In November of 2019, I was hired as the Art Director for the rhythm action puzzle game “The Choreographist” by Akupara Games. In universe you play as the no nonsense hero Crim, who’s been cursed to see the world as a bizarre, nightmarish dance party. One she is reluctantly forced to take part in. Designed to be a cross section between DDR and Fighting Games, The Choreographist would take you on a whirl wind tour of it’s psychedelic fantasy landmarks, while you grooved and combo’d your way to victory.

My responsibility as Art Director was to create a cohesive visual style that was eye catching, evocative, narratively coherent, and mechanically clear.

The concept was strong and by early 2020 the team had a vertical slice. Sadly, the pandemic brought an early end to this project. However, the vertical slice was made available to play on itch.io. If you’d like to try out this crazy experiment, you can find it here: https://akuparagames.itch.io/the-choreographist

In August of 2024 I was hired onto the Hidden Variable team as a full time Character animator. I was assigned to the Spellomancer project, and was given the delightful task of bringing the character concepts by Jake (aka timecowboy: https://www.tumblr.com/timecowboy) to life. I played a major role in creating the animation pipeline and established the animation suite. Alongside many talented programers and artists, I crafted game feel and motion of the game. In addition to Character Animation, I also worked on VFX and made some tile sets.

You can find Spellomancer on steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2933760/Spellomancer/

DOG WITCH is a dice based rogue-like “Deck Builder” game where you play as the titular Dog Witch; traversing biomes and casting spells on a wacky assortment of enemies. The game launched in November of 2025, and I was brought onto the team in 2020 as 2D UI artist. My main task was to design the many trinkets you collect while playing. These include Rings, Bracelets, Necklaces, Bones, Books and some other odds and ends. You can purchase and play DOG WITCH on Steam now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3548520/DOG_WITCH/

Cards and Castles 2 is a sequel to the card collecting tactics game Cards and Castles. Developed by Red Team Games, I was hired on in 2022 to create card Illustrations, UI, and VFX. Getting to play in this colorful, cartoony, and mischievous world was a real joy. You can find Cards and Castles 2 here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1719390/Cards_and_Castles_2/

Queer Quest is a point and click adventure sold as: "Gay Monkey's Island meets feminist Leisure Suit Larry." Released on June 3rd 2024, The game was in development for over seven years. I joined Queermo Games in March of 2021, where I got to work making the logo, UI elements, animations, backgrounds, and a bunch more. The visual look of the game was established by Hagen Deloss (https://www.instagram.com/gloombones/) and was a wonderful departure from my usual style. It was an amazing project to work on with a very supportive team and a powerful queer message.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1296300/Queer_Quest_All_in_a_Gays_Work/
itch.io: https://queermogames.itch.io/queer-quest

Demon's Mirror is a Deck Builder Rogue-Like in the vein of Slay the Spire; with the addition of a matching puzzle game. Be-Rad Entertainment hired me in October of 2023 as a UI Designer. My primary task was constructing the HUD that is displayed during the primary game mode. I also made buttons, sliders, 9-slices, the pause menu and achievement/unlock tracker. The team was a joy to work with, and the highly rendered organic style was a lot of fun. You can play Demon's Mirror right now at this link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1600910/Demons_Mirror/

Ra Ra Boom! Is a 90's inspired beat 'em up made by Gylee Games. I was hired on as a UI/UX designer in February of 2021. The team was lovely to work with and I had a great time capturing that mall punk, Saved By The Bell meets Lisa Frank; paper craft energy. During my time there, I worked on icons, HUD elements, buttons, and menus. Feel free to check out Gylee at their website: https://gyleegames.com/

The Indie Houses is an international collective of 7 publishers helping change the face of indie games. Those publishers include: Raw Fury, Neon Doctrine, Fellow Traveller, Akupara Games, Toge Productions, Those Awesome Guys, and Whitethorn Games. I was approached by the collective in late June of 2021 to make this promotional illustration. It was a genuine pleasure to make this piece and to be a part of such a positive force in the gaming world.

