Last Online: 5/9/08
Drew Sikora
I'm a gamer and a game developer residing in New Jersey. I've been gaming since I was able to handle a joystick, back in the day when Atari was hot :) I started programming in middle school and never looked back. I've been involved in the games industry now since the late 90's and it's been an amazing experience. I'm the Executive Producer over at GameDev.net, which is the resource for game development; I manage live seminars on game development for The Game Institute, as well as lecture and provide community/customer support for students; I work as a contractor-for-hire under the guise of Blade Edge Software, which is currently in the process of developing two titles with GarageGames' Torque Game Builder engine.
Someone once said,
Real programmers don't work from 9 to 5. If any real programmers are around at 9am it's because they were up all night.
I think, therefore I code
Development Journal: Gaiiden's Scroll
Last update: 2/24/08-2/29/08 - GDC Coverage in Full Swing
Over the last week while I was actually at GDC I spent my time online only posting blogs, as did the rest of the staff. Now that we're home and (somewhat) unwound, the full coverage begins.
Read Entry
Over the last week while I was actually at GDC I spent my time online only posting blogs, as did the rest of the staff. Now that we're home and (somewhat) unwound, the full coverage begins.
Read Entry
About Blade Edge Software
Location: Lincroft, NJContact Email: gaiiden@blade-edge.com
Contact Phone: 732.492.5027
Contact IM: darkpylat (AIM), 70449988 (ICQ), Gaiiden (Skype)
Developer Type: Contractor
Developer Interest: 2D action, puzzle, strategy games using TGB
Company History
Blade Edge was founded in 2001 with the original intent on becoming a full-fledged game development studio working on large 2D/3D projects. After several years, the part-time endeavor never made the leap to full-time, and the 4 original team members parted for individual roles in established companies. In 2005, Blade Edge was refocused as a contractor-based company and began reworking titles already in development for use with Torque Game Builder.
Current Status
Two internal projects are being developed for release in 2007, both with TGB and both with the hopes of also being ported to the XBox360
Blade Edge Software News
Games by Blade Edge Software
Blitz Blox
A furious block-dropping game that pits you against your opponent on the same playing field. Defend your blocks, attack your enemy's blocks. Make use of special blocks to turn the tables. Play against calculating AI or against another player
Galaxy Conquest
Take over the galaxy, fighting for space against as many as 4 players, human and computer. Place your planets to take over your opponent's systems to win in one of 4 main modes of gameplay. Watch out also for hidden special systems, which can both hinder and facilitate your path to utter conquest
New Jersey North IGDA Chapter
New Jersey Developers - Get Involved!The IGDA's New Jersey chapter gives local developers the opportunity to network, learn from each other, and build a professional community. There is no fee to attend the meetings, and IGDA membership is encouraged but not required. For more information about the IGDA itself visit the main website at www.igda.org
Don't forget to also join up with the New Jersey Gamers and Developers GGE group!
Develop.Network.Learn.
Game Institute Live Events: Call for Developers
If you're a developer with experience who wishes to share thoughts on a topic or deliver a new idea to a community of budding game developers, then contact Drew Sikora for a speaker packet for more information. Speakers are compensated for their time and not obligated to present more than once. This program is designed to make it as easy as possible for you all to come online and speak on your time, not ours. We understand how busy the life of a developer is! If you've ever wished to give back a little bit of knowledge but never had the time to commit to anything, then these 30-90 minute lectures on topics of your choosing are just the thing for you to do whenever you have the time to spare. We're interested in anything related to game development from any discipline!
If I've played it over the past month, it's here. Sorted from most recently played (1) to last played
1
Full Biography
Drew got into game development back in 1996 at the age of 14 with the book QBasic for Dummies, and has been obsessed with programming ever since. In addition to programming he also likes to write, and published his first technology-related article in his local area newspaper back in 1997. That year also began his publishing career with GameDev.net, where he published 7 articles and numerous interviews over a 4 year period before becoming a staff member in 2001, the same year in which he published a monthly game design column in the webzine Pixelate. From 2000-2001 he was also programming for a startup company while still in high school. After doing an interview in mid 2001 on the newly-debuted online school Game Institute for GameDev.net, he was asked by the company to help with their customer support and public relations. Late in 2001, Drew was finishing up the three articles he contributed to the book Game Design Perspectives, which he was invited to write for at the beginning of the year.
