Category Archives: Design

Thoughts on Game, and other forms of Design

Z is for Zombie

Posted on October 31, 2016 by jacob

It’s Halloween, and that means zombies! Or, at least symbolic representation of zombies using ASCII! Explore! Escape! And experience the true terror of the letter Z! I made this game because I love old-school ASCII roguelikes, but know too many … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Games, Public | 3 Comments

Generating Documentation using Sphinx

Posted on October 29, 2014 by jacob

Recently I’ve been working on a python project and decided to use the highly-praised Sphinx package to generate useful and beautiful documentation for it. Unfortunately I found Sphinx’s own documentation to be a somewhat lacking – which is kind of … Continue reading →

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Three Kings

Posted on February 4, 2014 by jacob

  I made Three Kings for the 2013 Holiday Game Jam by Glitch City. It’s an interactive exploration of one of my favorite Christmas carols: “We Three Kings of Orient Are.” I’ve worked on it since then, cleaning up the … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Games | 1 Comment

Psychology Books for Game Designers

Posted on January 3, 2014 by jacob

A few months ago I saw a question on reddit (in the /r/gamedesign subreddit) asking about useful books on psychology for game designers. At the time I had just finished a book on Jung and had been thinking a lot … Continue reading →

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Jordan

Posted on April 2, 2011 by jacob

Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve been inspired by stories of american slaves escaping north through the Underground Railroad. I built this game prototype to see how these stories could play out in an interactive experience. The build … Continue reading →

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Monster

Posted on February 2, 2011 by jacob

I’ve always been fascinated by simple pleasure found in physical play where the rules are enforced socially rather than mechanically. My kids have given me plenty of opportunities to experience this. This game is an experiment to see if rules … Continue reading →

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Squirrel Fight

Posted on January 2, 2010 by jacob

I made Squirrel Fight for a one-button game competition in 2009. The idea for it hit me as I was riding my bike home one day and by that evening I had my first prototype. It’s an RTS game – … Continue reading →

Posted in Design, Games | 2 Comments

Water Cooler

Posted on October 3, 2009 by jacob

This one requires some explanation. In 2009 I was a new graduate student in the Interactive Media program at USC (now the Interactive Media and Games program). One night during our weekly seminar, Scott Fisher – head of the program … Continue reading →

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