Tammy McDonald
Chief Business Officer at Fusion Point Studios
Tammy McDonald
Chief Business Officer at Fusion Point Studios
San Diego, California
Overview
Work Experience
Chief Business Officer
2023 - Current
I am the Chief Business Officer and co-founder of Fusion Point Studios, Inc., we recently closed our seed round and are in “stealth mode” on an exciting FPS MMO.
Strategic Advisor
2020
The Santa Monica, California-based Griffin Gaming Partners was started in 2019 by general partner Peter Levin, co-founder of Nerdist Industries and former president of interactive ventures, games, and digital strategy at Lionsgate; Phil Sanderson, a venture capitalist with two decades of experience in game investing; and Nick Tuosto, managing director of investment banking firm LionTree. (Levin will be a speaker at our upcoming GamesBeat: Into the Metaverse on January 27.) Our first fund closed at $235M in early November, 2020 and is focused on all things gaming.
CEO
2012
I am the CEO of Axis Game Factory, a video game software developer, production and tool/platform development company. I personally handle all business development, product strategy, operations, distribution and marketing for the company. To date, we have sold through over one and a half (1.5) million units of combined software applications of AGFPRO's suite of nine (9) real-time game creation tools... adding AR and VR to our feature set in 2017. AGFPRO is a comprehensive tool-set platform designed to provide game developers and hobbyists with a powerful and rapid level creation, terrain/vegetation editing, lighting and atmosphere system. AGF is a standalone product, designed to work in concert with the Free and Pro versions of the Unity 5 game engine. AGF PRO runs on the PC, MAC and LINUX systems. AGF empowers game designers, developers and hobbyists to rapidly create game maps, sculpt terrain and design levels quickly and easily. With over 1,000 assets already stocked in the warehouse, along with 28 pre-set themes and 8 sample maps, developers can begin creating levels in minutes. AGF includes all of the necessary plug-ins, scripts and shaders to allow all Unity5 users the ability to import AGF scenes into Unity5. AGFPRO's expansive suite of product supports users with a wide variety of genre specific gameplay mechanics, assets and character features and functionality. It's simplistic design allows anyone the ability to instantly begin creating game levels without having to program, model or animate. We are currently in development on a AAA game for PC, XBox, and PlayStation systems, which releases Q4 2020. We are also in development on the next iteration of AGFPRO, YuMaKiT, with plans to release the user-generated platform toolset and games in summer 2020. Our studio is always open to discuss new partnerships and development collaboration, please connect with me on LinkedIn to further discuss.
CEO
2008 - 2023
In 2008, we changed the name of our studio, Vision Scape Interactive, Inc to Heavy Water, as we transitioned and expanded our business to include the growth and development of interactive social gaming and established a strategic relationship with first party publisher, Sony Computers Entertainment of America on their PlayStation Home network. Through this relationship, we worked directly with SCEA and SCEE to architect and develop a unique virtual 3D social gaming platform for gamers to explore, socialize and engage in endless interactive gameplay and unique social experiences. We were directly responsible for creating a majority of the public spaces in PSHome, unique apartments, mini-games, virtual items and complete games on this platform. My role was to establish and maintain the relationship with SCEA, negotiate contracts for the ongoing development and design of key locations and gameplay in PlayStation Home, integrate brands and strategic partnerships with significant interactive campaigns, expand development services with other 3rd Party Publishers and brands, create and self publish our own line of known content and manage the day to day studio operations. outsourcing teams and growth strategy of the company. Through our tenure at PlayStation Home, we established ourselves as the leading publisher, creating more content and interactive experiences than any other development studio in the space. Our projects and partners include: SCEA, SCEE, Disney's Epic Mickey 2, Phineas and Ferb and Tron, Marvel's IronMan, Ted Feature Film, Toyota, Ford, Scion, 2K's Top Spin 4 and BioShock 2, Sega's Alpha Protocol and Yakuza, Lucas Art's Star Wars & Monkey Island, Square Enix's Star Ocean, EA Sports, EA's Medal of Honor, Axe, The X-Men Feature Film, Emo Ray,LIttle Big Planet amongst other titles.
CEO
1996 - 2023
As CEO of Vision Scape Interactive, I have personally manage the day to day operations of the studio, am directly responsible for all business development and contractual negotiations, budgeting, planning, forecasting and the overall growth of our team. Our studio has serviced a wide range of content in the entertainment industry from complete games on multi-sku next-gen game console systems, PC, Mac and Linux, 3D animated television series development, game cinematics and trailers, music videos, online interactive social network gaming platforms, toy design, original IP creation and licensed IP development for over 100 well-known properties and titles. I have a knack for multi-tasking and have managed multiple projects simultaneously at various stages of development as well as overseas production studios for game assets and animation with teams throughout Europe and Asia. Notable projects and IP our studio worked with include: Star Wars, Sonic Heroes, EverQuest, Twisted Metal 3 & 4, Jet Moto 3, BioShock, Call of Duty, EA Sports, NFL Streets, SeaBlade, The Butt Ugly Martians TV series, Disney Princesses (animation), NeoPets (animation), Medal of Honor, Epic Mickey 2, World Series of Poker 1&2, Ford, Toyota, Top Spin 4, Disney's Phineas and Ferb, Iron Man, Ted, Tron, Scion, Alpha Protocol, Monkey Island, Yakuza, Star Ocean, BioShock 2, PlayBoy, Soldier of Fortune, Chopper Force (toy designs & commercials), Smash Up Derby (toy designs & commercials), Desperate Houeswives PC, Google's Lively, Pimp My Ride, Rapala Fishing, Socom, Area 51, Rapala Bass Fishing, Rocket Power, Creed (music video), Tech Deck Dude BKG (game and animated series), Mech Warrior (redesigned entire line), Land Before Time, Razor Scooter Racin', Inline Racin', NBA Shootout, Timeline, Run Like Hell, Rock 'n Roll Racing, Vanguard, Game Day, Might & Magic, GI Joe, Turok, Goosebumps, to name a few...
