Shadows of Wyrmwood
Project manager and lead designerAn equipment-management roguelike.
I design and build games.
Hi, I’m Neil. I’m a systems-focused game designer with an M.A. in Game Design and a B.A. in Computer Science. I’ve designed and implemented gameplay across multiple genres, and I have project management experience too. My hands-on Unity and C# experience helps me make informed decisions about implementation, dependencies and delivery.
I’ve led projects from start to finish, owning scheduling, task tracking, scope and priority decisions and documented workflows while coordinating delivery across disciplines. I’m most interested in balancing game systems, progression systems, player-driven mechanics, procedural content generation and iterative design.
Games with Dream Foundry Games
Titles built at Dream Foundry Games, across horror, roguelike, shooter and educational genres, plus tabletop RPG software.
Tenebris
Project manager, designer and developerA horror puzzle game.
Leviathan
Designer and developerAn extraction FPS.
Through Blood and Dragons: Dragon Wars
Developer and designerA fantasy-themed on-rails shooter.
Bulvic Academy
Designer and developerAn educational game about compassion and regulating emotions.
RPGsuite
DeveloperA software suite that supports the tabletop RPG experience, including character creation and stat and equipment tracking.
Projects
Personal and academic work, from a procedural platformer to a board game.
Spellbound
Personal project, in development on and off for yearsA procedurally generated 2D platformer where players cast spells, solve logic puzzles and blast their way to victory. Most levels come from Jigsaw, the algorithm I developed for my senior capstone.
Jigsaw
Earlham College senior research, 2018A paper on procedural content generation that cuts the time it takes to build levels for a 2D puzzle platformer.
Icelandic Field Studies
Research assistant, 2017 to 2018Built drone attachments and data analysis software for glacier retreat and archeological surveys in Iceland.
The Bunk House
Designer and builderAn 8 by 10 bunk house for my family’s shared property in the New Jersey pine barrens, sized for two double beds and two singles. A relative suggested it, and I took the lead on the design and construction, from the 3D model to the foundation, framing and cedar shingles.
Spawn game prototypes
Prototypes and game jam entriesTwelve games on Spawn, a platform for making multiplayer games, including Feed the Fire, Death Valley, Herd Mentality and Tower Of Glory. Several came out of game jams, and some were winners.
RoboRover
Game jam projectA puzzle game made for the Game Maker’s Toolkit Jam, with robots, space and a loop.
Mini-games and prototypes
Personal projectsSmaller experiments and game jam work, including Trial of the Four Dragons, Haunted and The Maze of Balls.
Experience
Game development, research and teaching since 2016.
Unity / Game Design Instructor, GameU
March 2026 to present, remoteTeaches game development, programming and design using Unity, Roblox Studio, Construct 3 and other creative tools. Gives hands-on instruction while troubleshooting and debugging multiple students’ codebases across different engines and projects.
Game Designer / Unity Developer, Dream Foundry Games
July 2020 to August 2026, Pittsburgh, PALed and contributed to gameplay design and development across multiple genres, with experience building loot systems, item stat progression and procedural systems. Roles included project manager, lead designer, designer and developer on a horror puzzle game, an equipment-management roguelike, an extraction FPS, an on-rails shooter, a tactical FPS MOBA, a 2D shoot ’em up and tabletop RPG software.
Graduate Assistant, Institute for IDEAS, American University
January to May 2022Worked on an interdisciplinary team building Unity3D augmented reality software that helps remote physicians guide surgical procedures.
Freelance Unity Developer, Upwork
June to October 2019Built loading menus, combat systems, inventory systems and other UI components for multiple projects.
Research Assistant, Earlham College
May 2017 to July 2018Designed hardware and software for drone-based glacial and archeological surveying.
Teaching Assistant, Earlham College
August 2016 to December 2019Ran computer science lab sessions and tutored students one on one.
Climbing Instructor and Admissions Host, Earlham College
January 2016 to December 2018Taught climbing skills and safety, and hosted prospective students overnight on campus.
Skills and education
Tools and methods I use to take a game from prototype to release.
- Unity
- C#
- Python
- Steam
- Game Balance
- Game Analysis
- Project Management
- Game Prototyping
- Debugging
- Troubleshooting
- Task Tracking
- Scope Management
- Jira
American University
Master of Arts, Game DesignWashington, DC, 2021 to 2023
Earlham College
Bachelor of Arts, Computer ScienceRichmond, IN, 2015 to 2019
About
I’m a scrappy programmer, game designer and builder with a multidisciplinary background. I can build a house, a piece of software or a drone attachment. Game design is my passion.
I grew up in the woods outside Ithaca, New York, in an off-the-grid home my father built. A pre-engineering program in high school introduced me to the design process, 3D modeling and manufacturing.
I earned a computer science degree from Earlham College in 2019, then moved to Pittsburgh to work as a Unity developer. I completed a Master of Arts in Game Design at American University, and in 2026 I began teaching game development at GameU.
Away from the screen, I play Ultimate Frisbee and volleyball, hike, cook and play board games. I really love dogs.
Get in touch
Open to game design, development, project management and producing work.