The Toolsmiths is a blog on game industry tools and process. It is the official blog of the IGDA Tools SIG. It serves as a jumping off point for the discussion of the state of tools in the game industry.
The blog has three principal authors from various walks of the game industry, all interested in improving the state of game tools. They are:
Geoff Evans, Lead Engineer (Tools Team Lead), Neversoft Entertainment
Geoff is a frequent open source contributor via Helium Project, and was a founder of Insomniac’s Nocturnal Initiative. He enjoys long walks on the beach, inciting flame wars on the internet, and learning game tools development the hard way.
View Geoff’s Posts | Geoff’s Twitter Feed (@gorlak)
Jeff Ward, Toolsmith, Fire Hose Games
Jeff is a programmer and Toolsmith at Fire Hose Games, an indie game company in Cambridge, MA. Before that, designed the technology behind metrics middleware and consultancy company Orbus Gameworks, and helped design internal tools and build systems for Bethesda Game Studios for both Oblivion and Fallout 3. In addition to his professional roles, Jeff has been heavilly involved with the IGDA as a moderator on their forums and contributor to various SIGs including the Education SIG, Student Action SIG and, of course, the Tools SIG.
View Jeff’s Posts | Jeff’s Twitter Feed (@fuzzybinary)
Dan Goodman, Founder, Robotic Arm Software
Dan is the founder of Robotic Arm Software, a custom tool development and consulting firm, which specializes in the delivery of off-the-shelf-quality tools customized to client needs. Before Robotic Arm, he spent over a decade as an engineer, leading teams at High Voltage Software and LucasArts, and developing tools for level design, effects, in-game cinemas, asset management and build systems.
Contact The Authors
If you would like to contribute to the Tools SIG blog, or have a question about the blog, an idea for a post, or just a general comment, please feel free to contact us at toolsmiths -at- igda.org