What is Aether?

Just as he was graduating highschool, Josh got the idea for his first game. In his final year he took a course in Game Development, where he learned the basics of GameMaker Studio 1.4. He then took this as far as he could, working alone, to build a small polished game with a simple core idea: Blocked line of sight. As a 2D game, it was far more interesting to engage with the world if you couldn’t see around corners. It made for a striking visual perspective. Aether would go on to win Best in Game Feel at the RPI GameFest 2019.

Role

Josh worked on Aether for about three years on and off before releasing it to a small reception on Itch.io. He then brought it to local playtest nights, and was introduced to the world of indie game development. In many ways, Aether represents the start of Josh’s career in games. Not only because it won an award, but because it showed him that game developers want each other to succeed. Unlike other creative industries, competition is not seen as a primary motivator in games. Aether taught Josh that support from others in this space is genuine, and that his support was appreciated just as much.