SECRET ZONE

Back in 2020 I became involved with The Playability Initiative.  Here is an excerpt from my interview : "I have been a fan of Numinous Games and Ryan and Amy Green ever since I attended the 2017 CGDC Portland game developer conference  ...  More recently, I assisted Matthew Colon with the CGDC 2020 Virtual conference where Ryan and Amy conducted the session 'Designing For The One' and introduced the Playability Initiative.  Both of these experiences, along with having many students and friends over the years with varying levels of disabilities,  fanned into flames my desire to do something to raise awareness and do something personally. I also teach introductory game design at the high school level and typically run a game jam on itch.io twice a year using themes I hope appeal to that age group.  ...  All of this seemed to come together at the right time and materialize into the One Button Game Jam."   
My One Button Jams: 2020, 2022, 2023

AGENTS OF ASTERISK was a complex Alternate Reality Game (ARG) that I developed alongside Thomas Lafferty from Heroic Academy. Our goal was to create an engaging experience during the COVID pandemic that not only distracted students but also empowered them to make a positive impact in the world. Additionally, we aimed to provide a valuable Rite of Passage opportunity. The game was a larger-scale follow-up to a successful smaller version called "Midnight Crew," which had concluded with several students eager for its continuation. However, we made the expanded version too realistic. While students enjoyed the game initially, the turning point came when they were invited by our fictional undercover police task force to assist in taking down a criminal network. At that stage, many withdrew, fearing they would actually have to inform on fellow classmates. 

COMPANION CUB  (a subtle nod to the Companion Cube) marks the first time a producer believed in my project so strongly that they offered their services for free. Jeff Spicer, now a dear friend, supported the project, and although I've temporarily put COMPANION CUB on hold, I'm excited to back Jeff in his unique vision for a game studio. He took SKWARE WARS, a game we rapidly prototyped in under two months using GDevelop, to Gamescom 2024. COMPANION CUB  centers around a companion robot that, upon activation, begins to imprint on the user, learning their strengths and weaknesses through embedded OCEAN and Dark Triad assessments. Its goal is to create personalized experiences that help the user grow. If successful, the robot earns badges, fulfilling its purpose.

While the iconic Magic 8 ball answers questions, the Melloball is an almost sentient anti-stress app designed as an anti-anxiety oracle. Clicking its mouth generates one of 16 carefully researched calming phrases, while clicking the colored globes produces over 16,000 unique, soothing ambient sound combinations. The individual I originally recruited for the vocal work battles with severe anxiety, making their contribution especially meaningful to the project. 

JEN was born horribly disfigured, sold to the circus, and mocked by the world. She came into a time when humanity was eager to abandon the past and charge blindly into a new frontier, where competing philosophies clashed, and the promises of science were filled with both hope and dread. JEN is a comic book I created with multiple goals in mind. First, I wanted to start a conversation about society's unrealistic body image expectations for women and the pervasive issue of bullying. Second, I aimed to use the comic to promote a class-wide comic anthology, with the goal of seeing it published.  

APPEARANCES is a social impact game designed to expose prejudices and encourage redemption, where players must choose future leaders for their colony based solely on appearance. The concept originated as a peace-building video game collaboration with Or-Tal Kiriati from Tel Aviv, called Humanity's Face. Unfortunately, her project was halted when her contracted coder abandoned the effort. To support her vision, I created a similar concept, taking it to an entirely new level. I also adapted it into a card game—if you're interested in trying it out, be warned, it's quite provocative.

ARBITR is a fun social impact game designed to promote peaceful resolutions to potentially inflammatory situations. Think of it as a more provocative version of Apples to Apples—similar to Cards Against Humanity, but with a positive twist. If you'd like to try it out, here’s a link to the Print & Play PDFs for you to enjoy with friends. As you can see from the low-quality video, my students had a great time playing it!

DADNASIUM was an exciting collaboration with Ricardo Salcedo from New Jersey. His dedication to helping new fathers become the best parents they can be led him to become both a content creator and service provider. Developing a companion game to support his initial launch was a deeply rewarding experience for me.

MXRKED - A Skin Cancer Awareness Game was my first and only project with a team of over a dozen international graduate students, who used the game as a supporting component for a thesis paper. Little did I know that a few years later, I would be diagnosed with melanoma on the back of my neck, which required three separate procedures over several nerve-wracking months before I received confirmation that the margins were clear.

SPARE CHANGE - a homelessness support & awareness with South African artist Pienette Coetze—was my first official collaboration with an international graphic artist in the field of game design. This experience has inspired me to continually seek partnerships with organizations dedicated to helping the homeless, such as Kaleidoscope Community Services. In my own small neighborhood, there are currently eight trailers occupied on the street. Many individuals are just a paycheck away from experiencing homelessness.

TAU-ALEPH is my quirky spiritual passion project that refuses to fade away. I originally started this game—then titled O-A for Omega-Alpha—back in the mid-90s using the Pie-In-The-Sky 3D Game Creation System and scanned Claymation-style assets. I completed about 90% of the project, but the global shift from DOS to Windows ultimately derailed it. I later restarted the project as a 2D "hand drawn" style remake using Clickteam Fusion, once again reaching about 90% completion. Now, I plan to finish it using GDevelop. TAU-ALEPH is an unfinished pre-demo game with distinct spiritual undertones and unapologetic parallels to biblical events. The protagonist, who faces relentless bullying, finds solace in his "hallucinations," which transport him to an alternate universe where he becomes a reluctant hero.