Tommy Hall ’22 had to miss a few days of school, but he couldn’t tell his teachers why. Telling them would have meant violating the terms of his nondisclosure agreement with Verizon, which had hired Tommy and his two partners to create a SuperBowl map within Fortnite that advertises Verizon’s 5G network. He was missing school to fly to Tampa Bay and visit Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and host to this year’s SuperBowl. Thankfully, Tommy’s teachers knew he was good for the homework, and off he went to spend two days working in Florida.
Tommy, also known as Pimit, began programming in Minecraft years ago, and leaped to Fortnite Creative when it released in December 2018. He met his partners in an online community of Fortnite Creative builders, working with one starting in early 2020 and founding Beyond Creative with a third in November of this past year. Their company helps businesses by creating unique experiences in Fortnite through games and themes. They’ve already done several big projects, so they were ready when Verizon called and requested a recreation of the Super Bowl experience for fans who could not attend in person.
Starting on February 1 and continuing through February 9, Beyond Creative’s Verizon 5G Stadium is featured as the welcome hub for anyone playing Fortnite Creative. Tommy’s team also created five minigames, including a box fight and a free roam version of the stadium with a scavenger hunt. National Football League players and Fortnite celebrities have already enjoyed head-to-head competition in the minigames.
Tommy’s parents, Liz and Rick ’89, are very supportive, even when they’re not entirely sure what their son is up to. Liz said, “He never told us he was on multiple zoom calls with the NFL and Verizon. During the calls, they would get feedback and direction on the project. I am sure there have been many times when I have been yelling for him to come to dinner and he’s had to mute his microphone to tell me, ‘one minute!’” They explained that Tommy’s business skills are as impressive as his mechanical skills in Fortnite, and that Beyond Creative had to bid on this project (and others) and negotiate terms.
Tommy credits his MICDS experience with giving him the tools to succeed. He said, “A lot of what I do is not in Fortnite; it’s creating proposals and writing for clients. MICDS has prepared me for this through presentations and writing assignments. I never realized what a strong writer school had made me until I saw writing from other creators and clients, which helped me appreciate the advantage MICDS has given me. School has also prepared me for having a lot of work, and getting that work done on a short timeline.”
Within the team, Pimit’s role is specific: “My partners design what the map (the world players play in) looks like. I sometimes help with that, but for the most part what I do can’t be seen. I essentially make the map playable and fun. They build something that looks cool, and I program something for the players to do (like a minigame).” It took Beyond Creative a little over a month to build the Super Bowl stadium experience.
Verizon is clearly thrilled with the work of Tommy’s team. The company is touting it as “The largest Fortnite activation ever built in creative mode for fans to come together, celebrate and compete,” and the project has already garnered mainstream media coverage.
Juggling a company and the demands of school requires a lot of time management, which Tommy clearly excels at. His favorite class, not surprisingly, is computer programming.
The MICDS community is proud to support Tommy and the work he does off campus. Travis Menghini is Tommy’s computer science teacher. He’s known Tommy since Pimit was in 8th grade and participated in a coding class after school. “He stuck out among his peers,” Menghini said. “He’s an incredibly bright student. He took what we learned in class and extended it to create a game far advanced for what he should have been able to do at that age.” Tommy created a spaceship game based on the old Oregon Trail computer game. Menghini had no idea Tommy was working on this massive project for Verizon, but he wasn’t surprised. “He’s a pretty shy and reserved kid, but he’s not afraid to reach out to others and do great things.” And of course, Tommy got his homework done and turned in on time.
Head of Upper School Scott Small said, “This is so awesome! I have played a total of thirty minutes of Fortnite with my daughter, but may give it another try just to see Tommy’s handiwork in its native space!” College Counselor Karen Wildman said, “Wow! This is amazing. All of his hard work really paid off. I can’t wait to hear all about the process—perhaps I’ll have to come back to Fortnite to play in Tommy’s stadium!”
Tommy’s pragmatic approach to managing school and work is mirrored in his choice of screen name. Where did “Pimit” come from? “I get asked this a lot and I don’t have an exciting answer. I wanted a short and easy to spell name so that I was easy to find online, and that’s what I came up with. It has no secret meaning.” His advice to younger students interested in following his path is equally clear: “To have any sort of career in gaming (YouTuber, pro player, designer), you need to be willing to put in a lot of time. It can take a while to get recognized but if you’re consistent and don’t quit, it will happen eventually.”
Want to see more of Tommy’s amazing work? Check out his YouTube channel. He can also be found on Twitter @Pimit8.