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Blogs

Matthew Downey's Blog

I'm a programmer working with Unity3D.  I've been working on a science fiction first-person shooter with western, horror, and film noir elements since my senior year of high school (fall 2009).

Interesting facts:

I've been a vegetarian since three years old.

The first 2.5 years of my programming career have been entirely self taught, although I more recently took a computer science 103 class to get a triple major for my associates degree.

I've lacked direction and motivation for a lot of my life, and hung out with hardcore gamer crowds throughout highschool.

I study prime numbers often.

Hope to donate 50% of my income (by age 26) to third world education.

T: @MattDWNY

Member Blogs

The Oculus Rift and its New Input Axes  Featured Blogs
Posted by Matthew Downey on Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:05:00 EST in Design, Console/PC, Programming
Because of the Oculus Rift's new input system, different game genres have new potential axis-es for their input systems. Discussed inside are two examples (space/flight simulators and first-person shooters), upon which users can extrapolate.
Read More... | 6 Comments

Opinion: "Minimalism and Immersion"  Featured Blogs
Posted by Matthew Downey on Mon, 17 Oct 2011 01:00:00 EDT in Design, Programming, Art, Console/PC, Indie
A look at minimalism and immersion with a first-person shooter frame of reference. Included are examples on how to simplify guns, healthbars, minimaps, and ammo.
Read More... | 7 Comments

First Person Shooter Design: Skyspawn and Heartrate  Featured Blogs
Posted by Matthew Downey on Sat, 17 Sep 2011 04:15:00 EDT in Design, Programming, Console/PC
If players gravitate towards certain undesired behaviors, such as spawnkilling and camping, put measures into the game that incentivize playing the game as it was originally intended.
Read More... | 8 Comments

Opinion: The Second Derivative of Health  Featured Blogs
Posted by Matthew Downey on Sun, 31 Jul 2011 08:35:00 EDT in Design, Console/PC
A post exploring the possibility of position, velocity, and acceleration in health systems, as applied to first-person shooters.
Read More... | 12 Comments

   

Matthew Downey's Comments

Comment In: The #1 Difference Between Amateur and Pro Game Makers [Blog - 06/11/2013 - 11:51]

Very good advice. Reading stuff ...

Very good advice. Reading stuff like this is really good at keeping me honest. r n r nYour first game doesn 't have to be good, it just has to be complete. With each new game you have chance to improve, and if you have a pet game idea, you ...

Comment In: Patrice Desilets sues Ubisoft for $400K over termination [News - 06/10/2013 - 04:47]

Guillemot was mentioned without any ...

Guillemot was mentioned without any introduction. Apparently he is Ubisoft 's CEO Yves Guillemot . r n r nI know a lot of game developers would know this, but I personally did not.

Comment In: Evolve Your Mechanics, Not Your Narrative [Blog - 04/19/2013 - 02:17]

Bioshock: Infinite has one of ...

Bioshock: Infinite has one of my favorite new mechanics: the rail system. Although it is derived from roller-coasters and it 's by no means avant garde, the rail system is fresh, well polished, and fun. r n r nI would definitely play a game that has Bioshock: Infinite 's rail ...

Comment In: Emotions and Randomness - Loot Drops [Blog - 04/03/2013 - 06:25]

Logistic curves/Sigmoid functions are beast. ...

Logistic curves/Sigmoid functions are beast.

Comment In: ANGELINA: The Computer Program that Designs Games [Feature - 04/01/2013 - 04:35]

@Michael Cook r n r ...

@Michael Cook r n r nInteresting project. r n r nI think two relatively important features of an AI like this would be: r n r n1 The ability of the AI to play the game to receive data on the simplicity/complexity of the level also to determine if it ...

Comment In: Ask Gamasutra: What GDC 2013 meant to us [News - 04/02/2013 - 03:38]

@Patrick Miller r n r ...

@Patrick Miller r n r nAssuming it 's affordable and near the east coast, I would easily go to a competitive game design summit. r n r nI 've always loved the competitive gaming crowd. I also love design/theory even if I try to focus on learning mathematics/programming more often. ...

[More Matthew Downey Comments]   

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