Skipper James Bourassa

Learning experience designer exploring games as systems for learning and behavior change.

My first games were Mega Man X, Super Mario World, and Pokémon Red. They didn’t just entertain me; my 16-bit avatars taught me to solve problems, improvise, and even read before it came up in school.

Watching my characters grow in power as my own skills improved gave me an early and lasting sense of mastery and progression. Whether I was min-maxing Pokémon battles with friends or discovering “tubular” and “gnarly” paths to Bowser’s castle, I was having fun—and developing lifelong skills without realizing it.

Games are sticky. They teach and reinforce learning through trial-and-error, rehearsal, and meticulously designed reward systems. That power is more relevant than ever, as marketing, product, and UX teams increasingly apply game-informed design principles to guide attention, motivation, and behavior.

The projects you’ll find here are a mix: portfolio pieces, exploratory prototypes, and experiments in learning through systems and play.

Thanks for stopping by.