You can find out more about The Indie Houses at their website: https://theindiehouses.org/

Order Automatica is a tile based Autochess style game set on two apposing 3×3 grids. Players draft strange occult entities and arrange them on their tableau in order to make synergistic combos. In late 2022, New Beings approached me and asked if I would create their promotional art. It was a real treat trying to capture the oppressive atmosphere of the game in these images. You can check out the game on their itch page:

https://newbeings.itch.io/order-automatica

BUMPY JUMPY is a simplistic, bouncy platformer, focused around time trials and speed runs. This addictive dopamine rush of a game was developed by Salman Shurie (@Salman_Shh on BlueSky and Twitter) and his independent studio Gesinimo Games. I was approached in early 2024 to make the key art for this delightful game. A free demo can be found here: https://poki.com/en/g/bumpy-jumpy

Grid Rangers is a Tactical Puzzle Game inspired by Vapor Wave and Super Sentai. It was made for the 2020 Summer Slow Jam held by PIGSquad in Portland OR. The technical theme was “Turn Based” and the creative theme was “Alternate Timeline”.

Play as the titular Grid Rangers and take down the corrupt S.W.I.N.E. Mainframe from the inside. Match Pigs to take them out in devastating combos, or match CDs in order to purchase powerful upgrades from K33p3r, an anonymous hacker accomplice.

All art for Grid Rangers was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and music/sfx were made by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). You can check the game out at: https://schonstal.itch.io/grid-rangers

Parasomnia is a top-down twin-stick survival horror game inspired by classics of the genre like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. It was made in June of 2021 for the Summer Slow Jam held by PIGSquad in Portland OR. The technical theme was “Exploration” and the creative theme was “Forgotten Place”.

Explore a non-Euclidean medical labyrinth. Scrounge for bullets, syringes, and every scrap of money you can get your hands on. Who knows! If you save up enough, you just might pay off your debts before becoming another one of the hospitals shadowy residents.

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and music/sfx were done by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). You can check the game out at: https://smhancher.itch.io/parasomnia

Profane Salvation is a TouHou inspired bullet hell made for PIGSquad’s 2019 Summer Slow Jam in Portland Oregon. The technical theme was 'Arcade Game' and the Creative theme was 'Occult Classic'.

Take on the role of a fallen angel, cast out of heaven and flung into the darkest firmament of hell. Fight tooth and nail through infernal legions and just maybe you’ll find your own profane salvation.

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and Music was done by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). If you wish to play the game you can find it on Itch.io here:

https://schonstal.itch.io/profane-salvation

Curse of the Blood Moon is a fast paced, twin-stick, arcade style score attack game made for the 2020 Global Game Jam. The theme for the jam was ‘Repair.’ As such the game revolves around a a mechanic where the player takes damage when firing their blood crystal projectile and can only heal by getting up close with their melee slash.

You take on the role of a cursed soul trying to survive an endless night of torment. You must fight against your fate and purge the darkness of its demons, no matter how futile.

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and Music was done by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). If you wish to play the game you can find it on my itch.io page:

https://schonstal.itch.io/curse-of-the-blood-moon

Downbeat Underground is a rhythm fighting game that combines the mechanics of DDR, Crypt of the Necrodancer, and Punch Out. Bob and weave in a neon drenched, underground, robot fight club; where missing the beat could leave you dead on the dance floor.

This game was made for the 2021 Global Game Jam. All visuals were made by me. Code was made by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and sounds by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). You can download and play the game here: https://globalgamejam.org/2021/games/downbeat-underground-4

Tempered Fury is a reflex driven combo game about crafting weapons and armor as a blacksmith. Try to match the button inputs on your order as fast as possible while also maintaining your forges heat. It was made for PIGSquad's 2023 Summer Slow Jam. The theme was crafting.

