“Computers had their origin in military cryptography—in a sense, every computer game represents the commandeering of a military code-breaking apparatus for purposes of human expression.“ – Austin Grossman
I’m Matthew Gallant, a game designer and software engineer. I am a game director at Naughty Dog, currently working on The Last of Us Part I remake for PS5. I was the lead systems designer on The Last of Us Part II, and a combat designer and level scripter on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, The Last of Us, and Starhawk.
I am a passionate advocate for accessibility in games, and co-headed our effort to push the boundaries of accessibility on The Last of Us Part II. We shipped over 60 features and won “Innovation in Accessibility” at The Game Awards. I have spoken about our work in interviews at Eurogamer, PBS Voices, USA Today, and NPR Morning Edition.
I am also a hobbyist bot maker and experimental game maker. My bot @TinyCrossword was displayed as part of the “Electronic Literature: A Matter of Bits” exhibition at Rutgers University. My small hobby games have been featured at SXSW, the Marfa Film Festival, and The Prince of Arcade.
I’ve been writing about game design on this blog since 2007. I examine how designers craft aesthetic experiences through game mechanics and interacting dynamic systems. I am also interested in how games develop systems literacy that can be applied to hard problems such as climate change and economic policy.
The name of this blog is “The Quixotic Engineer”; the word is derived from Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote. It has various definitions, but my favourite is: “a person or an act that is caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals. It also serves to describe an idealism without regard to practicality.”
You can email me or find me on various social media:
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