Jibb Smart, Game Dev
I'm Jibb Smart. I created the flick stick control scheme (now featured in Steam, reWASD, DS4Windows), JoyShockMapper and JoyShockLibrary, GyroWiki (the gold standard for implementing good gyro controls in your games), and GamepadMotionHelpers. I'm currently contracting as an Input Specialist / Controls Designer and Programmer.
This site is to help me keep track of older projects, but I try and check in once and a while to make sure the modern stuff is up-to-date, too.
2020+: Consulting Input Specialist
Since 2020 I've been consulting in various capacities to improve the controls in games of all scales, from small indies to huge AAA (such as Fortnite). I specialise in controls design and implementation, but have also been working in gameplay programming generally, and would love to hear from you if you're looking for input. In particular, if you're looking to implement the absolute best gyro controls (or just have a conversation to make sure you're avoiding the common mistakes most games make), please reach out to me on Twitter or the GyroWiki contact page.
If you're looking for best practices without having to talk to anyone, I strongly recommend starting with this simple "basics" guide on GameDeveloper.com and exploring the advanced tutorials on GyroWiki's blog.
I've also had the pleasure of working with Andy Robertson on Taming Gaming's Motion Control categories, as well as a list highlighting some of the best games in that space. Please check it out!
2018+: Gyro Gaming, Flick Stick, Gyro Wiki
A modern console controller -- or at least, the standard controllers of the Sony PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch -- are capable of so much more than either players or developers realise.
I've created open source tools JoyShockLibrary and JoyShockMapper to help explore the potential offered by the gyroscopes in these controllers.
On GyroWiki, developers can find tutorials on how to use these features much better than we even encounter in games that do embrace the gyro. Learn to use the gyro as a mouse, and then blow past the perceived limitations of aiming with a controller with flick stick.
See gyro aiming and flick stick in action with a DualShock 4 -- the PlayStation 4's standard controller -- playing against PC players. It's too early to say how far controls like these will go to leveling the playing field between console and PC players. But they significantly close the gap on response time, player agility, and directness of control.
When controls like these have been embraced by players and developers alike, we're going to look back at the PS4/Xbox One generation of consoles and be astonished that games treated PS4 controllers like they're just Xbox One controllers.
See more of this in action at the Gyro Gaming YouTube channel.
2010-2013: KarBOOM
2013's KarBOOM was my first published game and is still available. Up to 12-player local-multiplayer action. Play for points, survival, or goals in any combination of teams.
I've come a long way as an input specialist since making KarBOOM. While it does support any standard PC controller, you'll likely want to customise the controls to suit your button layout.
Once that's out the way, I'm proud of the core mechanics of the game -- bumper cars with a high risk/reward boosting system that, depending on your skill, can just as easily spell doom for you or your opponent.
An improved version of KarBOOM was never quite finished before I got caught up in other work, but you can see some behind-the-scenes of some of the rendering tech I was working on here. These days, a lot of that tech is outdated (in particular, my very simple temporal anti-aliasing solution), but if I've put in the effort to keep a record of such things I like to leave it online.
For even older projects, check out the Archive.