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and Music was done by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). If you wish to play the game you can find it on my itch.io page:

https://smhancher.itch.io/tempered-fury

The BIG Show is a rhythm bullet hell where you must dodge incoming projectiles that are being fired on the beat. You play as a small rabbit who must quickly learn their choreography on the fly while catching incoming roses tossed by fans. Fail and it’s curtains. Succeed, and you just might become a STAR!

This game was made for the 2024 Global Game Jam. The theme was “Make Me Laugh”. While the game was not complete, I'm still quite proud of the visual style we were able to accomplish. All art was done by me. Coding was done by Josh Schonstal (https://schonstal.itch.io/) and music/sfx were made by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). You can check the game out at: https://smhancher.itch.io/the-big-show

To-Do is an atmospheric, narratively driven, horror puzzle game. It was made for the 2020 Summer Slow Jam held by PIGSquad in Portland OR. The technical theme was “Horror” and the creative theme was “Don’t let it out”.

As a player you inhabit the mind of a man who’s returned home in the dead of night, to a house that grows more and more unsettling. In an attempt to maintain a level of sanity, you return to the one thing that won't lie to you: your lists.

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Yori Kvitchko (https://yorikv.itch.io/). Game design by Christian Scandariato (https://perpetualraine.itch.io/). Story and VO by Michael Middleton, and music/sfx were made by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops). You can check the game out at: https://yorikv.itch.io/to-do

I was hired at the beginning of 2020 to do concept art, illustration work, level design, and animation for Gutter Arcade’s Duel Arms. Pitched as a refinement of the platform fighter genre, Duel Arms was a sequel to Knight Club and was set to introduce a further degree of modularity to character creation by introducing secondary weapons called “Side Arms”. Sadly the project was canceled despite it’s incredible promise.

Many of the illustrations I made were to show off the Golem mechanic. Outside of combat, players could participate in a gardening mini-game. Using the plants and veggies you produce from gardening (as well as a ‘soul essence’ resource you collect from battles), you could create a golem. Golems acted as friends and sparring buddies that you can pamper, feed, and equip with your spare gear.

While Duel Arms may not exist, you can still play its predecessor Knight Club on steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1056720/Knight_Club/

Pyxl Chain was a crypto currency company I worked at from October 2021 to October 2022. I was hired on as Art Director and Game Designer for a number of internal project including a pet raising economy game, a pet racing game, a farm sim, a poker game, and a rock paper scissors game. I lead a team of artists, programmers, designers, and economists in trying to construct an engaging interactive experience in the crypto marketplace. While I don’t morally condone crypto currency, nor am I a fan of the culture surrounding it, I did enjoy some of the challenges that came about working in the space.

BloodRush is the name Josh Schonstal and I have given to our game making partnership. A lot of the games in my portfolio are the product of our teamwork. We have since spent a fair amount of time trying to make larger scale projects.

Our first large project started out as Angel Game. A bite sized tactics game that utilizes pre-determined randomness as a core mechanic. It was constructed during the 2022 Global Game Jam where the theme was ‘Duality’.

In angel game, the world is crumbling apart and celestial forces intend to wipe the slate clean for all mortal life. In the crumbling pieces of reality, the few remaining heroes of humanity stand strong. If they can transcend their cosmic fate, maybe they can be the architects of the new world.

However, after the jam, the game went through many iterations. You can see some of those in this gallery. This game is a passion project, and one day I hope to have the time and resources to do it justice.

Over the years, I've had the privilege of making art for a variety of Twitch Streamers. I’ve away screens, stream frames, emotes and merch. Listed below are a couple of the talented people I’ve worked with.

Karkalla: https://www.twitch.tv/karkalla

JimmyVsGames: https://www.twitch.tv/jimmyvsgames

Chocobose: https://www.twitch.tv/chocobose

Queen Defense is an iOS game that I published alongside my Dad in 2015. It is a pass and play, turn based strategy game where your objective is to harvest energy, build robotic soldiers, and slay your opponent's Queen.

