01.19About the Authors
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:
Jeff Ward, Lead Architect, Orbus Gameworks, Inc.
Jeff is Lead Architect and co-founder of Orbus Gameworks, Inc, a middleware and consulting company specializing in game metrics tools and analysis. Before that, he helped design internal tools and build systems for Bethesda Game Studios for both Oblivion and Fallout 3, and worked for government contractors on web technologies. 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.
Geoff Evans, Senior Engine Programmer, Insomniac Games
Geoff has been with with Insomniac Games’ since 2003, and works on their proprietary game engine. He is an evangelist for Insomniac’s Nocturnal Initiative, an open source project of libraries and utilities for addressing common challenges in game development. He enjoys long walks on the beach, inciting flame wars on the internet, and learning game tools development the hard way.
Twitter: Gizorlak
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.
Casey O’Donnell, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia
Dr. Casey O’Donnell has worked as a software engineer and project manager both in and out of the videogame industry. He is Assistant Professor in the Department of Telecommunications at the University of Georgia. His research on collaborative work practice and tools development has spanned numerous companies in the US, such as Vicarious Visions, to game studios in India and China. His work has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health. He has particular interest in Open Source Software tools initiatives.
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