Chris Kline's musical influences started from his parents, David and Mary Ellen Kline, who first met in a rock and roll band.
David Kline was a drummer and encouraged his son to pick up the drums around the age of 5.
Kline stuck with the drums through high school, but also tried out a few other instruments along the way, such as the violin and the guitar.
In middle school, Kline joined band and quickly excelled to first chair drummer.
He performed in competition Jazz band and performed drum solos at band concerts in front of the entire school.

Around this time, Kline also became interested in learning the guitar.
He started out on his father's old acoustic guitar trying to play songs like "Enter Sandman" and "The Unforgiven" made popular by Metallica.
Soon after this, he got his first electric guitar.
Kline was largely influenced by heavy metal, rock and progressive rock bands of the 1980s and had a hard time finding any instructors interested in the same genres.
He started by taking a few lessons here and there, but ended up quitting and teaching himself along the way.
During this time, he developed his musical ear to a very high level enabling him to pick up new songs very quickly.

Around this time, he also was heavily influenced by the video game industry and took a strong liking to the Nintendo Entertainment System.
He had a passion for art and music and had been conjuring up his own game designs since the NES made its first United States debut in 1985.
With the help of AOL, he went online and began searching for other like-minded individuals wanting to try to make their own video game.
In the process, he formed the company known as "Nuke Ware".
He pursued a few different game designs under this company, and with the help of DarkSoft Entertainment, successfully co-published his first title, Empires: Quest for Power on the Excalibur BBS.

Not long after this, Kline graduated from Yankton High School and went off to college.
He applied and was accepted into the Art Institute of Phoenix.
He began pursuing the nation's first Bachelor of Arts in Game Art & Design.
In college, Kline excelled in all subjects and made the Deans Honor Roll.

During his early college years, Kline joined his first official band, "Universal Tongue".
Kline toured the local bar scenes with them performing lead / rhythm guitar on original and popular cover songs.
Kline's involvement with the band lasted about a year.
Shortly after Kline left, the band began falling apart and is now non existent.

Towards the final year of college, Kline realized he would need to create a website for his online portfolio.
He wanted the address to be memorable and make sense with the type of work he did.
Since 3D art is made up of vertices at its core level, and this is what he spends his time manipulating every day, Kline thought it would be catchy to call himself "VertexGuy".
Kline usually lumps the two words together to match his website address (www.vertexguy.com), but can often be found referenced as "the vertex guy", "vertex guy", "vertex" or "vert".
He prefers treating the title as one word because it is unique enough to make him instantly easy to find in any search engine.

After graduating from college in 2002, Kline moved to Prescott, Arizona to be with his girlfriend, Trina Noelle Cowin, who would soon become his wife.
During this time, Kline worked on his art portfolio and began applying to game studios across the United States.
Knowing he needed a job to get married, Kline jumped on the first major opportunity that came his way.
This came in the form of a job offer from FarSight Studios.

During his time at FarSight Studios, Kline quickly adapted and assumed a natural leadership role, taking on a great deal of responsibility.
In addition to creating artwork for all the games the studio worked on, he also became the studio's Audio Director.
He created all the sound effects for the studio's game line up and also wrote a few music scores.

In 2005, Kline joined www.MusicianWar.com and began posting original compositions in friendly music competition.
This site fe
Chris Kline's musical influences started from his parents, David and Mary Ellen Kline, who first met in a rock and roll band. David Kline was a drummer and encouraged his son to pick up the drums around the age of 5. Kline stuck with the drums through high school, but also tried out a few other instruments along the way, such as the violin and the guitar. In middle school, Kline joined band and quickly excelled to first chair drummer. He performed in competition Jazz band and performed drum solos at band concerts in front of the entire school.
Around this time, Kline also became interested in learning the guitar. He started out on his father's old acoustic guitar trying to play songs like "Enter Sandman" and "The Unforgiven" made popular by Metallica. Soon after this, he got his first electric guitar. Kline was largely influenced by heavy metal, rock and progressive rock bands of the 1980s and had a hard time finding any instructors interested in the same genres. He started by taking a few lessons here and there, but ended up quitting and teaching himself along the way. During this time, he developed his musical ear to a very high level enabling him to pick up new songs very quickly.
Around this time, he also was heavily influenced by the video game industry and took a strong liking to the Nintendo Entertainment System. He had a passion for art and music and had been conjuring up his own game designs since the NES made its first United States debut in 1985. With the help of AOL, he went online and began searching for other like-minded individuals wanting to try to make their own video game. In the process, he formed the company known as "Nuke Ware". He pursued a few different game designs under this company, and with the help of DarkSoft Entertainment, successfully co-published his first title, Empires: Quest for Power on the Excalibur BBS.
Not long after this, Kline graduated from Yankton High School and went off to college. He applied and was accepted into the Art Institute of Phoenix. He began pursuing the nation's first Bachelor of Arts in Game Art & Design. In college, Kline excelled in all subjects and made the Deans Honor Roll.
During his early college years, Kline joined his first official band, "Universal Tongue". Kline toured the local bar scenes with them performing lead / rhythm guitar on original and popular cover songs. Kline's involvement with the band lasted about a year. Shortly after Kline left, the band began falling apart and is now non existent.
Towards the final year of college, Kline realized he would need to create a website for his online portfolio. He wanted the address to be memorable and make sense with the type of work he did. Since 3D art is made up of vertices at its core level, and this is what he spends his time manipulating every day, Kline thought it would be catchy to call himself "VertexGuy". Kline usually lumps the two words together to match his website address (www.vertexguy.com), but can often be found referenced as "the vertex guy", "vertex guy", "vertex" or "vert". He prefers treating the title as one word because it is unique enough to make him instantly easy to find in any search engine.
After graduating from college in 2002, Kline moved to Prescott, Arizona to be with his girlfriend, Trina Noelle Cowin, who would soon become his wife. During this time, Kline worked on his art portfolio and began applying to game studios across the United States. Knowing he needed a job to get married, Kline jumped on the first major opportunity that came his way. This came in the form of a job offer from FarSight Studios.
During his time at FarSight Studios, Kline quickly adapted and assumed a natural leadership role, taking on a great deal of responsibility. In addition to creating artwork for all the games the studio worked on, he also became the studio's Audio Director. He created all the sound effects for the studio's game line up and also wrote a few music scores.
In 2005, Kline joined www.MusicianWar.com and began posting original compositions in friendly music competition. This site fe
Vertexguy