MJ Johns

MJ is a game developer, programmer, and experience designer with a background in computer science and a passion for teaching and public speaking. MJ has been working in the games industry since 2011 and is credited on games ranging from AAA to VR to independent self-published titles. MJ's game credits include Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered (designer / scripter), Mafia III (designer), Virtual Tour of Amsterdam Omni Demo (designer / programmer), Cat Cave Android and iOS (creative director / programmer), Night in the Woods (tester), Out Foxed (creative director), Death's Daughter (creative director), Slapdash Bones (solo dev), and a handful of contract projects under NDA.

In 2016, MJ founded independent game studio Astire Games with the goal of using games (and game development) to make the world better. Astire Games hosts a team of 4-7 interns each quarter to give game dev students a chance to work collaboratively to ship a game. Astire Games is also currently developing a multiplayer game that bridges the gap between cooperative and competitive gameplay.

MJ has developed for a wide range of hardware including VR, the Kinect, the Wii Fit Balance Board, mobile devices (Android, iOS, and tablets), zSpace Semi-holographic technology, the Virtuix Omni, and hand- and motion-tracking hardware include the Leap Motion and the PS Move. In their spare time, MJ teaches User Interface Design, Prototyping, and Level Design at the Art Institute and at summer camps for high school kids, and speaks publicly at game dev events such as PAX, Unite, Women in Games, and SXSW.