Life After O4

For six years, I was the studio head of Outpost4, a game design studio I founded with my friends during the covid-19 lockdown. After releasing Nocturne, a virtual synthesizer for Meta Quest 2, we moved into the design contracting field and helped bring other people’s ideas to life. We produced gamified mobile applications, provided UX and QA services to other indie studios and created numerous internal prototypes.

During this time, I learned how to balance a budget, how to manage scope creep and countless other lessons about game development. I learned both the craft and the business, which it turns out, are inextricably bound. I learned that a good prototype is nothing without a roadmap, and that an excellent plan is nothing without a solid gameplay loop. Development is design is planning is marketing is QA is everything all at once. On a successful project everyone is communicating so that these disciplines inform one another rather than competing for time and attention. Everything is interrelated and simultaneous.

Last month, I decided to step down as co-owner of Outpost4. Outpost4 lives on through the leadership of Kyle Brown-Watson and Spencer Hargiss. Kyle is my oldest friend and Spencer is the most brilliant guy I know. They are still working with our frequent collaborators Nadya Riddick, Madeline McCormick, Nelson Wu and countless other luminaries in the indie game scene. They all continue to inspire me and encourage me to keep making games.

Founding O4 was a dream come true, and leaving it behind me was not an easy decision. But the truth is, dreams must be renewed. There’s no time for dwelling on the past, especially in a world where everything is changing so rapidly. So, I’m not entirely certain what lies ahead for me, but I know that I still have many more games I would like to make. I’m looking forward to new collaborations and projects in 2026.