DJaySky
Who am I?
Hello! I'm DJaySky, an independent American programmer and musician with a passion for game development. I first fell
down the rabbit hole that is programming in 2023 and have since dedicated significant time to honing my skills. My
experience includes working with the Godot Game Engine, Pico-8, and Lua, using both Love2D and vanilla Lua. My
favorite method of game/software development has been Lua, although I like to embed it into other languages to extend
its functionality.
Since 2023, I have invested countless hours into understanding game development and programming. I made many projects
early on that, despite failing, served as valuable learning experiences. 2024 marked a milestone when I successfully
completed and released my first game: The Darkest Armory.
On a less professional note, here are some other things about me:
- I dislike large companies that don't have their user's best interests in mind (especially tech companies). I (and you, I hope) do not like the thought of some company using my data or information solely to gain profit for themselves, which is why I am an advocate for FOSS (Free and Open Source Software). Any non-game software that I write will always be available, source code and all, on my GitHub.
- I am fascinated by Japanese culture and plan on moving to Japan in the future.
- I want to create my own game studio, where I can have fun with a group of friends and make something great at the same time.
Games
The Darkest Armory
"The Darkest Armory is a repetitive game about delving deep into dungeons to find loot. Your task as simple: get as much gold as you can before your untimely death. How much gold can you find?"
Active Projects
I am currently working on an untitled isometric real time strategy/card game about defending your campfire. The
game is still in very early stages of development, but I'm very excited to bring my ideas to light. I plan on
retrieving (and listening to) player feedback, as that is truly what makes games great. After all, games wouldn't
exist without the players :)
Alongside my game, I have two smaller-scale projects that I am working on simultaniously. The first is a
lightweight text editor called Runic, written in Rust and Lua. The second is my very own programming
language, which I have decided to call Tori. Both projects are in early stages of development, but are
advancing at a rapid pace.
Skills
Programming:
My favorite part of game development is programming. I have great experience with Lua, and I'm also familiar with C#
and GDScript.
Outside of game development, I have learned how to use Rust, which I am building several projects with. While
low-level languages are my favorite, they are often incapable of creating advanced programs easily. Rust's safety and
extensive list of crates made it a natural choice for high level programming.
In the end though, a language is just a tool for the job. I feel confident in my ability to learn new languages and
concepts, and then apply them to actual programs.
Game Design:
While its not something I enjoy doing, obviously game design is an important part of game development. I do my best to come up with creative and unique ideas for my games, while balancing the player's experience with the game's mechanics.
Music:
I enjoy playing and creating music, not necessarily as a job, but I can (and have) put it to use in my games. I specialize in 8bit/chiptune music, but I can also work in other genres if need be.
Art:
I'm not the best artist, but I enjoy making pixel art. I've recently found more enjoyment in making art, not as assets for a game, but as a hobby. I plan on improving my skills in the future.
Interests
Video Games:
If its not obvious by now, I love playing video games, and have always loved playing games since I was a kid. I find inspiration in many different types of games, but my favorite genres are Zelda-likes, First-Person Shooters, and survival games. If you're curious, here's a list of some of my favorite games.
Music:
I love to both play and listen to music. I play guitar, drums (sometimes), and a little bit of keyboard. I like all different types of music, including rock, EDM, rap, and 8bit/chiptune. My favorite band is 65DaysOfStatic (if you like expiremental stuff, go check them out - they're great).