My name is Kristian Bak, born 2985. I studied philosophy and digital design at Aarhus University 2005-2012, graduated and got punched in the face by a horrible work culture at a web design bureau. I always loved games, and in 2004-2014 I did games reviews for a local television thing, and I found a job in the games industry.
Then, in 2017, I burnt out, as we do. The work culture needs to provide more guidance. The way we are able to push ourselves beyond our limits, only to fall into depression, anxiety and nihilism is a wild human trait. By now, we should all understand this is how people work when things move too fast.
This cycle is expected and welcomed by an economic system designed to reward the people at the top, abused to find whichever traits work in their favour. Psychopaths are rewarded with high paying jobs rather than being put under care. Victims of trauma are being treated through heavy medication and forced to work through it.
I don’t know if burnout is all that bad, if we can just take a proper vacation when it hits. Leave all our stress and worry and have a good time. That requires a much more equal society, where everyone is taken care of, and competition is only done for entertainment, accelerated development and improved standards of living.
These are the games that I have worked on since 2010, and a list of the six gamejams I have participated in. I have been a designer, a developer and done some 2D and 3D art.
Gravity Break
My role: Solo designer, developer
Begun as prototype in 2016, before Trump
Released as a prototype on WebGL 2020
Released as a demo on Steam in 2024
Now he is back.
Gravity Break is my hobby project, ideas I have been playing with in my spare time since 2010. Explore the Solar System and gravity.
Check the Steam page here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1870590/Gravity_Break/
Or on itch: bakspace.itch.io/gravitybreak
Prototype 0.4.2, 2016-2023
Try the prototype here: https://bakspace.itch.io/gravitybreak-prototype
Crystal Crop Fever
My role: Game designer, developer https://www.scienceathome.org/games/crystal-crop-fever/ Released on Windows and Mac 2018
Crystal Crop Fever was used by researchers to study how people collaborate and interact, which strategies are more prevalant and how they emerge.
The game is asynchronous multiplayer, each round all players select one tile to uncover, revealing an underlying value. The values were distributed in a “landscape”, much like a more complicated game of Battleships, allowing the players to navigate the values in a meaningful way.
The goal of the game was to gauge the decision making of people analysing data. The results was shared in a scientific community.
Quantum Moves
My role: Game designer, developer Released on iOS and Android in 2016
Play with a simulation of the superposition of an atom, solve quantum mechanical challenges and help build a quantum computer.
Created with quantum scientists from Aarhus University through ScienceAtHome, Quantum Moves was developed to gather data from a simulation of an energy potential containing a simulated superpostion of a Rubidium 87 atom, which was meant to be used as a qbit in an experiment constructing a quantum computer in the basement.
The player moves the energy wave and the superposition wobbles, showing how energy surrounding an atom changes the possible positions of the atom.
I acted as developer, designer and backend engineer.
The game gathered data from more than 50.000 users and was part of a publication in Nature.
Quantum Carnival
Unreleased. The game was an experiment to create the game flow of party games while rewarding the player for completing quantum puzzles.
Make My Head Grow
My role: iOS port developer https://appadvice.com/app/make-my-head-grow/658211387 Released on iOS in 2014
Two players battle to push the other off the cliff, using the momentum and size of their head to push the box they are contained in.
The game was first developed for Nordic Game Jam, and I did the iOS port while an intern at Funday Factory.
Butterfly Sky
My role: Level designer Released on iOS in 2014
Jump on clouds and gather butterflies in the sky. A cute game made with Funday Factory, I got to create some of the configurations of the butterfly constellations.
Slumchallenge
My role: Frontend developer Released on web 2014, support discontinued in 2020
You navigate the slums of manilla and learn about the political, economic and social challenges facing the inhabitants. Can you make it through a day of extreme poverty?
As a frontend developer, I created the systems to handle a branching narrative, an interactive menu and the effects for transitions.
Mineroid
My role: 2D, 3D, development, design Released as a solo project on Android Play Store in 2013
Branch / Warbeam
My role: Game designer
Released in collaboration with DADIU in 2011
Nominated in the student category at Unite 11
The machines are taking over the universe. Life must unite and fight against the onslaught. Manipulate a landscape to direct the flow of energy towards the battlefield.
Anton and the Catastrophe
My role: Game designer Released in collaboration with DADIU 2010
Gamejam productions:
| Production | Gamejam | My role | Year |
| Caveman game | Global Game Jam | 2D art | 2010 |
| Nuclear Sheppards | Global Game Jam | Designer | 2011 |
| Are We There Yet? | Gamechanger Gamejam | Designer, developer | 2014 |
| First of the Final | Ludum Dare | Solo developer | 2014 |
| Platformer | Nordic Game Jam | Developer | 2015 |
| Leaky Boosters | Nordic Game Jam | Developer | 2016 |
First of the Final
A game about throwing rockets at planets through simulated gravity. I wanted to fly one.
Old demo on itch. I can’t get it to work.
Are We There Yet?
My role: Game designer, developer, 2D assets Released on WebGL in 2014 Winner of audience award, Game Changer Game Jam 2014
Play it here: https://drainyard.itch.io/are-we-there-yet
As a child on the backseat, you escape the discussions among your parents through the window, only to find they keep arguing in your fantasy world.
The game won the audience award at Game Changer Game Jam 2014.
I heard it was displayed at a museum at some point.