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Playtesting in the Bathroom
📰 News: I’m officially part of this year’s Zine Quest on Kickstarter! Next Friday, I’m launching a campaign for a new and very improved version of ALL-CARDS, a strategic storytelling game you play with trading cards you already own. I’ll be writing about my experience plussing up the game and running a Kickstarter throughout February.…
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Ghost in the Box
The Ghostbusters hold their ghosts into a Containment Unit. I, too, needed a container for my hologram ghost. Lucky for me, mine didn’t raise the ire of the EPA. The Unity project was in good shape. Video of myself as a ghost played as expected. My voice commands were being read properly by the game.…
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A More Efficient Ghost Communicator
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to program well, but my experience in Unity is helping me think more like a programmer. The hallmark of good programming is efficiency. It’s one thing to write a program that works, but it’s better to write a program that works and uses minimal system resources, thanks…
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I Already Got My Hoverboard
When I tell people I’m working on a voice-controlled hologram ghost, the most common response I get is a bewildered, “Cool!” I admit, it’s a pretty esoteric project, even by my standards. So why has this hologram ghost idea haunted me for many years? Is it a childhood thing? You better believe it’s a childhood…
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The Ghost of Projects Past
I have been haunted by the ghost of a game idea for four years. In Big Magic, one of my favorite books, author Elizabeth Gilbert describes creative ideas as ghosts that inhabit us temporarily. We can choose to act and bring those ghosts to life as movies, games, or Skibidi Toilets. Or we can ignore…
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The 2025 Media That Inspired Me
🎄 This is my last post for 2025. Happy Holidays! See you in your inbox in two weeks for an entirely new year. Tis the season for “Best of the Year” lists. There are 2025 lists for the best movies, video games, and albums. (People still listen to entire albums, right? Just me?!) But declaring…
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Defend Your Back Catalog
I love when a performer responds forcefully to a booing crowd. Whether it’s a floundering politician, a wrestling heel, or Jason Mantzoukas telling a crowd of millennials that Space Jam is bad actually. A few weeks ago, I experienced this phenomenon live and it was inspirational. Amanda and I love the band Ginger Root. The…
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The Results of My Fun Audit
Before the break, I gave myself a Fun Audit. No need to help, IRS. I’ve got this. As described in the book The Power of Fun by Catherine Price, in a Fun Audit you write down events that happened to you and see if they contained the three elements of True Fun: Playfulness, Connection, and…
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My Yearly Fun Audit
🦃 Note: No newsletter next week. I’ll be back in your inbox the following Friday. Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble to you and yours. The tagline of this newsletter is “making games can be as fun as playing games.” But what is “fun?” How do you define it? How can making games be as fun as…
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The Four Types of Artists
I’m not a big astrology guy. I like being a Leo, because cats are awesome, but I don’t honestly believe the month I was born had a significant effect on my personality. I never got into Harry Potter, so I don’t know which “house” I belong in. Based on conversations I’ve had about Harry Potter,…



