I'm a game designer and producer who crafts emotionally transformative play experiences. By merging drama therapy techniques with game mechanics, I've helped thousands of players connect, learn, reflect, and grow. You can reach me on LinkedIn. Here are some projects I've worked on:

Starlight

Enabling players to confront themes of change, loss, and death in a aesthetically distanced and safe sci-fi platformer.

Roles: Writer, Gameplay Designer, Developer

Tools: Pico 8, Lua, Aesthetic Distance

Player Feedback: "Playing Starlight reminded me that loss and change are okay because that's part of the cycle of life."

"Wow, what a cool game! The double-jump mechanic's floating nature really sucked me in. I used to play a ton of Kirbys Dreamland on Gameboy and it felt like that almost."

Play In Browser

Read Retrospective

Repair

Crew

Empowering young players and first time users to experience wonder in VR.

Roles: Writer, Gameplay Designer

Tools: Clear Documentation, Narrative Transportation, Emotion Centered Design

Testimonial: "Nick's efforts provided much needed organization, which accelerated our workflow and became a source of continual reference. Throughout, Nick's diligence in maintaining centralized documentation enabled us to stay in alignment while working toward a very tight deadline."

Peter Buskir

Designer/Developer

The World Sim

Helping undergraduate students understand the historical processes that shape the world using a live-action role playing game.

Roles: Gameplay Designer, Facilitator

Tools: Paper Prototyping, Transformative Learning, Fruit Loops

Testimonial: "Nick’s energy and enthusiasm was a key reason for the World Sim’s success, and he continued to contribute to revising and rework the World Simulation over the coming years as it gained international recognition."

Michael Wesch

Anthropology Professor and Serious Game Designer

Read About in the New York Times

Falling Up

Creating empathy and understanding around aging and Alzheimer's disease.

Guiding undergraduate students through ethnography and game design.

Roles: Developer, Writer, Mentor, Digital Ethnographer

Tools: Unreal, Digital Ethnography, Transformative Learning

Testimonial: "Nick became our go-to guru for game design and we managed to build a fantastic three dimensional game in a single semester that was listed in Blackwell’s 10 best class artifacts of 2015."

Micheal Wesch

Anthropology Professor and Serious Game Designer

Meal Sharing

Creating intimate meals and conversations between locals and travelers.

Roles: Interaction Designer, User Researcher

Tools: Paper Prototyping, Emotion Centered Design

Testimonial: "His ability to uncover ideas and insights through social research was incredibly impressive but the best part was that he is such a friendly and dependable person to work with. He helped grow Meal Sharing from the ground up and always challenged the team to think about the platform from different angles. Without his insight, we would not have been able to be where we are today."

Jay Savsani

Founder

The Flying Bike Photo-Journalist Tour

Giving riders a more intimate and visceral connection with Asheville while helping them reframe the aftermath of Hurricane Helene as a story of resilience and hope.

Incorporating 'Pokemon Snap' game mechanics into a real world bike tour.

Roles: Gameplay Designer, Writer

Tools: Paper-Prototyping, Electric Bikes

Testimonial: "He was clear with his design process and kept an excellent balance between listening to our needs and holding us accountable to the difficult task of working out the little details."

Torin Kexel

Owner

The Flying Dutchman

Facilitating bonds between teams and families while immersing them in a romantic pirate escape room adventure.

Roles: Gameplay Designer, Puzzle Designer, Writer

Tools: Paper Prototyping, Narrative Transportation, Emotion Centered Design

Happy Thoughts

Bringing people together in an online space to share happy thoughts during the heart of the Covid lockdown.

Roles: Interaction Designer, Developer

Tools: Javascript, P5JS, Node.js, InVision