✨ My NZGDC 2025 culture talk is now live!
📺 Watch here →
This talk came straight from the heart.
I started building levels for Doom and Red Alert at age 10 – just for fun, to share at LAN parties with friends.
As I grew, I became a regular in the Command & Conquer modding community – a fan with a vision and a toolkit.
Two decades later, I’ve gone from hobbyist to professional game developer, and I’ve watched something incredible happen:
Players evolved – from fans to creators to collaborators – breathing new life into games long after launch.
At NZGDA’s NZGDC, I had the privilege to tell that story and to share not just insights, but lived experience:
🔥 How passion projects grow into powerful engines of community
💡 How mods and UGC don’t just extend games – they transform them into living, evolving cultures
We explored the modding legacy of Electronic Arts (EA) Command & Conquer series and what its modding community taught us:
When developers empower their communities, a virtuous cycle of creativity and longevity takes root.
Then we looked forward to platforms like Roblox, Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN), and Minecraft – where studios and creators now build together in a shared culture of innovation and collaboration.
Delivering this talk was deeply personal.
From leading Tiberian Sun Rising with a global team of volunteers…
To supporting studios like Larian Studios, Gearbox Entertainment, Techland, and other studios during my time at mod.io, helping them embrace creator communities at scale…
This journey has always been about one thing:
Putting creative power in players’ hands.
If you believe players are shaping the future of game development, I think you’ll find something meaningful here. 💜
📺 Watch the whole talk → Passion Projects to Player Power on NZGDC’s YouTube Channel
