about

i’m a game developer, toolmaker, and photographer specializing in video games, ai, and creative tool production.

currently I work at unity as an engineering manager on the low-level VM team and lead the broad .net modernization efforts at the company, primarily encompassing the runtime transition from mono to coreclr and the BCL version updates for il2cpp.

on the side, i’m the co-founder of afterschool studio, a game studio focused on making art-forward, systems-driven games. I have also started a new inprint called eggsy that is focused around desktop companion games.

previously i co-founded scatter and worked to democratize volumetric video capture with depthkit.

i primarily lead engineering teams across games and deep tech towards producing technical outcomes that can support other people’s creative projects. as a developer myself, I’m also usually the first consumer of these tools, and advocate for usability, playfulness, and serendipity wherever possible in the tools I help create. i endeavor to make things that inspire other people to make things.

you can contact me below:

email kyle.kukshtel@gmail.com
bluesky kkukshtel
github github.com/kkukshtel

awards/honors:
news and documentary emmy for Zero Days VR
webby for Zero Days VR
webby for MTV Braless
webby nominated for work in education with PBS Digital Studios
best director of anthology short @ la web fest for “Invader”
“Invader” accepted and streaming on Hulu, AT&T U-Verse, DirecTV

interviews:
vscode team interview about depot
three moves ahead on cantata
re:bind
radio free brooklyn
clockwork game design thousand ant game development

podcasts
i host game data podcast
i co-hosted bad end podcast for ~5 years
i co-hosted the first season of superculture review on disco elysium

talks/panels:
“Your Game is a Harness” - Indie Rodeo
“Making and Pitching Niche Games” - Alberta Games Series
Co-hosted and co-organized the Volumetric Filmmakers NYC Meetup
Hosted panel on Volumetric Filmmaking at NYVR Expo 2018
Hosted the panels portion of the 2016 ArtCade Con at CultureHub/La MaMa
New Tools in VR Filmmaking
Organized and curated the workshops portion of the 2016 VR Conference Versions
Hosted Panel on Curating Games in a Post-Arcade World w/Davis Cox

curation:
Artcade Con 2016 w/This Near Future
Artcade Con 2015 w/This Near Future
LA MAMA x Seoul Arts Artcade w/This Near Future
Computer Age w/ Leo Goldsmith & Gregory Zinman for the Museum of the Moving Image
Kill Screen’s weekly “Playlist”
Comcast “Watchable” weekly gaming playlist

film:
Director: PBS Game/Show (41 Episodes)
Director: PBS SpaceTime (34 Episodes)
Colorist: MTV Decoded (Pilot)
Post-Production Coordinator/AE/Colorist: MTV Braless (36 Episodes)
AE: PBS Idea Channel (15 Episodes)
DIR/Editor: Horror Hotel: Invader
DIR/Editor: Dicks! (70s Buddy Cop Spec)
DIR/Editor: Snifie Commercial
DIR/DP/Editor: Be Easy - Selflessness Music Video
DIR/DP/Editor: The Vortex Documentary
DIR/DP/Editor: Cherokee - Hazard Music Video

published photos:
issue 8 cover @ kill screen
iggy azalea @ creative loafing
muslim americans @ cnn
selected by vsco for curated grid

published writing:
The Guardian Featured my piece Game Design Mimetics
DIRT - Speedrunning Ocarina of Time
Gamasutra / Game Developer
(Featured) A Gentle Introduction to Steamworks
(Featured) Beyond Scriptable Objects: Unity Data Management with CastleDB
(Featured) Delivering a Closed Alpha to a Store Channel on Discord

Kill Screen
Selected pieces:
Imagining the Technological Singularity with Factorio
Brendon Chung and His Love For Big Dumb Plastic Switches

Versions
Selected pieces: VR Face has got to die already Molleindustria’s new game tackles the big questions