Our Team
Gabe Pappalardo, PhD
FOUNDER, CEO, Game DESIGNER, CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Gabe spent early parts of his childhood with a pencil and paper turning household objects into Mega Man Robot Masters and cardboard boxes into tabletop versions of Donkey Kong Country. He then did a hard-right turn through a PhD program in I/O Psychology and landed in the world of corporate HR. Oops. The following existential crisis led him to burn out and crash-land in a yoga ashram where he discovered the profound power of meditation and first explored the concept that would become The Fog of Maya, a game that would reveal meditations benefits to its players. Several years, a yoga teacher certification, and a stint in tech entrepreneurship later, Gabe founded Six Wing Studios and received the Guinness World Record for "Most Roundabout Career Path to Game Design".
Gabe leads the team with the creative vision for The Fog of Maya series. He fever-dream-rambles about the many characters inside his head, the worlds they live in, level design, game mechanics, and the psychological experiences he wants to produce for gamers. He is eternally grateful to the team of talented people around him who manifest these dreams into tangible reality. He leads the business and manages production, and has to date led the team to execute two crowdfund campaigns, deliver merchandise to hundreds of fans in a dozen countries, and develop Amaru: The Self-care Virtual Pet from an adorable idea to a product enjoyed by tens of thousands of players.
Games that left an impact:
The Legend of Zelda Series (LoZ, AoL, OoT, MM, and BotW in particular), Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong's Quest, Super Metroid, Mario 64, Super Smash Brothers (Melee, WiiU, Ultimate), Hollow Knight, Celeste, Final Fantasy (VII and X in particular), MegaMan X, Chrono Trigger, Resident Evil 1-4, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, Psychonauts, Portal, Portal 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Heroes of Might & Magic III, Everything, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
Eric Sydell, PhD
ANgel investor
Eric Sydell, PhD is a veteran entrepreneur with 17 years experience leading and developing products. He is also a graduate of the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program developed by the Jon Kabat-Zinn, a leading mindfulness authority from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. With cutting edge knowledge of the power and capability of technology and data, Eric seeks to support entrepreneurs with a pro-social mission. Gabe and Eric bonded over their shared interest in mindfulness and desire to use tech to benefit humanity. Eric is the angel investor who has made everything at Six Wing Studios to date possible. He has provided critical early stage funding and guidance to support the team.
Lexie Flock
Artist/ANIMATOR/Graphic DESIGN
Lexie dreams as a snake living in a cave made of obsidian glass, as a winged beast living impatiently among mortal men, and as a phantom discovering the secrets of a long-dead civilization. Her artwork reflects these dreams, and vice-versa, as she has always maintained an interest in creating monsters. Lexie also gained an interest in immersive open-world storytelling, and over the past decade or so, she has been slowly but surely developing a world of her own, complete with its own biomes, monsters, and magic systems. One such monster happened to catch Dr. Gabe's eye at Imurj, an "artist's bar" they both visited, and Lexie has been a part of Six Wing Studios ever since.
Lexie has spent the last two years putting Dr. Gabe's loose ideas on a canvas and bringing characters to life, be it through concept art, illustration, or animation, and has even picked up new skills, like Spine animation, to do so. Being a part of the creative team behind a game has always been an ideal career for her, and she is excited to bring this new idea to life.
Games that left an impact:
Niche: A Genetics Survival Game, Hollow Knight, Skyrim, Oblivion, Undertale, Portal 1-2, Minecraft, Subnautica, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Borderlands 2, Warlord's Battlecry III, Spore, WolfQuest, Cattails, Save The Light, Spyro The Dragon, and Final Fantasy Tactics
Ryan Shiel
LEAD Developer
Ryan built his first custom game console at the age of 15. In trademark humility, he'll assure you it was "No big deal." This was one of many projects spurned on by an affinity for computer systems and technology; an affinity which would take him from his literal "baby's first computer" toy all the way to a computer science undergrad program, which he would then promptly drop out of. All the better, since the subsequent chance to fill the void of meaning and passion that college had rent open within him led Ryan more or less straight into Dr. Gabe's fledgeling party of adventurers, Six Wing Studios. He and Gabe figured they would work well together when Gabe saw Ryan's "Hollow Knight" T-shirt upon their first meeting, and initiated a lengthy mutual geek-out session over the game.
Ryan brings his technological prowess and coding experience to the table, and stitches together his talented teammates' ideas and efforts into the interactive form for which they were destined. He is powered by wine and coffee and has achieved 100% completion in every Metroid game aside from that one. He keeps telling Dr. Gabe that he'll do more yoga, but hasn't gotten around to starting on that yet.
Games that left an impact:
Metroids, Skyrim, Hollow Knight, Final Fantasy (IV and VI in particular), Dark Souls, Marathon 1-3, The Witcher 3, Garry's Mod, Elite Dangerous, Undertale, Mother 3, Mass Effect 2, Halo 1-3, Chrono Trigger, Patapon, Starcraft, The Legend of Zelda (mostly Wind Waker and Majora's Mask), Stardew Valley, Cultist Simulator, Fallout: New Vegas, Knytt Underground, Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem, and Shadow of the Colossus
Chris Kennedy, PhD, MBA, CFA
Adviser
Chris is on a mission to help people be their best through the innovative use of technology and data science. With a special interest in human capital, technology, and resource allocation, Chris has been a co-founder of two startups in the technology space and been an advisor to several startups including Oak City Mindfulness, Scoutr, and Six Wing Studios. At least three startups have received multiple angel investor rounds or offers for investment.
Chris is committed to advising on topics such as finance, strategy, fundraising, operations, marketing, technology, data science, and talent.
Chris’s education and credentials includes a PhD of nuclear engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. He also holds several industry certifications, including the CFA. Chris is also a coordinating adjunct professor of modeling and analytics at UNC Kenan-Flagler for the MBA and MAC programs.