All art is done by me. Coding was done by Scott Hancher and music was done by Zack Pierson (https://zackarypierce.bandcamp.com/album/shitbops).

While no longer available on the app store, you can still download and play it on your PC by visiting my itch.io page:

https://smhancher.itch.io/queen-defense

Over the years I've been fortunate enough to work with local Portland game communities to make flyers and fan art for their posters, prizes, and merch. The main two communities I've done work for include the Portland Killer Queen scene and the Portland Fighting Game Community (PDX FGC).

This page is dedicated to all my earlier game jams that I still love, but are a little rough around the edges. Those games include:

Tank Battle

Tank Battle is an entirely mouse based tank survival game made for the 2019 PIGSquad Summer Slow Jam. All art was done by me and programming was done by my dad, Scott Hancher. You can check it out on my itch.io page: https://smhancher.itch.io/tank-battle

Kaiju Game

Kaiju Game was a brief project that I took on with Christian and Kristen Scandariato back in 2017. The objective was to make a real-time-strategy game where giant robots protected a city being over run by Kaiju from space. It was designed to be very story driven, and mech pilot relationships would have played a big role.

Despite it not coming to fruition, I still love the overall look that the game took on.

Civil Discourse

Civil Discourse is a game made for the 2018 Global Game Jam. The theme was 'Transmission'. The game plays as a competitive typing game where you “argue” your stance on a pedantic topic for the amusement of the shadowy underground aristocracy. Win and you get to live. Lose, and you leave ...with a bang!

All art was done by me. Coding was done by Christian Scandariato (https://perpetualraine.itch.io/) and music by Jeffery Brice (https://jeffbriceaudio.com/).

If you wish to play Civil Discourse, you can find it at its Global Game Jam page located here:
https://globalgamejam.org/2018/games/civil-discourse

Third_Eye™

Third_Eye™ is a lane based tower defense shooter made for the 2017 Global Game Jam. The theme was 'Waves'. In universe you play as a test subject, strapped to a piece of experimental hardware, while being guided by a mysterious scientist on how to exorcise the ghosts who haunt you.

Art was done by me. Story and dialog was done by Aenne Schumann (https://x.com/PeachyAenne). Coding was done by Christian Scandariato (https://perpetualraine.itch.io/). Sound Design was done by Corey Warning (https://www.instagram.com/coreywarning/?hl=en), and our composer was Jake Fleming (https://jakeflem.com/).

If you would like to play Third_Eye™, you can find it on the Global Game Jam page located here: https://globalgamejam.org/2017/games/third-eye%E2%84%A2

Night Terror

Night Terror is a horror themed endless runner game made for 2015 Global Game Jam. Play as a young girl who’s desperately trying to navigate her way to her parents room after waking up from a terrible dream. The hallway seems to stretch on forever and certain items like antique rugs and dusty mirrors reveal themselves to be monstrous mimics determined to gobble you up. Move quickly but intention in order to outrun the shambling terror on your heals.

While no longer playable, this game was my first true game jam and a real gateway into game making. I still think of it fondly.

From 2017 to 2022, I worked as an artistic consultant, brand developer, and illustrator for Launchpod Inc. Holocraft was an augmented reality gaming platform that took on many different forms over the years. This project was an incredible opportunity for me to try on lots of different hats and experiment in many different styles. Some games that we designed and prototyped for the AR hardware included: A platformer with a robust level editor, a collectable card game, a pet collecting game, a building blocks style game, a table top rpg augmentation tool, and a whole lot more.

From 2016-2018, I made commemorative wallpapers for the Portland Indie Game Squad. Each summer PIGSquad holds 3, week long games jams, called the Summer Slow Jams. People who participate receive a technical and creative theme with which to construct their game at a (comparatively) leisurely pace. At the end of the summer, the games are compiled on itch.io and I drew a small cube to represent each one. These wall papers are a visual representation of all the games that were made over those summers.

This is a collection of miscellaneous doodles, commission, and concepts I've made over the years that don't fit in a proper category; but still show off my style and skill.