The PC version of PSR Outdoor's first 3D title, Canada Hunt, is now available for purchase from Amazon and other retailers.  I worked as a technical consultant on this game, and I'm pleased with how it turned out and grateful for having had the chance to work on it!

This has been a whirlwind year.  I began 2009 with a resolution to be more productive, and I certainly feel as though I've met that challenge head-on.  As the year begins to wind down, I've been reflecting on what I've accomplished and the events that have transpired, and I'm very pleased with how things have gone.

First, I've been working in my spare time as a Technical Consultant for PSR Outdoors, a Virginia-based developer that specializes in hunting games for the PC.  The company has begun developing 3D games using Torque Game Engine Advanced.  The owner, Larry Jones, brought me onboard to provide information about TGEA and to provide solutions for features not inherently supported by the engine.  A few weeks ago, we wrapped up development on the PC version of Canada Hunt.  Now, we're in the process of porting the game over to the Nintendo Wii.  I'm absolutely thrilled to be working on a console title - the first of many, I hope!

Second, I spent a better portion of the year developing Snail Shot Torpedo for the PC and Xbox 360.  This game is a personal project, and the first to be completed under my Bad Pilcrow label.  I'm thrilled with the results, and I feel strongly that Snail Shot Torpedo will be available for purchase in retail stores.  I'm currently in the process of contacting publishers.

Finally, DeVry University has promoted me from Instructor to Assistant Professor.  I've been teaching Game and Simulation Programming for about three-and-a-half years now, and it feels really good to be recognized for all the work I've accomplished there so far.

It should also be mentioned that this year, one of my former students, James Morgan, was credited as a producer on a title for the Nintendo DS called The Clique: Diss and Make Up.  This is the first time one of my students has been involved on a professional project.  He is now a producer for the web-based MMO, Elf Island.  Way to go, James!

So, with two months left in the year, this game developer already has enough reasons to look back and feel good about 2009.

After six months of dedicated development, and nearly a year of living with the concept, I am pleased to announce that I have officially completed Snail Shot Torpedo, a casual defense game for the PC and Xbox 360.  Snail Shot Torpedo follows the adventures of Calypso DaVinci, a crazy inventor protecting his island home from an invading horde of zombie snails.  This has been my most ambitious project to date, and I am incredibly pleased with the results.

I began Snail Shot Torpedo as a simple 2D Silverlight application back in the summer of 2008.  Happy with the results, I decided to expand the concept into a full-fledged game, complete with a story and narration, boss battles, and bonuses.  On December 26th, using Microsoft XNA Game Studio, I officially "broke ground," writing the initial code while on holiday.  Shortly thereafter, I recruited four talented individuals to my team:

• Cliff Kamarga created all of the wonderful 3D models in the game.
• Kyle Leavitt provided the brilliant illustrations, menus, and HUD elements.
• Pierre Richard Borges II shared his amazing baritone voice as our story's narrator.
• Jonathan Conley helped me with a handful of programming tasks, including the watery shader effect.

Their enthusiasm and positive energy kept this project moving – six months would have been a long time to toil alone in the wilderness!

Now that the game is complete, we have submitted it to Microsoft's Dream Build Play contest.  We will wait until the results of that competition are announced before pursuing publication.  But in the meantime, anyone interested in keeping up with the latest Snail Shot Torpedo news may visit www.badpilcrow.com, and sign up for our mailing list.

Until such time as it is released, please enjoy the screenshots and videos available in the Games section above.

A post-mortem document will be published shortly.

Over the weekend, I was contacted by editor Jill Duffy at GameCareerGuide to provide some input into an article about what games students should play.  The article (which includes additional insight from technical manager Lee Winder at Blitz Arcade and game designer James Portnow) is available via the following link:
http://gamecareerguide.com/features/668/ask_the_experts_31_games_students_.php