The Courtyard
Where seasoned veterans share their stories and wisdom is the purpose of our time.
Temporary image. We prefer human-made work. Help cut the glass →
“Without guidance, people fall, but with many counselors there is deliverance.”
— Proverbs 11:14 HCSB
The cloister keeps the fire. The courtyard is where the work is heard.
Once a month a maker stands up in this hall and tells the truth about the job: how a story is built, how a studio lives or dies, how a disciple stays a person while the build is on fire. Live sessions include Q&A. Recordings go to YouTube shortly after.
This is not a conference circuit. It is counsel — the kind you get when someone who still has ink on their hands will sit with you for an hour.
Next in the hall
Patrick Shaw
Thursday, 19 November 2026 · 1:00pm Pacific
I am a Christian with more than 25 years in the game industry; I’ve had the opportunity to work as a designer, producer, production leader, educator, and independent developer on everything from The Sims and Star Wars educational games to strategy titles, serious games, and small experimental projects.
Along the way, I’ve learned that successful game development is rarely just about having a great idea. It is about understanding players, learning how to make difficult creative tradeoffs, building teams that trust one another, knowing when process helps and when it gets in the way, and remembering why we are making something “good” in the first place.
In this talk, I’ll share lessons I’ve learned—often the hard way—about game design, production, leadership, failure, collaboration, and shipping games. I’ll also look at where I believe game development is heading, including the changing role of technology and AI, the challenges facing studios and developers, and the growing opportunity to create games that bring people together and meaningfully impact their lives.
Takeaway: Ultimately, this talk is about more than making better games. It is about reflecting God’s will into the world around us, becoming better creators, teammates, mentors, and leaders—and thinking intentionally about what we choose to contribute through the games we make.
Third Thursday of the month, 1:00pm Pacific. Dates can move; the list hears first.
Temporary image. We prefer human-made work. Help cut the glass →
How you get in
Live seats are in the community Discord. The email list is the key to that room. Recordings are public once they are posted.
Talks come from members, allies, and friends — across the spheres, from the deeply spiritual to the strictly professional.
Coming in December
Alex Lehman
Thursday, 17 December 2026 · 1:00pm Pacific
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln
(Self-)management is an underappreciated craft. Creating plans and sitting down with your manager (which could be yourself) is something people rarely see any value in. That shows a misunderstanding of what good management looks like. In this talk Alex will walk through hard-learned lessons from more than seventeen years at Riot. Great ideas are often simple and intuitive once understood — yet elusive when we are in the midst of things.
This presentation is for anyone who has the privilege of managing and leading others, or for those who cannot see the forest for the trees — how to break a complex problem into reasonable chunks, plan and execute well, measure, and plan again.
Takeaway: (Self-)management is always worth your time.
Third Thursday of the month, 1:00pm Pacific. Dates can move; the list hears first.
Faith
Rev. Dr. Joshua Smith
Lewis mourned the loss of a shared scaffold for meaning. The games industry may be the place to rebuild it — as a multi-generational work of formation, not self-expression.
Education
Jaclyn Parrish
Is now the moment for fun and games? Fun is not something we get to after the world is set right. It is part of forming the world we long for.
Celebration
Joel Balyeat
From building games to affect change to building a team that can do it more directly. AI, market collapse, startups, and finding purpose.
Faith
Tim Cleary
Christian-influenced games too often preach instead of pull. Drawing on Aetherlight, a framework for faith that shapes the work without swallowing the story.
Celebration
Craig Meredith
Web3, blockchain, and games through a lens of responsibility and stewardship. What would it mean to build systems that are genuinely life-giving?
Faith
Ben Bond
The intersection of disability, Christian perspective, and game development. Authentic representation that is both creatively and commercially valuable.
The YouTube playlist holds the recordings.