I’m J. Kyle Pittman, professional and hobbyist game developer, and this is my blog. I used to have a blog at http://jkyle.baywords.com, but then Baywords apparently kicked the bucket, so that’s gone. And now I get to write another awkward introductory post. Yay!
Some history: I went to undergrad in Nebraska, where I majored in computer science and minored in mathematics and walking to class in below-freezing weather. After I graduated, I moved to Texas and attended the Guildhall. I got a master’s degree in game development and now I work at a local game company and also do hobby game development in my spare time.
Since early 2007, I’ve been writing a game engine from scratch. Dubbed the “NERD Game Engine” (where “NERD” stands for “NERD Exhibits Recursive Definition”), it is written in C++ and utilizes Direct3D 9. With the exception of D3D for graphics, FMOD for audio, and a handful of Windows libraries for various purposes, I tend to shy away from integrating existing libraries whenever possible. I’ll be the first to admit that much of what I do could be seen as reinventing the wheel, but I do believe there is some value in resolving solved problems firsthand. The luxury of hobbyist game development is that I can take as much time as I want; I can learn how things work that I might otherwise take for granted, and ultimately, the development is really the enjoyable part. If, at the end of the day, I have a finished game that I can give away for free (or donations or charity or whatevs), that’s just icing on the cake. The fun is in the process.
In 2008, I made a freeware game called Arc Aether Anomalies. You can download that at http://www.j-kyle.com/arc/ if you are so inclined. It’s admittedly a very simple game, its mechanics barely more complex than “move” and “shoot,” but it helped me prove to myself that I could meet a deadline in my hobby development when I absolutely had to (I was trying to finish it in time to submit to the IGF), and it also revealed some crucial design flaws in my rendering engine, which I’ve since addressed.
As of the time or writing, I’m developing another hobby game which for the time being I’ll refer to as “Project Driftwood.” My plan is for this to be a short-form first-person adventure/puzzle game. Just like Arc Aether, my goal is to produce something visually striking, so to that end, I’m currently working on a radiosity solution based on Valve’s publications on shading in the Source engine. Here is a sample:
