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A little goes a long way
Now games can have near infinite polygon counts, but in the late 90s 3D was exciting and new. We had a polygon limit of 5k per level. In a game that is about smashing into, and blowing up, as many things as you can, we got very creative.
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Fan Focused
Everytime an artist would give a chicken bloodsplatter or rust on a tractor, I would put a "5" on the whiteboard by their desk. The game was for 5-year-olds, they are the client. Please, don't kill the chickens.
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The 80/20 rule
My team was tasked with creating ~10k mini-games in 6 months. I had to invent an API that let creators be creative while adhearing to a tight rule set. Ooof. Find a way to remove the most repetitive obstacles first. Let unicorns be unique.
Games are for everyone
Make Fun More Fun
I'm passionate about gamification, toyatic experiences, and how people play.
Innovating on Play
Technology changes, players migrate, you need you need an experienced innovator.
Making games since the 3rd grade.
I started making games to learn coding languages and coded my way to a Technical Emmy® Nomination.
I also produced games for Mattel, DreamWorks, and a plethora of major online campaigns, big brands, and as an innovator I've made game 3D engines fit in 40kb packages and built AR experiences way back in 2009. In 2021 I was asked to join a company that focused on digital toys. The future of gaming is an amazing space.
Who wants this?
How well do we know our audience? Are we running on assumptions, or do we know?I am very pro-analytics, and I want to make sure whatever efforts we endorse are going to provide the absolute best odds of the returns we desire.
My dad had a fridge magnet that said, "'Tis better to tease a momma bear, robbed of her cubs, then to help a fool on his errand."
What will they expect?
Devices have a learned game-play language, use it.Each time I've worked at a place that snubbed the norm, the project was a flop. It feels great to be on the cutting edge, but if you are on the center page, put down the scissors.
John Carpenter saw 2 VFX guys argue over an effect. He told them to go to a Blockbuster, where they would see a wall of movies just like this movie, and one of those movies would have a similar effect. Just do what they did.
How do we like it?
Get those WOWs, each one is a trophy.The best part of game development is seeing a new mechanic work. I like short sprints and quick tangents and explorations. Keeping the pace fast, while allowing for fresh ideas to pop up is a great way to put real love into any product.
The Emperor's New Groove didn't have a script. If a joke made them laugh, it went into the movie. Games need to be fun the whole way through while they are being forged. With any artform, the love you put in is what people will react to.
What can we make better?
Post-mortems are the most important part of the deveopment cycle, and the least enforced.If your team isn't comfortable calling out their wins, you will never hear about their losses. Failure is such an important part of making something great. But not quite as important as a culture where teams can be frank about their work and bosses can be recptive to criticism.
I don't really have a witticism for this. I guess, "don't be a dick?"
If you've read this far--you've earned that giggle.
Yeah, I worked on Shrek.
This is probably one of the most HATED games of all time, but the story is pretty great. James Host did a lot with very, very little.
Stranger Adventures
My first time crafting a cross-functional team and implimenting mentor-mentee style managment. Start-ups force you to be brave.
Limits make you clever
The rich-media hell of the early 2010s made making games fit into a 40kb package a challenge. I shoved a 3D game engine in there.
Brands love to play
I know everyone is hot for AAA titles, but start-up and service-side work can give you surprising flexability. I did a game for Avatar?
My 4 Creative Tenants
For OnChain Studios, I wanted to create a framework that all creative development could live within. If the feature didn’t fit within the box, it would need to find another place to live.
01.Creative
Customizable and Personal:
Players need to feel ownership
02.Fun
The games feel fun:
There is a sense of exploration
03.Friendship
We can play with our friends:
Only play with the mean people we like
04.Rewarding
Rewards are true, valuable, real:
( powerup > boss > powerup > boss) loop = bad
Me Being Old for a Minute