This will be a quick update! For those who wanted to know a bit more about our team and company, this one is for you... More on the game coming very soon!

Pixelscopic [ ˌpik səl ˈskäp ik ] means that every aspect of our work reflects a love of the smallest nuances of the digital medium. We founded the company in 2010 in Missouri, USA (based in the cities of Purdy & Springfield). Pixelscopic's founding principles were the development of games and user experiences of impeccable quality. We craft otherworldly experiences with passion for subtle aesthetic detail and creative ambitions as expansive as our imaginations.

Over the course of their careers, our highly experienced team members have shipped 30+ titles combined (mostly for consoles) — filling roles from project leads, to department directors, to lead game designer. The two commercially-released games Pixelscopic has developed since it was founded are Moshi Monsters: Moshling Zoo and Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park, both for Nintendo DS (in cooperation with Mind Candy, Black Lantern Studios, and Activision).

Since starting Pixelscopic, we've been driven toward creating original games for multiple platforms, the first example of which is Delver's Drop. Our goal is to focus on contemporary game design and high-definition 2D graphics, while gazing back at the wonders of our shared gaming past. Whether we are expounding epic lore or rewarding simple successes, we want our games to take root deep in the imaginative hearts of our fans.

Our Team

Ryan Baker, @ryancbaker — Role: Art, Animation, Design

Ryan (aka “Baker”) is the creative leader behind the company’s conceptual and aesthetic vision. A graphic designer and painter before he moved to game development, he started in the industry as a pixel artist and sprite animator. He later served as an art director and creative director on a number of console games. Since founding Pixelscopic with Coby, Ryan’s constant goal is to design nuanced yet tightly constructed games, and to expand the company's artistic process with techniques from his background in fine art and illustration. He plays the drums, and his prized possession is his console game collection, including a few rarities. Ever heard of Vib Ribbon? Oddly for an artist, he is our resident spreadsheet wizard... and once prototyped a game in Excel because he is just that insanely meticulous.

On Delver's Drop: Ryan developed the art style, paints all of the environments and characters, and works a lot on our game design and systems development. He also created the lore and history of the world, and works closely with Burrell and Coby to continue its development.

Coby Utter, @rand0mshade — Role: Engine / Tools / Gameplay / Programming

Coby manages the long term technology vision for Pixelscopic and oversees business development and administration. He spent several years as a Lead Programmer and later Programming Director at another game company before going independent, and started Pixelscopic in 2010. Coby has a strong interest in entrepreneurial experimentation and is driven by a fast, flexible, and user-friendly approach to game technology. On a daily basis he is the driving force for both our company’s cross-platform engine and our gameplay programming foundations. He remains active on independent game development forums, keeps an eye out for interesting indie RPGs, and is working to rebuild his SNES collection (his favorite game is Chrono Trigger). Our resident globetrotter, he speaks Spanish fluently and habitually checks the weather in other countries... just out of curiosity.

On Delver's Drop: Coby created the engine and handles basically all of our gameplay programming. He also adds most of the nuance to our physics and control handling, adding interesting touches like Z-height and elasticity.

Ryan Burrell, @rcburrell — Role: Technical Art / Design

Ryan (aka “Burrell”) serves as a jack-of-all-trades, contributing in the areas of game design, visual production, user interfaces, scripting, and everything tool-related, as well as our web development needs. Ryan has occupied a variety of different roles throughout his career ranging from technical support specialist, to developer, to graphic designer, and has worked in industries ranging from ISPs and e-commerce to boutique design. He joined the Pixelscopic team in early 2011 and cut his teeth on their first Nintendo DS project. Ryan enjoys staying abreast of current trends and methodologies in the tech and entertainment sectors. He still makes it a point to play with LEGOs in his free time and can be found most Friday nights fumbling through a D&D 3.5 session — these two activities often occurring at the same time. He also enjoys gardening, and owns several poisonous plants that he warns house guests not to eat.

On Delver's Drop: Burrell is the key pipeline manager between Baker's art and Coby's code, and makes sure that assets get implemented into our system. He also designs the UI, develops ideas for weapons and items, does almost all of our level design, and writes a decent bit of our lore and descriptions.

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Thanks for reading!

If there is anything else you want to know about us, just drop some questions below in the comments section!