top of page

About Us

The idea for "Tumbleweed Express" came about as a result of the team's participation in a game jam  held by the DC Chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA) in November of 2011. The theme for this game jam was "tram combat". After pitching several ideas the team decided to pursue "Tumbleweed Express", a tower defense game that takes place on a moving train that must be outfitted with weapons and armor in order to make it through each level in one piece. Since that initial game jam, the team dedicated one weekend a month to completing the project with the goal of developing a complete, immersive, and enjoyable experience for all ages.

 

Formed in 2013, The Dirigiballers, LLC is an independent game studio made up of talented developers from the Maryland, Virginia, and DC area. "Tumbleweed Express" was iteratively developed based on the team's experience, feedback from players during IGDA demonstrations and large gaming conventions (e.g., MAGFest, Too Many Games, VGU Con), and through participation in the Independent Games Festival. The game was greenlit for release on Steam in 2015 and was made available for Windows, Mac, and Linux on May 31, 2016.

Development Team

Project Management Team

Matthew Mauriello (Lead)

Ben Heard

Jacob Clayman

Design Team

Jacob Clayman (Lead)

Andy Varshine

Ben Heard

David To

David Weiss

Duy Le

Greg Morningstar

Keelan Downton

Matthew Mauriello

Art Team

Andy Varshine (Lead)

Duy Le

Greg Morningstar

Jacob Clayman

Jon Heard

 

Programming Team

Matthew Mauriello (Lead)

Ben Heard

David To

Jacob Clayman

Jon Heard

Keelan Downton

Audio Team

Sam Miller (Sound Lead)

Stephan Nettekoven (Music Lead)

Jacob Clayman

Voice Actors

Anistasiya Rul as Xenia

Arnoud Moes as Drillcar Jim

Greg Morningstar as The Narrator

Jacob Clayman as Sneaky Pete

Kilian Berthold as Dirigibaus

Special Thanks

Friends, Family, and Fans

IGDA Baltimore

IGDA DC

IGDA PA

MAGFest Indie Videogame Showcase

Baltimore Gamer

David Rumsey Map Collection

Contributors

Arnoud Moes

Bo Banducci

Brenna McNally

Christopher Bruser

Christopher Hayes

Dan Hertzka

Mason Booker

Mike Willis

Sam Levine

Sound Attribution

Inequation

lonemonk

NoiseCollector

Samulis

Razzvio

felipeInv

bone666138

 

 

Freqman

freesfx.co.uk

ruin

ingudios

BlinkFarm

Glaneur de sons

duckduckpony

felipeInv

 

 

soundplusdesign

Isaac Cotec

jameswrowles

Halleck

beerbelly38

artifact

justkiddink

benboncan

 

 

Contact Us

Contact us at dirigiballers@gmail.com or use the form below.

Your details were sent successfully!

bottom of page