You have just landed on the homepage of Markus Aurala.
Without further ado, a few facts about me:
I am a mobile enthusiast. I used to have a mobile phone in every pocket, but now I’m quite happy with only one and, yes, it’s an Apple product. I keep test driving new applications and services all the time, sometimes even developing something small by myself.
At work I am called “Head of Games”. I get paid for managing people, processes and projects in a company that operates Internet and land/ship based casinos. We develop our own platform, site and games (most of them) internally applying more and more agile and lean thinking in everything we do. It keeps people like me busy learning new tricks, inspecting and adapting day after day.
I enjoy reading books. I rediscovered my love for books when I moved to Siuntio and started spending 1.5 hours on a train per day. I try not to limit myself to any single topic.
I love travelling. Currently my travelling is being somewhat limited by two small kids but I have travelled a lot all around the world, for business and pleasure. My all-time favourite destinations are China, Thailand, London, (Northern) California and the neighboring states. Las Vegas has always a special place in my heart as I was married there (by Elvis himself, of course) in June 2004. My next big plans in this area are to take a train from Helsinki to Shanghai or to do an ultimate RV road trip across USA.
I take a lot of photographs. I have taken thousands and thousands of digital photographs. My pictures are maybe not all masterpieces but some I have dared to put online (see the links on the right side). I hardly ever leave the home without my cameras. For specific reasons, like underwater photography, I have special gear.
I am an avid gamer. But besides playing games, I spend a lot of time following the games industry. One of my biggest dreams has always been to set up a game studio and in my current position I have come pretty close to that. I enjoy everything from strategy games (both real-time and turn-based) to puzzles or first person shooters. My kids are avid gamers, too. Occasionally I spend some time playing some Kinect or Wii games with them, but mostly they enjoy iOS games on their own.
If you want to be in touch with me (no special reason required), here is my contact information:
Mail
Säästöpankintie 23
02580 Siuntio
Finland
E-mail
markus . aurala (at) gmail . com
Phone
+358445800173