Coin App Returns!!

Like a phoenix, rising out of the ashes of... Phoenix... Coin App has returned with a brand new game!  Toy Drift, an endless street kart racer, is available worldwide on the iOS App Store!  Give it a spin, rate it, and spend millions of dollars on it.

Toy Drift was a labor of love for all involved, and it shows!  Of course it couldn't have been done without all three of us working overtime to make it happen - myself, Pat Bergschneider, and Dan Pratt.  This is just the beginning!  Follow Coin App's twitter account to stay up to date with the latest news!

Bay Bridge Illusion

I added some new artwork to the gallery!  Peep this, it's pretty crazy:

Is your mind still in one piece?  Because mine exploded when I first saw these.  These flat pictures are designed to display a 3D image through a special, and no doubt magical, printing process.  Instead of cheesy goggles, it operates on light specularity. Depending on how a light is reflected, it shows a different perspective of the scene.  The company that makes these prints accepts data in a standard 3D format, so my years spent making videogame art have helped.  You can check out how it was made in my art section!

Coin App Donates to a Good Cause

When I turned off the lights at Coin App in early 2010, there were many unanswered questions.  What went wrong?  What went right?  What's next?  But for now, what was I going to do with all the company assets?  I got rid of most of the furniture on craigslist, but the software was worthless because I purchased it legally and couldn't resell it all.  I moved the computers with me across state lines to two different apartments, unsure of what exactly to do with them.  Maybe I was having trouble letting go.

Then 2011 came around and I was finally sick of looking at them collect dust and lose value.  I read an article in the local paper about kids in public housing using donated computers to get work done at home, instead of walking back from a library late at night.  After emailing the newspaper, the superintendent, and the principal of the school, I finally got in contact with someone who would take Coin App's leftover hardware.  Matthew Higgins, a school social worker from Malcolm X Academy, told me I could drop them off and he'd give me a tour of the place.

Malcolm X Academy reminded me a lot of the grade schools I attended in Maryland.  Tight budgets, troubled neighborhoods, and outdated equipment.  Students can only excel at the opportunities they're offered, and if public schools are any indication of these opportunities, then the offerings are way too slim. At least a few computers may help.

It was decided that the best use of Coin App's computers would be as raffle prizes. A huge issue with child development is just missing parents. The idea was to raffle off a computer every month at parent workshops to increase parent turnout. So far it's been a huge success, and they've seen an increase in parents showing up!

damn it

I keep forgetting I have a blog. Ok, here's the latest: I left Double Fine a couple months ago. Whaaaaat? Yeah, crazy. Double Fine was the best 16 months of my career and I'm glad I had a chance to work with everyone there. Shout out to Drew Skillman and Tim Schafer for the knowledge bombs and laughs! When I left in early November, I joined some of my old co-workers at Arktos Entertainment. Since then, I've just been working from home (hell yeah) and enjoying the holidays!

MUNI Design

San Francisco's local public transportation system, MUNI, has a fleet of buses, vintage streetcars, and light rail trains.  Did you know that the design of its light rail trains, as seen here:

was brought to us by the same company that designed this:

How did I know, you ask?  Well, when I was riding home one day on the fairly clean N-train, reading signs and shit, I saw this little gem:

After some thorough (and therefore bulletproof) wikipedia research, I encountered a few facts about these streetcars!  In the late 1990s, MUNI replaced its fleet of Boeing streetcars with these newer Italian Breda streetcars, designed by Pininfarina.  In addition to designing these streetcars, Pininfarina designed the gorgeous Ferrari 458 Italia, seen above.  

You know what else Pininfarina designed?  The 2006 Olympic torch.  Oh Pininfarina, what will you design next?