by Patrick Curry
January 1, 2025
2024 was a big year, like a big giant bucking bronco of a year. It nearly knocked me down and stomped on my face. But we avoided all that, and have lived long enough to share some highlights!
My “day job” is being the CEO at FarBridge, a video game studio in Austin, Texas. We got to work on a bunch of amazing games in 2024, and a few of them got released to the public too!
The games that launched in 2024 include…
Homeworld: Vast Reaches for Quest 2 & 3
Our biggest launch to date at FarBridge is all-new game we developed with our partners at Gearbox. If you’re into VR and strategy games, check it out!
https://homeworldvastreaches.com/
Dimensional Double Shift for Quest 2 & 3
FarBridge also worked with Owlchemy Labs, the crazy kids who made Job Simulator, on their new multiplayer VR game. The free beta is out now!
https://www.meta.com/experiences/dimensional-double-shift/4449903565103159/
Super Only Up : Tower of Heck for Fortnite
FarBridge created this platformer / obstacle course / obby for Fortnite, which was a fun challenging mix of level design and Verse programming. If you’re into Fortnite, check it out!
https://www.fortnite.com/@looknorth.world/0159-6233-9704
We also worked on some very cool still-secret projects, and only time will tell when we get to share them with the world.
You can read more about our year at FarBridge here: https://farbridge.com/news/blog/farbridges-2024-a-year-in-review
FarBridge kept me pretty busy, but I did make progress on a handful of personal projects this year. I’ve been doing more fiction writing, and while none of it is ready for publication yet, it’s been fun to spend time in my own worlds of make-believe.
Quake BSP in Unity
I managed to finish and release a fun open-source project which renders Quake levels in the Unity game engine. I started this one back in 2020, and finally got it released for Quake’s birthday this June.
https://patrickcurry.com/quake/quakebspinunity/
“Why I fixed Quake’s co-op mode (and then forgot about it for 15 years)”
Continuing my obsession with all things Quake, I also wrote an essay about the cooperative mode that I created. I made this mod many years ago for personal reasons, and it was fun to walk down memory lane and share a heartfelt gamedev story.
https://patrickcurry.com/quake/co-op/article/
Level Design is Game Design
I got to put on my professorial hat this year, and gave talks at both the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Texas at Arlington. I love being on campus and interacting with students and faculty. In the midst of these visits I wrote a long essay (maybe a chapter in a book one day) about how the art of level design is a microcosm of all game design.
http://patrickcurry.com/leveldesign/
Clue for Fortnite
I also got to consult with my pals at Look North World on the design of the official Clue game for Fortnite. Clue is one of my all-time most favorite board games, so having a hand in this launch was super special to me.
https://www.fortnite.com/@looknorth.world/0783-3570-5073?lang=en-US
“Tetris: Perfection Hidden in Plain Sight”
I’m honored to have my essay about Tetris included in the latest Well Played book, an awesome series curated by Drew Davidson. This is another important part of my game developer origin story, and maybe I have an insight or two about Tetris, which I consider to be a “perfect game”.
https://playstorypress.org/books/well-played-for-the-love-of-games/
We’re doing well, and despite some health challenges mid-year, everyone was able to enjoy the holidays happy and healthy together! The kids are making lots of amazing creative projects and productions of their own. And the big news on the family front is that Erin’s band Parker Woodland released their banger of an album. Check out “There’s No Such Thing As Time”!
https://www.parkerwoodland.com/media
But 2024 kept me too busy, I didn’t do a great job of keeping up with my pals in and out of the gamedev community. So if you found this blog post and made it all the way down to the bottom, drop me a line! You can email or text or call… or feel free to schedule a virtual coffee date!
https://patrickcurry.com/coffee