by Chris Billowsin Nerdism in Winnipeg0 commentstags: Book Writing, Video Game History, Winnipeg
Welcome to the Winnipeg & Manitoba Video Game Development History Timeline (Nov/2025). After compiling the previous timeline, I wanted to create a timeline of Video Game Development in Winnipeg & Manitoba. This timeline is not complete and I welcome additions and corrections (see link at bottom). The criteria to be listed on this timeline is: A) Must be (or include) a Winnipeg / Manitoba based developer and, B) Must release commercial games on a Console/Mobile/Steam/VR platform, or C) Be noteworthy for some other reason that has an impact on video gaming. — 1970 – University of Manitoba launches its Department of Computer Science 1971 to 1999 – research pending on arcades, retail selling computers and consoles, and early BBSs and Internet in Winnipeg and Manitoba 2000 – New Media Manitoba is formed 2001 – Complex Games is formed 2006 – Fortune Cat Studios is formed 2007 – Bit Blot (with Winnipeg’s Alec Holowka) releases Aquaria and wins awards and critical acclaim 2008 – Government of Manitoba introduces Manitoba Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit 2008 – Government of Manitoba launches Canada’s First Interactive Digital Gaming Business Incubator 2008 – Fortune Cat Studios hosts an open house 2009 – Complex Games releases […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Hobby Heedings0 commentstags: Awareness / Understanding, Business Development, Change of Mind, GameDev Skills, Personal Resolve, Self Analysis
Like Napoleon Dynamite, I’m going to embellish what I did this past year. Yeah, I was hunting wolverines with my uncle in Alaska. It would explain in a cool way why I got so little accomplished. Here is a summary of what happened this past year: . . Like I did with Heropath, my plan is to start refactoring the Roguelike codebase to fit what I want to do. I attempted to two experiments with AI Coding and I must say they were pretty atrocious. I will use AI to help educate me but it will be up to my own raw effort to learn what to do. . Happy Canadian Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for my family, friends, and the amazing software and tutorials that has allowed me to get to this point. “Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity.” ~ Simone Weil
by Chris Billowsin Nerdism in Winnipeg0 commentstags: Book Writing, Video Game History, Winnipeg
This post took me about 18(!) months to write because of the volume of information I collected but it was worth it (I think). This post provides what I think is the first of its kind to my knowledge – a comprehensive timeline history of video games across all of its segments! Welcome to the next segment of Nerdism in Winnipeg. The previous post talked about Nerds by outlining various definitions, this post talks about Electronic Game Machines, and illustrates what they are through an extensive timeline. I do acknowledge that neither of these two posts provide any insights into Winnipeg as I am still in the definitions stage of this project. What is an Electronic Game Machine? It is any electronic device built to assist humans to play games. These electronic devices are the core of the video game industry and encompass everything including university computers, video arcade machines, video game consoles, personal computers, handhelds, mobile devices, smartphones, etc. There is a nice precedent to my definition that I just discovered before publishing this post related to a 2006 book called Encyclopedia of Game Machines. I want to emphasize that my definition has the word Electronic in it which […]
by Chris Billowsin Spirit Speculations0 commentstags: Human Condition, Poem
Today is my 55th Birthday and with it I have reached a privileged position. I am a contributor and beneficiary of a defined pension that allows me to officially retire! It has been close to 30 years of working and contributing to the public good through my efforts in health care. I am thankful that overall there were few moments that work required me to compromise my values. . . Now that I can officially retire there is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, but also some trepidation. I am now in the twilight of my career and my working life will soon be over. While I don’t plan to retire right now, I am sure that I will retire in the next 2 to 3 years. There is still some work to do and it can never hurt to pad the savings accounts! My identity will need to change, a rebirth essentially will be required. This is a crossroads moment and I need to begin thinking on who I will become when I do retire. Below is a poem I wrote to commemorate this moment. I also wrote two other poems: Mid-Century Contemplation and Middle of the Muddle which you’re […]
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Hobby Heedings0 commentstags: Awareness / Understanding, Blogging, Business Development
. I am wishing everyone a Happy New Year for 2025. I wish that the new year brings you peace, good health, and good fortune. There is not much to report as far as my projects are concerned but I continue to plug away at them and do find myself inspired for periods of time. This past year had some non-serious health setbacks that impacted on my energy levels. Plus the full-time career does seem to take its pound of flesh from me. What is exciting is that I will have put in enough years of service at my career that I could retire with a pension later this year. That is very exciting but I don’t think I’ll retire just yet. There are some financial goals we want to meet before taking that step. It will be interesting to see how I will feel when I do reach the milestone. I’ve heard from others that knowing that they could retire, the relationship with work is transformed. . In summary: . As I’ve said previous New Year Days, I am thankful for the privilege to pursue these projects and wish that everyone could have the same opportunity.
by Chris Billowsin Business Beller, Hobby Heedings1 commentstags: Awareness / Understanding, Business Development, Change of Mind, GameDev Skills, Personal Resolve, Self Analysis
It has been almost a three years ago that I made a commitment to spent time developing coding skills and I’m providing an update about my efforts. . . Thanks to Procrastitracker I am able to share these images of my progress when I started October 1, 2023 up to September 30, 2024: This past year of work on Heropath was limited to design and story research. In addition, some Procrastitracker data is missing and Heropath development was restricted due to: . Chris Zuchowski gave a YouTube talk about being careful about the genre of game you create for and that you should not try to make your first game your masterpiece. I am going to follow his advice by switching to a ‘prequel’ that is placed in the Heropath setting but will be much simpler, allowing me some momentum and easier skill development. This new Heropath-related game will be known as Mythway. In summary, I’ve spent about 41 hours working on the game including research, writing, and design. I’ve done no actual coding so at this rate it will take me years to get to 1,000 or 10,000 hours. This past year has not had the direct progress that I had planned for, but […]
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