As if 2001 wasn't exciting enough, it was capped off by the first meeting of the IGDA New Jersey North Chapter in years, held on December 15th in New York City's Technology Careers Institute, which Drew helped to organize with original chapter coordinator Darrell Porcher. Along with continued involvement in the restarting and organization of the NJ Chapter, Drew conducted a series of IGDA member profiles through mid-2002 that were posted weekly on the IGDA website. With the continued growth of the NJ Chapter in 2002, Drew decided it was feasible to build a small local development team, and sought out to assemble the core team of Blade Edge Software with the goal of making small 2D shareware games as independent developers. In 2002 Drew also made his first trip out to the Game Developers Conference as a staff writer for GameDev.net.
From 2001 - 2005 as the NJ chapter continued to grow, Drew slowly shifted focus to other areas of interest, and became a member of the chapter's newly formed Advisory Board towards the end of 2005 to remain involved. He still remains as active as possible and attends as many meetings as he can, giving lectures and helping with meeting content when occasions allow.
In late 2005 he teamed up further with Game Institute to start a new program of free online seminars geared towards focused areas of game development. This program debuted in full force late 2006 and is open to all game developers.
Towards the end of 2006, he was promoted to Executive Producer of GameDev.net. Where he now oversees all of the content that is featured on the website.
Blade Edge Software downsized drastically by 2006 to a completely contract-based company, and began looking for ways to make use of Garage Game's Torque Game Builder engine to create unique and fun puzzle, action and strategy games for both the PC and Xbox360 market.
Drew is currently keeping himself mighty busy mainly with helping to coordinate the NJ Chapter, helping to organize local events, speaking at local events, programming games for Blade Edge Software, editing the weekly newsletter and polls for GameDev.net, answering support emails, handling community issues and managing seminars for Game Institute, moderating various game development forums, coaching gymnastics, training in martial arts, looking for more stunt work, playing games on his computer and GameCube, thinking about writing more articles, dreaming about writing a novel, wanting to attend more conferences, and trying to have a life (in no particular order).
You can find him online as DarkPylat on AOL or at the yearly GDC, where he helps GameDev.net with their kick ass event coverage. He doesn't bite, and enjoys talking to people who share similar interests - power kiting, Star Wars, skiing, motorcycling, climbing, sword fighting, gymnastics, martial arts, stunting and, of course, anything computer-related.
As if 2001 wasn't exciting enough, it was capped off by the first meeting of the IGDA New Jersey North Chapter in years, held on December 15th in New York City's Technology Careers Institute, which Drew helped to organize with original chapter coordinator Darrell Porcher. Along with continued involvement in the restarting and organization of the NJ Chapter, Drew conducted a series of IGDA member profiles through mid-2002 that were posted weekly on the IGDA website. With the continued growth of the NJ Chapter in 2002, Drew decided it was feasible to build a small local development team, and sought out to assemble the core team of Blade Edge Software with the goal of making small 2D shareware games as independent developers. In 2002 Drew also made his first trip out to the Game Developers Conference as a staff writer for GameDev.net.
From 2001 - 2005 as the NJ chapter continued to grow, Drew slowly shifted focus to other areas of interest, and became a member of the chapter's newly formed Advisory Board towards the end of 2005 to remain involved. He still remains as active as possible and attends as many meetings as he can, giving lectures and helping with meeting content when occasions allow.
In late 2005 he teamed up further with Game Institute to start a new program of free online seminars geared towards focused areas of game development. This program debuted in full force late 2006 and is open to all game developers.
Towards the end of 2006, he was promoted to Executive Producer of GameDev.net. Where he now oversees all of the content that is featured on the website.
Blade Edge Software downsized drastically by 2006 to a completely contract-based company, and began looking for ways to make use of Garage Game's Torque Game Builder engine to create unique and fun puzzle, action and strategy games for both the PC and Xbox360 market.
Drew is currently keeping himself mighty busy mainly with helping to coordinate the NJ Chapter, helping to organize local events, speaking at local events, programming games for Blade Edge Software, editing the weekly newsletter and polls for GameDev.net, answering support emails, handling community issues and managing seminars for Game Institute, moderating various game development forums, coaching gymnastics, training in martial arts, looking for more stunt work, playing games on his computer and GameCube, thinking about writing more articles, dreaming about writing a novel, wanting to attend more conferences, and trying to have a life (in no particular order).
You can find him online as DarkPylat on AOL or at the yearly GDC, where he helps GameDev.net with their kick ass event coverage. He doesn't bite, and enjoys talking to people who share similar interests - power kiting, Star Wars, skiing, motorcycling, climbing, sword fighting, gymnastics, martial arts, stunting and, of course, anything computer-related.
