A little bit of backstory...
So, is this where I put my origin story? Guess so! So, as a kid I was bitten by a radioactive computer scientist and...
Nah, I'm hopefully obviously joking about that. Hey there, I'm Gwendolyn Jasmine Kornak, and I'm a computer scientist\cosplayer\trans organizer\game developer originally from Calgary, AB.
I went to the University of British Columbia, where I graduated with a Bachelors in Science, Major in Computer Science in May 2025. I tend to take a lot of interests in many different fields, especially programming. I'm very much a self-starting individual, always on to a new project or task. My ADHD certainly is strong. Maybe a bit too strong at times. But I see it as a gift, as when I can get tasks done, I get them done and to the highest quality.
As you might be able to tell, I'm transgender! And proud of it. I pride myself in being able to support other trans people in day to day life. I personally consider myself to be a community organizer, focused on building up internal communities so that we can have each others back. Because in this day and age, community is what keeps us going. I'm proud to have been one of the fascilitators for the UBC Pride Collective's Trans and Gender Identities discussion group during my non-COVID university years. If you ever have any questions about gender, either questioning or not, feel free to reach out and say hi! I love discussing the full scope of gender and how we perceive and navigate it, and am always down for a respectful chit-chat about it!
So, what have you done?
Good question, let me give you a tl;dr! What a way to phrase that question
From Game Maker Studio to Unity and Godot
My interest in making video games started as a kid from watching LP's on Youtube, particularly channels such as The Runaway Guys. Those videos got me interested in Video Games, alongside a christmas gift of New Super Mario Bros for the Nintendo DS, which eventually led to me wanting to make video games.
My first projects were in Game Maker Studio, simple games involving bouncing balls. But from there, I started to experiment more and more, eventually discovering Unity which I've primarily used since then.
Since then, I've gotten the chance to work on actual releases. As a student, I led a team at UBC's Game Dev club to create Constellation Tango, a full title which is available, self-published, on Steam. Afterwards, I had the privilege to work as an intern at Only By Midnight, working there during the Summer of 2024 on ctrl.alt.DEAL. I even got the chance to join the team at PAX West 2024 to assist with boothing, especially with the PAX Rising Showcase. I am forever grateful to the team there for giving me such mentorship and opportunities, so do give them a wishlist and a follow!
Lately, I've been doing experiments in my own time learning Godot, working on small personal projects to get familiar with the engine. I hope to be able to share some of these projects one day, so stay tuned!
Game PortfolioThe infinite loop of "lets do even more"
I've been doing cosplay since 2018, when I did a Link cosplay for Calgary Expo that year. I don't recall what give me the idea to do it, but I was hooked immediately.
Since then, I've strived to outdo myself each time. I see cosplay as an interative learning process, one that is open to anyone. After every cosplay I've done, I like to look back at it and see what I could have done better and to take notes for next time. As well, before each new cosplay, I like to plan one new thing that I haven't attempted before. Be it a new technique, or more complexities.
I'm currently planning out my next cosplays, and hope to be able to start on them as soon as I get the opportunity. As of the time of writing (4/26/25), I hope to have something new for Anirevo 2025.
Cosplay Showcase
During my high school years, I had the opportunity to compete in FRC with the late Team 4334,
FIRST POWER UP
This was my first season competiting with 4334. I was a brand new student, who knew very little of anything. That would quickly change during that season. I became a regular on the team, always coming in whenever I had any opportunity.
While that season marked the end of an era for the team, it was at the same time a massive turning point in my life. I finally started learning to program, started getting a feel for strategy, and got my feet wet with preforming public relations.
DESTINATION: DEEP SPACE
The next season built on everything I started doing in my first year. I delved deeper into programming, beginning a major rewrite of the internal settings system. I started taking on more leadership roles, helping support Team 5015, SWAT Bots, as they moved into our buildspace and became partners with us.
INFINITE RECHARGE
This year was the conclusion to my years with FIRST, as I was now one of the lead students of the team. I was in charge of the programming team as the senior student, and so led the development headfirst. The role came with new responsibilities, as I worked with the new students to help teach them how to program. Everything came around full circle.
Unfortunately, this was the year of COVID, and the season was cut short at Week 2/3. While I wish I had more time to finish everything I wanted to do, we still got the chance to compete before everything got cancelled. You never know when something unexpected might happen, just got to keep moving and be adaptable.
