Despite this blog post’s lofty title, I’m not a game designer. I am, however, attempting to become one, pretty much from scratch (spot the noob programming joke!).
I’m currently taking Future Learn’s programming course, which is a mostly useful but very peculiarly structured introductory course. I suspect I’ll end up learning more by working my way through Unity tutorials, in the long run. (more…)
I’m currently dipping two tentative toes into the murky waters of programming. Games programming, to be precise. I suspect games programming is quite a bit like normal programming but with more guns at the end.
That image above is from a game called Schism which I’m currently writing, based in the IAT Arms Race universe. It’s created using Twine, an engine specifically designed for writing Choose Your Own Adventure-style games. (more…)
I recently sent some advice to a friend who is looking to start an online audio drama series. He pointed out that the tips might be of interest to others in a similar situation.
Most of my advice focused around the Arms Race series created by It’s A Trap, of which I am a part.
Arms Race succeeded and found an audience due to a mix of things: (more…)
After over a year of work, It’s A Trap have released episode 1 of Arms Race: Escalation! It’s been a hugely challenging and lengthy project to work on and I’m thrilled to see it finally out the door and into the wild. It’s a fun romp and well worth a Read more…
When I say ‘render farm’, I do of course mean my one and only computer. So while it valiantly chugs through the rendering of VFX shots for Arms Race I’m left unable to use it for much else.
So, here I am on my S3 finding out just how painful it is to type a blog post on my mobile phone. As it turns out, the combination of the S3’s absurdly massive screen and the stunning SwiftKey keyboard makes it rather pleasant and easy. This is the first time typing on a portable device hasn’t irritated me. It’s almost productive! (more…)
Arms Race is, at last, finished. I thought it was finished on Sunday evening, then made the mistake of showing it to Swiss filmmaker Marco Von Moos, who proceeded to point out a number of areas in the cut that could be considerably tightened. Annoyingly, he was absolutely correct. Thus Read more…
I thought I’d put it up a good while ago but it would seem I did not, so you can now find a new short story by the name of It’s A Dirty Job on the short stories page. It was written for a competition in which it didn’t get Read more…
Steamtech short film Arms Race is finally nearing completion, with the first pass at the grading having been completed pending some tests on different monitor setups (such is life when you can’t afford a properly calibrated setup). All the VFX shots are in, after what seemed like a bit of Read more…
Other than a marvelous week’s holiday to Northumberland in August (which I can actually call research, given that Of Rock And Earth is set in the same region) I’ve had a busy month-or-two. The main occupation of my time has been my dad’s book, a biography of explorer Dr Reginald Read more…
I’ve begun work editing Arms Race, the steampunk period peace set during an alternative Crimean War directed by my friend Nigel Clegg. We shot it last summer out in the wilds of Norfolk. So far it’s being kept under wraps, so that we don’t spoil the nifty set, costumes and Read more…