matanuki

I’m thrilled to say that I was just hired by Toy Studio, a video game studio based in Schaumberg, Illinois. They specialize in social and casual gaming, with a current emphasis on Flash games for the Facebook community. Their first venture is KillerToon, a quirky friend-fighter that went live last month.

The game features amazing illustration work by Jason Zielinski.

My focus will be working with other developers to continue creating new content and features for this game, ahead of other exciting releases. Of course, I won’t be able to discuss what I’m working on in detail, but stay tuned for upcoming releases and updates on my other independent projects.

My eternal gratitude goes out to Colin Godsey, my friend and colleague who connected me with this amazing opportunity. Thanks also to my new boss, Christian, for giving me this shot.

The Game Developers Association of NIU had their first meeting of the year last night.  Here are some of the highlights.

gamedevmap is an online catalog of major game developers, publishers, and organizations.  It’s an excellent resource for programmers and designers who are looking for employers in their area.  The site is organized with a world map splitting up companies by region. [link]

gotoandlearn() is a video tutorial library for serious Flash developers.  From slider bars to dynamic Flex applications, the videos vary in scope and complexity.  Along with an active forum, this is an essential site for anyone trying to get things done in Flash. [link]

GRAVITY BONE is a fun little indie game based on the Quake 2 engine.  This ‘Nuevos Aires’ spy adventure is populated with quirky, blockhead characters, bright colors, and fantastic music.  It’s free, fun, and funny. [link]

BIT.TRIP BEAT is a new game coming out for WiiWare.  I’d try to explain this piece of sublime 8-bit beauty, but really you should just see it for yourself.

Matanuki.com went online at the beginning of 2006, and until now it has mainly served as a file repository.  While a number of bright new websites have popped up on matanuki subdomains, the root directory has alternated between this bold-faced lie and an empty/broken installation of WordPress.

About the Design

This site is starting with a basic WordPress install, and I’ll be building on that foundation in the coming months.  In order to give it a distinct look and feel, I started with a clean, minimalist, XHTML/CSS theme called Blass2 by design group 1000ff.  Vielen dank, guys.  Expect a lot of changes in the coming months.

A Brief History of Dublyner

I registered the AIM name “dublyner” in junior high school, after the James Joyce novel Dubliners.  I’d like to say there was a deep connection or meaning there, but the truth is I just liked how it sounded.  Later, after actually reading some of Joyce’s works, I decided it was worth keeping.  Dublyner became my online identity.

I’ve started and abandoned several personal sites, including a cheesy Xanga page in 2004 and an empty Blogspot in 2005.  The only blog I ever updated consistently was built into the RoosterTeeth forum. As the site blossomed into a social network of 700,000+ users, I and many of the older members became troublemakers and elitists. It was time to move on.

After leaving the RT community, my online presence was limited to Killbam, a small forum run by a high school buddy to help our old gang keep in touch while we were away at college.  I retired the pseudonym, posting with my real first name.  Along with a well-groomed Facebook profile, there’s been little need to branch out and start my own personal site.

Matanuki Gets a Purpose

As I enter the professional world, it’s becoming necessary to create a professional online identity.  This site will document my projects, including freelance ventures, animations, and graphic designs.  The blog will be business-casual: personal, but don’t expect a lot of dick jokes and YouTube videos (unless they’re mine).  I’ll be publishing with my real name, and using the site as an online portfolio.

Dublyner is dead.  Long live Matanuki.

-Tyson