I am an independent game developer from southern New Mexico. I earned undergraduate degrees in physics and classical studies before moving to Austin for graduate school. At The University of Texas, I helped develop an instrument to map the interior structure of pyramids by using naturally-occurring cosmic ray muons, tested acoustic sensors to detect ultra-high-energy neutrino interactions in salt domes, and finally I created a slow positron beam to study efficient positron moderation techniques. Eventually, I earned a doctorate in experimental atomic, molecular, and optical physics.
Also during graduate school, I was an associate instructor of physics, a staff comics artist for The Daily Texan, a video game developer, a storyboard artist, and a script writer. I joined another developer and physicist to start a game development company, and create Harrowing Adventures, a multiplayer interactive fiction game. I originally came to St. Edward's University, to teach physics while developing games on the side. But I met the director of my current program while showing my game at the Bob Bullock Museum and later transitioned to teaching video game development.
- Ph.D., Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, University of Texas at Austin, 2016
Dissertation: Toward higher-intensity positron beams : investigations in moderation efficiency and beam design - B.S. Physics, University of Texas at Arlington, 2005
- B.A. Classical Studies, University of Texas at Arlington, 2005
I am a creator who operates at the intersection of teaching and experimental independent game development. My primary medium for creation and expression is that of video game development, but I also work in board games, gamebooks, and related media. Working in media adjacent to video games allows me to hone my craft and improve as a developer on a shorter time scale than video game development allows for. When I choose a project, I try to pick one that can also supplement my classroom instruction.
Within the medium of my work, I have multiple foci, reflecting the diversity of efforts required to make a game. From a design and programming perspective, I am interested in developing systems that enhance gameplay and provide a greater variety and quality of interaction. As a storyteller, I am especially interested in how those systems interact with the narrative aspects of the game. Finally, I find much of my inspiration for the visual aspects of my work through constraints, and so I favor the simple aesthetics of black and white illustration, low-poly 3D, or pixel art.
Chirality
Chirality is a gamebook created for The Lindenbaum Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction 2024/2025 competition. In this work, I explore mechanics linked to the contest’s limitation of 100 entries.
Tenebrus
Tenebrus is a cooperative horror boardgame where the players are trapped in an ever-changing underground maze. I created the artwork and visual design elements for this soon-to-be-published board game.
Jupe
I was commissioned to create a black-and-white illustration for a story in the book Lone Wolf Anthology: Volume Two - Echoes of the Past. Jupe accompanies the short story “The Legend of Vynar Jupe” by Mark Baumann. It was published in March of 2025 by Holmgard Press.
“Sagebrush”
This game, which I'm referring to by the codename "Sagebrush", is currently in development. It's what I'm calling a modern retro old-school pixel art dungeon crawler roguelike-like. In it, you control a group of up to four characters ascending a tower. For the art style, I've returned to using the obsolete technique of creating all the art by hand in the same way it was done in the late 1980's. It was necessary then, but once games like Doom and Ultima: The Stygian Abyss came along, the technique of hand-creating pixel art for every environmental element in each perspective became prohibitively time-consuming. However, forcing myself to work within this constraint has revived an aesthetic that has is now only ever loosely approximated.
What Lies Beyond the Standing Stone
What Lies Beyond the Standing Stone is a fantasy/science fiction gamebook created and submitted for The Lindenbaum Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction 2023/2024 competition. In this work, I sought to explore a deeper connection between traditional narrative and game mechanics and to absolutely minimize the amount of state-tracking a player was forced to do.
Awakening Aboard the Anastasia
Awakening Aboard the Anastasia is a science fiction horror gamebook submitted for The Lindenbaum Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction 2022/2023 competition. The exploratory foci of this book hinge upon: 1) using novel presentations of standard interactive structures to influence the player’s experience, and 2) presenting multiple similar endings where the reward is not the outcome but how much the player learns about the internal mystery.
Happy Fun Activity Book
Happy Fun Activity Book is an experimental interactive fiction and puzzle gamebook submitted for The Lindenbaum Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction 2021/2022 competition. My foci when creating this work involved: 1) reducing player/character separation to a minimum, and 2) requiring players to violate rules and conventions of normal gamebook play in order to win.
Harrowing Adventures
A multiplayer interactive fiction video game created in Unity that was in development from 2016 to 2019.
Even Weirder Worlds
An extensive mod for the game, Weird Worlds: Return to Infinite Space, the sequel to Strange Adventures in Infinite Space.
Even Stranger Adventures in Infinite Space
An extensive mod for the 2002 game, Strange Adventures in Infinite Space.
- My Love Affair with the Lindenbaum Prize Competition: Embracing the Limitations of Physical Gamebooks, NarraScope, Philadelphia, PA, June 2025
- Leaning into the limitations of Physical Gamebooks, SWPACA 2025, Albuquerque, NM, February 19 2025
- Asteroids Meets Snake: Facing New Design Challenges When Mashing Up Old Video Games, SWPACA 2024, Albuquerque, NM, February 23 2024