I build the things
I wish existed.
Gargoyle Studios is my independent creative technology studio. I make games, storytelling software, interactive projects, and physical models, usually because I want something that does not exist yet.
My background includes nearly two decades of instructional design, along with 3D modeling, architectural visualization, structural detailing, heavy-duty automotive mechanics, and software development. It may sound like a mixed bag, but every part of it taught me how to understand a complicated system, make it clearer, and turn an idea into something useful.
That is the common thread here. Whether I am building a science-fiction world, a screenwriting tool, or a model of a 1960s rocket engine, I like ambitious problems, practical solutions, and learning whatever the project requires.
You just stepped out of the game. Everything on this site is also reachable on foot, so you can browse normally or choose Back to Game and continue through the forest.
A little about me.
I’m a designer and developer who has always been happiest somewhere between the technical and creative sides of a project. I enjoy figuring out how something works, but I care just as much about whether another person can understand it and enjoy using it.
I am especially drawn to science fiction grounded in real engineering. Project ROVER and NERVA, 3D printing, procedural design, real-time rendering, and worldbuilding are the kinds of subjects that can send me down a very long rabbit hole. They also tend to find their way into my games, tools, models, and experiments.
Gargoyle Studios began as a place to collect those interests under one roof. After a layoff ended a long chapter in instructional design and eLearning, I decided to take the work I had always done on the side and give it a proper name. The studio is still growing, and so am I. Each project starts with something I want to understand or improve, followed by a prototype, a few wrong turns, and a better version.
I am building Gargoyle Studios for the long term, but I am also open to joining the right team. If my background fits something you are working on, I would be glad to talk.
What I bring to the work
Instructional Design & Multimedia
Nearly 19 years spent turning complicated subjects into training people can actually follow. My work has included Articulate Storyline, video, motion graphics, voiceover, and accessible learning for audiences around the world.
3D Modeling & Visualization
Technical models, architectural visualization, illustrations, and real-time assets created primarily in Maya and Unreal Engine. I enjoy the precision of the work as much as the final image.
Game Development & Interactive Systems
Interactive prototypes and gameplay systems built in Unreal Engine 5. This is where my interests in art, engineering, teaching, and storytelling finally get to occupy the same room.
What I’m building now
Fable
A desktop application for taking a story from the first scene to a finished animatic. It brings screenwriting, scene planning, characters, storyboards, 3D reference, voices, and animatic timing into one workspace and it keeps the project on your computer.
Totality
An original game set on a tidally locked moon orbiting a red dwarf. One side lives in permanent daylight, the other in permanent night, and everything interesting happens along the thin line between them.
Quest Developer
A visual tool for planning main stories, side quests, characters, choices, and consequences. I am building it for my own game work first, then I plan to share it with the game development community once it is ready.
Experience and tools
- Instructional design
- Articulate Storyline 360
- Solidworks
- Unreal Engine 5
- Maya & 3D modeling
- Architectural visualization
- AI-assisted tooling (C++)
- Vector illustration
- Video & motion graphics
- WCAG / accessible design
This is the short version. If you are curious about a particular skill or project, ask, there are only so many labels I can add before this becomes noise.
Things I’ve made.
A selection of software, 3D work, game development, illustration, and interactive learning projects.
Software & tools
Open a project for a closer look. If it leaves you with questions, I am always happy to answer them.
Galleries
Interactive learning
These projects were built in Articulate Storyline. Each one opens in a new tab because Storyline prefers to handle its own navigation.
From the workshop.
Software, models, and other things I have designed and built at Gargoyle Studios.
It is a small collection for now. Everything here began as something I wanted to make or a tool I needed myself, and I will add more as new projects are finished.
Specifications
Have questions?
Custom sizes, finishes, or bulk orders - happy to help before you buy.
Let’s talk.
Email - Andy@GargoyleStudios.com
GitHub - github.com/aanicholas
LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/andrew-nicholas