Noah Brayall

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to make things.

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Early on, that passion took shape in the form of doodles. Throughout grade school, I had a reputation for scratching away in a composition notebook and customizing my Converse with Sharpie. I was probably most notorious for my pencil sketches on desks—even though I usually remembered to erase them before the end of the day. Truth be told, there wasn’t a surface I didn’t like to draw on, and the teachers mostly didn’t mind (as long as the art was good enough).

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By high school, I began to take art more seriously, which in turn made me take myself more seriously as an artist. Instead of doodling through lectures, I started setting aside time for deliberate study—buying books, watching online lessons, and diving into art theory. I even joined an after-school program for visual arts students, but eventually left when I realized it lacked the structure and individual guidance I needed to grow.

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Around that time, I met a group of friends in my school’s media arts program. These nerds had the same passion for movies that I had for drawing. I found kinship in their excitement for art, albeit in a different medium. Before long, they convinced me to join the media arts program the following year. That summer, I devoured films ranging from classic blockbusters to indie shorts. Through the program, I discovered filmmaking, editing, and the value of pacing. Lengthy film analysis papers forced me to wrestle with complex ideas and gave me an analytical lens I began to view the world through. Naturally, it was only a matter of time before I turned that lens toward my most enduring passion—video games.

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I’ve always cherished the escapism video games offer, often playing to unwind after a long day of classes. But by the time I graduated high school, that relationship began to evolve. I started to recognize the profound artistry in my favorite titles, analyzing their structure and design while filling the first of many gaming journals. This process led me to the conclusion that video games are, without question, the most poignant art form.

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I studied journalism for a time in college, hoping to report on the games industry and maybe pivot into reviews. I enjoyed writing and found success with it in school, but ultimately decided I wanted to contribute to the industry in a more hands-on way—through creation rather than commentary.

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That brings me to the creation of this website: NoahMakesGames—an online exhibit for my work as a game developer. I hope to use it to track my growth as a developer in the same way I once used sketchpads to chart my growth as an artist—and, hopefully, to inspire others to do the same.

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You’ve got my life story… now let’s make some games!​​