Iikka Keränen

Iikka Keränen, a native of Finland, lives in Kirkland, Washington and is a level designer at Valve Software. He also co-founded Digital Eel, an independent video game development group, in 2001. His range of professional skills include illustration, 2D game art, 3D modeling, programming and game design.

In his teens, Keränen programmed freeware games for the Commodore Amiga. Later he created the popular "Quake" mod "Airquake", as well as over a hundred free add-on levels for the "Doom" and "Quake" series of first-person shooters. He was named the top "Doom" level maker of all time by Doomworld in 1998, described as "one of a few pioneer level designers that created the new bottom line for playability and design in "Doom" levels, as well as helping to develop some of the special FX that many level authors now take for granted". [http://5years.doomworld.com/topten/winners/iikkakernanen/]

In recent years he has created 3D architecture, textures and models for many well known computer games including "Daikatana", "Anachronox", ', "American McGee's Alice" and Valve Software's "Counter-Strike", "Half-Life 2" and "Day of Defeat". In December 2005, Iikka completed "Argentan", a map for the multiplayer game '.

His Digital Eel credits include design, programming and art. He co-designed all Digital Eel games to date ("Plasmaworm", "Strange Adventures in Infinite Space", "Dr. Blob's Organism", "Digital Eel's Big Box of Blox", "", "Eat Electric Death!", "Soup du Jour" and "Goblin Slayer") with Rich Carlson.

External links

* [http://www.valvesoftware.com/ Official homepage of Valve Software]
* [http://www.digital-eel.com/ Official homepage of Digital Eel]
* [http://www.digital-eel.com/scans/ Iikka's Pile of Mystery Scans]
* [http://www.planetquake.com/ikq/ Iikka's Quake levels & Airquake]