SATORI

Hi! I’m Mark DeLoura, a veteran technologist who spent 2013-2014 working as Senior Advisor for Digital Media at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Prior to my role at the White House, I worked many years in technology roles at companies such as Sony, Nintendo, Google, Ubisoft, and THQ, launched game platforms such as the PS3, PS2, PSP, Nintendo64, Gamecube, and Gameboy Advance, and helped build a number of games. I’m also the creator of the Game Programming Gems series of technical books.

As a passionate proponent for making computer science education and game development more accessible and useful tools for expression, I’ve worked in a variety of roles over the years and done a lot of fun things on the side. Through the Game Programming Gems books, my former role as editor-in-chief of Game Developer magazine, and many presentations, I’ve shared my passion for game development with engineers around the world. I’ve spent time as an advisor for charity OneBigGame, animation technology developer Mixamo (purchased by Adobe), Game Developer magazine, the Independent Games Festival (judge), the International Game Developers Association, and the Game Developers Conference. I’m a charter member of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. My Computer Science B.S. came from the University of Washington Allen School, and I spent three years exploring virtual reality at the excellent Human Interface Technology Lab. I attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

I was blogging here until about 2012, but have barely touched it since then. Recently I’ve been working on games for learning and K-12 computer science education, inspired by my time at the White House. You can find some of my current work here: GDC 2015 talk, DICE 2015 talk, GamesBeat article, White House Education Game Jam (video), White House Christmas decoration Bo-Bot, President Obama’s coding speech. I was a member of the Games for Change board for a number of years after leaving the White House, and currently participate on the Game Developers Conference advisory board.

For about five years I sent out a weekly newsletter on learning through games, coding, and making, called the “Level Up Report”. I plan to post these up on the site soon. Thanks for stopping by! (May 2023)