0 // WELCOME
My name is John, I'm a software engineer and puzzle designer, and this is my personal website.
I design and build interactive web infrastructure and puzzle systems at ARGHouse, supporting the development of live Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) and immersive interactive experiences. My work bridges narrative design, cryptographic puzzle development, and full-stack web engineering to create dynamic campaigns that engage players across digital platforms.
Outside ARGHouse, I also have nine years of professional experience with software engineering. Including 6 years of experience with full-stack web development. Some of my independent software projects are listed below.
1 // LATEST BLOG POST
Article: Project Highlight: Weekend at the End of the World
Abstract:
Weekend at the End of the World is a horror-comedy film directed by Gille Klabin. In which, the primary setting is a hunted cabin. Through my job at ARGHouse, I helped players experience that cabin for themselves via an interactive point-and-click puzzle game. Players who completed the game were eligible to win props from the movie and limited-run VHS copies. In addition to doing the programming for the point-and-click environment, I also designed a number of the game's puzzles. Most significantly, the final puzzle of the game.
2 // SOFTWARE PROJECTS
2.0 // Mornay
Page: mornary.com
Summary:
Mornary is an application I am building to explore generative steganography. It converts binary data into Morse code that decodes to plausible English text, hiding the true payload in plain sight. The app is carrier-agnostic and robust enough to survive human relay, making it a unique generative steganography tool.
2.1 // Codon64
Page: codon64.com
Summary:
Codon64 is a novelty encryption algorithm I created which uses DNA nucleotides (A, G, C, and T) as the only characters of the ciphertext. It is implemented with JavaScript on its own website.
3 // ARG Walkthroughs
3.0 // Cicada Detroit
>> Videos: 18 Runtime: 5h 01m 20s
>> View Full Playlist
An in-depth walkthrough of all 42 puzzles in the Cicada Detroit ARG. In addition to explaining every puzzle solution step-by-step, I also detail my personal experience in the five in-person puzzles that rounded-out the game. Coverage of the final five puzzles is supplemented with photos and audio captured during the event.
3.1 // QLEDecode
>> Videos: 4 Runtime: 1h 16m 48s
>> View Full Playlist
An in-depth walkthrough of the first ARG I ever participated in — a joint collaboration between Samsung, XBox, and CD Projekt Red to promote the then-upcoming release of Cyberpunk 2077. This playlist covers the trailhead up through all 15 possible puzzles that players could have solved to become a semi-finalist. The actual finals were livestreamed and, as a result, I hadn't felt the need to cover it. Unfortunately, Samsung eventually took down the recording of the livestream so it is now lost.