Today we’d like to introduce you to Devin Morse.
Hi Devin, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been an avid gamer for as long as I can remember. I first started playing video games on the Atari 2600 with games like Space Invaders and Frogger. Then in 1995 my family bought our first computer, the Windows 95. It came with a set of multiple games which I ran through quite religiously. However, I hadn’t really thought about being a game developer. At that time I was more interested in growing up and joining the military (which I did) or going into film making (which I did not).
It wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I considered being a game developer. This is when I played the game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. For some reason, this game showed me what a game could be and it got my imagination moving like nothing else. But, 9/11 happened, and after High School I went into the military.
Fast forward to 2011, I exited the Army and went straight to Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA to pursue my gaming career. Originally I thought, like most students, that I wanted to work for the big companies like EA or Activision. But I soon realized that my heart actually was in the Indie Game Dev world. While I was in school, I created my first video game and published it to internet site New Grounds.
After that, thing became a bit slow for my game career. I started working in other jobs and tried doing game dev on the side. I was fortunate to work on a small Indie game with one of my old instructors during this time. A game called Jump Tanks.
Later, I ended up rejoining the military, somewhat thinking my game career may be a long lost wish. However, while I was in the Army this second time, I decided to pursue a Masters in Game Development and to work on another little game called esc-8-bit. I completed both of these things by the time I left the Army… again.
This time, after my discharge, I was able to land a job working in the military simulation industry. I finally started doing the things I wanted to do, albeit in the “serious game” industry. Following a few years in that industry, I decided it was time to go into a more game heavy industry. So, I became a professor at Full Sail University and began pursuing my own dream of starting a game dev company.
In 2023, I established Finished Games, LLC. And my first game under that banner was, well, a miserable failure. So I paused and shelved it. Then, a few months later I started getting into AI research and trying to understand everything I could about it. This inspired me to create the game Imitation, a gamified version of a Turing Test. I published it in August of this year. Additionally, I am working on another project that I had to shelve a few years ago. That game is War of the Worlds 1897. It will be my most ambitious game to date, but it is already looking very promising.
That is my story. It has been over two decades in the making, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has been quite a struggle, as is common with most indie companies. It takes a lot of time, effort, and frustration, plus a ton of failure, to get a good game out.
Often, it is simply finding a project that I am capable of doing with minimal funds and typically alone.
The Indie route can be a lonely road. It can be tough working on a game with only your doubts and worries to accompany you.
Luckily I have an extremely supportive wife and family.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Over time I have become a generalist in game development. I got my degree as a game design major with an emphasis on animation. Animators for games are perhaps the rarest of the disciplines. I got my start as an animator for the game Jump Tanks. Now, I have moved into 3D environment art, creating the worlds that gamers play within.
It seems my most proud accomplishments is the thing I am currently working on. But I am particularly proud of my career in the military simulation industry and, of course, whenever I publish a new game.
The thing that sets me apart, from what I have been told, is my tenacity. I will continue to pursue a goal until I reach it and then I will go further than the original goal.
What’s next?
My plan for the near future is to finish War of the Worlds 1897. That will be the biggest game I’ve ever made and if successful, will launch my company to bigger endeavors.
Pricing:
- Imitation on Steam is $5
Contact Info:
- Website: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3054760/Imitation/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WOTW1897/
