Blog

  • Criticism

    “If you’re not your own worst critic, you’re probably not very good.” This is a quote I’ve told people about for years. But in all honesty it’s always been more of a reminder to myself more than anything. A reminder that perfection in the hearts of creators is unattainable, including myself, but that’s the point.…

  • The 7 Principles of Illusion (And How They Apply to Narrative Design)

    Who doesn’t love magic? Some have called this art of illusion simply a method of tricking an audience into believing something that isn’t real, which sounds similar to the goal of immersing a player base into the world of an interactive game. So when I saw this video from Wired of magician David Kwong going…

  • There’s A Knock At The Door

    Imagine you’re sitting in your home, doing something casual, you’re not using much effort or thought. Then there’s a knock at the door. Who’s knocking at your door?What do you do?How does it make you feel? You’re immediate answer might be something like— “I don’t know, who is it?” —and that’s a totally acceptable and…

  • Morning Power Cycle 003 – Are Mech Games Even A Genre?

    It’s a good question really. If I were to list the first 5 mech games that came to my mind they would span across several known genres of games, from first person shooters to turn-based role playing games. So can mechs really be called a genre in the first place if it can be applied…

  • Morning Power Cycle 002 – Why Aren’t Mech Games More Popular?

    It is interesting, isn’t it? It feels like mech games should fall into similar categories as Call of Duty, or at the very least World of Tanks. But generally speaking while some mech games find relative success (Armored Core 6) most are considered niche hits at best. But why is that? Mech Games Tend To…

  • Morning Power Cycle 001 – What Makes a Mech Game a Mech Game?

    I love mech video games. I have since I played Armored Core for the first time at a friend of a friend’s house back in high school. Sometimes I try to pinpoint what exactly it is about mech games that draws me to them, but the truth is I don’t think it’s one thing. Maybe…

  • Stuck In A Loop? Try This.

    I feel like some of the great “do-ers” in the world are authors of fiction novels. To give oneself an assignment of writing at least a few hundred pages of (hopefully compelling) content of one’s own creation in a timely manner seems like it wouldn’t just take a creative muscle, but also some self-discipline I’m…

  • The Best Music Gear You Can Buy In 2025

    …is not going to improve your musicianship, your skills as a recording engineer, or for the most part, improve your passion for music. Standard Rules Apply I’m a gear head. I have had a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome or G.A.S. since I bought my first guitar pedal at Guitar Center when I was…

  • Listen Up – 2025.01.04

    The post December music environment always feels a bit like coming out of some drug induced haze where the sound of jingle bells is still ringing in your ears. While there can be a few new entries into the Christmas music pop culture canon, it tends to remain untouched and recycled each year. But once…

  • The Hypothetical Cost Of A Hypothetical Game

    As of the writing of this blog post we all live in a hyper-connected world by comparison of when commercially available (and viable) games started to be produced (1980s or so). I recently read an article that briefly mentioned how starting a game development studio in the 90s was a relatively simple endeavor, as well…

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