Why "Vibe Coding" Can't Teach Game Architecture and Design
When students bypass the friction of building basic mechanics from scratch, they miss out on the mental models required to diagnose why two systems are fighting over the same variable.
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#GAME DESIGN
[ 34 ARTICLES ]
Stop Building Games. Start Building a Skills Inventory
Why first-time developers and game design students fail when chasing massive open-world pitches, and how building an inventory of modular, shippable micro-prototypes creates lasting momentum.
Why Game and Product Designs Live or Die on Paper
Flowcharts and pseudocode help kickstart your designs.They give you a fast, low-friction way to test your logic before writing your first line of code.
The Hidden Cost of "Free": Navigating the Shift in Coding Platforms
If you are teaching middle schoolers, you are operating in a minefield where "EdTech" collides with "Ad-Tech." Here is why it’s time to modernize your toolkit.
Beyond "Game Dev" - Why Game Engines Are the New Universal Design Tool
Platforms like Unreal Engine and Unity are more than just "game engines." They are powerful real-time 3D simulation engines, and they're quietly becoming foundational across a shocking number of industries.
The Fascinating World of Zero-Player Games
In a world obsessed with interactivity, zero-player games remind us that sometimes, the most compelling experiences come from stepping back and simply watching a world unfold on its own.
The Ethics of Using AI in Game Development: Art, Code, and Beyond
AI is transforming game development with faster workflows, ethical concerns, and creative collaboration opportunities for artists, programmers, and storytellers alike.
My Time in Tiny Glade
Tiny Glade is a delightful game that doubles as an introduction to 3D modeling, spatial visualization, and design aesthetics.
EVE Frontier: A Visionary Leap?
EVE Frontier combines blockchain, player-driven economies, and innovative gameplay. Is this the savior of Web3 games and the future of MMOs?
What Exactly Is Ray Tracing?
Discover what ray tracing is and why it's revolutionizing computer graphics. Learn how this cutting-edge technology creates stunningly realistic lighting, shadows, and reflections in games, movies, and more.
Exploring Games with Awesome APIs: Unlocking Creativity and Innovation
Explore top game APIs from Blizzard Battle.net, Steam, and EVE Online. Create companion apps, detailed analytics, and enhance your gaming experience.
Game of Life
John Conway's Game of Life raised some interesting philosophical issues about the nature of patterns, emergent behavior, and AI.
Game Sequel Concept Activity - KISS Rise of the Avatars
Embark on a thrilling journey in KISS: Rise of the Avatars, the electrifying sequel to the acclaimed KISS: Psycho Circus - The Nightmare Child
Unleashing the Power of Unreal Engine in STEM Education: The Magic of Rube Goldberg Machines
The Rube Goldberg Machines' Unreal Learning Kit exemplifies Unreal Engine's potential to revolutionize STEM education. It underscores Epic's dedication to providing captivating and memorable learning experiences with Unreal Engine.
My First Visual Novel: A Journey with Twine and AI
I've just completed my first visual novel, and the journey was as exciting as the story itself. The stars of this journey? An open-source platform called Twine, and my trusty AI design assistants.
Rapid Prototyping
"Fail early, fail often, but always fail forward." Welcome to the dynamic world of rapid prototyping for game design!
What is the Difference Between UX and UI?
There are many similarities between user experience and user interface design, but there are also some crucial differences.
Teaching with Fortnite Creative
What better way to teach students the STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) curriculum than using things they already know and love like Fortnite, Minecraft, Legos, etc.?
"Angie's Place" Official Release
The public release of "Angie’s Place," my game submission for the Core 2.0 Invitational hosted by Manticore games, is now available to play for free.
Behind the Scenes at "Angie's Place"
Angie's Place is my game submission for the Core 2.0 Invitational hosted by Manticore games. You can play it here (requires the free Core client)....
Testing Your Game
This handy checklist from the folks at Mantacore Games shows you everything you need to check for before publishing a game.
Core Invitational
I am honored and humbled to have been one of only 50 developers around the world to be invited to the Core Invitational. This game development contest runs from August 12 to September 13 and includes a whopping $140,000 in prizes (including a Tesla Model 3)!
dy5topia
dy5topia is my submission for "DYSTOPIAN WORLDS: a deadmau5 x Core Collab Jam." The jam objective was to create a dystopian world using Core.
Fortuna!
Fortuna! is an original composition and the title song for the (imaginary) game, Return to Treasure Island.
J.P. Winkle's Jungle Hunt!
J.P. Winkle's Jungle Hunt! is a 3D walking simulation / treasure hunt built in Unreal Engine and designed by Quadratic Games.
Epic MegaJam 2020 - "Until Death...?"
Until Death...? is a 3D platformer game that was submitted to the Epic MegaJam 2020.
White North: Crafting & Surviving in Unreal Engine
I've been working on a crafting and survival game for the past few weeks, with the working title of "White North."
Quick Review: Ultimate Icon Generator
Ultimate Icon Generator is a clever little tool for generating icons for 3D meshes in Unreal Engine.
Cat-Earth Society!
Cat-Earth Society (CES) was an award-winning submission to the 2019 Epic MegaJam. CES won the TINY AWARD for the best game that came in under 100MB. The original 5-member development team is expanding on CES and working towards a future commercial release! Be sure to join our Discord server for the latest updates on the game. If you haven't seen or played Cat-Earth Society, read on.
Drone Mountain!
Drone Mountain is a semi-realistic drone / quad-copter simulation built in Unreal Engine. A quad-copter is a multi-rotor helicopter that is lifted and propelled by four rotors. You can pilot your drone in an Arctic environment with a control scheme that is similar to what real-world drone pilots use. The game is free to download and play, and you can get it over at itch.io .
Character Creator
Before switching to Unreal Engine, I built this character editor in Unity using the visual scripting system Playmaker. You can try out a low-resolution WebGL build by clicking here .
Blast From the Past: ESPN, Blue Ribbon and Team Ratings
Fun article I wrote about college basketball rankings, Blue Ribbon, and ESPN from my days working on EA Sports' NCAA College Basketball.
Game Design Document (GDD) Template
This Game Design Document (GDD) template should work for most any kind of game on any kind of digital platform.
Fallingwater
The first playable "game" project I built (mostly) by myself is called Fallingwater. Check it out!