Interview with merritt k for MEL Magazine
merritt k kindly interviewed me for MEL Magazine, a publication which covers culture "from a male point of view" but also seems to employ a fair amount of not-men? Anyway, the discussion mostly focused...
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GDC 2018: How To Light A Level, slides and transcript
This post is aimed at beginner / intermediate designers. It's a summary of the talk I gave at the GDC 2018 Level Design Workshop with David Shaver for the "Invisible Intuition" double-feature session....
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A call for video game neorealism
Bicycle Thieves (1948)This is adapted from a spur-of-the-moment Lost Levels 2018 talk.In video games, we understand realism as meaning photorealism: a hyper-real commercial aesthetic that's cynically...
View ArticleAmerican Choppers debate the arches in a sewer level from Half-Life 2
This happened last night. I'm so so sorry.âĦï¸I unrolled the full thread for the âHalf-Life 2 arch debateâ so it's easier to follow along... also, I'm definitely Paul Sr, just...
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"Sex and Drugs and Video Games" at Nordic Game Jam 2018 - Friday, April 13th...
This weekend I'll be in Copenhagen to speak during the opening program of the 2018 Nordic Game Jam on Friday, April 13th. The talk is called "Sex and Drugs and Video Games"... it's intended mostly as...
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On "Marathon" as an almighty whoosh
This post spoils my game Marathon.Marathon is a 0-99 hour game about the athletic endurance required to masturbate for very long durations. I only spent about 6 hours making the game at this year's...
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Advice for making a game design / game dev portfolio
After advising several game dev students on their portfolio websites, I realized I was basically giving the same advice and pointing out the same kinds of issues, and maybe I should write about it. So...
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A MAZE 2018 after-action report
This year I attended A MAZE 2018 in Berlin. It's still probably one of the best video game events in the world; it happens in one of the coolest places in one of the coolest cities around. In the day,...
View ArticleWhat is the game university for?
I did not go to game design school -- not that I had a choice, since only a handful of game design programs existed when I attended college. Like many in the industry, I'm "self-taught" -- which is to...
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Dreamhouse process diary and prototyping notes + a better retro 3D low...
In collaboration with local NYC-area arcade collective Death by Audio Arcade, me and several other gay / queer artists are making small games for an event at a Brooklyn queer arts space called...
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new interview: Tone Control with Steve Gaynor, Episode 26
At GDC 2018, me and Steve Gaynor sat in an empty rehearsal room and nerded out about level design and stuff for nearly two hours. Not only that, but it was also recorded for his developer-focused...
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Radiator does Australia, Summer 2018 tour (but, like, Winter in Australia...
People of Australia! Now hear this!The kind generous people at Bar SK and the notorious Doug Wilson of RMIT Games, in partnership with National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) and Australian Center for the...
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So you want to try playing Thief 1
I've been streaming some Thief 1 for the past month, which has gotten some people interested in trying the game for themselves. You definitely should, especially if you like eclectic first person...
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Games as Research symposium, after-action report
A month ago I attended a one-day Games As Research symposium, hosted by TAG at Concordia University and organized by Rilla Khaled and Pippin Barr. If you want my rawest thoughts, here's my live tweet...
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On the indie story RPG's use of "encounter-space" and Fortune-499
This post spoils some gameplay systems / moments in Fortune-499 and its general themes, but none of the specific plot events.I just finished playing Fortune-499, a short stylish story RPG replete with...
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Remastering Rinse and Repeat
Rinse and Repeat remastered, for Radiator 3 (2018)Rinse and Repeat (2015)I'm nearing the end of the remaster process for my shower game Rinse and Repeat, as part of a future re-release planned for late...
View ArticleWhy I'm not super excited about Valve's new Steam policy
In case you haven't heard: Valve recently announced it won't attempt to moderate the content on Steam anymore except when legally required to, or when it's "obvious trolling", whatever that is.On the...
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PRACTICE 2018, June 21-23 in New York City
Hey all, just a quick reminder about PRACTICE 2018, a yearly eclectic game design conference put on by my employers and colleagues at NYU Game Center. It's happening very soon, during this coming...
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Dream Hard as queer brawler defense
This post spoils the gameplay and ending of my game Dream Hard.In collaboration with local arcade collective Death by Audio Arcade, me and several other gay / queer artists made games for a Brooklyn...
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The DreamboxXx Bundle
Me and my collaborators on The DreamboxXx project (the commission for my recent game Dream Hard) have launched a queer arcade bundle. In the tradition of past social justice oriented game bundles like...
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