeff ended up at Ipwn studios, and in the basement he will stay making music.

Kristian Santos, Graphic Designer On June 20th, 1969 NASA put a man on the moon. But, where it’s generally accepted by the adoring public, Neil Armstrong took one small step for man; it goes widely unknown that Kristian Santos had been living there since 1882! Alas, with his current residential area becoming more and more popular in the general media, Kristian feared his secret moon base might become discovered, and all his research on how to be a superior graphic designer would be available to everyone. Of course, he could not sit idly by and let his secret be discovered, as the world was not at the time (and probably still isn’t) ready for a graphic designer so advanced as he! He quickly packed up based and fled the moon and is currently operating out of Germany. When he is not doing his ever important research he continues to travel the world, sustaining himself on a diet of coffee, cigarettes and Jam filled Berliners, under the guise of a regular-joe. Of course, we here at iPwn studios know the truth.

Mattia Maurée, Music Director Musical Directors are difficult to come by these days, and one crashed into the lobby of Ipwn Studios straight from the other side of the country. Mattia Maurée is a college grad majored in composing music, coming to us with crazy song ideas for crucial moments in Ipwn Studios history. Violin performance is her specialty along with keeping the team in check. With a huge family supporting her back home, Mattia has shown the ability to capture the perfect emotion in a certain situation during gameplay straight through music. By the musical talent we have seen, she has proven to be a great addition to the team. (oh yeah, and she drinks OJ like no ones business!!)

Mike Donaghey, Lead Tech Artist, QA Manager Mike Donaghey was born and raised in the town of Zukasiskaz, where he lived a peaceful and quiet life... That was until the day the evil emu's of Xaxxuxxianiansas came and destroyed his way of life. From then on Mike swore to avenge his village by destroying all cases of the letter "X". Once he completed this mission, he settled down in Hobby Bunker for a few years, once again living a serene existence. However, like many events in the universe, this tranquil way of living did not last when the X's rose up and made their way into words yet again. A small underground group known as iPwn Studios had recruited him to create a MEL script that would not only destroy the letter X, but rig characters for a video game as well.... That is his legacy... Oh yeah and he eats maaaaaaadddddddddd buff chix subs with his buddy Vin Diesel, who enjoys Italian subs the size of 12 Hummers.

Raymond Sanserverino, 3D Artist At a very early age, Raymond Sanseverino enlisted in the super secret government program known to the very few as "The Joes". Ever since then, Ray has been fighting the good fight, and in his spare time, being the first intern to become a full time 3D Artist at iPwn Studios. Not only is Ray a GI Joe, but he also has graduated from the Center for Digital Imaging Arts, and currently hold the record for highest Xbox Live gamerscore in the company...for now. Ray also holds the title as "iPwn Studios' Grand Street Fighter Champion of All Time Ever". The ever responsible Raymond Sanseverino is always quick with a joke, and is responsible for some of the fine art that we will all enjoy.

Shyam Vichare Game Designer Shyam Vichare, a legend on the streets of Cambridge for his audacity and unequaled taste in food, is not only talented at making mean steak, but also in video game design. Coming from Bombay, India, Shyam brings with him a wealth of experience gained from the hours and hours of sneaking video game play in school. Shyam always has unique ideas when it comes to gameplay or game mechanics, making him an important part of the team.

Ryan Mitchell, Web Developer Ryan Mitchell is a lusty carnivore from the depths of Hell. She despises almost everybody, but also enjoys trying to explore her sensitive side by baking, playing the harmonica, and listening to Bob Dylan in hopes of calming her raging soul. She pays close attention to detail and loves people that look like Elton John (it's a timeless look, really). She drives a car with hand-painted flames on the side and her favorite color is mauve. Between baking and recklessly endangering lives, she throws websites together.

Ryan Trinkle, Founder After springing himself upon the world at a very young age, Ryan chose a school based solely on its awesome name and eked out a degree in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. When he met Ali at Harvard Law School he realized that with their powers combined they could be a great superhero duo. When that didn't work out they started businesses instead, and he put his programming prowess to good use. His backup plan involves spray cans full of paint, goggles, and the new law school building.

Russell Higgins, Lead Animator, 3D Artist Many of iPWN Studios future accolades are due in part to the teams lead animator, Russell Higgins. Even on an early morning while sweating out his hangover after a night of heavy drinking and constructing a life-size “wizards staff” from spent beer cans, his eye for animation was steely and unrivaled. After elementary school Russell began degenerating into a bearded ruffian. Remnants of his lunch were found in his disheveled “longshoreman’s” beard a week later while he slept at his desk. After graduating high school, Russell enlisted at a three year long animation course at CDIA. Russell wanted to continue his training so he sought out Frank Cozmopolis. For three months Russell underwent the most rigorous training known to man, but “never backed down”. Lacking discipline, he decided to join the military, but fate intervened when Greg Matisoff left his home at the peak of The Alborz Mountains to contact Russell, offering him a job at the illustrious Ipwn Studios. Russell is so unique a sandwich is named after him, the unique “Russ-burgers”; he is also the only company member to have a game character fashioned after him. He is Russ, and he is legend.

Sophie Lannon, Concept Artist It was an energy storm like none I've ever seen before, in an uncharted region of space. We lost control of our ship, which seemed to be accelerating despite our commands. We were going too fast: the ship couldn't take it. We couldn't. When we came to, we were on an alien planet, rich with energon. We used our ability to transform to disguise ourselves as indigenous machines and creatures as we repaired our ship. We all wanted to go home...Well, almost all. I fell in love with a local creature: a furry, yellow, electrical monster, with the most beautiful black eyes you've ever seen. We settled down, built a house, had a child we called Sophie, who had the power of drawing. Then my yellow love was captured in a red and white ball and I never saw her again. When the ship was repaired, I left Sophie in the care of a local family. It was the biggest mistake of my life.

Stephen Blackheath, Lead Programmer Steve Blackheath, an Orc born of slime and stone, raised to lead armies of orcs for Saruman. After the one ring was disposed of in Mt. Doom, Steve was lost, looking for a porpose in life, and casting off a meaty diet. after years of searching with no aquatic mammels to be found, he settled down. First he built an easel to attract a wife, soon an artist named Maxine arrived and was promptly captured and wed. Being attracted to the melodies of metal an electric guitar was purchased, on which He learned Thunder Horse. Two young orcs came to be as Steve aged, He became him the first full-orc-Programmer. While indulging in his vengence upon the entire species of tazmanian tigers for peeing in the forest, a freak accident cost Steve his right knee and two fattened sheep. The Knee was replaced with a pnumatic prosthetic, the same cannot be said of his fattened sheep. R.I.P. fluffer & Nutter. To replace the void in his Family an Orange cat named Jasper was aquired. Some time after, with promises of curry and beer, Ali Abrar and Ryan Trinkle Acquired Steve's masterful Programming skills for iPwn Studios.