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- What If… I Rebooted Adventure Snack?
One of my must-read comics growing up was What If…?, a showcase for the Marvel Universe’s most interesting butterfly effects. For example, “What If Doctor Doom Became a Hero?” or “What If Magneto Took Over the U.S.A.?” or “What If The Hulk Turned a Refreshing Lime Green?” (That last one features a rare team-up between Bruce Banner and the Kool-Aid Man to defeat Thirstmaster, who makes innocent people’s mouths uncomfortably dry just by staring at… Read more: What If… I Rebooted Adventure Snack? - Unsolved Mystery Game
I went to GDC to meet clients, learn from peers, and slap the butt of a giant cat. One of my favorite things to do at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco is play the games in the alt.ctrl.GDC booths. These are experimental games made with alternate controllers. Some of my favorites in past years include a game where you launch fish out of a toaster and a game where you swirl wine in… Read more: Unsolved Mystery Game - The Secret Game Developer Bar in Tokyo
Last week, I wrote about how joining the new game developers union gave me a sense of belonging to the game dev community. That feeling is somewhat new. As an artist, I generally feel like an outsider. A misfit. A rebel, but not a cool way. If I owned a leather jacket, there would be cartoon characters on it. Probably Duckman. I was the oddball in my high school who knew they wanted to be… Read more: The Secret Game Developer Bar in Tokyo - 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