Special Council
2016 - 2019
DPOUSA Special Council DPOUSA is a financial platform providing client companies the opportunity to have 24-hours-a-day, 365-days-a-year, visibility to an investor base of over 30,000 accredited investors and financial institutions. DPOUSA is a financial media company with decades of financial market experience merged with current technology. DPOUSA will be featured regularly in over 1200 news portals, including ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX affiliates, the Boston Globe, the Mercury News, and the Star Tribune. DPOUSA utilizes the most current internet technology, security protocols, and financial experience giving issuer and investor alike the confidence to use DPOUSA as a conduit to successful transactions. The DPOUSA platform difference is its merging of technology with professional human interaction, and can personally present transactions to capital sources efficiently and cost effectively. Whether the investor is a millennial with a recent IPO exit, or a 250 year old Family Trust that prefers paper and a voice, your opportunity gets presented to a broader range of capital sources. Mission: DPOUSA exists to help our country grow, expand, and lead by helping businesses be created, expanded, and transferred to new generations, creating careers and jobs in America. DPOUSA empowers client companies with the tools, talent, and exposure to expand ideas, speed growth, break boundaries, and pursue the American Dream. The DPOUSA Difference: 1. Investor Database of over 30,000 2. DPOUSA Featured in over 1200 news outlets 3. Decades of Financial Experience & Contacts 4. Flat Listing Fees - No Commissions 5. Access to Special Council of Advisors 6. Proven Formulas and Methodologies DPOUSA Base: Accredited Investors, Angel Investors, Asset Based Lenders, Attorneys, Broker Dealers, Business Brokers, Family Offices, Financial Advisors, Hedge Funds, Investment Banks, Merchant Banks, Pension Funds, Private Equity Groups, and Venture Capitalists.
Head of MediaPlay
2018 - 2019
Lead Agent
2008 - 2011
In addition to running Heavy Water, I acted as a lead agent for several development teams that were represented by leading games agency, DDM. My role included heading all business development for a number of leading game studios across the globe, project forecasting, contractual negotiations,assisting developers with proposals, budgeting projects, trouble-shooting active projects between the development studios and publishers, pitching publishers on new IP, strategic planning and operational guidance and ensuring best practices for development teams. My role included extensive travel to maintain face to face interaction with key stake holders in the industry, attending trade shows with developers, working with the DDM team on a daily basis to track projects, strategize opportunities for our entire roster of clients and stay ahead of trends, opportunities and emerging markets in the interactive and digital media space on a global level.
VP of Business Development, Games, North America
2007 - 2008
As VP of Business Development for Games, I led a team of sales agents to bring Image Metric's advanced facial animation technology into the games industry. I was in charge of identifying and executing new opportunities, presenting our technology to large technical teams, providing tests for clients, scoping projects, providing detailed proposals, negotiated contracts and worked between the client and Image Metrics through final delivery of our services. Image Metrics is an award winning technology company, leading the industry in Performance-Driven Facial Animation pipelines. It's goal is to produce the highest quality animation, in the simplest & most efficient way, to custom fit into any production pipeline & budget. They use proprietary technology to create the most emotionally engaging characters for their customers in content production facilities worldwide. Their ground-breaking technology analyzes video and converts measurements of the face into animation data. This animation can be applied to any digital character and customized in any way the client intends. The client maintain complete artistic control from start to finish.
Project Manager
1996 - 1997
I managed the pre-production and animation content for FMV Cinematics for several video game projects, including 45-minutes for DreamWork's "Goosebumps - Attack of the Mutants." In addition to production work, I started one of the industry's first 3D Animation and Modeling Training Centers for industry production learning with the latest 3D modeling and animation software, Newtek's Lightwave. My core responsibilities included designing and implementing the curriculum, sales, marketing, and the launch of The Lab 3D Animation Training Center. I later negotiated ownership of The Lab and ran it under Vision Scape Interactive, Inc.
Owner
1995 - 1997
While working in radio, I created exciting promotions and campaigns with various clients, which led me to start my own travel promotion company. My first client was Lt. Col. Oliver North and I single-handedly organized an annually themed cruise, ("Common Sense at Sea with Lt. Col. Oliver North") with my travel agent client. I negotiated directly with Cruise Lines for promotional marketing budgets, promotional rates, events during the week at sea, executed a national radio and print campaign, planned and executed each itinerary to include guest speakers (prisoners of war and Senators), book signings, live radio broadcasting and much, much more. I was young and naive and would not take "NO" for an answer. I duplicated this promotion for other local radio talent in San Diego, and I am proud to say that these radio hosts still run their promotions each year with their non-profit organizations.
Education
BA
1992 - 1994
Bachelor's degree
1990 - 1992