About

Krayfishkarl Logo

Hello! Welcome to my personal site! My name is Karl "Krayfishkarl" Ast, and I am a hobbyist game designer. I am the founder of Krayfish Entertainment LLC, a solo developer endeavor with a published title on Steam, Droplet: States of Matter.

I have played video games since I was old enough to hold a controller. Super Mario World and Super Mario 64 were among the first to captivate me into the worlds they created. Yet, even at a young age, I knew there was more to these games than just a controller, console and a TV. How did they work? Why were the worlds designed the way they were? What made them so fun to play? I set about to answer these questions by attending iD Tech Camps in 2005 to learn Multimedia Fusion 1.5.

Though I initially saw my passion for video games as a hobby, I began to realize my true potential during high school when I joined the Technology Student Association and competed in Electronic Game Design. Even after becoming four-time state champion and 2009 national champion, I realized I had only scratched the surface of game design. Abiding my principle of seeking to make my next game better than the last, I ventured to the third dimension with the likes of Skyrim’s Creation Kit and Unreal Engine 4.

I later joined the United States Army to work as a Field Artillery Tactical Data System Specialist and later as an IT specialist. I also managed to acquire the coveted Air Assault Badge. In my spare time, I discovered Unreal Engine 4. I was self-taught, and my experiments eventually culminated into the prototype game Dreamwalkers: Sleep Descent.

After serving my country for eight years, I completed my duty obligation to the Army. After obtaining a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, I became a software engineer contractor while managing my company Krayfish Entertainment LLC part-time. I would publish my first game, Droplet: States of Matter to Steam as an early access title in March 2021.

With over eighteen years of hobbyist game design experience, I’ve made it my personal goal to always move forward and improve. I want to continue making excellent, awesome games.