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  • I’m a Union Man
    I love the feeling of winning, but I’m not very good at celebrating my wins. When I hit a major milestone in my career or get a big opportunity, I tell my wife, maybe my mom, and that’s usually it. Someone might email me about it and I’ll politely thank them, then quickly divert the conversation to VHS board games – a conversation where everybody wins. Something about winning makes me weirdly shy. I think… Read more: I’m a Union Man
  • What Is The Human?
    Two weeks ago, I wrote about completing my first game in Unity as part of my studio’s one week game jam. Since then, I’ve made little progress with Unity. In fact, I absent-mindedly updated the Playmaker plugin and I think I destroyed an entire build? I’m kind of too afraid to look?? 😓 However, I was kind of not afraid to ask my boss if I could share my jam game with you. Technically, Erik… Read more: What Is The Human?
  • Mystery vs. Mastery
    When it comes to making games, I like to think of myself as a mountain climber. Not literally, though! No surly goats, freezing temperatures, or risk of falling hundreds of feet to my doom, thank you very much. I climb the figurative mountains that are creative projects. When something inspires me – usually media from my childhood, a particular game mechanic, or some combination of the two – then I set out to make my… Read more: Mystery vs. Mastery
  • NDA Jam
    I’m very lucky. I work at an indie game studio, Doborog. A few weeks ago, my boss said I could spend a whole week making whatever game I wanted, as part of a company-wide game jam. That’s never happened to me before. A boss telling me, “Go nuts for cash!” Years ago, I co-ran a publishing house. In theory, I could’ve spent a week working on any project I wanted, but I had too many… Read more: NDA Jam
  • Wanna Adopt a Ghost?
    In these cruel, compassionless times, we need less ghost busting and more ghost understanding. Think about Slimer. The little green guy was minding his own business, scarfing down hot dogs and destroying a rich man’s ballroom, something we all dream of doing. For this “crime,” Slimer was subjected to assault by a privately operated, wise-cracking police force that uses unregulated nuclear weapons to capture free ghosts and lock them up in a “containment unit, which… Read more: Wanna Adopt a Ghost?
  • Super Grateful
    Game jams are hard. Surviving a natural disaster is much harder. Last month, Gwen Katz, founder of Nightwell Games, somehow did both. Together we finished a game called Cocoanut Hotel for the public domain game jam, even after her house burned down. I wanted to know her story, so this is our interview. This is part three of a three part series. Read parts one and two, if you missed them. Standard Disclaimer: I edited… Read more: Super Grateful
  • Something to Feel Normal
    Last month, I made a game called Cocoanut Hotel with Nightwell Games founder Gwen Katz for the public domain game jam. Also last month, a little more significantly, we went through the LA wildfires. It was a harrowing experience for Gwen. I wanted to know her story, so this is our interview. When we last left Gwen, her and her partner Jason were leaving Panera as news of a “serious fire” was spreading fast. This… Read more: Something to Feel Normal
  • Burn, Panera, Burn
    Cocoanut Hotel was no ordinary jam game. We developed the game last month in Los Angeles, during the catastrophic wildfires that blazed through the city. More than 18,000 structures were destroyed. At least 29 people died. My phone blew up with text messages and the toxic air felt rough on my lungs, but my wife and I are otherwise fine. Unfortunately, my game development partner Gwen was not so fortunate. She’s okay health-wise, but she… Read more: Burn, Panera, Burn
  • 🥸 Play the First Marx Bros Video Game
    We did it! Hooray for Captain Spaulding us! After a month of hard work, some of it while on relaxication, Gwen Katz and I released Cocoanut Hotel, a wacky hotel management simulator based on The Cocoanuts (1929), the first film by The Marx Brothers. 🏨 Play Cocoanut Hotel! (It’s free!) After playing, if you have a moment, please take a super short 5 question player survey to let us know your thoughts. Game development and… Read more: 🥸 Play the First Marx Bros Video Game
  • 7 Underrated Public Domain Characters
    It’s been a long time since I’ve written a listicle! In the mid-aughts, listicles were how I earned a meager living as a writer. I would get hired by a website to be their internet culture guy, where I’d compile quickie, witty lists of memes and videos with titles like “10 Biggest Slip ‘n Slide Wipeouts” or “31 Pieces of Toast That Kind of Resemble Macklemore” for $10-$25 an article. All of this work is… Read more: 7 Underrated Public Domain Characters