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, where I spent three years exploring virtual reality at the excellent Human Interface Technology Lab, and I attended graduate school at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

This blog was quite active for a number of years until 2012, but I’ve barely touched it since then. It is in serious need of a reboot! 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 send out a weekly newsletter focused on 21st-century learning through games, coding, and making, called the “Level Up Report”. The site these live on is currently in flux… will relaunch soon, and I’ll update this site at that time. (Written Feb 2018.)