Hello!
I'm Tom Darby, and I've been designing, developing, and releasing video games for years. I have current experience working with C# and Unity; a formal background in computer science; an extensive professional life as a programmer, designer, manager and director; and a buoyant, indefatigable work ethic. I'd be thrilled to bring my talents and abilities to the Thirteen Games team as your new indie generalist.
As the founder and owner of Magic Chopstick Games, I'm intimately familiar with every facet of independent game development. Over the years I've released a variety of indie titles, including the acclaimed Jardinains! series. My upcoming release, a fully-redesigned and modernized version of Jardinains!, is built in Unity on top of thousands of lines of carefully-crafted C# code. As part of this project, I've encountered and addressed countless interesting programming challenges. To accelerate asset creation and replication, I've developed a versatile, JSON-driven object model. To ensure a consistent experience across a variety of devices, I've created a fully-responsive, unified user interface for desktop, mobile and console platforms. To keep load times to a minumum, I've implemented a fast, asynchronous asset loading system. To make it easy for people to purchase the full version across all platforms, I've wrangled a variety of in-game microtransaction systems and app stores into my own custom REST-ful server. To keep the game interesting and replayable, I've built a procedural level generator that randomly creates a near-limitless supply of fun, diverse levels. Every day brings a new programming challenge. It's why I love programming, and it's why I'm still happily developing games to this day.
In addition my Unity programming experience, I'm currently completing a master's program in computer science, where I've learned a great deal about machine learning and artificial intelligence, among other things. I also have years of experience as a development director. I'm familiar with software engineering practices, project management, risk mitigation strategies, and a host of other essential management skills–all of which can come in handy for an independent game studio, where there can be more hats than people to fill them.
I'd love the opportunity to speak with you about how I can help Thirteen Games develop amazing, unique, engaging games. Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to speaking with you soon!
Thank you,
Tom Darby