Art by Stephanie Reeves
I’m a Game Director who excels at motivating and coordinating teams to build incredibly fun games. I’ve worked as a Programmer, Producer, and Game Designer. That experience has exposed me to virtually all aspects of game development. I've created military training simulators, educational games, and entertainment games alike; with teams ranging in size from one to one-hundred. My life-long passion for gaming fuels my creativity and resilience.
When I’m not making games I love to paint and play table-top war games, like Warhammer (Check out my models); play D&D; play crunchy strategy games; and get lost in VR.
My Games
Wasteland 3 - inXile Entertainment - Released 2020
Plus Battle of Steeltown & Cult of the Holy Detonation DLCs - Released 2021
A Classic RPG set in a post apocalyptic hell-scape. More than any other CRPG, the players actions shape the world and change the story in dramatic ways. It featured third person turn based combat and deep RPG progression.
Game Director - Lead Designer - Principle Systems & Combat Designer
“It’s the best post-apocalyptic CRPG I’ve played since Fallout: New Vegas, and one of the better RPGs I’ve played in a while”
9/10 – DualShockers
“The reactiveness and immersion that players can experience in the game is almost unparalleled in current video games”
9/10 – Shacknews
“This is gaming at its most punk. It's raw and unapologetic, but never heartless.”
5/5 – Windows Central
The Bard’s Tale IV: Directors Cut - inXile Entertainment - Released 2019
A modern day lover letter to the original RPG, the Bard’s Tale. Players explore a world of Scottish mythology, solving puzzles and engaging in tactical turn based RPG combat.
Creative Director - Lead Designer - Principle Combat & Systems Designer
“An old-fashioned game in a shiny new package, The Bard's Tale 4: Barrows Deep is a worthy addition to a classic series.”
-PC Gamer
“This is your grandpappy’s old-school RPG, but it is made for the modern day. It’s made for RPG lovers of all types, ages, and experience. Bard’s Tale 4 follows squarely in the footsteps of giants without missing a beat. It has taken all those classic features and brought them into modern game play. It feels both fresh and true to its roots, at the same time. I highly recommend this to veterans and newcomers to the series alike.”
-MMORPG.com
“The Bard’s Tale IV: Barrows Deep delivers on the faith its Kickstarter backers put into the project. It weaves combat, exploration, music, and puzzles into a game that stands out in a crowded market.”
-GamesBeat
Mage’s Tale VR - inXile Entertainment - Released 2017
A magical VR dungeon crawler where the player can physically wield fireballs, ice javelins, and interdimensional toads. One of the very first feature length (10+ hours) VR game. A game designed to make you feel like a superpowered 20th level mage. We took care to hide bespoke secrets, puzzles, and interactions all through the world.
Lead designer - Principle Combat & Systems Designer
Nominated for VR game of the year by the VRBound awards, 2018.
“The Mage’s Tale is one of the best examples of how to take a tried-and-true existing gaming genre and adapt it for the new VR medium. While it retains plenty of design decisions that make it clear where its roots lie, The Mage’s Tale iterates on principles that truly move the first-person dungeon crawler RPG subgenre forward in big ways. This is easily one of the longest and most involved adventures to grace the VR market thus far and is a must-play for RPG fans.”
-UploadVR
“The Mage’s Tale may very well be the most ambitious Oculus Rift title to date. Despite its handful of quirks, it’s a legitimate dungeon crawler embracing a VR body…versus the other way around. The game is fun, clever, and surprisingly quite polished. Moreover, it’s one of the few Rift Experiences with legitimate game length, also a wonderful example on how to use the Touch controllers to near-perfection. What minor quirks are there (in puzzle difficulty, environmental interaction, potion making system) do not seriously hamper overall experience.”
-mpulsegamer
Firefall - Red5 Studios - 2014(US)/2015(China)
A Sci-Fi MMO FPS that focused on fast paced combat and major zone wide events.
Lead Combat Designer - Team lead - Combat systems design - Player class design - Enemy design - Content design - Launched Firefall in China
My manager Scott Rudi, now Design Director at Psyonix, said this about my performance as Lead Combat Designer:
“It was a pleasure working with David on Firefall. He has a great sense of combat & creature design, leading a team on the delivery of a great combat experience from concept to completion. David has a can-do attitude, tackling complex design issues without hesitation and working hard to find the fun. On a personal note, David was a lot of fun to work with and ‘talk shop’ about a genre we both love. I’d work with David again!“
Americas Army: Proving Grounds - Army Games Studio - Released 2013
A hyper realistic competitive FPS tactical shooter. This was a franchise I had grown up playing and had the pleasure of getting to work on the most recent edition.
Pre-production design - Progression systems design - Scoring systems design & engineering - Class design - Learn more about AA here.
The Development Lead at the Army Games Studio, Jay Olive, said this about my performance while working for him as a civilian contractor:
“I worked with David for four years. He is an extremely talented designer - he designed and produced a GSTEM mobile application for our group with outstanding results. He is always ready to dive into any subject matter and make a fun experience out of it. He is a great team player and can take critical feedback on a product and turn around a solution that makes all stakeholders happy.“
Experiential Learning Center - National Museum of the United States Army - 2014
Suite of five educational games in Unity, each focusing on one aspect of GSTEM education - Explore the exhibit here
Lead designer - Producer
T.R.I.C.T. Immersive Egress Trainer - Army Games Studio - 2013
An immersive simulator built for HMV teams to rehearse missions, including emergency roll-over egress. Read about the TRICT here
Gameplay Programmer - Unreal 3 Engine
TOW ITAS Collective Skills Trainer - Army Games Studio - 2012
A mobile HTM battalion training simulator. An entire 5 HMV convoy can train on a mission together, managed on the fly by a live instructor. Read about the TOW ITAS CST here.
Gameplay Programmer - Arma VBS2 Engine
