My name is Chris Sanyk, and this is my web site.
I am from Cleveland, OH. International Game Developers Association member and active member of Cleveland Game Developers. If you’re in the NE Ohio area, and haven’t been to one of our meetings, check us out!
I’ve been dabbling with web stuff since about 1997, but I only really started getting serious about it around 2006. Recently, I decided it was time to create a site to build, to learn, and show off what I can do.
In 2010, I started doing video game development. I have always wanted to do this, since I was very little, ever since I first experienced video games. I am actively involved with the Cleveland Game Developers meetup, and have been participating in Ludum Dare and Global Game Jam since 2012.
I like:
- open standards
- free (libre)/open source software
- simplicity
- minimalism
- elegance
- robustness
- design for ease of future modification
- clean, expressive code
- good writing
- clear, well-written, accurate, and complete documentation
I love:
- video games
- usability
- freedom
- creativity
- innovation
- fresh ideas
- clever repurposing
Gaming
I am a retrogamer, and my biggest influences are the late-70’s/early-80’s video arcade, 8-bit consoles and microcomputers (Atari, Coleco, Nintendo, Apple, Commodore). I like some modern games as well, but my heart will always be 8-bit.
2D > 3D
play mechanics and controls > story and graphics
simplicity > complexity
In 1981, at 6 years old, I knew I wanted to be a game designer when I grew up. I spent a lot of time doing paper prototypes of games I would like to see made, from the age of 6 or 7 onward.
In 1994, I had no idea how I’d ever get into videogame development. I knew no one in the industry, and all the companies seemed to be very far away, and it was super competitive and the industry sucked the life out of people by working them too hard.
In 1995, I quit thinking about it because I couldn’t figure out any way I could ever make money doing it, and because the industry seemed to be moving away from the type of games I wanted to make. Everything was 3d, a license of some established IP, or a sequel. Ugh.
A few years ago, I discovered the Indie Games Blog and learned about Ludum Dare, played some of the games that had come out of them, and rekindled my interest in game development.
In 2010, I stopped caring if I ever made money doing it. I realized that not knowing how to make money at something I wanted to do was a bad reason for not doing it.
Today, I am a happy game designer, making games that I want to make. It’d be nice if they made money someday, but I don’t care too much about that. Mainly I want to make a name for myself.