Today I want to talk about the design decisions — specifically why three NES games, and how each one contributed something the others couldn’t. Donkey Kong — Structure DK gave me the structure...

Today: audio. What the game sounds like, why it sounds that way, and how sound is wired to gameplay. The Rule: Musical, Not Harsh Everything in this game lives inside a jazz club. That’s not just a...

This one is a retrospective — an honest look back now that the game is out. Birdie Blues is my eighth game. I’ve been through this process enough times that I should have a reliable sense of where...

It’s live. Birdie Blues and the Jazz Cats is a free, browser-playable NES-style arcade platformer. No install. No account. You can play it right now. The concept started as a question: what happens...

This is the fourth devlog for Birdie Blues and the Jazz Cats — and the last one before the game goes live. Today I want to talk about the art: what the visual style is, why, and a few of the specifi...

This is the third devlog for Birdie Blues and the Jazz Cats. If you missed the intro post, read that first — it covers the premise and inspirations. Today I want to walk through the mechanics in mor...

Small patch out today. Two bugs, both related to lives — one obvious, one sneaky. The Extra Life Was Awarding Itself Every Stage The game awards a bonus life at 5,000 points. One time, per run. That...

Hey! I’m launching Birdie Blues and the Jazz Cats — a free, browser-playable NES-style single-screen arcade platformer — and wanted to write a bit about what it is and where it came from before...